Tuning and road safety

[gtman]

Usually, when we mention tunes and safety we talk about the risk of damaging the drivetrain. This topic is about how tuning can sometimes make your CivicX a safer vehicle to drive.

I live in metro Baltimore, Maryland. Home to crab cakes, Lamar Jackson and without question, the worst drivers in America. The most careless and clueless. Allstate Insurance has backed that up with stats showing Baltimore area drivers have accidents more often (by far) than any other US metro area.

Yesterday, my theory about tuning and road safety was put to a scary test. I was driving to work and I had a near miss. This particular section of highway has a fast lane, middle lane and a right lane that serves as a merge to another highway.

That far right lane was at a standstill and cars were backed up for a good half mile. I was in the fast lane. All of the sudden, a car in front of me slammed on their brakes. I quickly moved to the center lane to avoid slamming my brakes. Then, just as I got into the center lane... one of those "oh shit" moments happened...

A blue Mustang that was stopped in the right lane backup decided to pull out into my lane at the last second. He clearly didn't see me. I was doing 65-70 as he started pulling into my lane and we were ready to collide...

No amount of braking would have stopped me in time. Quickly moving into the fast lane to avoid him wasn't an option due to the line of traffic there.

I only had one move. Go as far as I could to the left and power out of the mess. And that's what I did. I steered left (going slightly over the line into the left lane) and put the throttle to the floor. There was no hesitation and no lag from the powertrain. I powered through fast enough to just miss the Mustang.

My heart pounding, all I could think was "thank god I'm tuned with that TSP Stage 1". That extra oomph got me past the Mustang before he was fully in my lane. Stock, there would have been a collision, no doubt.

Sure, there are real concerns about tuning and the risks to the drivetrain. But, on the road, a tune can create a more competent, fun, and in some situations, safer vehicle.

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[Andre80]

the risks are always there, even with auto stock, the only difference is that with the auto stock there is more probability that they will intervene under warranty, and even it is not always like that

tuning is a lifestyle, life is one, let's enjoy it


Ps. today I put the filter you have gtman, I noticed the best fuel trim, and go positive more often

 

[gtman]

the risks are always there, even with auto stock, the only difference is that with the auto stock there is more probability that they will intervene under warranty

Hmm. I didn't know warranty and accident avoidance were related.

 

[jacobegg]

I’ve been in a situation where speeding up is your only option. And it is the scariest thing when you floor it and just have to wait for something to happen. I agree with you @gtman this tune really does give you a peace of mind for those situations!

 

[Andre80]

Hmm. I didn't know warranty and accident avoidance were related.

Sure, there are real concerns about tuning and the risks to the drivetrain. But, on the road, a tune can create a more competent, fun, and in some situations, safer vehicle.

You pulled it up, my comment related to this


from how you always write it would seem that because you have the melody you don't make an accident, like those who have 100 hp do?all die?

when you drive a car with 60 hp or 400 hp, you must be aware of what you drive

 

[gtman]

from how you always write it would seem that because you have the melody you don't make an accident, like those who have 100 hp do?all die?

when you drive a car with 60 hp or 400 hp, you must be aware of what you drive

Andre, I think something got lost in translation here.

My point is that sometimes, having more power and less lag (the reasons I tuned), can help in accident avoidance. I never said folks that with less power would "die". I certainly never said you shouldn't drive carefully. That's a given.

Before I was tuned, I ran into some situations (like left turns into traffic) when I'd give it gas and the lag was severe. Reducing lag was the main reason I got into tuning. KTuner vastly minimized the lag and the power increase was a big plus. I definitely feel more confident (and safer) in my car, tuned.

 

[vctwhitepearl]

Agreed, on Maryland highways the civicx tuned improves reaction to a possible accident at speed, the brakes aren't bad either.
Back on tune topic....how does TSP 1
compare to Ktuner Stage 2 21psi with all set to high?

 

[gtman]

The feel of the TSP tune is completely different. Where an aggressive KTuner21 feels quick down low and has great midrange, power drops off a cliff after 5,000 rpm.

With the Two Step tune, the throttle is more linear, with power building and building as rpms rise all the way to near redline. I've seen boost peak as high as 26 psi.

At first, it took some getting used to after switching from an aggressive KTuner Starter tune but it has a more polished and better overall feel IMO.

On a side note, feel free to add you car to our tuning reliability survey. Thanks.
https://www.civicx.com/threads/tune...nce-survey-si-non-si-type-r-with-stats.42361

 

[vctwhitepearl]

The feel of the TSP tune is completely different. Where an aggressive KTuner21 feels quick down low and has great midrange, power drops off a cliff after 5,000 rpm.

With the Two Step tune, the throttle is more linear, with power building and building as rpms rise all the way to near redline. I've seen boost peak as high as 26 psi.

At first, it took some getting used to after switching from an aggressive KTuner Starter tune but it has a more polished and better overall feel IMO.

On a side note, feel free to add you car to our tuning reliability survey. Thanks.
https://www.civicx.com/threads/tune...nce-survey-si-non-si-type-r-with-stats.42361

yes, on the survey

so, off the line, your car on Two Step tune or aggressive KTuner21, which one wins to 60? or to 120 at speed?

Hardly ever bring it up past 5 grand for long, don't have enough open road or too many folks on the road most of the time. I think you might know I'm running my own custom tweaked Ktuner 21, have been for quite a while. I like the way it's set now, seems I get all the power I need from low with throttle when ever I want, no lag, but like you mentioned seems unpolished. The VSA does light on occasion. Going through S curves through Harford county roads and opening it up entering the curves, I do feel amazing lateral front wheel spin slide with all the torque, but VSA keeps front tracking straight with the wheel with no loss of control.
I was thinking about ignition settings? Havin no idea what to do there, right now I'm a simple boost junkie.

 

[gtman]

For the way you drive, stick with your customized setup. As far as measured times, it's hard to say. At highway speed though, putting my foot down feels noticeably more potent than my aggressive KTuner tune setup.

 

[gtman]

Wait does your car has those honda sensing features?

In 2017, only the Touring model came standard with Honda Sensing. So, no.

 

[vctwhitepearl]

For the way you drive, stick with your customized setup. As far as measured times, it's hard to say. At highway speed though, putting my foot down feels noticeably more potent than my aggressive KTuner tune setup.

Cool, always thinking about polishing my setup, and what could be next on the list. Interesting comparison, I wonder what makes it feel more potent at speed pulls. It would be interesting to compare at speed pulls log files. Any ideas? Is TSP 1 +6 more customizable than Ktuner? Did you customize TSP 1 too or are you running TSP 1 +6 as is?

 

[gtman]

Cool, always thinking about polishing my setup, and what could be next on the list. Interesting comparison, I wonder what makes it feel more potent at speed pulls. It would be interesting to compare at speed pulls log files. Any ideas? Is TSP 1 +6 more customizable than Ktuner? Did you customize TSP 1 too or are you running TSP 1 +6 as is?

The tune is locked down by D-Rob. Only basics like BBG and Advanced VSA can be adjusted.

I think the main difference is lack of early spool and less aggressive throttle. There are also many ignition and fueling changes behind the scenes. It's just a more balanced tune IMO, although I miss the snappier off the line feel of the KTuner setup.

 

[NikkoPH]

TSP Stage 1 saves @gtman day again wohoooooo!

 

[gtman]

Yeah. Apparently, with crazy Maryland commuting, TSP Stage 1 is a must do mod.

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