Hondata K-Pro
Seminar
March 13, 2004,
Notes by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer
(cb@pencomputing.com)
On Saturday, March 13, 2004, Hondata
(http://www.hondata.com) held a tuning
seminar at the Torrance Hilton in
The seminar covered general Honda tuning concepts and the use of the Hondata s200 system in the morning, and an introduction to the new Hondata K-Pro system in the afternoon. The seminar was presented by Doug MacMillan who, together with his partner Derek Stevens, owns Hondata. Doug was assisted throughout the presentation by Matt of the Hondata staff.
Both MacMillan (shown preparing
his presentation on the right) and Stevens are New Zealanders who relocated to
the
Seminar participants received a CD-ROM that contained the afternoon (but not the morning) presentation in pdf format, a demo version of the s200 ROM Editor, a working version of the s200 datalogger, a working version of the new K-Series ECU Manager, and a few video clips that show the working of VTEC and such.
What follows is my recollection of Doug’s presentation:
Morning session: general tuning issues
Goals of tuning:
- The overall goal should be having educated customers: they should know what to expect from tuning and not have unrealistic expectations
- Reliability is important: always know what is safe and what isn’t, depending on the project
- Repeatability of runs (know all the factors that affect it; synthetic gear oil, for example, takes longer to warm up, water temp, air temp, etc.)
- Maximum power is really only “marketing power.” A complete tuning package also includes easy starting, steady idling and good drivability.
- Road tuning is just as important as dyno tuning; the dyno only tells part of the story and real world conditions are very different.
- Part throttle is very hard to tune (and also to sell as it takes much longer!)
- Tuning for economy/emissions. It IS possible to have BOTH power AND economy. Same for emissions.
Some points to
consider:
- A road car is at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) only 0.1% of the time and part throttle 99.9% of the time.
- Part throttle tuning takes much longer (and costs a lot more), but done right makes for much better responsiveness and fuel economy. Some of the replacement chips out there only go for WOT top power. Some of those chips are very specialized, offer no ignition control, and generate error codes. Simply switching those codes off is not a good thing. Doug said 80% of the non-Mugen chips are really just copies of Mugen chips.
- Psychology of VTEC: The VTEC “kick” really shouldn’t be there if the engine is well tuned. Then the curve should be totally smooth. Interestingly, some people think the car with the VTEC “kick” has more power when, in fact, it has less.
Does more peak power
always mean faster?
No! Acceleration depends on the power under the dyno curve. Higher peak power can actually generate less acceleration than a car with less peak power. Torque matters! More power between 3,000 and 6,000 is extremely important. The only time when that may be different and peak power becomes an issue is in drag racing.
Reliability:
- Doug asked how high do people rev? Some said as high as 10,500. Doug said that this is hardly ever needed as power drops off with most cams well below that. Hondata usually sets the rev limit about 500 rpm past the power peak. That way when you shift you drop back to a good high rev point, but one with lots of power left. How high should you rev? That depends on the strength of the rods and pistons. And valve bounce can damage pistons.
- Running rich/lean? Proper rich/lean tuning is extremely important. Interesting point brought up by Matt: The Mugen thermostat and similar do not let engine ever warm up all the way so that tuning gets because the engine keeps adding fuel.
- Ignition advance knock: If the spark is fired too soon, the piston is still coming up and the flame front bops into the piston. That can mean broken rods, worn bearings, or blown head gaskets. Sacrificing the last five or ten hp in a highly tuned engine will greatly increase longevity.
- Knock: one problem is that knock sensor reporting to the computer is not very good and the computer isn’t well equipped to accommodate. The knock sensor is actually a microphone; you can put headphones on and hear the knocking and which cylinder knocks.
- Altitude: table columns 1-10 must be tuned for higher altitude operation (Doug went through that quickly)
- Fuel pressure: Some people think higher fuel pressure is better. That is not always so. Low pressure means cooler fuel, pump and injectors. Some pumps actually move lower volume at higher pressure. Basically, higher fuel pressure does not appear what Hondata recommends. 50-60 psi is the max Hondata recommends.
Dyno repeatability
- Water temperature should be 180-195 degrees
- Use datalogging during dyno runs
- Gearbox must be warmed up, especially when you use synthetic oil
- Keep the intake temperature as consistent as possible or else the dyno results will be distorted
- A plug here for the Hondata intake gasket (now available for makes other than just Hondas). The intake manifold is aluminum and heats up when it really should be cool. The intake manifold is NOT a heat sink and the gasket does NOT hurt. Bypassing the heating on the throttle body (really only needed in colder climates) amounts to perhaps 20% of the lowered temperature and the Hondata intake gasket 80%.
- Turn off the knock sensor and switch to open loop while dyno-tuning (However, in a real dyno session I had with Hondata, Doug felt this was not necessary)
Tuning for torque
- Rough rule: 10% fuel change = 1 Air/Fuel point
- At peak torque engine needs most fuel and is least sensitive (to what?)
