Hondata's Dual Adapter Harness
If a car's engine is its heart, then its ECU is no doubt its brain. Honda's done an excellent job building highly efficient, easy-to-tune, small-displacement engines. From its B-series to its K-series, extracting power via bolt on parts isn't terribly difficult. But since the introduction of OBD-2-based electronics, fuel injection tuning in hopes of maximizing power and efficiency has become that much more challenging. And with the introduction of CAN-based (controller area network) ECUs, it's become next to impossible, especially if you don't have the wherewithal to re-write OEM parameters. Fortunately, Hondata has the wherewithal. The company has been tweaking and modifying OEM-based Honda electronics since the late 1990s, giving tuners the capability to tune ECUs in ways that were previously possibly only with standalone systems. Both Hondata's S300 and K-Pro systems rely on OEM Honda electronics and algorithms but offer tuners complete control over things like fuel injector pulse width and ignition timing.
Whether they liked it or not, Hondata's engineers have been forced to focus their efforts on the drive-by-wire family of Honda ECUs. Until recently, there were few, but today such electronic throttle technology's become industry-standard. As such, systems like Hondata's K-Pro were limited to cable-based throttle engines like the RSX and pre-'06 Civics. But now, with the addition of a specially made jumper harness and a PRB-based ECU, K-Pro is now compatible with virtually any TSX or S2000.
Drive By Wire Killed It
The fact that newer ECUs utilize drive-by-wire technology isn't why they're so difficult to crack. Indeed, the problem has nothing to do with the electronic throttle but with the electronic architecture that just so happens to be paired with it. Despite how sophisticated these modern ECUs are, they cannot be touched. Honda's ECU manufacturer, Keihin, has implemented circuitry with increased processing power and trim capabilities. This allows the computer to keep emissions low by constantly adjusting fuel and ignition parameters. Such ECUs take into account lean or rich conditions and engine knock and make adjustments as necessary; they can even adjust long-term fuel injection characteristics for a more precise burn. As conditions change-like when you tweak with your engine- these newer ECUs are even more likely to throw a fit and trip a Check Engine light than their older counterparts were. As such, tuners looking to make significant changes have been forced to look to standalone systems. Until now.
To Standalone Or Not
The key behind Hondata's approach is that it's based off of OEM circuitry and electronics but gives tuners the control they need, not unlike what you'd find with a standalone system. Many ROM tuners-those who prefer to reprogram the factory circuitry as opposed to standalone systems- find comfort in the millions of dollars the manufacturer spent developing the ECU, while tuners who prefer standalone systems argue that such tuning gives them the flexibility to tune past what the factory sensors are capable of. Hondata's K-Pro and S300 systems incorporate the flexibility of a standalone and the factory engineering of an OEM unit into a single system. It uses its proprietary firmware to offer features like data logging, boost protection, and nitrous control, but its limitations include a loss of cruise control functions, limited data supply through its OBD-2 port, and an inability to fine-tune traction control or throttle characteristics. But nothing's perfect, and the only way you're going to get features like these is by stepping up to a high-dollar standalone.
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