How to tell if there is a tune already on a CTR?

[Neciovato]

Hey guys,
FIgured i would throw this out to the forum since you pointed out some key aspects of a car I was considering. So basically I was wondering - if I see a car that I might be considering with a CBE and an intake - how can/will I be able to tell if there is a tune associated with the car. Honestly my point of view is this - you don’t do these things to a car and NOT add a tune (in my experience - sometimes you lose HP bc of lack of a tune).

Anyway - from what I can tell - this has an Invidia Exhaust and PRL intake - I’ll leave the link to get some more feedback from you guys who probably know more about the car than I do:

URL:
https://www.vandergriffhyundai.com/...c+Type+R-8f631a620a0e0a17748760c8b7d21c49.htm

From what I can tell - it does have the CBE and intake - anything else I might be missing from the ‘peanut gallery‘
Again - appreciate any advice from you guys since I feel I got some good advice on another car I was considering - the good news is that this wouldn’t be a long drive at all to check out (if still available). So on top of my usual questions at the top - would you guys consider this ride or pass altogether - hard to believe someone would add mods and then just turn the car in - especially after 6k in miles - thoughts and advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Sponsored

 

[kefi]

Generally speaking, people won't trade it in with the tune still on there because the FlashPro or KTuner is worth a ton of money and is super easy to remove and sell. However, the ECU might be jailbroken, which will save you $250 if you decide to tune it yourself.

The only way to know for sure is by plugging in a FlashPro or KTuner unit, they'll tell you if the ECU is stock or not.

You can also check the OBD2 header for miles since last reset, which could be indicative of how many miles it's been since a flash, but that can be caused by battery power loss too.

The parts on there don't necessarily mean it was tuned, very few parts actually require a tune on a Type R (although you won't make any power without one)

 

[Jpierro79]

Hey guys,
FIgured i would throw this out to the forum since you pointed out some key aspects of a car I was considering. So basically I was wondering - if I see a car that I might be considering with a CBE and an intake - how can/will I be able to tell if there is a tune associated with the car. Honestly my point of view is this - you don’t do these things to a car and NOT add a tune (in my experience - sometimes you lose HP bc of lack of a tune).

Anyway - from what I can tell - this has an Invidia Exhaust and PRL intake - I’ll leave the link to get some more feedback from you guys who probably know more about the car than I do:

URL:
https://www.vandergriffhyundai.com/...c+Type+R-8f631a620a0e0a17748760c8b7d21c49.htm

From what I can tell - it does have the CBE and intake - anything else I might be missing from the ‘peanut gallery‘
Again - appreciate any advice from you guys since I feel I got some good advice on another car I was considering - the good news is that this wouldn’t be a long drive at all to check out (if still available). So on top of my usual questions at the top - would you guys consider this ride or pass altogether - hard to believe someone would add mods and then just turn the car in - especially after 6k in miles - thoughts and advice is appreciated.

Thanks

You’ll see over 23 psi at 4000 rpm if There’s a tune. I doubt it as 99 percent of tunes are hondata or ktuner. People unpair the car and remove the unit to resell.

 

[123sillyboy123]

I have my car FBO before i add a tune..
Main reason is i want to keep as much warranty as i can... a tune is basically giving up entire warranty..

So having any bolt on parts dont really tell you whether the car is tuned or not

 

[Neciovato]

First and foremost - WOW - thanks for the quick replies - definitely appreciate it.

Couple of questions come to mind:
1. Let’s say the car IS tuned - is the CTR like VW - where it will throw a code that lets you know that the car has been tuned/ECU messed with or no?
2. Going back to if the car IS tuned - how to tell if it’s Hondata or Ktuner - is there a simple way to tell or no? coming form VW world - you could do a certain sequence to trigger the APR tune to see if it was tuned etc. (if that makes senwe)
3. Like someone mentioned earlier - what are the chances that someone has added these parts and didn’t do a tune? Give or take?

and based off of the link - see anything that stands out as a red flag or would you say - ‘go for it’ haha - again - thanks in advance for any comments and help on this.

 

[kefi]

First and foremost - WOW - thanks for the quick replies - definitely appreciate it.

Couple of questions come to mind:
1. Let’s say the car IS tuned - is the CTR like VW - where it will throw a code that lets you know that the car has been tuned/ECU messed with or no?
2. Going back to if the car IS tuned - how to tell if it’s Hondata or Ktuner - is there a simple way to tell or no? coming form VW world - you could do a certain sequence to trigger the APR tune to see if it was tuned etc. (if that makes senwe)
3. Like someone mentioned earlier - what are the chances that someone has added these parts and didn’t do a tune? Give or take?

and based off of the link - see anything that stands out as a red flag or would you say - ‘go for it’ haha - again - thanks in advance for any comments and help on this.

