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

turbo lover

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That’s exactly why I haven’t. I’m afraid. Mostly of my dealership if I did need servicing of something and then voiding my warranty.
Your warranty will only be void if the tune was the cause of the problem.
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gtman

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I've actually taken my car to the dealer for service, tuned. No problem whatsoever. On the other hand, take it in with drivetrain issues and you have a problem.

There are probably 1,000+ members at CivicX that are tuned. And you hear about a problem maybe once every few months and even those few cases are generally caused by abuse, not the tune.

Maintain your car properly, use good quality gas, monitor things like fuel trims from time to time and don't constantly drive like a maniac and your tuned car will be plenty reliable. Reliable and much more fun than stock.
 
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CivicOops

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I've actually taken my car to the dealer for service, tuned. No problem whatsoever. On the other hand, take it in with drivetrain issues and you have a problem.

There are probably 1,000+ members at CivicX that are tuned. And you hear about a problem maybe once every few months and even those few cases are generally caused by abuse, not the tune.

Maintain your car properly, use good quality gas, monitor things like fuel trims time to time and don't constantly drive like a maniac and your tuned car will be plenty reliable. Reliable and much more fun than stock.
I've actually taken my car to the dealer for service, tuned. No problem whatsoever. On the other hand, take it in with drivetrain issues and you have a problem.

There are probably 1,000+ members at CivicX that are tuned. And you hear about a problem maybe once every few months and even those few cases are generally caused by abuse, not the tune.

Maintain your car properly, use good quality gas, monitor things like fuel trims time to time and don't constantly drive like a maniac and your tuned car will be plenty reliable. Reliable and much more fun than stock.
Yup this is how I feel. I did very extensive research before tuning and pretty much every case of somebody blowing their engine there is more to the story.

Usually it's some combination of running ridiculous amounts of power (350hp+ at the crank), beating on the engine (revving and redlining the engine when it's cold, constant LSPI, etc.), people making changes to the tune without knowing what they are doing.
 

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No doubt. Much better than un-tuned.

I can almost guarantee all those people who say we shouldn't tune would change their tune if they drove a tuned car for a day.:cool:
With lighter set of wheels, you going to feel more with the tsp stage1, like this one 18 in weight 18 Lbs for one rim with the tire weight 41 bls, lighter wheels also help aids the cvt

Honda Civic 10th gen Hands on with TSP's Stage 1 tune for the 1.5T (non-Si) 67FE9075-55AB-471A-8801-149A5E578122
 
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Yup this is how I feel. I did very extensive research before tuning and pretty much every case of somebody blowing their engine there is more to the story.

Usually it's some combination of running ridiculous amounts of power (350hp+ at the crank), beating on the engine (revving and redlining the engine when it's cold, constant LSPI, etc.), people making changes to the tune without knowing what they are doing.
That's exactly right. We do have a recent claim from a member saying he was just gently driving his car at 2800 rpm and he threw a rod. But we don't know what he was doing before that. Still waiting to hear the real story and honestly who knows if we ever will.

The base tunes and aftermarket tunes from TSP and MAP are really conservative. The TSP tune for example already comes with limited boost in "1st" and conservative amounts of power below 3500 rpm. I mean, TSP could easily tune for more power but they are looking out in terms of reliability. Hondata and KTuner do beta tests with much higher power and boost levels and then dialed things back for reliability when they released their tunes to the public.

Still, we have a large group of members that tell other members "don't tune", "it's unsafe", "your engine will blow" etc, but those comments aren't based in the reality of the situation. That's not to say it's guaranteed that a tune will never cause problems. But I think it's safe to say that the likelihood of a tuned Civic (running a base or OTS tune) blowing an engine is slim to none in normal driving and with proper maintenance.

And the fact is, a tuned Civic has driveability that far surpasses the factory tuned version sold off dealer lots. It's by far the best $500 or so you can spend on modding your car.
 
