Purchased my first mods (Hondata and PRL intake) - 2016 Civic 1.5 Turbo CVT

[Mrc72]

Hey all, first time on this forum. I purchased my Civic 1.5 CVT in 2016 with the intention of getting a manual but took the CVT due to what they had in stock (I needed a car quickly as my previous one was totaled by someone who cut me off). Anyway, back then I wasn't thinking of modding the car but I caught the bug recently and purchased a Hondata and PRL Cobra cold-air intake.

I know the CVT's can't handle much, so I was curious if anyone has has a decent experience modding their CVT civic with an intake and Hondata, and if so what type of power gains you noticed and if it made it more fun to drive. Most importantly, I don't want to destroy the CVT so I was curious how your transmissions are holding up.

I'm strictly using the car as a daily driver and I don't abuse it, never do any power breaking etc.

I know mods are better spent on manual transmissions and the CVT is sort of a waste but now that I have the car, I figure I might as well appreciate it for what it's worth and tune it to get more pep and make it more fun to drive.

P.S. I obviously wouldn't look to do anything in economy mode, but do I need to be in sport mode to engage the new settings or will the mods take effect in normal mode?

OK, looking forward to any responses. Thanks a lot.

Sponsored

 

[justasimpleman]

* @gtman voice *

https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...ence-reliability-thread-for-all-models.42361/

 

[Stoney4life78]

Hey all, first time on this forum. I purchased my Civic 1.5 CVT in 2016 with the intention of getting a manual but took the CVT due to what they had in stock (I needed a car quickly as my previous one was totaled by someone who cut me off). Anyway, back then I wasn't thinking of modding the car but I caught the bug recently and purchased a Hondata and PRL Cobra cold-air intake.

I know the CVT's can't handle much, so I was curious if anyone has has a decent experience modding their CVT civic with an intake and Hondata, and if so what type of power gains you noticed and if it made it more fun to drive. Most importantly, I don't want to destroy the CVT so I was curious how your transmissions are holding up.

I'm strictly using the car as a daily driver and I don't abuse it, never do any power breaking etc.

I know mods are better spent on manual transmissions and the CVT is sort of a waste but now that I have the car, I figure I might as well appreciate it for what it's worth and tune it to get more pep and make it more fun to drive.

P.S. I obviously wouldn't look to do anything in economy mode, but do I need to be in sport mode to engage the new settings or will the mods take effect in normal mode?

OK, looking forward to any responses. Thanks a lot.

How has all that been working for you bro, I want the same stuff, actually I've already installed prl cobra..... what about the ktuner?? Any issues??

 

[Stoney4life78]

I can't believe not one person say a dam thing.... any ways, I installed prl cobra and was wondering if that ktuner is what everyone says it is and are you still driving the car? What state is your c.v.t. in..... would you recommend it??

 

[ValkenDnB]

I can't believe not one person say a dam thing.... any ways, I installed prl cobra and was wondering if that ktuner is what everyone says it is and are you still driving the car? What state is your c.v.t. in..... would you recommend it??

OP got Hondata not Ktuner, but yes Ktuner really wakes the car up and I recommended it. Your CVT will be fine as long as you’re not beating on your car or break boosting.

 

[gtman]

Here's a good thread for the guys asking about the CVT and tuning...

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/have-a-turbo-and-a-cvt-considering-a-tune-read-this.31242/

 

[Stoney4life78]

OP got Hondata not Ktuner, but yes Ktuner really wakes the car up and I recommended it. Your CVT will be fine as long as you’re not beating on your car or break boosting.

What do you mean, "break boosting"

OP got Hondata not Ktuner, but yes Ktuner really wakes the car up and I recommended it. Your CVT will be fine as long as you’re not beating on your car or break boosting.

Ktuner

What exactly do you mean break boosting?... like a braking the turbo?...

 

[kytos]

Brake boosting means to accelerate to put load on the engine and spool the turbo while you brake (so you manintain the same speed and when you lift the brake pedal the turbo is spooled and accelerate without any turbo lag), but that puts a lot of stress on the transmission, so that's why is not a good idea on any trans and even less on a CVT.

 

[Mrc72]

How has all that been working for you bro, I want the same stuff, actually I've already installed prl cobra..... what about the ktuner?? Any issues??

Hey man, haven't been here in a while but wanted to reply. I really appreciate the input! I have a Hondata and PRL CAI intake (I bought the street conversion so I wouldn't need to worry about it when I go for inspection - I've read there's almost no difference with power between the Street/Race MAF). With the stupid gas prices, I haven't tuned the car yet because I'll need to put 93 in the car every time I fill up to the tune of $5 a gallon . I did put a new intercooler in the car, I picked one up from Burger Motorsports on the cheap ($299) and it's performed well. Since I have the CVT with standard turbo that came with the car, I didn't bother buying the charge pipes.

