The Tuned CivicX Experience & Reliability Thread (for all models)

[swanarg]

Thanks for adding your car, looks great.

thanks! no problem glad I could help out

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[KTunedtoStock]

KTuned...

The Phearable 1.5 is a totally different animal than the base KTuner tunes. It's much smoother with a more linear throttle. Wait til you really push that throttle down!

The base tunes tend to feel potent down low but not super smooth. And as you noted, the power really fizzles out up top.

Today was my first day able to get out and see what it could do from a power standpoint. It really holds its power in the later rpms. I like that It doesn't have that instant torque. It should help save my clutch life. Really refined all around. Its also a lot easier to get consistent miles per gallon since it isn't so aggressive early on.

 

[Icebear]

Had an odd thing happen on the way back from lunch today .

I’m about 300 miles in on my tune , Running the 21/dual OTF tunes set to gtmans parameters , I was going slightly uphill not accelerating, but letting the hill slow me down, waiting for a car in front of me to merge onto an on-ramp and then I was going to accelerate and keep going , my speed was about 35 mph , if felt like as soon the car got below 36 mph it was trying to downshift , and when it did it felt like a thud , like a rough downshift , or if you made a mistake shifting a manual gearbox and you get that lurch feeling .It happened so quick , but I don’t think I had yet put my foot back on the accelerator when it happened . First time I’ve ever experienced that .

On the flip side , I was just sent my TSP tune , seems like I read something about the TSP tune smoothing out some of the rough ends of the KTuner base tunes ?

 

[gtman]

On the flip side , I was just sent my TSP tune , seems like I read something about the TSP tune smoothing out some of the rough ends of the KTuner base tunes ?

The TSP 1 feels quite a bit different than a base tune. While it won't feel as punchy off the line, it's much smoother and more refined overall. It also feels faster at high rpm.

 

[slcvt]

Vehicle: 2016 1.5T / CVT
Mileage: 73,000 km
Total tuned time: 4 year +
Total tuned mileage: ~70,000 km
Tuning device: Racechip Ultimate – 3 years; Ktuner – 1 year+
Tunes used: Ktuner base map – Dual calibration 21psi,
Current tune: TSP Stage 1 (RACE)
Current power: 195hp and 300 Nm torque on RON97
Fuels used: RON97
Improvement: PRL Cobra CAI (RACE), PRL Intercooler, Ultra Racing Front Strut bar, Ultra Racing Rear Anti-rolling bar
Engine Oil: 0W-30
Issues/problems: The engine is running great and smooth
Driving style: Usually city drive plus some aggressive pulls when I need to or when road condition permitted.

 

[vasilas432]

The TSP 1 feels quite a bit different than a base tune. While it won't feel as punchy off the line, it's much smoother and more refined overall. It also feels faster at high rpm.

On dual/ 21, factory simulation feels way more underpowered than my factory map. This is annoying for daily. Can’t use it at all. Also, I can’t tell about TSP1 but my custom feels much much faster than base 21 at high rpm

 

[gtman]

On dual/ 21, factory simulation feels way more underpowered than my factory map. This is annoying for daily. Can’t use it at all.

You're talking about when you press the Econ button, right? When set to "factory", it's factory boost levels but with eco features, like reduced throttle response. You need set the quick adjustment to "normalized eco" for better throttle response.

 

[CruzK20]

Vehicle: 2019 Civic Sport Sedan

Total tuned time: 7 weeks


Tuned miles driven: 2,065

Tuning device(s) used: Ktuner v1.2

Tunes used: Ktuner base tune,
my own custom “pop & bang” tune

Fuel used: 91 for maybe the first 2 fill ups and then WaWa 93 almost exclusively. If I absolutely need to I’ve used shell 93 and Speedway 93

Additional related mods: RV6 cat-less down pipe, HPS silicone intake hose, K&N drop in air filter. Straight pipe with a Vibrant Super Quiet resonator.


Problems/issues: So far no mechanical issues at all, I still however get a CEL from the DP every now and then, even with those codes turned off in the tune. The CEL does go away with a simple re-flash or just letting it go away naturally over a day or so.

Driving style: extremely spirited. If roads are empty, I’m rippin’em. Most of my driving is on the highway going to and from work, about an hour each way.

Tuning experience notes: This is my first time building a car let alone tuning it, so I’m still fairly new to most of this. The only tune currently available for the 2.0 NA was a decent improvement over stock, you definitely notice it pulls a bit harder and the car becomes more responsive all around. Also Vtec is a lot better with the tune, and more satisfying because you can actually hear it kick in unlike stock.

I also went ahead and learned enough about tuning to be able to make a Pop and bang tune using the Ktuner tune as a base and adjusting fuel cut delay until I had nice aggressive crackle/pops on decel.

I have more info on this if anyone is interested.

I have had no problems running the pop tune while commuting or racing around. Although I do believe it’s partly at fault for my recurring CEL

Maintenance Notes: I have always been the type of person to beat on cars and have as much fun as possible in them, and because of this I have become very preventative when it comes to regular maintenance.

With that being said I obviously don’t use the maintenance minder, I don’t believe it’s any smarter than a bag of rocks.

These are my personal maintenance intervals

I also do all of it myself

motor oil/filter every 4K

Tranny Oil every 20k

Intake filter gets cleaned every 4K (or when I’m washing the car and have extra time)

Rotate tires every 8k

Axles/brakes/cv joints and all other fluids at least get checked every oil change and changed as needed.

