Hands on with TSP's Stage 1 tune for the 1.5T (non-Si)

gtman

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A little background for those who haven't kept up with my postings. I was the guy who made topics like...
https://www.civicx.com/threads/second-class-citizens-lack-of-aftermarket-cvt-tunes.30667/
and this... https://www.civicx.com/threads/aftermarket-tunes-for-the-cvt.29655/

My basic beef being that the owners of tuned CVT's weren't getting much love from the pro tuners. I was definitely jealous seeing MAPerformance and TSP creating their own off the shelf tunes for the Si. And look, I understand why this was the case. Sure we have a turbo but the Si is the performance variant. I knew I was fighting an uphill battle, but in the end TSP and DRob stepped up and made my wish come true. Huge props to them.

I ordered the TSP Stage 1 tune yesterday. The process is very quick and painless. Just check off whether you have a street or race maf setup, your ECU software and then add your tuner unit's serial number. TSP emailed me the tune in just an hour or two. Great service from them as always.

My car: 2017 EX-L CVT 1.5 Turbo / PRL silicone intake hose and aFe Pro Dry S drop-in / KTuner V2.

The plan was to be patient and wait til this heat wave passed but I couldn't wait and decided to upload the tune and test it this morning while it was cooler (but still 85+ degrees out). The upload to the ECU went flawlessly and my TSP tune test started. I have a loop I use which has a bit of everything. Curvy back roads, steeps hills, highway straightaways and city stop and go. Here are my observations after spending an hour behind the wheel:

First off, one thing was rather interesting. I noticed idle speed was slightly higher than before. And actually that was a good thing. The car has a tendency to idle really low (650-ish rpm) and it can sometimes feel shaky in the cabin at a stoplight. The TSP tune seemed to hover around 700+ rpm and it definitely smoothed things out.

I tested Map 1 and 2 and they were just as expected. Solid, smooth and with lower boost levels than the real star of the show Map 3. I love the option of being able to go from one map to the other on the fly and these reduced power tunes save a bit on wear and tear. I call them my "commuter tunes". This is the one feature that separates KTuner from Hondata.

But you probably don't care about Map 1 and 2 so here's what you've been waiting for... the full TSP Stage 1 tune impressions. Let's just say it was worth the wait.

Around town and at lower RPM, it feels SMOOTH. The power is there, no question, but at first I was surprised it didn't feel more "snappy". Again just an initial observation. Driving a bit more I began to get a better feel for the tune. Basically, you press the throttle around town and it goes nicely (and seemingly with little to no discernable lag). Under 3500 rpm it basically feels like a smoother version of the Ktuner 21 with aggressive adjustments. Put your foot into it a bit deeper and away she goes.

The tune really wakes up above 3500 rpm and especially after 4000 rpm. You go from a smooth and polished low rpm feel to a bit of a monster. It's very impressive. Fun and confidence inspiring at the same time. I never pushed the tune too hard but I can tell you a nice little pull I did from 55-100 mph put a smile on my face!

During the entire one hour loop, K. Control basically was rock solid at .49, which is perfect. At the end of the loop, I checked my MPG's and I was at 40 (I did take it easy for a good portion of the drive). One thing I noticed was that fuel trims pretty much were in the minuses most of the drive. The numbers were decent enough (LTFT at - 4) so maybe I was running a bit rich due to the high ambient temps? No biggie, really.

For $80, this is a must have for anyone with a 1.5T non-Si looking for something beyond a base tune without the expense of a full-on custom. It definitely gets a
Honda Civic 10th gen Hands on with TSP's Stage 1 tune for the 1.5T (non-Si) 5star
rating from me. :thumbsup:
Sponsored

 
Last edited:

LilToTo17

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A little background for those who haven't kept up with my postings. I was the guy who made topics like...
https://www.civicx.com/threads/second-class-citizens-lack-of-aftermarket-cvt-tunes.30667/
and this... https://www.civicx.com/threads/aftermarket-tunes-for-the-cvt.29655/

My basic beef being that the owners of tuned CVT's weren't getting much love from the pro tuners. I was definitely jealous seeing MAPerformance and TSP creating their own off the shelf tunes for the Si. And look, I understand why this was the case. Sure we have a turbo but the Si is the performance variant. I knew I was fighting an uphill battle, but in the end TSP and DRob stepped up and made my wish come true. Huge props to them.

