Is it even worth tuning the Si?

[MoaRPowah]

Hi all,

Just wanted to hear your thoughts and opinions on a discussion that my co-worker and I had the other day that kind of stuck to me.

We all love the Si because the car as a whole is a very good bang for the buck daily driver. For me, it definitely makes the daily commutes much more fun.

The question is, do you guys feel it's worth it to put money in this car to increase performance?

Basically, my co-worker argued that if you want serious performance, get a performance car. If you want serious power, get a V8. Yeah, he's one of those guys.

My argument was that performance doesn't mean straight up HP and torque figures. However, it did occur to me that a lot of us Si owners already purchased expensive bolt-ons and tuning solutions for just a hair more performance.

The average Si owner may get an intake, downpipe, exhaust and a tune. Now, with those items alone, the Si is definitely a different car and much more powerful. However, let's say you put that money on a turbo kit and tune on an 8th or 9th gen Si, an Evo or even a Gti? Or as my co-worker said, get a 5.0 and call it a day.

Do you guys feel like it's still worth it? Personally, I'm happy with the TSP tune I have, but I also feel like for the same amount of money spent on let's say WRX, more power can be had.

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[gtman]

I'm a base tuned turbo guy with a TSP Stage 1 so take that how you will. IMO, the Si is a terrific handling car with decent power. But, by simply getting a KTuner and a TSP tune and nothing else, the car takes on a much more sporty character.

And with the cost of that tune being let's say $500 or so, it's still thousands less overall than a WRX. And, you get a better riding car, with a better interior, better styling and one that can pretty much keep up with a WRX in most scenarios. What's not to like?

 

[amirza786]

Here is my take. If like me this is your daily driver, than I would not tune it past Ktuner (TSP Stage 1 tune) because even if you use Map 1 only it makes the car drive much better. As far as bolt-ons, I would stay away from them except maybe an upgraded performance Intercooler. That's my opinion on the matter

 

[MoaRPowah]

I'm a base tuned turbo guy with a TSP Stage 1 so take that how you will. IMO, the Si is a terrific handling car with decent power. But, by simply getting a KTuner and a TSP tune and nothing else, the car takes on a much more sporty character.

And with the cost of that tune being let's say $500 or so it's a $10,000 less investment than a WRX. You get a better riding car, with a better interior, better styling and one that can pretty much keep up with a WRX in most scenarios. What's not to like?

Totally agree with you there. Not to mention, terrific MPG to boot.

 

[MoaRPowah]

Here is my take. If like me this is your daily driver, than I would not tune it past Ktuner (TSP Stage 1 tune) because even if you use Map 1 only it makes the car drive much better. As far as bolt-ons, I would stay away from them except maybe an upgraded performance Intercooler. That's my opinion on the matter

Daily driver here too. School drop off and pickup duty, work commuter and ballet and piano class drop off duties.

The TSP tune is definitely a huge improvement. Maybe for the folks that are doing full on flex fuel and turbo upgrades, maybe this is more applicable for them.

We all can't be running around like the MAP performance guys lol.

 

[Lukifer]

If your a car enthusiast, generally you like modding your cars... so even if you went with a 5.0, you wouldn't be calling it a day. You'd drop in a CAI, exhaust, and other performance mods. Its never enough, no matter what car you have. Its in our culture.

 

[NikkoPH]

It depends on the purpose of your car, in my case my SI is my daily, i don't want to sacrifice comfort and reliability by adding more bolt ons. Downpipe, Exhaust & RMM is no no for me.

Anyway i don't see a reason why i will be pushing 240+hp in LA Traffic

 

[amirza786]

Daily driver here too. School drop off and pickup duty, work commuter and ballet and piano class drop off duties.

The TSP tune is definitely a huge improvement. Maybe for the folks that are doing full on flex fuel and turbo upgrades, maybe this is more applicable for them.

We all can't be running around like the MAP performance guys lol.

I think this car is good the way it is. I didn't buy it to compete with WRX's. STi's, Mustangs and Chargers. I know some of my fellow CivicX buddies are going to disagree, but if you want a high performance car, buy one that was built for high performance in the first place, that is unless that is your hobby to try and pull out all the power you can from this engine. I have no issue spending a few hundred dollars to make some improvements, but that's about it for me. I want this car to last at least 150K

 

[MoaRPowah]

If your a car enthusiast, generally you like modding your cars... so even if you went with a 5.0, you wouldn't be calling it a day. You'd drop in a CAI, exhaust, and other performance mods. Its never enough, no matter what car you have. Its in our culture.

I've felt the power of the stock Coyote motors. Compared to our Si's, I could call it a day haha. But you are absolutely right, modding runs in our veins. Shoot, I would mod our Toyota Sienna if my wife wouldn't throw a fit.

 

[ltrinh]

If you want something in between, better performance than SI but not to the full blown V8, tuning is perfrect way to go.

Another reason is customization with tuning as well.

To me, it's worth or not worth tuning. Valid arguments for both camps.

 

[NikkoPH]

I think this car is good the way it is. I didn't buy it to compete with WRX's. STi's, Mustangs and Chargers. I know some of my fellow CivicX buddies are going to disagree, but if you want a high performance car, buy one that was built for high performance in the first place, that is unless that is your hobby to try and pull out all the power you can from this engine. I have no issue spending a few hundred dollars to make some improvements, but that's about it for me. I want this car to last at least 150K

I agree with you!

 

[NikkoPH]

The way i see it these days there are people who install parts is to gain instagram followers, i know i might get bashed for this but deep inside you know that this is true!

 

[Jes_si562]

It's worth it on this car because you make power, it's saves more gas then any other car it's all preference I mean dude you could of gotten a 2002 Camaro for the money that your are buying your car for and would had the power without modding... It's all preference I mean why not get a v8 in the first place

 

[Jes_si562]

The way i see it these days there are people who install parts is to gain instagram followers, i know i might get bashed for this but deep inside you know that this is true!

Lmao really bro I don't even have a Instagram social media brain washes people

 

[MoaRPowah]

Lmao really bro I don't even have a Instagram social media brain washes people

I've seen an influx of these...even on YouTube. There are still good ones that actually do it for the love tuning and helping the community and not to gain subscribers.

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