CT4V BW - Tapout Blue Belt Build - HP TUNERS - EASY PEASY

[White-BlackWing]

Wanted to post this to help encourage others to mod, and to become more familiar with their cars.

I purchased a 6-speed manual about a year ago, 13k miles on it now of semi-daily driving. I was ready to mod it as I'm confident the car has no issues, and I want to be able to run/outrun stock pony cars in the area. Reached out to Tapout Tuning as they were very popular/involved with previous platforms and forums. Scott and the staff were amazing, explained everything and even shipped the parts VERY quickly. Parts arrived, everything was well packed and even had easy-to-follow directions with pictures.

A few time-lapses of the installation so far, waiting for the ECU to arrive from HPTuners.

 

[1Evil55]

<---Saluki

 

[White-BlackWing]

<---Saluki

Me Too!

 

[Metal4all6]

What all have you done so far? Looks like the throttle body in the time lapse at least. I'd be curious how it feels after the tune! We don't have too many reviews/first hand accounts of HP tuners yet.

I've done the throttle body and CF air intake/green filters, but will probably wait a little longer before tuning if I can resist! Only 2300 miles for me after a year of ownership so I don't want to kill my engine warranty just yet haha. Want to get a few more miles on the odometer first.

 

[White-BlackWing]

I JUST got the TB, Downpipes, Green filters, and spark plugs installed, waiting for the ECU to return from HPTUNERS. I drove it home from the exhaust shop 1-2 miles and parked it to pull the ECU, so I have no experiences to share thus far.

HP Tuners is a reputable option, I've had nothing but great success with their products in the past and TapOut seems to be the leader in this space for testing/tuning.

 

[White-BlackWing]

I finished the installation last night, just waiting on the ECU at this point.

Notes for others installing worth mentioning
-there is a screw in the middle of the airbox (this has me looking for a min), when you go to swap filters
-left side takes longer than the right for sparkplugs
-as long as you are not in a rush, everything is pretty simple and easy to access.
-I would suggest most have a shop do the downpipe as a few of the bolts needed heat to remove.
-the rest is super simple in the garage with a light and a few basic mechanic tools.

 

[Joszer]

Did you ever figure out how to remove some of those vacuum hoses that don't have buttons to remove? It almost looked like they were crimped on.

But I agree with your assessment, spark plugs are easily accessible with a 6" extension and a basic ratchet. You just gotta bend some of those hoses I noted above out of the way to get access to the plug.

I found that the screws for the air box under the strut brace were annoying to get to.

For those that need to do this, you don't need to remove the screw completely, just back em out 1-1.5cm until they loose their bite to the lower part of the air box and it'll pop off. No need to risk loosing a screw into the engine abyss.

 

[White-BlackWing]

I ended up using an old fuel line remover tool and filed one down to fit, it worked but most seem just to work around that hose on the left (passenger side) by moving it around.

I agree on the airbox lid screws, as a few are tight. I used a Phillips bit and a 1/4 ratchet to access one of the tight ones.

I followed the instructions and REALLY loaded up the boots with grease.... my ECU was delayed in shipping but says it will arrive Monday. Unless work is crazy, I'll head home and start tuning once it shows up.

Should have it on a buddies dyno before the end of the week. If Scott (TAPOUT) is happy with the tune, I'll post some videos and dyno results.

 

[White-BlackWing]

Scott from Tapout confirmed baseline logs look fine, and are working on my tune file. Already having fun just reviewing the logs and learning the HP software.

Car is much louder and a little raspy but you can REALLY hear the turbos now. So far VERY happy with the purchase and looking forward to the added power.

 

[White-BlackWing]

Tune was solid and I've been given the green light to do some full boost pulls, no changes needed. Car seems to idle better, and seems stock until you stomp on it

 

[Joszer]

How do you record logs on HP tuners? Do you have to have a laptop hooked up to a dongle? Or is there an app that links straight to your phone?

 

[White-BlackWing]

yes, USBC from the HPTuner OBD tool to my Windows laptop. I'm not aware of an app, but I know that using a cable is preferred by most tuners as the polling happens faster and you get more granular data.

 

[poor-sha]

If you have an MVPI 2 or 3 it can log directly to the device.

 

[WONT TAP]

If you have an MVPI 2 or 3 it can log directly to the device.

MVPI2 will not work with Global B vehicles, so you need an MVPI3.

And as mentioned above, the data resolution is much better when a USB cable is used.

 

[White-BlackWing]

Got the car to a dyno and made a some pulls logging the car and then emailing to Scott and the team at Tapout Wednesday.

Found that the rear passenger vacuum line was not fully connected, had wiggled its way loose so I was experiencing limited boost.

After that, everything was smooth and the tune was almost spot on, Scott was able to email back and forth with me multiple times in just a few hours to keep my dyno costs down. A few tune adjustments and dyno pulls later, and I'm a happy camper with a newly renewed interest in my Blackwing.

Dyno was reading a bit high considering what others with the same mods have posted so I'll keep it private, but it was a tad north of 525 at the wheels.

Did I mention that the resonated downpipes just SCREAM!!!

Kudos to Scott and the Tapout Team for the amazing services and products.

 

[White-BlackWing]

Just wanted to show others that the DP is close but has clearance.

 

[DustinEarnhardt]

Just wanted to show others that the DP is close but has clearance.

Just curious... why is only one side wrapped? Not saying you did anything wrong, just genuinely intrigued.

 

[WONT TAP]

Just curious... why is only one side wrapped? Not saying you did anything wrong, just genuinely intrigued.

We recommend wrapping the crossover pipe where it goes under the transmission lines. There is no need to wrap on the other side in our opinion.

 

[White-BlackWing]

my thoughts were that it offered additional heat protection to the transmission lines that had to be bent slightly to clear. I just followed the directions sir!

 

[DustinEarnhardt]

We recommend wrapping the crossover pipe where it goes under the transmission lines. There is no need to wrap on the other side in our opinion.

Gotta love Tapout... They think of everything!