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As long as your ECU supports that feature, yes, definitely.
How about if you bought a used k tuner with tsp stage 1 for a si, I would need to get new tune from tsp for my hatch sport?
 
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gtman

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How about if you bought a used k tuner with tsp stage 1 for a si, I would need to get new tune from tsp for my hatch sport?
Correct. The Si tune won't work on your Sport.
 
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This post is specifically for those of you already tuned and using the Hondata +6 or KTuner 21. Like me, you guys have probably gotten used to the extra power of the base tunes over the stock Honda tune. Here's a real world example of how the TSP tune feels different/better...

On the highway today, I passed a vehicle who was doing 65 mph or so. In making my move, I gave it maybe 60% throttle (not even close to flooring it). With my base +6 or 21 tunes, the acceleration would've been excellent and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, I'd be at 85 mph and climbing.

Well today, with my TSP Stage 1, I did my move and looked at the speedo and was close to 100 mph with the same 60% throttle input. It was downright exhilarating and noticeable quicker than the base tunes.

Clearly, D-Rob knows how to tune the top end to perfection on these cars.
.
 
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Dirt

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I planned on buying this after the warranty expires (17 Hatchback Sport MT). I don't want the dealership to give some type of BS excuse relating anything drivetrain related to the tune. I figured I might as well wait it out until I have no more warranty. It sucks and I don't go around racing anyways but it would be nice to have a little more power. Luckily I have a project car on the side as this is my daily. Nice to know it's been reliable though.
 

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With lighter set of wheels, you going to feel more with the tsp stage1, like this one 18 in weight 18 Lbs for one rim with the tire weight 41 bls, lighter wheels also help aids the cvt

67FE9075-55AB-471A-8801-149A5E578122.jpeg
What is your wheel size and offset / are you spacing? Curious if you were constrained on tire dimensions or you like the look. That Pic looks like you left an inch and a half, at least, of contact patch per tire on the store shelf. Not judging. Cusious on looks, constraints, or magic unknown to me.

Dude what tire dimensions do you have? Could be the Pic, but it looks like you're giving up
With lighter set of wheels, you going to feel more with the tsp stage1, like this one 18 in weight 18 Lbs for one rim with the tire weight 41 bls, lighter wheels also help aids the cvt

67FE9075-55AB-471A-8801-149A5E578122.jpeg
 


Nathan le

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What is your wheel size and offset / are you spacing? Curious if you were constrained on tire dimensions or you like the look. That Pic looks like you left an inch and a half, at least, of contact patch per tire on the store shelf. Not judging. Cusious on looks, constraints, or magic unknown to me.

Dude what tire dimensions do you have? Could be the Pic, but it looks like you're giving up
18x8.5
What is your wheel size and offset / are you spacing? Curious if you were constrained on tire dimensions or you like the look. That Pic looks like you left an inch and a half, at least, of contact patch per tire on the store shelf. Not judging. Cusious on looks, constraints, or magic unknown to me.

Dude what tire dimensions do you have? Could be the Pic, but it looks like you're giving up
18x8.5 5x114.3 +45et Rim, tire 235 35 ZR18, no spacing
 
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Nathan le

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If you had 245 45 for profile and aspect would you have rubbed? Thanks for the quick reply dude!
No man, drive normal. By the way rims are superspeed RF03RR. My tire is 235, not 245.
 
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Hi All,

New to the forum and purchased my first Honda at 56 years old. Anyway, how many of you are running these tunes in the hot climates down south? I saw a comment that an aftermarket intercooler is highly recommended which really jacks up the cost for fun :)

Thanks for your input!
 

10GenPearlSi

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Hi All,

New to the forum and purchased my first Honda at 56 years old. Anyway, how many of you are running these tunes in the hot climates down south? I saw a comment that an aftermarket intercooler is highly recommended which really jacks up the cost for fun :)

Thanks for your input!
If you drive moderately sporty and only do occasional WOT pulls then the stock intercooler is fine. If you do a lot of WOT pulls back to back then an intercooler would be very helpful.
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