No, your 1.5L engine is not going to break

[amirza786]

Many of you have seen the recent threads on blown engines, thrown rods etc. and some of you are asking this question: Is my engine going to blow? Is the L15B7 reliable? The short answer is...yes, it's reliable. Even though it has been turbocharged, and even though it is GDI.

This engine was developed by Honda in 2016 for the Civic platform (and Accord), to include the Civic turbo, Civic Si, Honda CR-V, and the Honda Accord. Although it is tuned differently for the different platforms, all the Civics except the 2019 Sport share this engine. The Civic Si they added a few things like forged pistons, sodium valves etc for additional cooling and a higher lower compression ratio. You can read more information on this here: https://hondanews.com/en-US/releases/honda-civic-si-powertrain

In the majority of threads where the engine was blown or a rod thrown, you will find a similar pattern: the quest for more power. We are not talking Ktuner and an intake. We are talking about full bolt-on's, ethanol and meth injection, custom tunes that in some cases took the power beyond 300 WHP. On stock internals.We are talking torque that leaves anything but the most powerful V8's in the dust. In some cases there were warning signs such as engine sputtering at WOT, fuel trims that were way off, and codes being thrown. In some cases it just went boom without warning.

Now I want to make it clear that I am not putting down any of these people. The purpose of this thread is to not pass judgement on anyone. In fact I admire people willing to take a risk. Also, I am not discussing or advocating any type of tuning or abstaining from tuning in this thread. I don't want to pit the pro tuning and the anti-tuning members, each has his or her reasons for tuning or not tuning, an each side should respect the other.

The 1.5L engine has been around for awhile, both in the NA versions as well as some turbocharged versions in some form. So it has a long history, and a long history of reliability. When Honda reconfigured this engine for the 10th gen Civic, Accord and CR-V, Honda did extensive testing on this engine, you can find articles on this on the internet (Google is your friend here). By their own words, Honda tuned this engine "to last hundreds of thousands of miles". Yes, some issues did pop up such as the oil dilution issue that affected vehicles in cold climates, but Honda addressed it quickly. And in areas with mild climate like beautiful California (insert shameless plug here ), oil analysis showed that the oil dilution issue is a nothing burger.

What I am saying here is that your Civic, Civic Sports Hatch, LX, EX, Si etc have a well made economy engine, and I have to emphasize economy, one that was built to last. So trying to get 300 WHP out this engine with stock internals is risky, especially if you don't know what you are doing or you go to far. There is no evidence to suggest that a minor tune such as TSP's stage 1 tune or Ktuner base tunes on a stock engine would do any damage, but that is an argument for another day when more data becomes available or we start seeing failed engines on these tunes.

So other than the freak failure or the 1 out of a million engines that may have a factory defect, I think it's safe to say that if you take care of your car, maintain your engine, you will get years of enjoyment out of it and it won't blow up on you

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[Drake]

So you're telling me I can stop wearing my bomb-defusal suit for my grocery runs?

 

[maggs_10thgen]

Many of you have seen the recent threads on blown engines, thrown rods etc. and some of you are asking this question: Is my engine going to blow? Is the L15B7 reliable? The short answer is...yes. Even though it has been turbocharged, and even though it is GDI.

This engine was developed by Honda in 2016 for the Civic platform (and Accord), to include the Civic turbo, Civic Si, Honda CR-V, and the Honda Accord. Although it is tuned differently for the different platforms, all the Civics except the 2019 Sport share this engine. The Civic Si they added a few things like forged pistons, sodium valves etc for additional cooling and a higher compression ratio. You can read more information on this here: https://hondanews.com/en-US/releases/honda-civic-si-powertrain

In the majority of threads where the engine was blown or a rod thrown, you will find a similar pattern: the quest for more power. We are not talking Ktuner and an intake. We are talking about full bolt-on's, ethanol and meth injection, custom tunes that in some cases took the power beyond 300 WHP. On stock internals.We are talking torque that leaves anything but the most powerful V8's in the dust. In some cases there were warning signs such as engine sputtering at WOT, fuel trims that were way off, and codes being thrown. In some cases it just went boom without warning.

Now I want to make it clear that I am not putting down any of these people. The purpose of this thread is to not pass judgement on anyone. In fact I admire people willing to take a risk. Also, I am not discussing or advocating any type of tuning or abstaining from tuning in this thread. I don't want to pit the pro tuning and the anti-tuning members, each has his or her reasons for tuning or not tuning, an each side should respect the other.

The 1.5L engine has been around for awhile, both in the NA versions as well as some turbocharged versions in some form. So it has a long history, and a long history of reliability. When Honda reconfigured this engine for the 10th gen Civic, Accord and CR-V, Honda did extensive testing on this engine, you can find articles on this on the internet (Google is your friend here). By their own words, Honda tuned this engine "to last hundreds of thousands of miles". Yes, some issues did pop up such as the oil dilution issue that affected vehicles in cold climates, but Honda addressed it quickly. And in areas with mild climate like beautiful California (insert shameless plug here ), oil analysis showed that the oil dilution issue is a nothing burger.