I will probably go with the PRL High Flow catted downpipe or AFE Twisted Metal catted downpipe down the line, both are impossible to find right now. Again, I plan on putting all of these mods into the car once the gas prices come down a bit. If they don't come down (it's been 2 years since my last post, which I can't believe) then I'll bite the bullet and put all the mods in.

In the meanwhile, I have the intercooler, which as I understand is usually the first mod that everyone does in prep for later bolt-ons and I bought a honey-comb black grill from PRO. I'm looking forward to putting that on and getting rid of the chrome grill. Next aesthetic mod will prob be new wheels (Enkei).

I will use this car only for daily driving so doesn't need to have crazy HP. But if I can get it around 200-210HP that'll be cool with me.

 

[Stoney4life78]

Hey man, haven't been here in a while but wanted to reply. I really appreciate the input! I have a Hondata and PRL CAI intake (I bought the street conversion so I wouldn't need to worry about it when I go for inspection - I've read there's almost no difference with power between the Street/Race MAF). With the stupid gas prices, I haven't tuned the car yet because I'll need to put 93 in the car every time I fill up to the tune of $5 a gallon . I did put a new intercooler in the car, I picked one up from Burger Motorsports on the cheap ($299) and it's performed well. Since I have the CVT with standard turbo that came with the car, I didn't bother buying the charge pipes.

I will probably go with the PRL High Flow catted downpipe or AFE Twisted Metal catted downpipe down the line, both are impossible to find right now. Again, I plan on putting all of these mods into the car once the gas prices come down a bit. If they don't come down (it's been 2 years since my last post, which I can't believe) then I'll bite the bullet and put all the mods in.

In the meanwhile, I have the intercooler, which as I understand is usually the first mod that everyone does in prep for later bolt-ons and I bought a honey-comb black grill from PRO. I'm looking forward to putting that on and getting rid of the chrome grill. Next aesthetic mod will prob be new wheels (Enkei).

I will use this car only for daily driving so doesn't need to have crazy HP. But if I can get it around 200-210HP that'll be cool with me.

Hey man, I forgot about this thread, lol. Thanks for getting back to me. I went ahead and got the ktuner with the phearable 1.5 tune. As I said before I I stalled prl c.a.i. and literally JUST installed prl t.i.p. and in my garage, in a box, right now, sits prl intercooler with prl charge pipes. I just haven't had time to put those on yet. Also, I have an extra set of prl intercooler charge pipes, yep, an entire charge pipe setup. ... (it's a long story) I really want to get the down and front pipe too but FUCK that shit is pricey af.

 

[Mrc72]

Hey man, I forgot about this thread, lol. Thanks for getting back to me. I went ahead and got the ktuner with the phearable 1.5 tune. As I said before I I stalled prl c.a.i. and literally JUST installed prl t.i.p. and in my garage, in a box, right now, sits prl intercooler with prl charge pipes. I just haven't had time to put those on yet. Also, I have an extra set of prl intercooler charge pipes, yep, an entire charge pipe setup. ... (it's a long story) I really want to get the down and front pipe too but FUCK that shit is pricey af.

Oh nice. Well, you can either sell those charge pipes or keep them for another car? Always good to keep those as extra I guess. Yea man, i'm debating the downpipe myself. I'm going for power alone and not so much noise, so a downpipe will only be effective with a tune and possibly cause annoyance issues without it (meaning, the CEL). If you're running a dp without a tune the HP increase is barely noticeable. With the tune, it's around 8-14 HP. About that...I've read that AFE and PRL high volume catted dp's are the best when it comes to preventing a thrown CEL, like you said though... they're also expensive - both are $899 I believe if you can even find them. I looked and none are available anywhere, not even on PRL's website. I think there's a distribution issue coming from Canada that's causing it. Best bang for the buck is probably RV6 catted fp/dp combo for the 2016 Civic 1.5T, but I've read that it throws the CEL pretty often.

For my needs I'll prob hook up the Hondata Flashpro and the PRL CAI (w/Street MAF) once I'm ready. I've got the intercooler installed so that's step 1, to take care of heat soak.

That's great that you picked up the PRL intercooler. PRL makes top notch parts. I wish I could have sunk the money for the intercooler but with a tight budget I had to roll the dice on the one from Burger Motorsports. I don't beat on the car or anything though so I'm sure it'll be ok.

Have you installed new wheels? I'm reading a lot on how people buy used wheels but I can't find any place that sells them used. I looked on eBay and they're selling them as much as Tire Rack. I'd like to get a set of used 17" wheels. If not, I'll prob just buy a new set down the line. How much of a HP increase did you notice after installing the KTuner? I can't wait to do mine with the Hondata.

Sponsored