New to Mods

First Name
Jonathan
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring
Vehicle Showcase
1
I’ve had my 2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring for about 6/7 months already and I think it’s finally time for some mods. I’m thinking about just focusing on performance mods and worrying about how it looks later. I’ve already been looking around for a cold air intake, intercooler, front pipe / down pipe, a ecu tuner, a blow off valve and maybe a bigger turbo upgrade down the road. Anyone know what to start off with? Or any advice to give? Which mod brands are best? Also will any of the mods I’m planning on getting put a strain on the cvt?
Sponsored

 

Jonmd89

Senior Member
First Name
Jon
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Threads
16
Messages
271
Reaction score
143
Location
Florida
Vehicle(s)
2019 civic si
Country flag
From what the general consensus is from my understanding is a bigger turbo is a no go for the cvt just because of how much torque it can handle, I’d start off with getting a KTuner as that’s the best bang for your buck and then the others kind of really depend on your end game, the cvts are much more limited then the manual though
 

ocbooger

Senior Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Oct 6, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
188
Reaction score
269
Location
Griffith, IN
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring Hatchback
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
I'd start with KTuner, you'll get the most value out of it right away. I have 18 Sport Touring as well and have been sticking with PRL for the most part. I went Ktuner, PRL Cobra CAI (Street) just recently upgraded to Race MAF and will be ordering the PRL FP/DP within the next month.
Intercooler isn't a must unless you plan on taking it to the track. Stay away from BOV's, bad news.
I have a list of what I've done to mine if you want to take a look in my garage. Maybe give you some ideas
 

MrMonkey

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
21
Reaction score
10
Location
SoCal
Vehicle(s)
Civic Hatchback Sport
Country flag
I’ve had my 2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring for about 6/7 months already and I think it’s finally time for some mods. I’m thinking about just focusing on performance mods and worrying about how it looks later. I’ve already been looking around for a cold air intake, intercooler, front pipe / down pipe, a ecu tuner, a blow off valve and maybe a bigger turbo upgrade down the road. Anyone know what to start off with? Or any advice to give? Which mod brands are best? Also will any of the mods I’m planning on getting put a strain on the cvt?
You definitely want to stay away from any aftermarket BOV. It will hurt your engine. If you really want that pssshhh sound, just get an intake & you'll hear your turbo spool & the psssshh sound you want. PRL is the most popular intake for 10th gen Civic. I just ordered mine a couple days ago. I went with a Stage 1 PRL cause it maintains the stock air box & I'm cheap LOL! cause it only cost $89. My next mod will be Ktuner & from what I'm hearing KTuner has the best tunes for CVT.
 
OP
OP
johnny_4hunnid
First Name
Jonathan
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring
Vehicle Showcase
1
You definitely want to stay away from any aftermarket BOV. It will hurt your engine. If you really want that pssshhh sound, just get an intake & you'll hear your turbo spool & the psssshh sound you want. PRL is the most popular intake for 10th gen Civic. I just ordered mine a couple days ago. I went with a Stage 1 PRL cause it maintains the stock air box & I'm cheap LOL! cause it only cost $89. My next mod will be Ktuner & from what I'm hearing KTuner has the best tunes for CVT.
Is there any difference between the KTuner V1.2 and the V2 besides the touch screen display? I don’t really care for the touch screen. And does KTuner also have default tunes like on the Hondata?
 


Green82

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2017
Threads
51
Messages
848
Reaction score
292
Location
Oklahoma
Vehicle(s)
2019 Type R
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Is there any difference between the KTuner V1.2 and the V2 besides the touch screen display? I don’t really care for the touch screen. And does KTuner also have default tunes like on the Hondata?
the V1.2 you will need a laptop to tune the car the V2 you download the tunes to the ktuner from a pc and can install on the car from the device.
with Ktuner you have default tunes from their software plus can change anything you want on it.

and for my mods so far i went Ktuner V2 and 27Won Cai because i didnt want my airfilter sitting the the bottom of my fender
 

NoKz

Speed Limit Tester
Joined
Jul 23, 2018
Threads
28
Messages
842
Reaction score
1,110
Location
SoCal
Vehicle(s)
'18 Si Coupe (Sold 12/2021)
Vehicle Showcase
3
Country flag
You'll want these mods in this order:
  1. KTuner - If you have a laptop, get the v1.2 and save some money. It has OTS (Off-The-Shelf) tunes like Hondata that you can use for your vehicle. You can always root your head-unit to have it show the data on the screen with TunerView Lite. This will hands down be the best performance upgrade you can get for your vehicle.