I ordered the TSP Stage 1 tune yesterday. The process is very quick and painless. Just check off whether you have a street or race maf setup, your ECU software and then add your tuner unit's serial number. TSP emailed me the tune in just an hour or two. Great service from them as always.

My car: 2017 EX-L CVT 1.5 Turbo / PRL silicone intake hose and aFe Pro Dry S drop-in / KTuner V2.

The plan was to be patient and wait til this heat wave passed but I couldn't wait and decided to upload the tune and test it this morning while it was cooler (but still 85+ degrees out). The upload to the ECU went flawlessly and my TSP tune test started. I have a loop I use which has a bit of everything. Curvy back roads, steeps hills, highway straightaways and city stop and go. Here are my observations after spending an hour behind the wheel:

First off, one thing was rather interesting. I noticed idle speed was slightly higher than before. And actually that was a good thing. The car has a tendency to idle really low (650-ish rpm) and it can sometimes feel shaky in the cabin at a stoplight. The TSP tune seemed to hover around 700+ rpm and it definitely smoothed things out.

I tested Map 1 and 2 and they were just as expected. Solid, smooth and with lower boost levels than the real star of the show Map 3. I love the option of being able to go from one map to the other on the fly and these reduced power tunes save a bit on wear and tear. I call them my "commuter tunes". This is the one feature that separates KTuner from Hondata.

But you probably don't care about Map 1 and 2 so here's what you've been waiting for... the full TSP Stage 1 tune impressions. Let's just say it was worth the wait.

Around town and at lower RPM, it feels SMOOTH. The power is there, no question, but at first I was surprised it didn't feel more "snappy". Again just an initial observation. Driving a bit more I began to get a better feel for the tune. Basically, you press the throttle around town and it goes nicely (and seemingly with little to no discernable lag). Under 3500 rpm it basically feels like a smoother version of the Ktuner 21 with aggressive adjustments. Put your foot into it a bit deeper and away she goes.

The tune really wakes up above 3500 rpm and especially after 4000 rpm. You go from a smooth and polished low rpm feel to a bit of a monster. It's very impressive. Fun and confidence inspiring at the same time. I never pushed the tune too hard but I can tell you a nice little pull I did from 55-100 mph put a smile on my face!

During the entire one hour loop, K. Control basically was rock solid at .49, which is perfect. At the end of the loop, I checked my MPG's and I was at 40 (I did take it easy for a good portion of the drive). One thing I noticed was that fuel trims pretty much were in the minuses most of the drive. The numbers were decent enough (LTFT at - 4) so maybe I was running a bit rich due to the high ambient temps? No biggie, really.

For $80, this is a must have for anyone with a 1.5T non-Si looking for something beyond a base tune without the expense of a full-on custom. It definitely gets a
5star.png
rating from me. :thumbsup:
-4 ltft is nothing lol your within the normal range as stft would usually balance it out since it's always fluctuating.
 

JAcivicT

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A little background for those who haven't kept up with my postings. I was the guy who made topics like...
https://www.civicx.com/threads/second-class-citizens-lack-of-aftermarket-cvt-tunes.30667/
and this... https://www.civicx.com/threads/aftermarket-tunes-for-the-cvt.29655/

My basic beef being that the owners of tuned CVT's weren't getting much love from the pro tuners. I was definitely jealous seeing MAPerformance and TSP creating their own off the shelf tunes for the Si. And look, I understand why this was the case. Sure we have a turbo but the Si is the performance variant. I knew I was fighting an uphill battle, but in the end TSP and DRob stepped up and made my wish come true. Huge props to them.

I ordered the TSP Stage 1 tune yesterday. The process is very quick and painless. Just check off whether you have a street or race maf setup, your ECU software and then add your tuner unit's serial number. TSP emailed me the tune in just an hour or two. Great service from them as always.

My car: 2017 EX-L CVT 1.5 Turbo / PRL silicone intake hose and aFe Pro Dry S drop-in / KTuner V2.

The plan was to be patient and wait til this heat wave passed but I couldn't wait and decided to upload the tune and test it this morning while it was cooler (but still 85+ degrees out). The upload to the ECU went flawlessly and my TSP tune test started. I have a loop I use which has a bit of everything. Curvy back roads, steeps hills, highway straightaways and city stop and go. Here are my observations after spending an hour behind the wheel:

First off, one thing was rather interesting. I noticed idle speed was slightly higher than before. And actually that was a good thing. The car has a tendency to idle really low (650-ish rpm) and it can sometimes feel shaky in the cabin at a stoplight. The TSP tune seemed to hover around 700+ rpm and it definitely smoothed things out.

