My KTuner experience - an ongoing journal

[arnoldo]

That will heatsoak any intercooler, once you move for a while an upgraded intercooler will be much better than stock helping the turbo to make consistent performance.

I agree. The climate alone will heatsoak any intercooler and the traffic condition will worsen engine & turbo temperature, even without tuning. I'm currently looking for size reference and intercooler design reference to get custom intercooler made by local workshop that own racing team.

Purchasing trusted brand intercooler from PRL Motorsport in the country is very expensive as the intercooler with piping will net me a USD 2,200. Importing by myself will only save me USD 200-300. Thus, total cost for intercooler plus KTuner will be USD 3,043 (KTuner cost about USD 843). Therefore, importing from US is not an option.

I'm browsing Civic X forum at the moment to find intercooler design reference.

I might also need to upgrade the radiator but I will need to observe this after intercooler upgrade.

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[Rob2112]

The Stage tunes have no on the fly capability and no quick adjustments. They are basically simple locked down tunes. KTuner calls them "legacy" tunes. The user quick adjustments on the Starter tunes like the Starter dual 21 allow you to far surpass the base Stage tunes.

The TSP tune is sent by email and is specific to your ECU software and your tuning devices serial number. I assume that's how they prevent pirating.

1) Factory tune with some aspects of stock eco (reduced a/c output for example) but with the improved throttle quick adjustments of KTuner mixed in.

2) It's switching between tune 1/2/3 on the quick adjustments page. You then upload that to the KTuner and then the ECU. In turn, those 3 tunes are switchable on the fly with the CC buttons.

3) All the quick adjustments and ramp settings are safe EXCEPT for disabling the boost ramp. That would wreak havoc with your CVT.

Hope that helps.

Gt-man
I've enjoyed your documentation on the ktuner.
Just got my ktuner this past Sunday, I really enjoyed the stage-1 for starters.
I have a MT, I don't know if anyone is posting with a MT with the configurations that you have been testing.
Being new to tunes I'm curious if one can copy the maps from stage- 0/1/2 and paste it to the Dual Starter 21.
What would the setup look like ?
Any further details or direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance Robert

 

[gtman]

Gt-man
I've enjoyed your documentation on the ktuner.
Just got my ktuner this past Sunday, I really enjoyed the stage-1 for starters.
I have a MT, I don't know if anyone is posting with a MT with the configurations that you have been testing.
Being new to tunes I'm curious if one can copy the maps from stage- 0/1/2 and paste it to the Dual Starter 21.
What would the setup look like ?
Any further details or direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance Robert

Keep in mind the Stage tunes are pretty much locked and the tables are hidden so there is no real copy and pasting of those to the starter maps.

In term of manual versus CVT and quick adjustments, they would be similar. Just tell me what you are looking for in terms of a different feel compared to the staged tunes and I'll be glad to guide you.

As an aside, don't forget to add your car to the CivicX tuning survey:

https://www.civicx.com/threads/tune...nce-survey-si-non-si-type-r-with-stats.42361/

 

[Rob2112]

Keep in mind the Stage tunes are pretty much locked and the tables are hidden so there is no real copy and pasting of those to the starter maps.

In term of manual versus CVT and quick adjustments, they would be similar. Just tell me what you are looking for in terms of a different feel compared to the staged tunes and I'll be glad to guide you.

As an aside, don't forget to add your car to the CivicX tuning survey:

https://www.civicx.com/threads/tune...nce-survey-si-non-si-type-r-with-stats.42361/

Thanks !!
I haven't had time to try the other two but I really enjoyed the stage-1 for around town but notice lack of full power thrill on the highway.
A Tune for commuting, set up a little better than stock would be economical.
I tried the Dual starter 21 and my setup was lacking in the thrill, boost area of 18 and 21.
Once again any help would be most appreciated !
I'm just entry level...lol.
Thanks again.

 

[gtman]

For a dual tune, set the eco tune to be around 16 psi and the normal non-eco at 21 psi.

The low end versus top end balance can be changed with the quick adjustments and enables. Things like early spool and aggressive throttle and turbo response settings will give you a snappy feel around town but the highway oomph will feel a bit less urgent. Not using early spool and using less aggressive throttle settings will give more balance.

Another option is the TSP Stage 1. It is a little soft down low but the highway oomph is amazing.

