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[shutupish]

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[neteng101]

Does flashing severely impact the longevity of the car?

Not as much as worrywarts might think - treat a car badly even if totally stock and you'll severely impact the longevity of the car - a bad driver plus lack of maintenance is the equivalent of automotive cancer.

I wouldn't worry about the warranty too much - if you're buying a Honda and worrying about it breaking down during the warranty, you probably should have bought a BMW or something else instead.

 

[Redglare]

kind of analogous to an athlete developing hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, reduced ejection fraction, arrythmias, then falls over dead in the middle of a match.

Not as much as worrywarts might think - treat a car badly even if totally stock and you'll severely impact the longevity of the car - a bad driver plus lack of maintenance is the equivalent of automotive cancer.

I wouldn't worry about the warranty too much - if you're buying a Honda and worrying about it breaking down during the warranty, you probably should have bought a BMW or something else instead.

You better have 5-10k for a new clutch & emergency engine swap fund for when you throw a hole in the block, the fact remains the factory components are rated for X amount of HP, not being the chief engineer you don't know those tolerances and essentially are playing russian roulette by running higher power levels, of course the tuners/people selling you software to up power levels will tell you its safe, its their job after all.

The warranty, aside from being a good safety net for defective manufacturing or lemons is especially crucial for a new engine in a new model car - no one knows the longevity of the engine at this time. If you like playing with fire in your 25k car, yes flash it with a tune and cross your fingers.

 

[Tonezorz]

Fun shots of the drop-off point where I got to see several of the cars and meet a few journalists. Not often something cool pops up where I'm at.

 

[coopermidnight]

That guy and HPJ have some good chemistry on-camera. It's nice to see HPJ "out in the wild" and acting like a (slightly) more normal person than in his own videos, and this is coming from someone who watches everything he puts out. That bit toward the end when they have some juvenile fun and have the "oh shit" moment with the error lights was great. There's something special about seeing two grown men in a car doing 55+ egging each other on to tap the electronic parking brake.

 

[neteng101]

If you like playing with fire in your 25k car, yes flash it with a tune and cross your fingers.

LOL - been there done that and nothing went wrong and I didn't even have to cross my fingers. If you're so worried in life, just realize that everytime you leave the house could be the last time you close that door... no one knows if you'll get run over, die in an accident, to a suicide bomber if you go to a concert or sporting event, etc.

That said - yes, if you're really tight on cash and don't have much disposable income or an emergency fund, then by all means go conservative.

I don't believe the crap that the factory engineers tune the car to its limits - they're far more concerned about emissions and CAFE numbers - a mild tune won't really do any harm unless you're one of those tree hugger types. You bought the car, then try to enjoy it instead of worrying about it breaking down on you!

 

[ne0guri]

LOL - been there done that and nothing went wrong and I didn't even have to cross my fingers. If you're so worried in life, just realize that everytime you leave the house could be the last time you close that door... no one knows if you'll get run over, die in an accident, to a suicide bomber if you go to a concert or sporting event, etc.

That said - yes, if you're really tight on cash and don't have much disposable income or an emergency fund, then by all means go conservative.

I don't believe the crap that the factory engineers tune the car to its limits - they're far more concerned about emissions and CAFE numbers - a mild tune won't really do any harm unless you're one of those tree hugger types. You bought the car, then try to enjoy it instead of worrying about it breaking down on you!

I think I'm more worried about long-term longevity after flashing the car. I'm not even trying to tune it too crazy, just maybe enough to get rid of the rev hang. I guess a better question would be... After being tuned, will this car make it past the 100k miles mark easily as if it was stock? And I mean a light tune, such as just upping the PSI by 4-6 and adding an intake.

 

[skycrapper]

I think I'm more worried about long-term longevity after flashing the car. I'm not even trying to tune it too crazy, just maybe enough to get rid of the rev hang. I guess a better question would be... After being tuned, will this car make it past the 100k miles mark easily as if it was stock? And I mean a light tune, such as just upping the PSI by 4-6 and adding an intake.

Upping the boost always has potential for serious problems

 

[ne0guri]

That guy and HPJ have some good chemistry on-camera. It's nice to see HPJ "out in the wild" and acting like a (slightly) more normal person than in his own videos, and this is coming from someone who watches everything he puts out. That bit toward the end when they have some juvenile fun and have the "oh shit" moment with the error lights was great. There's something special about seeing two grown men in a car doing 55+ egging each other on to tap the electronic parking brake.