I tested Map 1 and 2 and they were just as expected. Solid, smooth and with lower boost levels than the real star of the show Map 3. I love the option of being able to go from one map to the other on the fly and these reduced power tunes save a bit on wear and tear. I call them my "commuter tunes". This is the one feature that separates KTuner from Hondata.

But you probably don't care about Map 1 and 2 so here's what you've been waiting for... the full TSP Stage 1 tune impressions. Let's just say it was worth the wait.

Around town and at lower RPM, it feels SMOOTH. The power is there, no question, but at first I was surprised it didn't feel more "snappy". Again just an initial observation. Driving a bit more I began to get a better feel for the tune. Basically, you press the throttle around town and it goes nicely (and seemingly with little to no discernable lag). Under 3500 rpm it basically feels like a smoother version of the Ktuner 21 with aggressive adjustments. Put your foot into it a bit deeper and away she goes.

The tune really wakes up above 3500 rpm and especially after 4000 rpm. You go from a smooth and polished low rpm feel to a bit of a monster. It's very impressive. Fun and confidence inspiring at the same time. I never pushed the tune too hard but I can tell you a nice little pull I did from 55-100 mph put a smile on my face!

During the entire one hour loop, K. Control basically was rock solid at .49, which is perfect. At the end of the loop, I checked my MPG's and I was at 40 (I did take it easy for a good portion of the drive). One thing I noticed was that fuel trims pretty much were in the minuses most of the drive. The numbers were decent enough (LTFT at - 4) so maybe I was running a bit rich due to the high ambient temps? No biggie, really.

For $80, this is a must have for anyone with a 1.5T non-Si looking for something beyond a base tune without the expense of a full-on custom. It definitely gets a
5star.png
rating from me. :thumbsup:

What is the tq on the CVT for the TSP tune?
 

LilToTo17

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gtman

gtman

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Around 258 ft lbs
On the TSP product page they also mention that the torque output on the CVT version is "slightly less" than the manual under 4000 rpm to protect the transmission.
 


JAcivicT

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Around 258 ft lbs
I was checking on the site which state "This tune is available for both standard transmission and CVT equipped Civics. The CVT version of the tune has slightly reduced torque below 4000RPM to avoid risking damage to the CVT".

So I was wondering. I purchased it, just need to setup and take it for a spin.
 

JAcivicT

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On the TSP product page they also mention that the torque output on the CVT version is "slightly less" than the manual under 4000 rpm to protect the transmission.
So I guess someone will need to do a dyno then. Do you think it would be around 230 ft lbs?
 
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gtman

gtman

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So I guess someone will need to do a dyno then. Do you think it would be around 230 ft lbs?
It certainly feels that way to me. Maybe a bit more than that peak?

One other thing I meant to mention about the tune. Most of the tune is locked to the user but the disables and BBG are still available. Derek has BBG set to 18 psi in 1st. Everything else is shown as custom.
 

JAcivicT

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It certainly feels that way to me. Maybe a bit more than that peak?

One other thing I meant to mention about the tune. Most of the tune is locked to the user but the disables and BBG are still available. Derek has BBG set to 18 psi in 1st. Everything else is shown as custom.
Yes I noticed that. I am not troubling it.
 

Nathan le

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A little background for those who haven't kept up with my postings. I was the guy who made topics like...
https://www.civicx.com/threads/second-class-citizens-lack-of-aftermarket-cvt-tunes.30667/
and this... https://www.civicx.com/threads/aftermarket-tunes-for-the-cvt.29655/

My basic beef being that the owners of tuned CVT's weren't getting much love from the pro tuners. I was definitely jealous seeing MAPerformance and TSP creating their own off the shelf tunes for the Si. And look, I understand why this was the case. Sure we have a turbo but the Si is the performance variant. I knew I was fighting an uphill battle, but in the end TSP and DRob stepped up and made my wish come true. Huge props to them.

I ordered the TSP Stage 1 tune yesterday. The process is very quick and painless. Just check off whether you have a street or race maf setup, your ECU software and then add your tuner unit's serial number. TSP emailed me the tune in just an hour or two. Great service from them as always.

My car: 2017 EX-L CVT 1.5 Turbo / PRL silicone intake hose and aFe Pro Dry S drop-in / KTuner V2.

