[Ghawkins]

2018 Accord Sport 2.0T A/T purchased two weeks ago. Now sitting beside a ‘15 GTI SE M/T, with APR Stage One tune in my garage. My initial plan was to sell the VW but I may keep it awhile longer. My age (78) and height (6’3”) are making entry/exit more and more difficult. Who knows what unforeseen health issue would preclude the use of a clutch as well. As much as I love new new Accord, the VW does seem to handle and ride better. More time might change my mind however.

 

[Accordian]

Welcome to the forum! I took have problems getting in and out of cars sometimes and have learned to just move the seat as far back as I can to give my legs more room to swing in and out. A bit annoying if you have to do it every time, but it does make the process easier on my body.

 

[Scotty]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new Accord! Great to see that you still have such an interest in cars, even going the route of aftermarket tunes. Do you have any plans to get the Hondata flash on the Accord? It looks to make some pretty significant gains and might help sway you away from the VW.

 

[Ghawkins]

Welcome to the forum! I took have problems getting in and out of cars sometimes and have learned to just move the seat as far back as I can to give my legs more room to swing in and out. A bit annoying if you have to do it every time, but it does make the process easier on my body.

Appreciate your suggestion but my issue is just the opposite. The seating position in my 4 door GTI is actually behind the B post because of my height, 6’3”. As a result I need to rotate around it to be seated. The keeps getting worse with my age, 78. The Accord, because it is bigger, is better but still not the best. I really need a 2 door car, but no one makes them anymore. The door is much longer on most 2 doors.

 

[Ghawkins]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new Accord! Great to see that you still have such an interest in cars, even going the route of aftermarket tunes. Do you have any plans to get the Hondata flash on the Accord? It looks to make some pretty significant gains and might help sway you away from the VW.

Maybe. I need to put some miles on first. I do have a concern about the warranty, especially with that new A/T.

 

[Scotty]

I can understand your hesitation about getting a tune on a brand new car, as the new Accord does have a brand new powertrain. That being said, there are a bunch of other owners on here, who have already taken steps to prepare for the tune, and a few have suggested that Honda isn't as opposed to aftermarket tunes as other automakers. Hondata is a well known company, thats clearly earned the trust of many Honda owners.

 

[BoostedAccord]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Ghawkins]

I can understand your hesitation about getting a tune on a brand new car, as the new Accord does have a brand new powertrain. That being said, there are a bunch of other owners on here, who have already taken steps to prepare for the tune, and a few have suggested that Honda isn't as opposed to aftermarket tunes as other automakers. Hondata is a well known company, thats clearly earned the trust of many Honda owners.

Looks like Hondata is doing their homework. They are in a new game by tuning turbo cars. Making an extra 10% hp and very little extra torque seems about the limit for tune only on a normally aspirated engine. The turbo motors are easily tuned to way more, especially torque. Tuners need to play around a bit before they know where they can go. I am willing to let them play for now. I am on the third generation of tuned GTIs. Used APR for all and no issues, other than a clutch on the ‘15, either caused by the tunes or other issues for that matter.

 

[Xtreme]

What happened to the clutch on your '15? I'm not one for tuning so these things are still new to me and I hear that the increase in power and torque can wear out certain parts before its time.

 

[Ghawkins]

What happened to the clutch on your '15? I'm not one for tuning so these things are still new to me and I hear that the increase in power and torque can wear out certain parts before its time.

Understand that the ‘15 was a VW GTI. The clutches in these cars apparently were designed for the original torque rating of 258 ft lbs. All tunes make more than that, the Stage One APR tune I purchased increased that to well over 300 ft lbs at very low rpm...too much for the clutch. After following the forums, it appears most, if not all, of these tuned MT cars required new clutches. This may or may not be the case with MT turbo Acords. Probably results won’t be known until there are several applications out there with all the tuner companies. My clutch lasted about 5,000 miles, until the weather turned colder and the engine made more boost. The one fact in common is the Hondata tune also has a big torque increase at low to middle rpm. Also I have heard no definitive info regarding Honda’s warranty policy. VW will not cover any tuned related issue. These turbo cars have the potential for big torque and horsepower. The manufacturers are certainly aware of the potential.

 

[Accordian]

Maybe tuning can be left out until after the original factory warranty expires so Honda won't refuse to repair the car within that time frame if anything goes wrong. But 5,000 miles per clutch is just too short of a lifespan, that's like getting a new one every few months depending on how you drive.

 

[Ghawkins]

Maybe tuning can be left out until after the original factory warranty expires so Honda won't refuse to repair the car within that time frame if anything goes wrong. But 5,000 miles per clutch is just too short of a lifespan, that's like getting a new one every few months depending on how you drive.

Agreed. Been driving since 1956 and this is my first new clutch, after several muscle cars, etc. The Sachs HD replacement is doing just fine at 30,000 miles now. The OEM clutch was just not up to the increased torque, especially at low rpm. The 2018 Accord is Honda’s first high torque turbo motor. Just consider that it too might be engineered to handle the increased torque. I would be even more concerned about that new high tech auto trans in my 2.0T. I don’t even want to think of what the replacement cost would be.

 

[Scotty]

I don't think Honda will refuse warranty work unless they can prove that the issue is directly related to the aftermarket tune. I know there was even mention on here that some Honda dealerships offer tunes in house. Doesn't look like they are as stingy as VW when it comes to aftermarket mods.

 

[Ghawkins]

I don't think Honda will refuse warranty work unless they can prove that the issue is directly related to the aftermarket tune. I know there was even mention on here that some Honda dealerships offer tunes in house. Doesn't look like they are as stingy as VW when it comes to aftermarket mods.

Apparently some VW dealers install tunes as well. That doesn’t change the corporate warranty policy but the service departments are always happy for another source of income.