ok i wanted to do exhaust but now im leaning towards gettin the hondata ecu flash. but i really wanna make sure this will not hurt my engine or have any problems with it. does anyone know anyone whos had problems or experience with it? and how easy is it to take out ecu and put back in?

 

The ECU removal and replacement is very easy. Check out these links to help you out:
http://performance.clubrsx.com/prsxhondata.html
http://www.hondata.com/kseries.html

 

It WILL NOT HARM YOUR ENGINE, IF THE GUYS AT HONDATA WERE SCAM ARTISTS THEY'D BE OUT OF BUSINESS A LONG TIME AGO HONDATA IS TEH ubOr roXors!!!

On a more serious note, the RSX responds incredibly well to any mods/bolt-ons. Like said before the installation is a snap, and along with your other basic bolt-ons its easy to see low 14's sometimes high 13's witha good driver.

 

Its one of the best upgrade you can get for your car!

 

When Hondata was first beta testing its ECU for the K motors, there were some minor problems that persist in west coast lore as if the minor problems made it to final production.

The most talked about problem involved the computer's advancing the spark too far for the commonly available grades of fuel, and there would be knocking that wouldn't be noticed by the driver because of the RPM range he was turning to produce the knock.

It was promptly spotted in the field when they went to the next stages of testing, and everything was properly sorted out before the units hit retail sales.

You know how things go, however, and rumours persist among the K motor aficionados that there could be a problem.

For whatever it's worth, I have a Hondata on my DC2 ITR, and it's a very important and well performing part of an overall package that makes the car a real pleasure to drive on street and track.

I have also met Matt of Hondata at Expo 3, and he was a big help sorting out various tuning issues that people were having, evincing a real concern for his product's reliability, and a further concern for a driver's ability to enjoy what they were producing.

I will buy another Hondata for my EP3 in good time, I'm sure.

 

Hondata is a great company, no doubt. I do believe that the cost of the flash is a little bit high. I really do not want to be thought as a hondata non believer because that is not true at all. This is just something I read from someone before he got banned off the popular rsx forum. (the reason they gave about banning him was that they were friends with hondata and did not want that kind of opinions on the site.
Basically:

Recently hondata announced that they can get
254Whp from a std JDM K20A with just a intake ram tube, and a new
exhaust header (with a Hondata re-flash) from prototpe racing.

The evidence that have for this is Shawn Church'es Dynapack, and after using the very same Dynapac in the UK
(with Doug from Hondata there) one of them could only make 205Whp.

having put the same engine on a different dyno (in the UK) it gave a flywheel
figure of 225Bhp.

Now, I don't know what the commercial links with Prototype Racing and Hondata are, but that is what I read.

I know a few people that are flashing ecu with their own equipment as well but do not have the means of hondata or other companies. They can read and write to ECU's, including mapping out the EU imobiliser, the multiplexor, etc etc etc. THe k series is new so stay tuned .. I am sure the ecu market will grow.

I love this forum

 

Do you mean they are flashing the RSX or EP3 OEM ECU chip?

I haven't seen programmes for this, yet, although there are many reputable people who sell pre-programmed chips that simply plug into your DC2 ITR ECU, so I'm sure it's possible for the K motors, too.

The problem, of course, is that if you buy one of these pre-programmed chips, you are stuck with the programme for whatever modifications you had when you bought the chip, or whatever modifications the seller recommended.

There are a couple of folks in the DC2 ITR world who sell quite a few of these chips, regardless of that, because they can design the chips for the modifications that most users will undertake and stick with.

Nevertheless, I think there's a huge advantage to the Hondata because even the cheaper systems can be constantly tweaked and re-programmed by certified tuners on a dyno in order to take advantage of motor rebuilds or new modifications.

The story about the UK tuning is definitely weird, and I didn't know Hondata had any UK connections. I know that Matt will be at the Expo, so I'll try to remember to ask, or perhaps even get someone to email him ahead of time to find out what this was about.

My experience with Hondata is that they are genuinely consumer driven and really do it for the art of their work more than for the money, so it's hard to believe that they'd be a part of any deliberate perpetration.

 

Yes, they have the equipment to do it. Of course it will have to be custom made for each application.

About the hondata ordeal.... This is basically what is going on. Sorry I am rushing but I have a meeting in 10 minutes.

Hondata and prototype racing are promoting this header.ecu combo in the USA.

prototype racing has been feeling a lot of heat in the UK lotus community. Since the k20a swap in the lotus is very popular and cost effective (remember the lotus frame weighs little) the brits are keeping an eye on the k20a development.

Hondata was nice enough to go to UK and help them with their immobilizer issues.

In the UK, they tested the same header using the same Hondata and they came up with 40HP less... so they do not think that the 250WHP is true....

So basically a guy named RON (user handle EDO) who is a k series guru short to speak, is paying half of the ticket for one of the nonbelievers from England, to come to California to see it for themselves.... lol


Apart from all this drama, I do understand why some of these people are not buying this.

Most people inlvolved in honda tuning today are used to way b series VTEC engines worked. ALthough we now have informatin how the k series works, they do not fully understand the potential. I Vtec, VTC and other innovations are really a step into the future for honda tuning.

A few ago if you went online on a ITR forum and announced that you got 250bhp from a itr engine with stock internals, just with a flash and a header, most people would flame you...lol

Maybe the k series motors are seriously held back, perfomance wise by Honda due to strick EPA requirements all over the world.

The intelligent k series head might in fact have that potential only with a header and ecy flash. If that is the case, then with serious N/A development, we are talking about 330, 350HP+ all motor potential.

Again, for those of you who are really interested in the k series motors, do some research and try to understnand why it is in no way a conventional motor.