  2. PRL Cobra Cold Air Intake - The intake has 2 configurations, Street MAF or Race MAF. The Race MAF requires additional tuning. So heads up. Aside from that, this will give you the turbo "pssshhhh" sound you desire and will give you a couple extra HP. It's well worth the money.

  3. Downpipe & Frontpipe Combo - There's a variety of combos available out there to choose from. (PRL/27Won/RV6). You can get catted or catless, each with a small variation in power. You will need a tuner (KTuner/Hondata) to remove the O2 sensor error you will inevitably get.

  4. Intercooler - A solid upgrade that's not "A Must" but definitely an improvement. PRL's FMIC is the most popular in the X-Gen community for now. However, 27Won is coming out with theirs soon and I'm personally holding out for it.
Turbo Upgrade: If you want to upgrade the turbo, you're going to have to build the bottom end. New rods and pistons as the rods in the Sport cannot handle the additional torque. There's guys who've bent rods with just a custom tune. So you can absolutely upgrade the turbo, but I recommend new rods at the very least.

STAY AWAY FROM BLOW OFF VALVES (BOV)!

Our cars were not meant for a blow off valve. Here's an explanation why. Like stated above, if you want the "pssshhhh" sound, get a CAI.

All-in-all, with the top 4 I recommended, you'll be pretty happy with the performance increase. Hope this helps! :headbang:

 
OP
OP
johnny_4hunnid
First Name
Jonathan
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring
Vehicle Showcase
1
You'll want these mods in this order:
  1. KTuner - If you have a laptop, get the v1.2 and save some money. It has OTS (Off-The-Shelf) tunes like Hondata that you can use for your vehicle. You can always root your head-unit to have it show the data on the screen with TunerView Lite. This will hands down be the best performance upgrade you can get for your vehicle.

  2. PRL Cobra Cold Air Intake - The intake has 2 configurations, Street MAF or Race MAF. The Race MAF requires additional tuning. So heads up. Aside from that, this will give you the turbo "pssshhhh" sound you desire and will give you a couple extra HP. It's well worth the money.

  3. Downpipe & Frontpipe Combo - There's a variety of combos available out there to choose from. (PRL/27Won/RV6). You can get catted or catless, each with a small variation in power. You will need a tuner (KTuner/Hondata) to remove the O2 sensor error you will inevitably get.

  4. Intercooler - A solid upgrade that's not "A Must" but definitely an improvement. PRL's FMIC is the most popular in the X-Gen community for now. However, 27Won is coming out with theirs soon and I'm personally holding out for it.
Turbo Upgrade: If you want to upgrade the turbo, you're going to have to build the bottom end. New rods and pistons as the rods in the Sport cannot handle the additional torque. There's guys who've bent rods with just a custom tune. So you can absolutely upgrade the turbo, but I recommend new rods at the very least.

STAY AWAY FROM BLOW OFF VALVES (BOV)!

Our cars were not meant for a blow off valve. Here's an explanation why. Like stated above, if you want the "pssshhhh" sound, get a CAI.

All-in-all, with the top 4 I recommended, you'll be pretty happy with the performance increase. Hope this helps! :headbang:
Thank you! I was actually thinking about going in this order! But I was reading that TunerView wasn’t working on 2018 head units only on 2017 models? Can you confirm? Also, which would be the best tune after getting the KTuner, i would want to feel the difference but without adding a lot of strain to the car and not taking any longetivity away? And would I have to keep using different tunes after adding the CAI and Downpipe / Front Pipe combo?
 

