Ktuner for CVT - Noob questions

Hey Civic buddies!


Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered before, but I have a few noob questions about tuning with Ktuner. I picked up a 2017 Civic LX with the CVT engine a few months back and am loving the car, but it could use a bit of an upgrade in terms of performance. I read a bunch of these forums and others and just had a few questions before I get into the tuning game.

1. Do I need to purchase both the ktuner AND the the actual tune itself or is the tune pre-installed onto the device or how does that all work?

2. Is it better to get a custom tune done or use the basemap provided by Ktuner?

3. I still have a about 60k left on my warranty(Honda Plus Warranty), is it best to wait so it doesn't get voided or is the tune worth it enough to throw the warranty out the window?

4. In your experience, is the tune worth it? I am a little strapped for cash as a student, so I plan to save for a few months, but are performance gains worth it, especially considering I have no future plans for aftermarket parts?

5. How easy is the flashing process? Is it better to save the money and do it myself or have a shop do it for me?

1. Ktuner comes with built in tunes you can choose from within the software.

2. Custom tuning will wring out more power and be more finely tuned. Especially if you're stock though, the included tunes will be fine.

3. As far as warranty and waiting, that's up to you. Tuning doesn't necessarily mean your entire warranty is voided but it's possible and it's certainly a risk. Are you happy with your car's performance? Tuning will transform it.

4. Yes definitely. I can only speak to the difference on the 1.5 turbo but Ktuner has the 2.0 NA engine dialed in too.

5. Uploading a base tune is easy. I recommend reading the Ktuner help pages, reading posts here and checking out Youtube vids. Basically, if you can follow directions, it's a DIY project.

Hope that helps.

Here is my simple question:
When I return to the factory tune, where does the factory data come from?

It's in the software already.

So it is copied by Ktuner from exactly the same ECU number as I have?
And all the included tunes also are based on my specific ECU for the parts that are left at factory values?

Gruber said:

So it is copied by Ktuner from exactly the same ECU number as I have?
And all the included tunes also are based on my specific ECU for the parts that are left at factory values?

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If your ECU is supported in the software then we already have your factory software included in the software. If not it would tell you it's not supported and to contact us so we can add it.

Yes, it was supported, but,

1. Does "being supported" mean that all the data are copied from another ECU with exactly the same number to the last digit ?

2. As Honda possibly makes slight improvements to the ECU programming (tuning) with each next number, while the hardware may be the same, isn't there some interest of previous years' owners to flash their ECUs with newer factory data? W0uldn't some ECU numbers possibly just differ by slightly different factory tuning ?

Being supported means we have the factory software built into the KTuner software so you can return to factory at any time. Otherwise it would tell you it's not supported.

Yes, each different ECU version has a slightly different software. We add them all.

Thank you.

So it seems to me like the "oil dilution recall" will be a bit of a hassle but it may possibly decrease the number of ECU versions that are actually different.

Gruber said:

Thank you.

So it seems to me like the "oil dilution recall" will be a bit of a hassle but it may possibly decrease the number of ECU versions that are actually different.

Click to expand...

Nope, they'll still be different, just newer versions of different.

If you do have a problem can’t you just put stock tune back on it before taking it to dealer to get serviced? Can they tell you have used a tuner?

KTuner said:

Nope, they'll still be different, just newer versions of different.

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Can the service guys know if you've used a tuner after you flash back to factory?

If it's flashed to factory it will appear factory to the dealer tool.

KTuner said:

If it's flashed to factory it will appear factory to the dealer tool.

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Is there any advantage if you unlock the Ktuner instead of just flashing to factory?

EastBayCivic said:

Is there any advantage if you unlock the Ktuner instead of just flashing to factory?

Click to expand...

Just basically for extra "safety" when at the dealer.