Help with Mods for 1.5T Coupe CVT

[hopefulCVTguy]

Hey y’all first time posting after just reading for a while now, bit of an introduction.. I started with a 2.0 N/A Civic EX and was underwhelmed with the drive and mod potential so I started to look elsewhere, would have loved to get into an Si but I can’t drive stick, no friends or family have a manual car and with a 6 day a week work schedule it was hard to find one around and get time to learn, so I ended up just trading in for a 1.5T Coupe Touring with the CVT. Yes Ik all will probably say I was foolish but here I am now. Just curious if I could get some help from the community on where to go from here

I started off getting a Ktuner and TSP Stage 1 Tune

from here I’d like some recommendations and advice on order of which to do and / or products, I’d like to do CAI, Downpipe, Intercooler, and Exhaust

already having the Tune where do y’all recommend I go next and with which products? I’m thinking the PRL Cobra for CAI, on Downpipe would y’all recommend Catted or Catless? I was looking at the RV6 Modular Downpipe recently, and when should I purchase the intercooler? Before or after some of these other mods, ever? and which company maybe? And lastly I figured I’d do an Exhaust, but can’t seem to find any for the Coupes that are made for Non-Si’, anyone know any they could recommend?

I may also look into the 27Won W1 Turbo drop-in in the future if their claims of helping the CVT are true but I still remain skeptical on that, and maybe some opinions on suspension upgrades maybe? Yes or no?

lastly sorry for the long past, Ik it’s a lot just many things I’ve thought to ask and couldn’t easily find with my own google searches or here. Thanks in advance anybody

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[hopefulCVTguy]

1. There is very little aftermarket support for the coupe in general. The coupe is only sold in Canada, the US and Mexico so unless you're buying from an American company, they're not going to make it.
2. There's even less support for base model cars, because base model owners tend to not buy upgrades.
3. Your CVT is very fragile. If you make more power, you are likely to blow it up.

If you want a faster car, your best bet is to trade in your car on an Si and learn how to drive stick by wanting to get home. I learned how to drive manual when my dad dropped me off at the dealer with my new 5MT car and said "see you at home, son"

I'm not trying to be dismissive or a dick, but there's plenty of posts like yours on this board and they all say the same thing: CVTs blow up when you add power.

I have found plenty of products that will work just fine on the coupe CVT besides the exhaust system, so finding the parts hasn’t been an issue besides that? Not sure what you mean by base model cars? I don’t have an LX if that’s what you mean I said it was a Touring which only came with the CVT as an option and I dont really have time to “drive home and learn” as I said with my schedule how it is working 66 hours a week, I can’t afford to not learn quick enough and not be able to get myself to work the next morning, and from what I’ve seen there is plenty of forums where people talk about modding their CVTs without blowing them up, I’m looking for those guys to give some ideas on part recommendations, I feel you in that the Si would be the better platform, I’m in no way saying my CVT will ever get as good with any amount of mods, hence why my name is what it is, but to say it’s not worth it when people have put time into things such as TSP to make a version of their Stage 1 Tune dialed for the CVT specifically is a little off

 

[justasimpleman]

I think you’ll be fine with your cvt, there’s plenty of others that have modded cvts with no issues. As far as how long it will last with power mods is yet to be seen. Me personally, I wouldn’t go too far as far as adding power, just to avoid ruining it, because it’ll be a very expensive repair.

Like mentioned above, it’s not THAT difficult to learn manual, especially if you have a general idea on how it works. There’s plenty of YouTube vids that can assist, but I completely understand the time issues you have... that, and you already have the car, which is far from base model.

get familiar with the board, and browse a bit. A lot of helpful threads, and members that can help. Use the search function, and go through the results.

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

I think you’ll be fine with your cvt, there’s plenty of others that have modded cvts with no issues. As far as how long it will last with power mods is yet to be seen. Me personally, I wouldn’t go too far as far as adding power, just to avoid ruining it, because it’ll be a very expensive repair.

Like mentioned above, it’s not THAT difficult to learn manual, especially if you have a general idea on how it works. There’s plenty of YouTube vids that can assist, but I completely understand the time issues you have... that, and you already have the car, which is far from base model.

get familiar with the board, and browse a bit. A lot of helpful threads, and members that can help. Use the search function, and go through the results.

appreciate your t

You're making a mountain out of a molehill with learning how to drive manual. It takes like 20 minutes of struggling and a few hours of practice doing the driving you were going to anyway before you don't even notice you're doing it.

By "base model" I meant not a Si or Type R. Your blind spot monitoring is very nice, but it doesn't help you go faster.

Good luck finding those parts you seem to have already found.

