Took a ride in a Hondata-equipped 02 last night and...

[MolonLabe]

...and believe me, what Hondata says is NOT hype. The car in question is a black 02 with 17" rims, an AEM CAI (not the short ram, the big one) and no other mods. The owner works at my local dealership. Other than that, the car is stock, he hasn't touched exhaust or anything. He says the next thing he is going to do is install a spacer that goes between the intake and the cylinder head, it cools the intake charge somewhat and gives you some more intake volume. I'm not sure who makes that part, but its next on his list, he says the stock exhaust generally flows fine except for the catalytic converter. The owner just got Hondata installed a few days ago, and when he left work for the day we went for a spin.

I was interested in comparing his black 02 with my silver 02. Well let me tell you guys, it was like a totally different car. I couldn't believe that a CAI and a chip could make that much difference. Down low you don't notice that much difference at all, but in the high revs it pulled HARD. But the biggest difference of all was in the extra revs, first because the engine is still making good power way up there at 8 grand, but more so because when you upshift from your new redline the tach falls back down to 6,000 instead of 5,000, so you go right back alot closer to your horsepower/torque peak. I think the difference is not so much in overall power, but in overall USEABLE power when you take advantage of those extra revs. The owner was also very impressed, he stated that the only downside is that the Hondata pretty much forces you to buy 91 octane if you want the power gain, at 87 octane it will still run smoothly but the power increase diminishes noticeably. I would also point out that we were doing roll-on type runs on the highway and the fact that he has tires of a larger diameter than stock (even with the lower profile, they are larger diameter) meant that the car was fighting an effectively taller gear ratio to accelerate. Plus he had an extra 180lbs of fat white dude in the passenger seat, namely me.

I can say for certain that the claims Hondata makes are very reasonable, and what you've heard about them on these boards and elsewhere is generally true, but you have to experience it for yourself to really appreciate it.

[TezGari]

Nice words...I would like to exp it myself, i know it would make me a Hondata person...Im waiting till they tune the Hondata ECu more like the RSX S ver.:)

[MolonLabe]

$600 for a chip never seemed like such a good deal. I'm actually kind of biased against chips in a way because I remember in the late 80s and early 90s (showing my age here) when guys were shelling out $250, $300 on "superchips" for Camaros and such, and they didn't make ANY difference at all. What a waste. I think you could very easily spend $600 on headers and exhaust and not feel the difference that this Hondata makes. What a difference technology makes.

[David K.]

The spacer your friend is refering to is Hondata's plastic intake manifold gasket. It replaces the stock metal one, helping the intake stay cooler. And for the record Hondata uses a reflash for our ecu, it's not a "chip", though some people still refer to it as such. Just FYI. Hondata has been getting some good press on this site lately; makes me shart to consider it more and more....

[Btrthnezr3]

Originally posted by David K.
Hondata has been getting some good press on this site lately; makes me shart to consider it more and more....

Yeh...I'm hoping to get Hondata in the future but I am gonna wait a while 1)because of financial reasons 2)to see what the hondata'd EP's are running like in a year or two more. There seem to be little to no reliability issues right now, but you never know what might happen in the future. I'm an in the closet skeptic. Wish I knew someone personally that had the upgrade though...so I too could experience the wonders. ;)

[MolonLabe]

Wait a minute, a PLASTIC manifold gasket? With the operating temps of these engines I can't help but wonder if that's a good idea or not. I used to have an ex-cop-car Crown Vic and I was on www.crownvic.net for awhile. There was a huge recall when the 4.6 liter V8 first came out, because Ford thought they would try a plastic intake manifold, yes the whole thing, being cheapass like always, and every single one of those intakes cracked from heat stress. It was a huge recall and they were all retrofitted with aluminum intakes. Maybe since this is just a spacer its far away enough from the cylinder head to avoid such problems, or maybe I'm just old fashioned and think things like engines should be made out of metal.

By the way, I am aware of what exactly the Hondata is because I've been seriously considering it myself, but I still tend to think of it as a chip upgrade as opposed to a stand-alone user-programmable system (which they have just released as well).

[Dunrick]

I trust hondata with their gasket. They know their stuff...


any honda nutt out there will at one time own a hondata product...its almost a given.

[Btrthnezr3]

Originally posted by Dunrick
any honda nutt out there will at one time own a hondata product...its almost a given.

Unless you are poor like me and have parents and friends that refuse to support any kind of modification to your new car. :(

[fsugatorbait]

Sick, good to hear. Ill have my ecu back from them on wednesday. Cant wait! :D

[TezGari]

Originally posted by fsugatorbait
Sick, good to hear. Ill have my ecu back from them on wednesday. Cant wait! :D

Your getting hondata? lucky you!:)

[fsugatorbait]

Originally posted by trinispeed
Your getting hondata? lucky you!:)

yes sir-re-bob! :D

[oogy-boogy]

Originally posted by fsugatorbait
yes sir-re-bob! :D

Quit braggin Phil....:D


The Hondata gasket will not melt. I've had one in for some time now with no problems. I also tried out a Hondata's EP and it was great (Anj/anjapower's car). Bigger difference than I originally thought....

[fsugatorbait]

Originally posted by oogy-boogy
Quit braggin Phil....:D


The Hondata gasket will not melt. I've had one in for some time now with no problems. I also tried out a Hondata's EP and it was great (Anj/anjapower's car). Bigger difference than I originally thought....