Everything else I do normally

And finally here’s the car

 

[WhiskeyTango]

Vehicle: 2018 civic sport

Total tuned time: 18months

Tuned miles driven: 30,000

Tuning device(s) used: ktuner v1.2 , currently using hondata flash pro

Tunes used: ktuner base maps, ktuner custom tune by Drob, ktuner TSP stage 1, currently self tuning hondata custom tune

Fuel used: Shell v power 99RON

Additional related mods: PREVIOUS MODS = prl short ram street, PRL cobra race, PRL catless downpipe, PRL catted DP+FP, Greddy exhaust, ktuner v1.2

CURRENT MODS= 27won street intake, 27won inlet pipe, Wagner comp IC+piping, ARK performance exhaust, 27won RMM (love the solid drive feel and extra engine noise)

Problems/issues: all ktuner base map tunes and canned tunes all needed professional tuning for AFR re-scaling, after attempting to use TSP stage 1 and getting bad AFR, i decided to learn this process for my own sake.

hondata's only tune available for my ecu was base calibration, and even with the 27won intake AFM modification the car ran terrible and couldnt idle correctly so a full AFM re-scale was needed.

27won RMM required adjustments for idle and reduced power on low rpm to help with vibrations within the cabin. this mod is never going to feel like stock so if rattles anoy you then stay away lol

Driving style: over the last 30k, i had 40min commute with mix of stop/start and highway driving with perfect WOT pulls.

but my short work commutes now with very little chance of WOT and alot of stop/start traffic. very hard for street tuning

Tuning experience notes:

i have played with my own ktuner basemaps and enjoyed using the drivability features but this was never enough so i decided to start adding engine mods and went down the custom tune path,however,when coming to emissions testing or dealership issues the car had to go back to stock ecu but with having catless or catted downpipe and race maf, these mods cause CEL codes so i decided to revert back to stock downpipe and stick to street intake. the move from ktuner to hondata was for more of learning curve so i could go back to basics. i have learnt a lot about reflash tuning and so much about these cars thanks
to the forum and its members

once i have completed my hondata tuning i shall keep using this car as my daily and may look at future mods. i cant see myself upgrading in the future so i would rather just continue my build

You're wasting your time with the whole returning the car to stock to take the car to the dealer. Its been proven quite a bit as of late that HDS can detect when an ECU has been flashed and returned to stock.

Not giving you a hard time or looking for an argument on this topic. Just saying it isn't worth the time, and I've taken my car in numerous times just the way it sits. They know what's up, I know they know what's up and that's the way it is.

 

[tacthecat]

They know the last time it was flashed/re-flashed BUT very few dealerships will waste their techs time dumping the ECU each time a car comes in for service, even warranty work. Most will likely only dump the ECU data if Honda Tech makes the request for a major warranty issue. Even in that case it's likely Honda Tech will be the ones who view/decode the dump.

 

[gtman]

Just a reminder to anyone who has already added their car to the thread. If you switch to the new TSP Stage 1+ or Phearable 1.5R tunes, add a new post. That way I can keep the stats updated and accurate. Thanks.

 

[Icebear]

Vehicle: 2020 Hatch Sport Touring CVT

Total tuned time: 3 days

Tuned miles driven: Have 7170 miles total, 100 TUNED

Tuning device(s) used: KTuner V2

Tunes used: Starter dual/21 psi . Using 3 OTF tunes, setup with gtmans parameters see :
My KTuner experience - an ongoing journal | Page 16 | 2016+ Honda Civic Forum (10th Gen) - Type R Forum, Si Forum - CivicX.com post # 227

Fuel used: Shell 93 , since car was new

Additional related mods: None

Problems/issues: None .

Driving style: Spirted , I don't poke . I don't flog the crap out of either .

Tuning experience notes: Couldn't get over the difference , best money Iv'e ever spent on a mod.

Mini update ,

Wasn't going to do the full info sheet , since I just posted my first one last week.

Last night switched over to the TSP stage one that came with my purchase of the Ktuner V2 .

For now , I can say my assessment of TSP stage one is Tit for tat with gtmans . Hands on with TSP's Stage 1 tune for the 1.5T (non-Si) | 2016+ Honda Civic Forum (10th Gen) - Type R Forum, Si Forum - CivicX.com

 

[gtman]

Thanks for the update, Icebear.

Here's something really important and your post is a perfect example. If anyone posts an update, there's no need to do another full "info sheet".

Just post what changed. Additional miles, different tune used, etcetera. It's easier for you and in some ways, easier for me.

Just a suggestion though. Any update, however you post it, is great (and helps). The tuned miles updates are key in documenting tuning reliability.

Bottom line, even if people only add a new update once or twice a year, it would help. The problem is, a good portion of people posting their cars in the thread are one and done.

 

[FK7_]

Vehicle: 2020 Civic Si Sedan

Total tuned time: 1 day

Tuned miles driven: 50km tuned/ 950km total

Tuning device(s) used: KTuner V1.2

Tunes used: Phearable Stage 1.5

Fuel used: Chevron 94

Additional related mods: completely stock besides Ktuner v1.2

Problems/issues: None so far

Driving style: pretty calm and cautious, Rarely ever red lined or rev past 6k rpm.

Tuning experience notes: First tuned car was my old 99 civic hatch with an lsvtec swap with a tune done by John Vega from @phearable . Loved the tune from him back in the day. Then in 2017 I bought a brand new FK7 hatch and bought a Hondata flashpro at around 10,000kms. I switched between the +6 and +9 tune and really loved the low end grunt. Ended up selling the car at 35,000kms with zero issues runnin those tunes. Now I’m back with a 2020 Si and hopped on the KTuner train and saw John Vega/Phearable was now in the game with the Civic X platform and how could I not go back to him with my new car 10 years later. The 1.5 tune is super smooth, almost makes the stock tune feel choppy and crunchy if you know what I mean. I’ll be updating once I get some more time with the car but for the 50kms I did drive it feels amazing and the advanced VSA by KTuner really throws the power to the ground.

 

[FK7_]

@gtman has been bugging me for a few years to now to post here lol