1. No, proper tunes prevent unnecessary CELs from firing. There's no obvious way to tell a tune is on the car. You could check to see if some Hondata-exclusive features are there like automatically starting in +R, but they may not be enabled.
2. Not without plugging in one of the units.
3. Most people know that a tune is what gets you power, but intakes and exhausts are pretty common mods to run without a tune because they don't really add power anyways (until you're pushing a lot more air). It's probably a 25% chance it's already jailbroken.

It's honestly a snowball's chance in hell that it's still tuned though. FlashPros (the most common platform) are worth $700 and take 5 minutes to unlock from your car and a couple hours to sell.

At that price, I'd just try to get a new one at MSRP. Shop around the country. That exhaust and intake isn't that expensive anyways.

 

[Neciovato]

1. No, proper tunes prevent unnecessary CELs from firing. There's no obvious way to tell a tune is on the car. You could check to see if some Hondata-exclusive features are there like automatically starting in +R, but they may not be enabled.
2. Not without plugging in one of the units.
3. Most people know that a tune is what gets you power, but intakes and exhausts are pretty common mods to run without a tune because they don't really add power anyways (until you're pushing a lot more air). It's probably a 25% chance it's already jailbroken.

It's honestly a snowball's chance in hell that it's still tuned though. FlashPros (the most common platform) are worth $700 and take 5 minutes to unlock from your car and a couple hours to sell.

At that price, I'd just try to get a new one at MSRP. Shop around the country. That exhaust and intake isn't that expensive anyways.

The problem is - that a new one is so overpriced right now (blame the pandemic or demand) but it seems like a price of ‘what you see is what you get’ is a used CTR vs a new one. While I type this - the thought pops in my mind is that this is a 2019 and we are almost to 2021 so this would be a 2 yr old car in several months so the loss of value would be there - sooo maybe a new one would be advisable. Decisions....decisions.

Appreciate any and all comments - thanks guys

 

[kefi]

The problem is - that a new one is so overpriced right now (blame the pandemic or demand) but it seems like a price of ‘what you see is what you get’ is a used CTR vs a new one. While I type this - the thought pops in my mind is that this is a 2019 and we are almost to 2021 so this would be a 2 yr old car in several months so the loss of value would be there - sooo maybe a new one would be advisable. Decisions....decisions.

Appreciate any and all comments - thanks guys

The Type Rs hold their value quite well, but maybe not after two owners. It's been overpriced since the launch in 2017, the key is just shopping around and getting it delivered if you have to. You might not get MSRP, but you could at least get close to it.

 

[19typer]

The easiest way to tell is to go to a dealer and test drive a brand new one and then test drive this one. The tune is very obvious in third gear if it has one.

 

[19typer]

Of course, the only way to know if it has a tune previously and returned to stock would be to have the dealer scan it and see if it has been jailbroken.

 

[Neciovato]

Of course, the only way to know if it has a tune previously and returned to stock would be to have the dealer scan it and see if it has been jailbroken.

I would imagine a code/flag would show and if so - what should I be looking for etc? This is a Hyundai dealer so not sure if they would actually scan it to be honest (then again if the sales person wants to make a sale)

 

[kefi]

Of course, the only way to know if it has a tune previously and returned to stock would be to have the dealer scan it and see if it has been jailbroken.

The dealers themselves don't have a way of telling if it's jailbroken or even on the stock binary. They can only see how many miles it's been since a flash. Honda techs that they send out for major warranty work have Bosch diagnostic tools for the ECU, though.

 

[kefi]

I would imagine a code/flag would show and if so - what should I be looking for etc? This is a Hyundai dealer so not sure if they would actually scan it to be honest (then again if the sales person wants to make a sale)

The only way to know for sure is a KTuner or Hondata unit. The 'miles since last flash', the only other built in indicator of a flash, can clear by just taking the battery out.

 

[19typer]

that may be true but there is no way I am buying a car from a dealer without written proof the warranty is in tact. How they choose to go about it I don't care.

 

[kefi]

that may be true but there is no way I am buying a car from a dealer without written proof the warranty is in tact. How they choose to go about it I don't care.

The best you're gonna get there is a certified pre-owned.

Sponsored