My KTuner experience - an ongoing journal

[gtman]

Got my V2 today and got to work using it. Here are my initial thoughts after a tune and a quick drive. I'll be comparing it a bit to my time with the Flashpro.

First of all, the V2 unit it built like a tank. Impressive. One issue I'm having and honestly the only negative so far is that the touch screen is really finicky. As in it takes me 2 or 3 button presses or swipes before something happens. Not sure what that is all about.

I uploaded the dual 21 starter and kept it fairly conservative using either Improved I or II quick adjustments. Early spool. No boost by gear. Normalized Eco.

And then I took it out for a ride. Unfortunately, it was rush hour and traffic was way too heavy to air it out. Throttle response seemed a bit better than with Hondata. Midrange was punchy. The surpising thing was seeing 44MPG with some stop and go. That was a surprise. K. Control held steady at .49 on 93 octane.

Looking forward to airing it out and playing with the tune and tweaking it. The on the fly tune switching is awesome. I gotta try that.

A couple questions for the KTuner pros. Is there a big difference between the improved settings and the aggressive ones? Is quick boost by gear really needed if I generally don't launch? And if I I do use quick boost by gear should I only worry about limiting boost in 1st or 1st and 2nd?

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[gtman]

I just drove a bit more in a bit less traffic and did a datalog. Unfortunately, the datalog didn't save even though the V2 was flashing red the whole time. Not sure what happened there. Memory card problem?

As far as the drive I got a bit of a better feel for the tune. Definitely feels more eager than the Hondata +6. Unfortunately, traffic didn't allow any WOT runs but the few passing maneuvers I did were fun. The lag is definitely less than with my Hondata tune. It's there, but minimized.

 

[KTuner]

Good start.

If you stopped recording or shut the vehicle off while it was still connected it would have saved. If you unplugged it before doing either of those things, not likely.

 

[gtman]

Yeah, you know what? I was recording for the whole 30 minute drive but I think I might have unplugged the unit after I stopped the car but the engine might have still been running.

On another note, I got Tunerview Lite hooked up to my head unit and it's fantastic. Kinda makes the Hondata app look about 200 years old.

With the reduced lag from the 21psi dual tune I uploaded the car almost feels "a bit more normally aspirated" if that makes sense. No more of the "wait for it" power that I sometimes got at part throttle with the "other tuner".

 

[Tahjo7]

I too have gotten faster responses from Ktuner via email, it was great seeing a response to my emails at 3am sometimes lol

 

[KTuner]

Yeah, you know what? I was recording for the whole 30 minute drive but I think I might have unplugged the unit after I stopped the car but the engine might have still been running.

On another note, I got Tunerview Lite hooked up to my head unit and it's fantastic. Kinda makes the Hondata app look about 200 years old.

With the reduced lag from the 21psi dual tune I uploaded the car almost feels "a bit more normally aspirated" if that makes sense. No more of the "wait for it" power that I sometimes got at part throttle with the "other tuner".

Ahh, ya. The unit needs to close the file in order for it to be valid. Definitely key off and let the red dot stop blinking or choose stop recording before unplugging!

Glad you're liking the app! It really is the perfect companion for the unit.

Definitely makes sense. With the turbo responsiveness settings it comes alive even easier when cruising at part throttle vs factory settings there.

 

[gtman]

Just got back from some very aggressive driving (don't try that at home lol). Here are my observations after driving the car hard with the 21psi tune with some conservative quick adjustments:

For the most part, the car does feel a bit more powerful than the base +6 Hondata tune I was running. It is close to what I had when I made my custom +7.5 tune. Very good for just starting out of the box. The quicker ramp at high throttle is definitely noticeable. And the throttle response is very good. It also seems quicker to hit 100 by a small bit. The only thing I found to be a "negative" (for lack of better words) is a slight "dead spot" I found. Here's the best way I can describe it. The entrance to my street is a left hand turn up a hill. With my other tune I blip the throttle going up the hill (going from may 15mph to 30mph) and she zoomed. Doing the same exact move with my Ktuner tune it just felt flat. I don't know if it's one of the settings I'm using or what.

I also am curious to know if the base Stage 2 tune might be a bit more aggressive than my current setup which is:

Throttle Responsiveness: Improved I
Turbo Spool: Improved I
Turbo Responsiveness: Improved II
Ramp Rate: Improved II

Overall though, including the Tunerview app, this is a great product with excellent support.

 

[gtman]

Here's an on the fly setup I did with BBG in 1st and 2nd. Basically tune 1 is the most aggressive. Tune 2 a bit less and tune 3 is really conservative. Still not sure if I need BBG since I almost never go full throttle off the line.