P.S. go Colts :*

[oogy-boogy]

Originally posted by fsugatorbait
P.S. go Colts :*

:(

Manning + playoffs = :p

[BlasTech]

That's exactly what I said when I test-drove BigCase's Hondata'd Si.

Just NORMAL shifting will keep you in the sweet spot of power, and it makes the Si perform much better.

Its something you cant explain, you just have to find someone who'll let you test drive, then you'll understand.

As for the plastic intake, its a thermoplastic, and it can take the heat... the A3 int he RSX-base has a plastic intake manifold.

[fsugatorbait]

Originally posted by oogy-boogy
:(

Manning + playoffs = :p

Vermeil + playoff loss = :'(

[Dunrick]

So hondata lands you at 6000 rpms now?

and prior to that around 5000? Can we get the exact shift points from somebody?

I know it is a bit to ask, but I was just wondering.

[oogy-boogy]

Originally posted by fsugatorbait
Vermeil + playoff loss = :'(

ROFL.....hahahahaaaa....He'll cry regardless. He's such an emotional panzy.:D

[BlasTech]

Originally posted by Dunrick
So hondata lands you at 6000 rpms now?

and prior to that around 5000? Can we get the exact shift points from somebody?

I know it is a bit to ask, but I was just wondering.

I cant give you exact shift points, but you'd basically have to beat the stock Si tranny to death to get it to land where where the hondata shift would land if you were just 'normal' shifting.

[MolonLabe]

Originally posted by Dunrick
So hondata lands you at 6000 rpms now?

and prior to that around 5000? Can we get the exact shift points from somebody?

I know it is a bit to ask, but I was just wondering.

If I wait to shift until just before fuel cutoff at 7,200 in my bone-stock 2002 Si with the factory ECU, engaging the next gear will bring the motor down to just a bit more than 5,000 rpm.

If you wait to shift until just before fuel cutoff at 8,000+ in the Hondata equipped car, engaging the next gear will land the tach just over 6,000 rpm, because you had an extra 1,000 rpm worth of speed/gearing in your previous gear.

That clear it up any? Be aware that the factory tach isn't the most accurate so what I'm telling you are the INDICATED rpm that I personallly witnessed. In terms of mechanical rpm you'd need the exact gear ratios of the car and some time with a calculator.

Oh yeah, regarding the Chiefs, they have a good chance IF their defense shows up. On any given Sunday crazy stuff can happen, that's for sure. For example, 4 Denver defenders can stand an B.S. with each other while a receiver picks himself up off the ground and walks casually into the endzone.


Damn, I hate to see that happen to the Broncos...:'(

[myeverlovinsir]

You don't need a calculator, I have done it many times on the dyno.

Stock cutoff is 6800 rpm.
Hondata is 7700 rpm.

Indicated is always off.;)

[Peking]

Originally posted by oogy-boogy
ROFL.....hahahahaaaa....He'll cry regardless. He's such an emotional panzy.:D

Not like Mora, he cries over nothing :D

[ep3guy]

Doug and the people at Hondata are awesome. The ECU upgrade for the EP is also a very nice upgrade which will change the car. I loved it when I had my EP.

[redronin22]

man u guys are over a year late on the band wagon. haha me and ep3 have had hondata since jan03 =-)
welcome to the club n happy revvin

[02SilverSiHB]

Originally posted by MolonLabe
Wait a minute, a PLASTIC manifold gasket? With the operating temps of these engines I can't help but wonder if that's a good idea or not. I used to have an ex-cop-car Crown Vic and I was on www.crownvic.net for awhile. There was a huge recall when the 4.6 liter V8 first came out, because Ford thought they would try a plastic intake manifold, yes the whole thing, being cheapass like always, and every single one of those intakes cracked from heat stress. It was a huge recall and they were all retrofitted with aluminum intakes. Maybe since this is just a spacer its far away enough from the cylinder head to avoid such problems, or maybe I'm just old fashioned and think things like engines should be made out of metal.

By the way, I am aware of what exactly the Hondata is because I've been seriously considering it myself, but I still tend to think of it as a chip upgrade as opposed to a stand-alone user-programmable system (which they have just released as well).
the material can with stand the heat...I had one on my previous civic
http://www.hondata.com/heatshield.html I'm not sure why you think of it as a chip...rather than a standalone...the ecu itself is a standalone..nothing is added, it's a computer, they just reprogram it...do some research...this isn't a domestic car
www.hondata.com

[MolonLabe]

02silver, thanks for the link. Believe me I am computer savvy, I understand what Honda is and I've talked at length with my local Hondata dealer, Dale Wooderson of ForwardThrust.net (he is excellent to work with and I plan on spending lots of money with him). The PC I'm sitting in front of right now was built from parts by yours truly, so belive me I know that Hondata really isn't a "chip". Its just easier to type "chip" than "non-user-programmable-oem-ecu-fuelmap-and-ignition-timing-altering-reflash". When I think "stand alone" I think of the Motec systems or the other systems that use a laptop to tune the car while it is running, the laptop plugging right in to a port under the dash. Basically, what the new Hondata standalone will look like and do. I think the new user programmable Hondata should be fantastic for the forced induction guys, they will be able to do so much more than simply retarding their timing now.