 

[Rob2112]

For a dual tune, set the eco tune to be around 16 psi and the normal non-eco at 21 psi.

The low end versus top end balance can be changed with the quick adjustments and enables. Things like early spool and aggressive throttle and turbo response settings will give you a snappy feel around town but the highway oomph will feel a bit less urgent. Not using early spool and using less aggressive throttle settings will give more balance.

Another option is the TSP Stage 1. It is a little soft down low but the highway oomph is amazing.

I'll give this a try, thanks again.
I'm also considering just copying one of your postings and give that a run for the money...oomph

 

[n0chance]

I have been driving with ktuner starter 21 dual tune usually on conservative/moderate settings with early turbo spool. Colder winter temperature have come here in New Jersey (20F/-6.6C to 40F/4.4C). Had a few questions come to mind now.

1. Do I have to be concerned about how I drive/warm up the car in the AM? I was worried about if tuning/early turbo spool creates issues with oil dilution. I usually turn my car on for 10 minutes and then drive like a granny until the temp gauge goes up, and don’t really hit the throttle on my 20 minute morning commutes anymore.

2. Do you (has anyone) turn off your tune in the winter and if so why?

3. Do you (has anyone) turn off early turbo spool and why? Does it give you better performance at higher speeds? I will be giving this a try soon.

4. I get free oil changes at the dealership (when the maintenance light goes on). Should I be getting more frequent oil changes?

Thanks!

 

[gtman]

1. Just do what you're doing. Drive it conservatively while it's warming up and let it get to normal operating temps before turning it off. I wouldn't worry about dilution much if you do that.

2. I keep my tune year round. To me there's no reason not to. Remember, your foot basically controls everything.

3. I kind of think early spool skews the balance a bit. The car feels snappy at the low and midrange but maybe tails off a bit more up top especially when combined with aggressive throttle and part throttle turbo response settings.

4. Some people with tunes change oil more frequently. Personally, I just change it at 15-20% on the MM.

 

[Civics4Ever]

I keep my tune year round. To me there's no reason not to. Remember, your foot basically controls everything.

Only reason is price of premium vs. Regular.

 

[n0chance]

gtman, civics4ever, thanks for the replies.

Do you know if every time you flash the car with ktuner, if that resets the 'change oil % indicator' back to 100%?

I have about ~12k miles on my car and it is showing 90%, but honestly I don't remember what it was before I flashed it a few months ago at around 10k miles.I only changed my oil once so far, maybe between 8k and 10k miles.

I'm not sure if my honda dealership will honor my free oil changes if that indicator is not showing an oil change is needed (i.e. <20%)

 

[xjoshuax89]

gtman, civics4ever, thanks for the replies.

Do you know if every time you flash the car with ktuner, if that resets the 'change oil % indicator' back to 100%?

I have about ~12k miles on my car and it is showing 90%, but honestly I don't remember what it was before I flashed it a few months ago at around 10k miles.I only changed my oil once so far, maybe between 8k and 10k miles.

I'm not sure if my honda dealership will honor my free oil changes if that indicator is not showing an oil change is needed (i.e. <20%)

No it doesnt reset your oil %.

 

[Jeezer]

Reflashing did reset my oil life reading on my 2019 EX. Not sure about everyone else but it resets mine every time. I plan to just tell them that I accidentally reset it myself when I was messing around with stuff.

 

[gtman]

Reflashing did reset my oil life reading on my 2019 EX. Not sure about everyone else but it resets mine every time. I plan to just tell them that I accidentally reset it myself when I was messing around with stuff.

Not sure why it would do that. I've done dozens of reflashes on both Hondata and Ktuner and my MM was never affected.

 

[battledog]

Still trying to figure out the best placement and mount for the KTuner. Trying to avoid the windshield. And I am not super happy about blocking the vents.

 

[calvin13386]

Gt-man
I've enjoyed your documentation on the ktuner.
Just got my ktuner this past Sunday, I really enjoyed the stage-1 for starters.
I have a MT, I don't know if anyone is posting with a MT with the configurations that you have been testing.
Being new to tunes I'm curious if one can copy the maps from stage- 0/1/2 and paste it to the Dual Starter 21.
What would the setup look like ?
Any further details or direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance Robert

Yes you can. Meaning to say you can do a dual 21 with eco on as stage 1 and eco off as stage 2.

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