There didn't seem to be too much egging lol the guy was pretty damn compliant as soon as Jason was like "let's try it" "oh sure why not?" I also loved how he ended up confessing at the end that Honda rep did not seem too amused

 

[neteng101]

After being tuned, will this car make it past the 100k miles mark easily as if it was stock?

I'd say it depends on how the car is driven and maintained post tune... cooling down the turbo before shutting off the engine after spirited drives and regular maintenance will be good - I think the maintenance interval if you follow the minder is not the best for the car, so more frequent oil changes will be a good idea. Not telling you to change your oil every 3k, but 10k is just too long. If you're going to be racing the car all day long, even a stock car might not make it to 100k without needing some engine work.

Unless you're driving like a hooligan, I can't see most drivers pushing their cars to the breaking point with a mild tune (of course, too much boost will be a failure causing factor, the top Hondata/Kturner base maps seem to be close/at the limits). A clutch is a wear item - and the life of the clutch plate is highly dependent on the driver.

 

[dmitri]

@ne0guri - on the other thread you said this will most likely be the fastest car you've ever had... why not just enjoy that fact and skip the mods? Save some money and stop worrying about reliability, warranty, etc.?
Obviously none of my business/your decision, but just a thought...

 

[ne0guri]

@ne0guri - on the other thread you said this will most likely be the fastest car you've ever had... why not just enjoy that fact and skip the mods? Save some money and stop worrying about reliability, warranty, etc.?
Obviously none of my business/your decision, but just a thought...

Yeah after re-watching the TFL video, I'm realizing that Honda designed this Si as more of a new entry for people like me. I think the Type R is where Honda wants all the previous Si tuners to gravitate towards. I'm not going to be red lining it everyday as it will be a daily commuter and the fact that Honda has designed the powerband to be within 3-6k shows that it's more for driving around the streets. I think the whole tuning aspect was for somewhere down the line when I feel like I want that extra power, but for the first 60k miles I am definitely just leaving it as is because it is beautiful as is.

I always appreciate the advice! This forum has helped me learn a lot in the last few couple weeks.

 

[Design]

kind of analogous to an athlete developing hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, reduced ejection fraction, arrythmias, then falls over dead in the middle of a match.


You better have 5-10k for a new clutch & emergency engine swap fund for when you throw a hole in the block, the fact remains the factory components are rated for X amount of HP, not being the chief engineer you don't know those tolerances and essentially are playing russian roulette by running higher power levels, of course the tuners/people selling you software to up power levels will tell you its safe, its their job after all.

The warranty, aside from being a good safety net for defective manufacturing or lemons is especially crucial for a new engine in a new model car - no one knows the longevity of the engine at this time. If you like playing with fire in your 25k car, yes flash it with a tune and cross your fingers.

I was recently made aware of Honda's testing methodology on this particular motor. And while all manufacturers build headroom into their powertrains, I can say that this one has an unusually high ceiling. And is tested that way in a very high output configuration.

That in no way takes away from the validity of your statements. But the early evidence suggests that these motors can take some abuse. IMHO, the biggest issues from a tune are going to be the clutch, motor mounts, carb deposits on the EGR/valves/runners, and premature sludge accumulation on the OCRs (for those that don't step up the oil change intervals). Anecdotal data will certainly raise other concerns, like the turbo.

After speaking with Doug/Hondata about how these tunes are configured, I'd feel comfortable running a +3 PSI base map. The TQ/HP relationship and most of the factory parameters are preserved, which limits unnecessary stress on the rods at lower RPMs. That said, I don't subject my cars to hot starts, no-lift shifts, or extended pulls at WOT.

CN: Run at your own risk.

 

[Redglare]

CN: Run at your own risk.

That's great news for us folk who plan to run it stock, just means there is a ton of longevity built in like good old honda that we know.

 

[skycrapper]

Personally, I'd consider a very mild tune and possibly an air intake system after the warranty runs out. If I was to pick one of these up.. I might want to keep it for a while and get 100K+ miles of spirited driving out of the car. All while getting 30+ mpg

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