Hi all!
My name is Andrea. I have a 2018 Civic Si Sedan and I bought a ktuner v2 a couple of months ago. Started with a stage 1 ktuner tune, removed hang, made a few other tweaks, and my car is totally different beast. Better than before. Better from a stop, more responsive, better acceleration. I now run a MAPerformance tune at 19/23 boost, and am very happy with the performance. Ktuner v2 made it easy to get started, awakened my car, and gave me a fun HUD device too.
I have been making a number of electronics modifications to my car, but the relevant ktuner setup is:
My Ktuner v2 hardwired to an odb2 port on a three way splitter (each odb2 port on the splitter has a dash switch connected inline to pin 16 to cut odb2 power to the device). I have 2 other odb2 devices on the odb2 splitter - a bluetooth odb2 scanner (almost always off), and a team mobile SyncUP drive (a big brother hotspot and gps tracker). The usb cable is connected to a tablet mounted to the inside passenger chair rail stand. Tablet is an ancient Dell 8.1" Venue 8 Pro running windows 8.1 and the ktuner software.
I use tunerview on my phone as well - essentially I am using the odb2 port, the usb, and the bluetooth simultaneously.
When everything is working, it is pretty neat. The ktuner v2 itself has gauges/text for rpms, intake and engine temps, and voltage. The leds are programmed as shift lights. The phone running tunerview has gauges for fuel trims, etc. The tablet has realtime graphs, a realtime data table of all values, and some pretty/cute analog gauges. The tablet also makes it easier to play with tunes, record/review datalogs, change the led configuration, and most importantly - learn about my engine and tuning in general!
For how neat it is, I wish it was better, there are a few frustrating things that really break the ease of use on a tablet. I understand that the ktuner software is first and foremost a tuner's tool, but it is also good at real time stuff.
Some Observations:
- The ktuner v2 is powered by both the usb and odb2 port and can apparently switch between them seamlessly. My tablet has an otg cable and when I cut power to pin 16 on the ktuner v2, it stays powered from the otg cable (powered by either the usb on the car when running or the tablet when the car is off).
- The Ktuner v2 turns off (or maybe enters some type of sleep) when the car's engine is not running (even if it is powered by pin 16 or by the the usb port).
- In order to keep the display on while the: car is off, odb2 port plugged in, ktuner receiving power (from either odb2 pin 16 or usb), and the ktuner software running on a pc connected through usb - I usually have to enter demo mode. Otherwise the screen flickers and is hard to interact with.
- The Ktuner blocks my team mobile syncup drive from working correctly. When I start the car, the tmobile device stops reporting gps location, the wifi no longer works, and it drops off the network. This is really more of a problem with the team mobile device as it basically disables itself if it cannot communicate with the car ecu. Once the car is turned off, the ktuner turns off/goes to sleep, and then the team mobile device reconnects to the network and all of its features return to normal. This behavior leads me to believe that the ktuner is "greedy", my car's odb2 port cannot handle multiple devices, or the tmobile device has issues....or a combination thereof.
- The ktuner software is quite bright, relying mostly on the default windows theme. Unfortunately, when I move to a dark theme, certain UI text in the ktuner software becomes unreadable. It appears as if some of the text is hardcoded to be black. I usually switch to a standard theme to change settings, and then use a dark theme for realtime display (especially at night).
- My LEDs have stopped working a few times, and they are kinda frustrating to get working again. I have to essentially let the device reset - cut all power to it, wait a few minutes, only connect it through usb, and then open and save the leds config in the ktuner software, and then hope it works (testing with demo mode). Once it is working, I can reconnect all the things. This is a relatively new and frustrating issue.
Ktuner Software Wishlist:
- A more touchscreen-friendly layout editor UI - especially an option to change the size of layout items without the hotkey (impossible on a touchscreen). I am considering buying a mini bluetooth/touchpad specifically for this issue.
- Option to change the rate of the x-axis scroll for the realtime graphs. It would be really convenient and useful to make that graph 30 seconds or a couple of minutes worth of data. Would be nice for spot checking data at stop lights.
- High contrast display support or more color options for the layout: Background colors for the layout background and graphs. No hardcoded menu, setting, or layout text.
- Software option to reset the ktuner v2 (as if the ktuner was turned off without power for a few minutes).
- Android support (I am afraid to run it in wine on linux).
Ktuner v2 Device Wishlist:
- Option to set power to only pull from one interface (odb2 or usb). I understand that this may also be handled in a discrete circuit, and may not be alterable by software. It is a wish nonetheless.
- Automatic Brightness Control - light sensor or clock driven?
All in all, Ktuner is a fantastic device and software package, even better with tunerview. Thanks for the efforts @KTuner