Hey fellow TSXers, if anyone is debating between getting a dyno tune vs. an e-tune, I have some answers that may help you. I recently got a Flashpro dyno tune, and soon after that, got a Flashpro e-tune from VitViper. Wasn’t completely happy with the dyno tune, and after reading many glowing reviews of Vit Viper’s services decided to do the e-tune as well.
In any case, here are my impressions that compare the 2 types of tuning processes.
Tuning Process
Dyno Tuning: Dyno tuning is very simple from the customer’s perspective. The tech straps your car to a dyno (in my case, it was a Dynapak dyno that mounted the car at the wheel hub), they do a series of WOT and partial throttle runs to capture live data logs with the Flashpro. Throughout the runs, the tech adjusts various parameters to eventually arrive with a calibration file with your car’s optimal performance output. This whole process, if done right, is very safe and is completed in less than 2 hours. Unfortunately, this service comes at at a high premium since my dyno tuner charges $500 to tune TSXs. Also, since the car is strapped to a dyno, you don’t get a real sense of how the car will actually handle on the road (which was why I wasn’t completely satisfied with the dyno tune). Fun fact, Doug Macmillan (president of Hondata) stopped by the shop and sat in my passenger seat while my car was on the dyno. He rolled in with his coveted white 2016 Civic 1.5L turbo that he’s been experimented with. Still regretted not taking a picture with him :-/.
E-Tuning: This process requires a lot more work from the customer. When you purchase the service, Vit will send you Flashpro calibration files that you load into your car. You will then enable the logging on your Flashpro and follow the driving instructions that Vit provides. Usually the instructions require you to either drive normally for 20-25 minutes, do a 3rd gear WOT, or a combination of both. Each time you submit a log, Vit will review it, provide updates to the calibration file, and you’ll repeat the whole process again with the new file loaded into your car. On average I received a new calibration file within 1-3 days, and even then, the whole process required more than 2 months with a total of 35 calibration files to finish my tune. If you need instant gratification, I would not recommend e-tuning unless you do not have a good local dyno tuner. This is particularly true in the beginning when it’s not safe for your engine to engage VTEC. You will also need to do some homework, and find a good stretch of road that is straight, clean, level, without traffic, and most importantly, without cops, to effectively do your 3rd gear WOT pulls. Unlike the dyno, doing WOT street pulls is not particularly safe especially if you live in dense urban areas. Despite that, since you are tuning on the streets that you drive on every day, it will result with a tune that is perfect for daily driving. Did I mention that he only charges $250 for his services?
Power Gains
From a power perspective, both methods provided modest power gains over the Flashpro out-of-the-box tuned map. Here are the power specs from the dyno tune:
• Before Dyno Tune = 203.88 HP and 172.67 lb-ft TQ
• After Dyno Tune = 213.58 HP and 183.39 lb-ft TQ
• Gains = +9.7 HP and +10.72 lb-ft TQ
For the e-tune, I was expecting lower power figures since the dyno tuner doesn’t have to build in as much margin with the calibrations as the e-tuner would. However to my surprise, the e-tune yielded almost the same performance results.
I would ignore the HP and torque numbers from the virtual dyno chart since I don’t think my car is getting 225 HP to the wheels. But what’s interesting is that the HP and torque curves are practically the same between the two tunes. What’s even more interesting is that the Air/Fuel ratio (AFR) is much leaner with the dyno tune (~13:1) than it is with Vit’s e-tune (~12.3:1) during WOT, even though it’s providing the same amount of power. I did some long-term data logging with the two tunes and found that the dyno tune calibration had more engine knocks than Vit’s e-tune. Granted, knocks from the dyno-tune were not enough to put my engine in the danger zone. For example, in a normal 30-minute drive, the dyno tune averaged about 3-6 knocks, while Vit’s e-tune averaged between 1-2 knocks. Needless to say, both tunes appear to be safe for our engines.
Customer Service and Driving Experience Post Tune
As mentioned before, I was not completely happy with my dyno tune. My main issue with it was that the throttle was way too sensitive for daily commuting. Just slightly tapping the accelerator in 1st gear would cause my car to jerk and jolt, making commuting in traffic a real pain. I brought this concern up with my dyno tuner, but their post-support was terrible, and they didn’t help me at all. The guy on the phone actually told me to go contact Hondata for help.
Now, I completely understand that the root of the problem is due to our crappy DBW throttle system, but I was certain that some tuning adjustments could be made to alleviate the throttle sensitivity. I then enlisted Vit’s help. Even before purchasing his e-tuning service, he gave me some solid advice to dull out the throttle sensitivity, which made the dyno tune more tolerable for daily driving. He was respectful, and you can tell that the man had Honda in his blood. I was so impressed that I ended up buying his e-tune services to see what else he can do to improve my ride. Strangely enough, he didn’t even bother using the dyno tune calibration as the base, instead, we went through the whole tuning process from scratch. Although the whole process was lengthy, his customer service was top notch, as he always responded back to my emails promptly, and never left me hanging. The final e-tune calibration file that I received offers the same power as the dyno tune, and is much more comfortable to drive on my daily commute.
Conclusion
Overall, I thought the $500 I spent with the dyno-tune was a waste of money, and if I were to do it all again, I would have just done the e-tune and called it a day. It’s nice that the dyno-tune gives you immediate gratification and provides you with a dyno graph to look at. Also, if I didn’t live in an area with loads of traffic, the dyno-tune would have worked out fine. However, when a customer has a concern after a service has been done, I would expect the provider to accommodate to ensure complete customer satisfaction. You will get that with Vit’s e-tuning service and I’m sure you’ll be as satisfied as I was. If you’re local to the Oregon area, the best-case scenario is to have Vit do both dyno and street tunes to really get an even more optimal result for your car.