What do you guys think? Do I need BBG? Would BBG be smoother with or without ramp?

 

[KTuner]

Flatter as in power delivery or flatter as in less power? I ask because you think the tune overall is faster, so it would also be faster in the scenario you mentioned in reality. How it feels may differ because of how the torque curve is handled.

BBG comes in really handy if you're breaking loose at all. If you're running into that scenario I'd at least try it out to see what you think.

 

[dallasjhawk]

@gtman it appears everything I told about the difference is coming to fruition. keep tweaking on those quick adjustments till you find what is best for you. You may be feeling "flat" because the tq has come on quicker than the hondata so you dont feel that push of later tq from the hondata maybe? As Ktuner said, always "stop" the datalog before you shut off the car. It will then for sure be saved to the v2. Glad you are enjoying it so far

 

[andyboyd102]

@gtman I also made the switch a while back, I couldn't be happier with my decision. @KTuner has the best price, best options, and best customer support compared to your other choices on the market. Welcome to the KTuner family!!

 

[gtman]

I did the 3 on the fly tunes and it's awesome. I've got the aggressive 21 psi tune 1, the 19psi middle tune and tune 3 is a 16psi commuter tune. Press the ECON button and I've got even more tunes. I also went ahead and did BBG in first using the 16psi w/ramp setting. Stock tires still spun a bit when I mashed it. Definitely need to put on those Nokian Zline A/S UHP tires I have sitting in the basement.

Also a big shout out to Mr. Ktuner himself (JR) because his knowledge and customer service is fantastic.
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[gtman]

I did a datalog and all the numbers look good. Did some WOT runs and saw it hit a bit over 22psi on tune 1.

 

[gtman]

This morning was nice and brisk and a good opportunity to test out the latest on the fly setup. Basically I'm using dallasjhawk's quick adjustments minus the BBG in first. I really don't mash the throttle from a start, so for my driving style I think without BBG should be OK. I also reversed his setup so tune 1 is 16psi, tune 2 is 18psi and 3 is the maxed out on quick adjustments/21psi tune.

This setup seems just about perfect. For most of my commuting the mild tune 1 is gonna be OK I think. The middle 18 tune is a nice upgrade from time to time. And the 21 maxed out tune is really balls to the wall. I'm very happy with this setup. The only thing for sure is I gotta change out my stock Firestones. Not only do they have mediocre grip on takeoff and corners, at very high speeds they're kind of squirmy. I have the better tires in my basement, it's just hard for me to justify swapping them out with less than 10,000 miles on the tread. Anyone in MD need a set of 4 lightly used Firestone FT140's? I also need to add that Si rear bar I have... if only I could find a trusted installer.

So, overall the KTuner tune is excellent. The only negative is it shows the weakness in the sedan's stock suspension when the car is pushed hard. After driving 6 months with Hondata's +6 and then my +7.5 tune, the Flashpro tune never produced quite the power the Ktuner does.

On another note, I set up an LED to flash red when my IAT's get too hot. I really wanted to set up something like that but with knock control but that doesn't seem to be an option. KTuner, any chance of adding knock control to the LED choices?

 

[andyboyd102]

This morning was nice and brisk and a good opportunity to test out the latest on the fly setup. Basically I'm using dallasjhawk's quick adjustments minus the BBG in first. I really don't mash the throttle from a start, so for my driving style I think without BBG should be OK. I also reversed his setup so tune 1 is 16psi, tune 2 is 18psi and 3 is the maxed out on quick adjustments/21psi tune.

This setup seems just about perfect. For most of my commuting the mild tune 1 is gonna be OK I think. The middle 18 tune is a nice upgrade from time to time. And the 21 maxed out tune is really balls to the wall. I'm very happy with this setup. The only thing for sure is I gotta change out my stock Firestones. Not only do they have mediocre grip on takeoff and corners, at very high speeds they're kind of squirmy. I have the better tires in my basement, it's just hard for me to justify swapping them out with less than 10,000 miles on the tread. Anyone in MD need a set of 4 lightly used Firestone FT140's? I also need to add that Si rear bar I have... if only I could find a trusted installer.

So, overall the KTuner tune is excellent. The only negative is it shows the weakness in the sedan's stock suspension when the car is pushed hard. After driving 6 months with Hondata's +6 and then my +7.5 tune, the Flashpro tune never produced quite the power the Ktuner does.

On another note, I set up an LED to flash red when my IAT's get too hot. I really wanted to set up something like that but with knock control but that doesn't seem to be an option. KTuner, any chance of adding knock control to the LED choices?

With the tunerview app you can set up a high limit and low limit alarm with a custom color for any gauge display

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