As stated I was only asking for recommendations on what others have done, I was asking about catted or cat less Downpipe as I’ve found PLENTY of options for both, the only thing I haven’t found is an exhaust which I would be fine without it just curious if I personally missed something, but thanks for being the cynical voice on my first post bud ? appreciate the comedy

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

I think you’ll be fine with your cvt, there’s plenty of others that have modded cvts with no issues. As far as how long it will last with power mods is yet to be seen. Me personally, I wouldn’t go too far as far as adding power, just to avoid ruining it, because it’ll be a very expensive repair.

Like mentioned above, it’s not THAT difficult to learn manual, especially if you have a general idea on how it works. There’s plenty of YouTube vids that can assist, but I completely understand the time issues you have... that, and you already have the car, which is far from base model.

get familiar with the board, and browse a bit. A lot of helpful threads, and members that can help. Use the search function, and go through the results.

appreciate your reply man and positive outlook, I’ve been looking but can’t find everything which is why I made this post here, I’ll keep doing my research and maybe hopefully I’ll get a few more responses here

 

[charleswrivers]

Kind of outside your question about specific mods... but how is your traction on your present car? I have a manual Si with factory summer tires and I have traction problems on cooler days. I also have the Si version of TSP stage 1.

I can’t imagine being able to put down that kind of power on a < 3000 lb vehicle effectively on all-seasons... let alone starting with all seasons then trying to add more mods on top of a TSp stage 1. Not sure if the CVT really limits torque at lower speeds so if it is an issue or not... but if it is, I’d assume adding more and more power isn’t going to make the car much quicker until you’re already in the realm of breaking-the-law speeds. Until I added in advanced VSA... if it was much cooler than 60F... I’d spin all the way through 2nd into the mid 50 MPH range. I can’t imagine how bad it would be with all seasons. I’ll definately be looking for something stickier-still when these tires are done. On top of that... having better handling and shorter braking w/o touching anything else might really be great to have.

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

Kind of outside your question about specific mods... but how is your traction on your present car? I have a manual Si with factory summer tires and I have traction problems on cooler days. I also have the Si version of TSP stage 1.

I can’t imagine being able to put down that kind of power on a < 3000 lb vehicle effectively on all-seasons... let alone starting with all seasons then trying to add more mods on top of a TSp stage 1. Not sure if the CVT really limits torque at lower speeds so if it is an issue or not... but if it is, I’d assume adding more and more power isn’t going to make the car much quicker until you’re already in the realm of breaking-the-law speeds. Until I added in advanced VSA... if it was much cooler than 60F... I’d spin all the way through 2nd into the mid 50 MPH range. I can’t imagine how bad it would be with all seasons. I’ll definately be looking for something stickier-still when these tires are done. On top of that... having better handling and shorter braking w/o touching anything else might really be great to have.

in terms of traction I have noticed if I floor it from a stop I get pretty bad wheel spin and torque steer as is so either have to let off and let it regain traction or I mostly have just been lightly tapping the gas until I feel comfortable full sending it, I know the tires on this rn aren’t the factory ones as I got the car used but I can’t remember which exactly they are so I could probably use better ones if I had to guess ?? what would you recommend I do in terms of mods to tighten up the handeling and such, would it be coilovers or? (Sorry if that sounds dumb) I’ll admit I know nothing about suspension currently.

 

[charleswrivers]

in terms of traction I have noticed if I floor it from a stop I get pretty bad wheel spin and torque steer as is so either have to let off and let it regain traction or I mostly have just been lightly tapping the gas until I feel comfortable full sending it, I know the tires on this rn aren’t the factory ones as I got the car used but I can’t remember which exactly they are so I could probably use better ones if I had to guess ?? what would you recommend I do in terms of mods to tighten up the handeling and such, would it be coilovers or? (Sorry if that sounds dumb) I’ll admit I know nothing about suspension currently.

Tires first. Wheel spin = power you can't use. Putting money into making more power or suspension when you're tires may already be pretty poor isn't money well spent, IMO. You should see what's already on the car and we can go from there. I don't even have very great summers in the Goodyear F1s that came on the car... but I can can only guess how awful it'd be to have lesser tires. Instrumented tests compared the Si with and without the summer tire option and the all-season car did substantially worse.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15079646/2017-honda-civic-si-sedan-test-review/

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

Tires first. Wheel spin = power you can't use. Putting money into making more power or suspension when you're tires may already be pretty poor isn't money well spent, IMO. You should see what's already on the car and we can go from there. I don't even have very great summers in the Goodyear F1s that came on the car... but I can can only guess how awful it'd be to have lesser tires. Instrumented tests compared the Si with and without the summer tire option and the all-season car did substantially worse.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15079646/2017-honda-civic-si-sedan-test-review/