What I am saying here is that your Civic, Civic Sports Hatch, LX, EX, Si etc have a well made economy engine, and I have to emphasize economy, one that was built to last. So trying to get 300 WHP out this engine with stock internals is risky, especially if you don't know what you are doing or you go to far. There is no evidence to suggest that a minor tune such as TSP's stage 1 tune or Ktuner base tunes on a stock engine would do any damage, but that is an argument for another day when more data becomes available or we start seeing failed engines on these tunes.

So other than the freak failure or the 1 out of a million engines that may have a factory defect, I think it's safe to say that if you take care of your car, maintain your engine, you will get years of enjoyment out of it and it won't blow up on you

Well written

 

[amirza786]

So you're telling me I can stop wearing my bomb-defusal suit for my grocery runs?

Ha ha, I have to remember that one!

 

[Jayceegee]

THANK YOU !!!

 

[gtman]

Amirza, nice post. This is what I was basically saying throughout the recently locked blown engine topic. Honda definitely tuned the 1.5 turbo well below it's capability to ensure reliability and to help meet CAFE mileage standards. Adding a mild base tune certainly has the potential to lower long term durability, but as you said, should keep things within safety tolerances.

And you're right, there is a limit where the stock internals can fail with too much torque and hp. No one can definitely say the exact numbers. But, it's safe to say while the base tunes present some small risk, 300WHP is obviously well past the danger zone. And once you up the power too much, abusive driving habits or poor maintenance will bite you in the ass.

 

[amirza786]

If you want a 300 HP/ 300 ft lb torque Civic, buy one.

Great write up.

You mean like a CTR? I'm game in 5 years on the used market....hopefully they don't appreciate like an S2000!

 

[nothome17]

Honda corporate needs to hire you.

 

[amirza786]

Honda corporate needs to hire you.

Ha ha someone has to defend them against these big bad tuners blowing up their engines

 

[maggs_10thgen]

Amirza, nice post. This is what I was basically saying throughout the recently locked blown engine topic. Honda definitely tuned the 1.5 turbo well below it's capability to ensure reliability and to help meet CAFE mileage standards. Adding a mild base tune certainly has the potential to lower long term durability, but as you said, should keep things within safety tolerances.

And you're right, there is a limit where the stock internals can fail with too much torque and hp. No one can definitely say the exact numbers. But, it's safe to say while the base tunes present some small risk, 300WHP is obviously well past the danger zone. And once you up the power too much, abusive driving habits or poor maintenance will bite you in the ass.

While Honda "might" have left a little wiggle room for performance.. The car is rated around 19-20psi in stock form on a 1.5 liter motor with 10:3:1 compression. It almost maxed out from the factory in my opinion. For example, my friend said his STI runs around 15psi with much lower compression in stock form. To put things into perspective. And yea I know about direct injection in the Si, but it still has to be a factor.
TSP stage 1 is about as far as you'd want to go. Even then you wouldn't want to drive in map 3 all the time. Long as you don't get crazy with the tune and abuse the car, it should last.

 

[maggs_10thgen]

As far as psi numbers keep in mind our turbo and the turbo in the STI are different animals. It's not apples to apples.

I here ya. In my opinion they've extracted a lot of power from this little motor. You can't do a heck of a lot more without beefing up the internals = facts
Of course you'll always have the guy who claims to run 30psi all day everyday on stock internals with no issues.. But thats not real life

 

[amirza786]

While Honda "might" have left a little wiggle room for performance.. The car is rated around 19-20psi in stock form on a 1.5 liter motor with 10:3:1 compression. It almost maxed out from the factory in my opinion. For example, my friend said his STI runs around 15psi with much lower compression in stock form. To put things into perspective. And yea I know about direct injection in the Si, but it still has to be a factor.
TSP stage 1 is about as far as you'd want to go. Even then you wouldn't want to drive in map 3 all the time. Long as you don't get crazy with the tune and abuse the car, it should last.

I think Map 3 is more harmful to the clutch than the engine. 23.5 psi should not hurt the rods *unless* you are going WOT in 5th or 6th gear at low RPM

 

[maggs_10thgen]

I think Map 3 is more harmful to the clutch than the engine. 23.5 psi should not hurt the rods *unless* you are going WOT in 5th or 6th gear at low RPM

Agreed. Even though I'd still be conservative with map 3. It's like an increase of 60-80lbs of tq. Ideally you'd have the tq come in a higher rpms. I think you could even dial it in by gear

 

[Syntek]

While Honda "might" have left a little wiggle room for performance.. The car is rated around 19-20psi in stock form on a 1.5 liter motor with 10:3:1 compression. It almost maxed out from the factory in my opinion. For example, my friend said his STI runs around 15psi with much lower compression in stock form. To put things into perspective. And yea I know about direct injection in the Si, but it still has to be a factor.
TSP stage 1 is about as far as you'd want to go. Even then you wouldn't want to drive in map 3 all the time. Long as you don't get crazy with the tune and abuse the car, it should last.

psi ≠ airflow, STI turbo is slightly bigger than the Si turbo, so even though it's lower PSI, I'm pretty sure it's moving near same amount of air as our turbos do at a higher PSI

 

[maggs_10thgen]

psi ≠ airflow, STI turbo is slightly bigger than the Si turbo, so even though it's lower PSI, I'm pretty sure it's moving near same amount of air as our turbos do at a higher PSI

I don't know too much about the Sti. My buddy was a little shocked when he saw the spec sheet online that said 20.3psi. Even though I think it might be 19

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