My KTuner experience - an ongoing journal

[Dudemac333]

Thanks for all the info in this thread @gtman . It’s given me the confidence to mess around with the quick adjustments. Just started driving tuned a couple of days ago but once I get some mileage on the tune I’ll be sure to post in the reliability survey. ?

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[gtman]

A lot of people ask how tuning effects gas mileage and I always say it's about your right foot. Well, I have two recent real world examples that back that up. Both took place on the same roads on my going home commute.

Commute 1 - If you read my highway excitement thread you know I was really putting my foot into it. I got a whopping 20 mpg for that drive.

Commute 2 - Same route, same tune (TSP Stage 1 Map 2) but only driving 65 -70 mph. I got an impressive 46 mpg which even included one short burst of power.

Bottom line, if driven gently, stock like numbers. Push it hard into boost and mileage will be noticeably lower than stock.

 

[piterek]

Nobody delete this thread or I will break into tears! Thanks @gtman for this journal. After a rookie false start , I uploaded the base 21psi map into my hatch with only one edit... rev hang delete. Pulls pretty eager. Will be tweaking things from here on... and of course the TSP tune is being cooked in the meantime.

 

[piterek]

Well... uploaded the TSP file into the hatchback and... going back to KTuner Stage 2 (21psi). The TSP tune feels noticeably smoother, but is lacking that lower end oomph that I just can't let go.

One thing I can't quite figure out with the KTuner three OTF tune settings ... they all feel almost the same. Where do they differ?

 

[Tanuktun]

Well... uploaded the TSP file into the hatchback and... going back to KTuner Stage 2 (21psi). The TSP tune feels noticeably smoother, but is lacking that lower end oomph that I just can't let go.

One thing I can't quite figure out with the KTuner three OTF tune settings ... they all feel almost the same. Where do they differ?

Are you making any changes to them?

And I felt the same way but I switched back to tsp because I like having that top end for the highway, you get use to having to put your foot into it a little more in the bottom end.

 

[piterek]

Are you making any changes to them?

And I felt the same way but I switched back to tsp because I like having that top end for the highway, you get use to having to put your foot into it a little more in the bottom end.

This is a Stage 2 canned tune, so it's mostly locked, save for rev hang and boost by gear. Will experiment with starter tunes at some point, but for now it's set and forget.

You may be right... I might have to just reprogram my foot.

 

[Tanuktun]

Oh, i misunderstood. Yes if you're doing those tunes then I believe all 3 are the same. You have to do either the dual stage or starter maps for any of the presets to make a difference.

That's my other complaint about tsp is I don't want to leave my 600 dollar unit in the car all the time for it to start in map 3.

 

[piterek]

I don't want to leave my 600 dollar unit in the car all the time for it to start in map 3.

I read on here that TSP can send you a file with a custom tune order... might cost a few bucks though. I only have the one tune... so it's either that or ECON (factory).

 

[Tanuktun]

I read on here that TSP can send you a file with a custom tune order... might cost a few bucks though. I only have the one tune... so it's either that or ECON (factory).

I read that too and have talked to multiple people via email, last I was told is they're busy, try back in about a month, so I'm waiting.

 

[KTuner]

If you're building a tune and want to map switch, use a Starter 21 instead of Stage 2 to start with.

 

[gtman]

Well... uploaded the TSP file into the hatchback and... going back to KTuner Stage 2 (21psi). The TSP tune feels noticeably smoother, but is lacking that lower end oomph that I just can't let go.

This is something I've mentioned many times in my TSP tune thread. It boils down to how and where you drive.

For me, after going back and forth, I chose the TSP 1 and have been using it well over a year. I love the high speed highway oomph that the KTuner tunes can't match. But no doubt the TSP tune feels weaker down low (but smoother).

Here's hoping some tuner designs a tune that combines the best of TSP and KTuner. Phearable is working on a tune and I have hope that it will be fantastic like their Si version.

 

[Gotch]

Phearable tune on Si is pretty amazing. Keep bugging them for non-Si tune!

 

[piterek]

I love the high speed highway oomph that the KTuner tunes can't match.

Have to admit that I might not have given TSP tune the full workout yet, but my first impression in city driving was... meh.

My litmus test is a rural 2 lane road where I have to do a lot of quick passing (transports, one or two at a time etc.). I gave the car a workout today (800km in 34C heat between Toronto and Ottawa... yup, there and back) and found the KTuner Stage 2 pretty ballsy. It appeared at times to run out of steam a bit, forcing a gear change, but overall not too shabby.

 

[gtman]

Have to admit that I might not have given TSP tune the full workout yet, but my first impression in city driving was... meh.

My litmus test is a rural 2 lane road where I have to do a lot of quick passing (transports, one or two at a time etc.). I gave the car a workout today (800km in 34C heat between Toronto and Ottawa... yup, there and back) and found the KTuner Stage 2 pretty ballsy. It appeared at times to run out of steam a bit, forcing a gear change, but overall not too shabby.

I depends a lot on the roads and situation you drive in as far as preferring KTuner vs. TSP. I drive 60% highway, 40% city, so I was torn a bit.

With KTuner, the throttle response all seems to be in the first 2/3 of throttle, so it's super responsive at lower speeds like in the city/rural. But that early spool/aggressive throttle seems to cause it to run out of a bit of steam on high speed passing moves.

The TSP throttle buildup is more linear. It's not that it's really slower at low speeds, it just takes a deeper stab of the throttle to get into the power. And if you're use to the KTuner feel it takes some getting used to. On the highway though, passing power seems a bit more abundant than KTuner, so that was what won me over.

 

[gtman]

I've been working on a new Ktuner tune setup that isn't quite as aggressive as some I've used in the past (includes the new artificial knock removal). I kind of like the feel of the OTS tunes where power builds up a bit more gradually. It's probably better for the CVT, too. And hopefully it won't feel as fizzled out as my previous aggressive tunes felt at high rpm.

Anyway, for anyone interested here's what I'm going with:

For starters, I set the warm normal idle numbers to 750 rpm:

Here are the quick enables I'm using:

BBG at 18 PSI in "1st":

All the quick adjustment settings I'm using. 16/19/22 PSI. Factory map when pressing the Econ button in all three maps. If you're wondering how I got 22 PSI on Map 3, I opened the boost table and just changed all the 21 PSI numbers to 22 PSI above 4000 rpm: