Performance mods that won't shorten longevity of engine

[MarkSi]

Here's the thing. It's really a question of what you're after. For example, the combo of a CAI and exhaust. You're mostly getting sound with this and maybe a touch more power/throttle response. For the same price (or less) a KTuner or Flashpro will give your car a big bump in power and driveability and the base tunes have proven safe.

The thing with the tuning especially with KTuner is how easy it is to tweak settings and how many cool features you get. It's not just the basics like removing rev hang or the speed limiter or upping boost. You can tweak turbo and throttle response, have boost by gear, improve on the stock VSA system and a lot more. You can even have multiple tune maps with different psi all switchable with the cc buttons (KTuner).

No single performance mod comes close. As far as engine longevity, too early to tell. I mean sure there has to be some additional wear and tear. But, we have people here with over 80,000 tuned miles with no issues. Honda's stock tune is ultra conservative and if you want a real bump in power, a tune is the way to go.

You don't even have to add more boost to get better performance. Just by removing rev hang and maybe tweaking throttle response and turbo ramp, the car will drive noticeably better.

On the other hand, the Si is a great car right out of the box, no doubt. If you want to play if 100% safe, just keep the powertrain stock and stick to cosmetic and suspension mods.

Awesome! Thanks. I knew tuners were the way to go but I didn't realize the potential customization you can get out of them. As long as I'm not pushing the engine to the point that it's going to fail in half the time it would have without any mods then I'm happy. I will probably get the tuner in the next month

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[Seth_FC3]

Awesome! Thanks. I knew tuners were the way to go but I didn't realize the potential customization you can get out of them. As long as I'm not pushing the engine to the point that it's going to fail in half the time it would have without any mods then I'm happy. I will probably get the tuner in the next month

Since you said in your original post you wanted to go with Hondata, I thought I'd chime in as well lol. Hondata is also very good. I've had my car tuned since about the 3rd month of owning the car. A friend and I adjusted my boost lvls n such so I wouldn't slip my clutch. I'm pushing 25psi on the car, but we minimized the amount of boost/torque under 3k rpm so it wouldn't slip. If you've never tuned a car before I'd suggest doing some research on other peoples tunes and kinda base yours off that.. But also, you can use their base +6psi or +9psi. I'm using the +9psi with our tweaking.. Just keep in mind not every engine is the same. Some may hold 300+ hp/trq, and others blow before even reaching that. I don't mean to scare you off lol, just be safe with the tune and don't push the car more than it can handle. Good luck OP

 

[JT Si]

Hey thanks for the in-depth reply. I'm taking everything into consideration, however I am fairly certain the cold air intake, exhaust, and shifter are on my list now.

The real answer is get all the mods.

For reals though. If you get an intake make sure to get something from PRL or 27Won. They are the safest and most well designed options on the market. No gimmicks, no cut corners, no fuel trim issues.

 

[redcivic19x]

The real answer is get all the mods.

 

[gtman]

The real answer is get all the mods.

Sounds good on paper but you can't just do full bolt ons using a base map and expect great results. You need a custom tune to do it right.

All that is a big investment. That's why I mentioned a base tune as the best single performance mod to start out.

 

[PdxJose]

I’m sorry if this seems like I’m hijacking this thread but since we’re discussing Ktuner benefits and what not. I see you guys talking about the base map that comes preloaded on, does that tune work fine with all stock internals? No need to upgrade clutch? Inter cooler? Etc... I really want Ktuner because I hear of the instant benefits but I don’t plan to do much else than add an exhaust, CAI, and some suspension mods. Thanks for anyone’s input on this

 

[redcivic19x]

I’m sorry if this seems like I’m hijacking this thread but since we’re discussing Ktuner benefits and what not. I see you guys talking about the base map that comes preloaded on, does that tune work fine with all stock internals? No need to upgrade clutch? Inter cooler? Etc... I really want Ktuner because I hear of the instant benefits but I don’t plan to do much else than add an exhaust, CAI, and some suspension mods. Thanks for anyone’s input on this

I ran tsp stage 1 tune for 6k miles before I upgraded the turbo with no issues and no clutch slippage. I believe the base maps are even more conservative than the TSP tunes, so I think you’ll be fine.

 

[gtman]

The base tunes were designed on a stock setup and have proven very reliable. You certainly can upgrade your clutch and intercooler but they aren't mandatory by any means. Feel free to check out my tuning reliability survey.

 

[PdxJose]

I ran tsp stage 1 tune for 6k miles before I upgraded the turbo with no issues and no clutch slippage. I believe the base maps are even more conservative than the TSP tunes, so I think you’ll be fine.

Cool, good to know! Thanks!

 

[PdxJose]

The base tunes were designed on a stock setup and have proven very reliable. You certainly can upgrade your clutch and intercooler but they aren't mandatory by any means. Feel free to check out my tuning reliability survey.

Thanks for your input! I’ll check the survey out, I didn’t know it was a thing lol. That’s awesome though

 

[gtman]

Thanks for your input! I’ll check the survey out, I didn’t know it was a thing lol. That’s awesome though

Yep, it's a thing and I think a valuable one for the community. I just wish more tuned CivicX'ers would contribute but I appreciate everyone who's added a survey.

 

[PdxJose]

Yep, it's a thing and I think a valuable one for the community. I just wish more tuned CivicX'ers would contribute but I appreciate everyone who's added a survey.

I agree with you, it is valuable. This website alone is super helpful for me. My 2020 Si is my first turbo’d car that I actually want to modify performance and cosmetic wise and i’ve learned so much on here. I wasn’t too sure about owning a Civic because there are a lot of people that give it a bad rep but so far the community has been great. Awesome car too, for the price you get a lot imo. Of course there are things I would change about it but there is no perfect car. I come from a 2007 Toyota corolla that was automatic. The technology and performance difference is huge Lol. I almost bought a WRX instead of the Si, I test drove both and I don’t regret my decision one bit.

 

[MarkSi]

I almost bought a WRX instead of the Si, I test drove both and I don’t regret my decision one bit.

That's crazy you said you were about to buy a WRX. Before I got my 2020 Si, I literally had a down payment on a WRX . . . wonder how many others are in this boat

 

[redcivic19x]

Sounds good on paper but you can't just do full bolt ons using a base map and expect great results. You need a custom tune to do it right.

All that is a big investment. That's why I mentioned a base tune as the best single performance mod to start out.

I think he was just being facetious / hyperbolic

That's crazy you said you were about to buy a WRX. Before I got my 2020 Si, I literally had a down payment on a WRX . . . wonder how many others are in this boat

what made you change your mind?

I love the look of them, but I was too frightened off when I kept seeing videos that their engines aren’t known for going very much longer than 100k miles.

 

[2tone]

That's crazy you said you were about to buy a WRX. Before I got my 2020 Si, I literally had a down payment on a WRX . . . wonder how many others are in this boat

me I test drove them back to back within like 30 min, expecting the civic to be the slower gas friendly choice but after driving them I chose the si in an instant

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