In any case, here are my impressions that compare the 2 types of tuning processes.
Tuning Process
Dyno Tuning: Dyno tuning is very simple from the customer’s perspective. The tech straps your car to a dyno (in my case, it was a Dynapak dyno that mounted the car at the wheel hub), they do a series of WOT and partial throttle runs to capture live data logs with the Flashpro. Throughout the runs, the tech adjusts various parameters to eventually arrive with a calibration file with your car’s optimal performance output. This whole process, if done right, is very safe and is completed in less than 2 hours. Unfortunately, this service comes at at a high premium since my dyno tuner charges $500 to tune TSXs. Also, since the car is strapped to a dyno, you don’t get a real sense of how the car will actually handle on the road (which was why I wasn’t completely satisfied with the dyno tune). Fun fact, Doug Macmillan (president of Hondata) stopped by the shop and sat in my passenger seat while my car was on the dyno. He rolled in with his coveted white 2016 Civic 1.5L turbo that he’s been experimented with. Still regretted not taking a picture with him :-/.
E-Tuning: This process requires a lot more work from the customer. When you purchase the service, Vit will send you Flashpro calibration files that you load into your car. You will then enable the logging on your Flashpro and follow the driving instructions that Vit provides. Usually the instructions require you to either drive normally for 20-25 minutes, do a 3rd gear WOT, or a combination of both. Each time you submit a log, Vit will review it, provide updates to the calibration file, and you’ll repeat the whole process again with the new file loaded into your car. On average I received a new calibration file within 1-3 days, and even then, the whole process required more than 2 months with a total of 35 calibration files to finish my tune. If you need instant gratification, I would not recommend e-tuning unless you do not have a good local dyno tuner. This is particularly true in the beginning when it’s not safe for your engine to engage VTEC. You will also need to do some homework, and find a good stretch of road that is straight, clean, level, without traffic, and most importantly, without cops, to effectively do your 3rd gear WOT pulls. Unlike the dyno, doing WOT street pulls is not particularly safe especially if you live in dense urban areas. Despite that, since you are tuning on the streets that you drive on every day, it will result with a tune that is perfect for daily driving. Did I mention that he only charges $250 for his services?
Power Gains
From a power perspective, both methods provided modest power gains over the Flashpro out-of-the-box tuned map. Here are the power specs from the dyno tune:
• Before Dyno Tune = 203.88 HP and 172.67 lb-ft TQ
• After Dyno Tune = 213.58 HP and 183.39 lb-ft TQ
• Gains = +9.7 HP and +10.72 lb-ft TQ
For the e-tune, I was expecting lower power figures since the dyno tuner doesn’t have to build in as much margin with the calibrations as the e-tuner would. However to my surprise, the e-tune yielded almost the same performance results.
I would ignore the HP and torque numbers from the virtual dyno chart since I don’t think my car is getting 225 HP to the wheels. But what’s interesting is that the HP and torque curves are practically the same between the two tunes. What’s even more interesting is that the Air/Fuel ratio (AFR) is much leaner with the dyno tune (~13:1) than it is with Vit’s e-tune (~12.3:1) during WOT, even though it’s providing the same amount of power. I did some long-term data logging with the two tunes and found that the dyno tune calibration had more engine knocks than Vit’s e-tune. Granted, knocks from the dyno-tune were not enough to put my engine in the danger zone. For example, in a normal 30-minute drive, the dyno tune averaged about 3-6 knocks, while Vit’s e-tune averaged between 1-2 knocks. Needless to say, both tunes appear to be safe for our engines.
Customer Service and Driving Experience Post Tune
As mentioned before, I was not completely happy with my dyno tune. My main issue with it was that the throttle was way too sensitive for daily commuting. Just slightly tapping the accelerator in 1st gear would cause my car to jerk and jolt, making commuting in traffic a real pain. I brought this concern up with my dyno tuner, but their post-support was terrible, and they didn’t help me at all. The guy on the phone actually told me to go contact Hondata for help.
Now, I completely understand that the root of the problem is due to our crappy DBW throttle system, but I was certain that some tuning adjustments could be made to alleviate the throttle sensitivity. I then enlisted Vit’s help. Even before purchasing his e-tuning service, he gave me some solid advice to dull out the throttle sensitivity, which made the dyno tune more tolerable for daily driving. He was respectful, and you can tell that the man had Honda in his blood. I was so impressed that I ended up buying his e-tune services to see what else he can do to improve my ride. Strangely enough, he didn’t even bother using the dyno tune calibration as the base, instead, we went through the whole tuning process from scratch. Although the whole process was lengthy, his customer service was top notch, as he always responded back to my emails promptly, and never left me hanging. The final e-tune calibration file that I received offers the same power as the dyno tune, and is much more comfortable to drive on my daily commute.
Conclusion
Overall, I thought the $500 I spent with the dyno-tune was a waste of money, and if I were to do it all again, I would have just done the e-tune and called it a day. It’s nice that the dyno-tune gives you immediate gratification and provides you with a dyno graph to look at. Also, if I didn’t live in an area with loads of traffic, the dyno-tune would have worked out fine. However, when a customer has a concern after a service has been done, I would expect the provider to accommodate to ensure complete customer satisfaction. You will get that with Vit’s e-tuning service and I’m sure you’ll be as satisfied as I was. If you’re local to the Oregon area, the best-case scenario is to have Vit do both dyno and street tunes to really get an even more optimal result for your car.