KTuner

Elite Sponsor
First Name
J.R.
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Threads
30
Messages
2,792
Reaction score
3,423
Location
Chandler, Arizona
Website
www.KTuner.com
Vehicle(s)
2017 Si
Country flag

NoKz

Speed Limit Tester
Joined
Jul 23, 2018
Threads
28
Messages
842
Reaction score
1,110
Location
SoCal
Vehicle(s)
'18 Si Coupe (Sold 12/2021)
Vehicle Showcase
3
Country flag
Thank you! I was actually thinking about going in this order! But I was reading that TunerView wasn’t working on 2018 head units only on 2017 models? Can you confirm? Also, which would be the best tune after getting the KTuner, i would want to feel the difference but without adding a lot of strain to the car and not taking any longetivity away? And would I have to keep using different tunes after adding the CAI and Downpipe / Front Pipe combo?
I can confirm it runs on a 2018 as mine is a 2018. Here's how I did it.

Honda Civic 10th gen New to Mods PAppU9Zl


As for the tune, you can run any of the OTS tunes in KTuner and be fine. You will not need to update the tune every time you add a mod.
 


ocbooger

Senior Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Oct 6, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
188
Reaction score
269
Location
Griffith, IN
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring Hatchback
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Is there any difference between the KTuner V1.2 and the V2 besides the touch screen display? I don’t really care for the touch screen. And does KTuner also have default tunes like on the Hondata?
1.2 requires a laptop to flash a tune where V2 does not. KTtuner does have a few basemaps you can run right out of the box. I'm using the dual tune that has 21psi and stock with econ mode enabled. No issues so far, really wakes the car up.
 

Vic_L

Senior Member
First Name
Victor
Joined
Jan 21, 2019
Threads
4
Messages
257
Reaction score
114
Location
British Columbia, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport
Country flag
I remember Hondata did some testing with the CVT transmissions.
They were able to push ~250 (?) torque, and they noticed scoring CVT belt / slipping.
You'd be safe with the included basemaps on either KTuner or Hondata.

With the above reason, I would not recommend that you get a larger turbo.
Well, something like swapping the Civic Si turbo in should be okay.

Blow of valve, like many have already said, would pass.

The plan with my CVT Sport hatch
  • KTuner [already done; maybe tweak/customize the 21/stock basemap on my own a bit]
  • Tires + wheels in the spring (been eye a set of white Enkei PF07's for a while now...small upsize to 18x8.5 with 245 or 255 tires)
  • Cold air in-take
  • DP / FP if necessary (or do the CAI + DP + FP altogether)
  • Intercooler if necessary (stock is pretty small) -- doubt it
 

KTuner

Elite Sponsor
First Name
J.R.
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Threads
30
Messages
2,792
Reaction score
3,423
Location
Chandler, Arizona
Website
www.KTuner.com
Vehicle(s)
2017 Si
Country flag
V1.2 does not need a laptop to flash. It needs a laptop to initially lock to the vehicle and can use a desktop to upload tunes to the five tune storage slots while using the TunerView app to select and flash those tunes after it has been setup.
 

Myx

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Threads
79
Messages
2,166
Reaction score
2,042
Location
Delaware
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic EX (Hatchback/CVT)
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Along with the above mods, you can also install lighter wheels/tires. I'm mentioning this as it is an option. I have lighter wheels and tires than stock. My wheels are also slightly smaller in diameter (7% to be exact) so my speedometer is off by 7%.. Not recommending this but I do this on all my cars. This is my 'cheater' way of freeing up an extra 7% more hp/tq to the wheels without having to add more hp/tq to the engine.
 

OceansX

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2018
Threads
17
Messages
250
Reaction score
76
Location
Brampton
Vehicle(s)
2017 civic hatchback sport touring
Country flag
I'd start with KTuner, you'll get the most value out of it right away. I have 18 Sport Touring as well and have been sticking with PRL for the most part. I went Ktuner, PRL Cobra CAI (Street) just recently upgraded to Race MAF and will be ordering the PRL FP/DP within the next month.
Intercooler isn't a must unless you plan on taking it to the track. Stay away from BOV's, bad news.
I have a list of what I've done to mine if you want to take a look in my garage. Maybe give you some ideas
I'm thinking about getting a PRL SRI with a race maf, did you have to retune it afterwards with your ktuner? is there a calibration for this built in already?
Sponsored

 


 


Top