The plan was to be patient and wait til this heat wave passed but I couldn't wait and decided to upload the tune and test it this morning while it was cooler (but still 85+ degrees out). The upload to the ECU went flawlessly and my TSP tune test started. I have a loop I use which has a bit of everything. Curvy back roads, steeps hills, highway straightaways and city stop and go. Here are my observations after spending an hour behind the wheel:

First off, one thing was rather interesting. I noticed idle speed was slightly higher than before. And actually that was a good thing. The car has a tendency to idle really low (650-ish rpm) and it can sometimes feel shaky in the cabin at a stoplight. The TSP tune seemed to hover around 700+ rpm and it definitely smoothed things out.

I tested Map 1 and 2 and they were just as expected. Solid, smooth and with lower boost levels than the real star of the show Map 3. I love the option of being able to go from one map to the other on the fly and these reduced power tunes save a bit on wear and tear. I call them my "commuter tunes". This is the one feature that separates KTuner from Hondata.

But you probably don't care about Map 1 and 2 so here's what you've been waiting for... the full TSP Stage 1 tune impressions. Let's just say it was worth the wait.

Around town and at lower RPM, it feels SMOOTH. The power is there, no question, but at first I was surprised it didn't feel more "snappy". Again just an initial observation. Driving a bit more I began to get a better feel for the tune. Basically, you press the throttle around town and it goes nicely (and seemingly with little to no discernable lag). Under 3500 rpm it basically feels like a smoother version of the Ktuner 21 with aggressive adjustments. Put your foot into it a bit deeper and away she goes.

The tune really wakes up above 3500 rpm and especially after 4000 rpm. You go from a smooth and polished low rpm feel to a bit of a monster. It's very impressive. Fun and confidence inspiring at the same time. I never pushed the tune too hard but I can tell you a nice little pull I did from 55-100 mph put a smile on my face!

During the entire one hour loop, K. Control basically was rock solid at .49, which is perfect. At the end of the loop, I checked my MPG's and I was at 40 (I did take it easy for a good portion of the drive). One thing I noticed was that fuel trims pretty much were in the minuses most of the drive. The numbers were decent enough (LTFT at - 4) so maybe I was running a bit rich due to the high ambient temps? No biggie, really.

For $80, this is a must have for anyone with a 1.5T non-Si looking for something beyond a base tune without the expense of a full-on custom. It definitely gets a
5star.png
rating from me. :thumbsup:
Hi, gtman I want to do the TSP stage1, but idk if it works with my ktuner. My ktuner infor 5AA-C650, plus I didn’t do the oil dilution update from the Honda dealers. Please help thanks.
 


Jonmd89

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Oil dilution update has nothing to do with tunes as the tune doesn’t write over anything from that update. As for your ecu you would have to check with ktuner or hondata which ever one you have
 
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gtman

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Hi, gtman I want to do the TSP stage1, but idk if it works with my ktuner. My ktuner infor 5AA-C650, plus I didn’t do the oil dilution update from the Honda dealers. Please help thanks.
Unfortunately, it looks like yours isn't compatible yet. Only ECU's that include on the fly tune switching are compatible. Hopefully, you'll get that feature soon.
 

Nathan le

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Unfortunately, it looks like yours isn't compatible yet. Only ECU's that include on the fly tune switching are compatible. Hopefully, you'll get that feature soon.
Ok thanks man
 
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gtman

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I'm driving exclusively with the "16.5" tune today and will report back with my observations and how it compares to my previous KTuner "commuter tunes".
 
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gtman

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Ok so I've done my testing with the 16.5 tune.

Before I uploaded the TSP tune, I was running a 17/19.5/21.5 psi on the fly setup. Clearly the full TSP tune on Map 3 blows the KTuner Starter 21 out of the water. Not that the KTuner tune isn't good. It is. The TSP tune is just at a different level of greatness.

So how is that 16.5 Map on the TSP? Well, I'm happy to report, better than expected. I mean the factory tune on the base turbos supposedly peaks at 16.3 so how much better is 16.5 right? Night and day obviously. It just feels like a somewhat detuned version of the full TSP tune.

Honestly, it feels more potent than the 17 psi KTuner tune I was running and not too far behind the 19.5 one I used. Buttery smooth on the low end with plenty of midrange "pop". I'm not sure exactly what tuning magic DRob does, but the man is a master.

Not to sound like a broken record but gather up your pennies and quarters and get the TSP Stage 1. You won't regret it one bit.
Sponsored

 


 


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