So I stepped out to check, looks like the back 2 are I think what cones factory right the Continental ProContacts ? and the front two are Valera Sport AS’, idk anything about tires so what would you recommend

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

So I stepped out to check, looks like the back 2 are I think what cones factory right the Continental ProContacts ? and the front two are Valera Sport ACs, idk anything about tires so what would you recommend

I live in Florida off the coast btw if it’s any difference. So hot and rainy are about my daily driving conditions

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

Tires are all about compromise. The stickest street tires you can buy (something like Bridgestone Potenza RE71Rs) have a 0 mile tread warranty, are VERY LOUD, kick up all kinds of rocks into your fenders, and make a noticeable dent in your MPGs. You can expect to buy a new set every 10,000ish miles, and that's going to suck because they're very expensive. I would know, I put them on my S2000 every year and a half.

On the extreme other end, something like those cheap, Chinese no-name Valera tires on your front are going to be quiet, smooth, get great gas mileage, and last a long time. They'll also completely fail to grab the road, as you've noticed.

The question you have to answer for yourself is "where on that spectrum do you want to be?" Nobody here on this forum can answer for you, and everyone's "sweet spot" of how much bullshit they're willing to put up with in order to have great grip is different.

Go on Tire Rack.com and start reading their instrumented tests. They're the best in the business for a reason.

I have no issue in replacing the tires as needed even if it ends up being more frequently, I guess where I stand is here:

I don’t need the GRIPPIEST while compromising everything else because ofc this is my daily, but something that will at least stop the spin and let me use the power I have and am aiming for. So whatever you could recommend, and when I check their website it strangely says there’s no tires in my size available, any other sizes
you’d recommend?

Also Ducky ik you gave your wider opinion earlier into the whole thing, but just humor me here please, as I’m going to do what I planned regardless, but just so I can at least help decide myself which in your eyes should I do next? Intake or Downpipe ? And when should I upgrade the Intercooler? Before or after these? (or If ever? (and with pipes yes or no?) I’ve heard our cars can suffer bad from heat soak

 

[charleswrivers]

IMO, Continental Pro Contacts are very poor tires from my first-hand experience with 2 sets. They were the OEM tire on both my '14 Odyssey and '15 Civic. They had sidewall bulges and 1 blew out on my Odyssey. When I inspected those tires, I saw there was a couple other bulges on different tires on the inner sidewall. They'd looked fine a few months prior when I'd been all over the van... a tire blew out just going into the driveway which has a *very* slight lip for draining down the street. They were relatively loud and had middling wet traction, though given I didn't do spirited driving in the Odyssey... I was willing to simply replace as they wore down. My '15 Si had relatively poor off-the-line traction, driving spirited and taking turns make there be tire squeal at pretty moderate speeds and the car felt very "plowing". Wet traction was quite poor. Pro Contacts have a lot of buzz on the internet about failures from bulges in the sidewall though... and I think there is/was a class action lawsuit at one time.

Valera tires are sold at Tires Plus/Total Car Car/Firestone... (they're all under the same group, as I recall. I have a lifetime alignment plan with Tires Plus and it's the only place I take my vehicles for scheduled maintenance... and only to get alignments. Fluids and filters I do myself). My mother-in-law has a Galant and I have bought her tires for her since she's owned that car... 2 sets now since she's owned the 2008. It's their 'house' brand... and they are pretty ok tires at their low price point. I wouldn't call them good but for a basic tire on a passenger car driven conservatively... they are ok. @Ducky 's advice is spot on... you should do some research on tires and see what's out there. IMO... you have average to poor all season tires on your car so far as performance is concerned. Your <3000 lb car has well over 200 whp and you're looking to have it make more power and by your own admission:

I get pretty bad wheel spin and torque steer as is so either have to let off and let it regain traction or I mostly have just been lightly tapping the gas until I feel comfortable full sending it

...which sounds like doing anything to add more power is simply going to be wasted. Like the comparo I posted... about .1 g on the skidpad... 1/2 second to 0-60 and over a car length in a stop from 70 was gained simply by a tire change... and you're rolling around with more power than a stock Si has now. If you have a hole burning in your pocket, I really think the best thing to do is to get a better set of tires than your mismatched set of budget Tires Plus all-seasons and the pretty crappy stock tires. That's my opinion. Putting money into upgrading the suspension in the hope of improving things when you have average to poor tires is kind of a terrible idea unless you're driving a old car and you know your shocks/struts/bushings are shot.

As to the sexy mods? I'd say it doesn't really matter. Intake will give you a few hp and some more intake/turbo noise. Intercooler will provide minimal gains if you're just tooling around but if you do sustained, hard driving... it'll help keep your car from losing power from high IATs, which will in turn make K.cont rise and cause your car to retard timing and lose power. I don't mess with exhaust/emissions control stuff generally. That time in my life has come and gone. If you want a louder car... and it to smell like rotten eggs... maybe a little more power but to also get a quicker spool and more low end torque (that you can't put down effectively now anyways) then going with a catless DP can help. Exhaust proabbly won't do much more power at all. It'll change the look/sound of the car.

 

[hopefulCVTguy]

IMO, Continental Pro Contacts are very poor tires from my first-hand experience with 2 sets. They were the OEM tire on both my '14 Odyssey and '15 Civic. They had sidewall bulges and 1 blew out on my Odyssey. When I inspected those tires, I saw there was a couple other bulges on different tires on the inner sidewall. They'd looked fine a few months prior when I'd been all over the van... a tire blew out just going into the driveway which has a *very* slight lip for draining down the street. They were relatively loud and had middling wet traction, though given I didn't do spirited driving in the Odyssey... I was willing to simply replace as they wore down. My '15 Si had relatively poor off-the-line traction, driving spirited and taking turns make there be tire squeal at pretty moderate speeds and the car felt very "plowing". Wet traction was quite poor. Pro Contacts have a lot of buzz on the internet about failures from bulges in the sidewall though... and I think there is/was a class action lawsuit at one time.

Valera tires are sold at Tires Plus/Total Car Car/Firestone... (they're all under the same group, as I recall. I have a lifetime alignment plan with Tires Plus and it's the only place I take my vehicles for scheduled maintenance... and only to get alignments. Fluids and filters I do myself). My mother-in-law has a Galant and I have bought her tires for her since she's owned that car... 2 sets now since she's owned the 2008. It's their 'house' brand... and they are pretty ok tires at their low price point. I wouldn't call them good but for a basic tire on a passenger car driven conservatively... they are ok. @Ducky 's advice is spot on... you should do some research on tires and see what's out there. IMO... you have average to poor all season tires on your car so far as performance is concerned. Your <3000 lb car has well over 200 whp and you're looking to have it make more power and by your own admission:

...which sounds like doing anything to add more power is simply going to be wasted. Like the comparo I posted... about .1 g on the skidpad... 1/2 second to 0-60 and over a car length in a stop from 70 was gained simply by a tire change... and you're rolling around with more power than a stock Si has now. If you have a hole burning in your pocket, I really think the best thing to do is to get a better set of tires than your mismatched set of budget Tires Plus all-seasons and the pretty crappy stock tires. That's my opinion. Putting money into upgrading the suspension in the hope of improving things when you have average to poor tires is kind of a terrible idea unless you're driving a old car and you know your shocks/struts/bushings are shot.

As to the sexy mods? I'd say it doesn't really matter. Intake will give you a few hp and some more intake/turbo noise. Intercooler will provide minimal gains if you're just tooling around but if you do sustained, hard driving... it'll help keep your car from losing power from high IATs, which will in turn make K.cont rise and cause your car to retard timing and lose power. I don't mess with exhaust/emissions control stuff generally. That time in my life has come and gone. If you want a louder car... and it to smell like rotten eggs... maybe a little more power but to also get a quicker spool and more low end torque (that you can't put down effectively now anyways) then going with a catless DP can help. Exhaust proabbly won't do much more power at all. It'll change the look/sound of the car.

I really appreciate all your insight, new tires are my next step for sure, can’t get better than a 6.3 rn for 0-60 on Tunerview I’m guessing without the spin I’d get that down already.
Next I’ll do CAI and then Intercooler so I can start getting over to the track and running consistent runs ahha, then I’ll look into a Downpipe (I’ll go catted) haha

exhaust I’ll probably just leave it stock or look at it last still

 

[gtman]

I really appreciate all your insight, new tires are my next step for sure, can’t get better a 6.3 rn for 0-60 on Tunerview I’m guessing without the spin I’d get that down already.

Don't forget to try Advanced VSA if you haven't already. The medium setting is a good place to start.

Also try L for your best 0-60 times.

 

[gtman]

2. There's even less support for base model cars, because base model owners tend to not buy upgrades.

3. Your CVT is very fragile. If you make more power, you are likely to blow it up.

I'm not trying to be dismissive or a dick, but there's plenty of posts like yours on this board and they all say the same thing: CVTs blow up when you add power.

Support for the 1.5T is actually rather decent as some of the parts available for the Si interchange with the non-Si plus there are many non-Si specific pieces available too.

As far as "your CVT is very fragile" comment... well, not as much as you think . Sure you can't go more than 250 ft lbs in the 3,000-4,000 range but these units from the Accord are fairly robust. Have there been any failures? Few and far between actually and you are welcome to peruse my tuning reliability survey.

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