-
The fuel curve is
shaped very much like the torque curve
-
After the torque
peak, remove fuel
- For extended high speed running (endurance, etc.) run richer
- 2D curves must be smooth over the rpm range (lines in the graph should be parallel and have no sharp drops and rises). Load lines should never cross each other
Tuning for max power
-
The
top one or two rows matter most (rightmost one or two columns in the table?)
- Use the 2d view extensively to get it right
Stock Honda fuel maps
- They are loaded in the software and you can pull them up
- Study them: The lines are nice and smooth and parallel
Optimize starting and
idling
- Unplug idle control valve and adjust screw
- Cranking ignition values are in the first two rows, columns 8-10 in the table. Note that ignition is actually retarded there
- Idling control opens or closes the IAC
- For bigger injectors increase the target idle
- Advance ignition and lean via emulator
- Best idle around 830
Road tuning
- Dyno is different from road and different dynos load the engine differently
- Underhood airflow is different between dyno and road tuning
- WOT air/fuel seems richer on a dyno than on the road, up to a full AF point
- G sensor (available only in s200 systems) can measure horsepower during road tuning
- Don’t forget to switch back to enabling closed loop after tuning!
Knock
- The knock sensor is a tuned microphone. You can build one from a speaker amp ($30).
- A knock processor will retard ignition by 12 degrees when it detects a knock, then adds 1 degree per second until it bumps into knocking again (note: this apparently is not the case with the K-Series)
- Knock sounds like a sharp ticking
- The knock counter resets every time the engine is started
Economy and emissions
- Add more ignition advance in part throttle; that way you get a bit more power and thus use a bit less throttle
- Hint: add 5 degree (cam?) timing around 1200-3500
- Doug mentioned examples of cars that failed to pass with the stock ECU but passed without problems with Hondata
- Doug feels that a well tuned OBD-1 computer does better than a OBD-II computer
Injectors
- Use saturated injectors (12 ohms) like the new 440 and 550s from RC Engineering
- Stock RSX Type-S has 310 cc injectors
- 550 cc injectors at 50psi fuel pressure can handle approximately 320-350 whp
- The Honda stock fuel pump is good for 250-290 whp
General tuning
procedure
- Have your Helms service manual handy
- Set ignition timing to stock
- Set VTEC high (6500 to 7000) and tune WOT and part throttle for the low-speed cam
- Set VTEC low (2000) and repeat WOT and part throttle for the high-speed cam
- Set the VTEC crossover RPM
- (Note: full tuning is quite complex and time consuming, and learning how to do this properly takes time)
What does Datalogging do?
- Records a large number of sensor values from the car’s ECU and stores the data in a connected laptop computer
- Can be used to adjust fuel in ROM Editor (s200 Series) to get to proper Lambda values
- Measures intake system efficiency with the MAP sensor that senses air pressure or vacuum in the intake manifold (the ECU uses MAP input as an indication of engine load when adjusting air/fuel mixture and spark timing)
- Shows short and long term fuel trim (computer adjusts short term according to Oxygen sensor readings to a long term fuel trim value over a period of time, days, weeks) Watch for bad Oxygen sensors! Resetting the ECU sets the long term fuel trim back to zero.
- Shows intake air temperature compared to outside
- Shows injector duty cycle (should be under 90%). 100% means the injectors always open and cannot supply as much fuel as is needed.
- Monitor TW > 180 and TA = consistent
- Set launch RPM and ECU type (s200)
Tuning with A/F ratio
General hints:
- Use a COLD AIR INTAKE! Hondata tested the Comptech Icebox. It has better flow and is better than the stock airbox, but does not perform as well as a CAI. (I later saw that dramatically confirmed in a dyno session with Hondata).
- Use the Hondata heatshield gasket to keep the manifold from heating up and also to help it cool down quicker.
- Insulate/wrap your intake to keep air as cool as possible
- A CAI can provide an additional 0.3-0.7 psi more boost. Hot air costs boost pressure.
- The JRSC needs very little ignition timing retard vs. stock
- Turbo retard 18-20 degrees from 12 psi up
- (Note: this was covered very quickly)
Doug mentioned Erick’s Racing 9.99 second ¼-mile Civic that has 300+ wheel hp on a 2.2 liter engine with the stock ignition and 10,500 rpm limit.
Demo of the Hondata s200 ROM
Editor
Note: Hondata’s s200 system does not pertain to the RSX. It is for older Honda engines. However, using the s200 is fairly similar to using the new K-Series ECU Manager software, and a lot of the principles and settings discussed by Doug apply to the K-Series as well. You can download the s200 ROM Editor (as well as the new K-Pro software) from www.hondata.com.
The
s200 Series Hondata ROM Editor lets you manipulate
the fuel and ignition tables built into a Honda ECU. You can then upload a new
or modified calibration into the ECU.
Data can be viewed either as a table, a 2D graph or a 3D graph. The rows in those tables represent engine rpm and columns represent engine load measured in air pressure/vacuum. Honda ECUs have separate ignition and fuel tables (and the K-Series also has cam angle tables and separate ignition and fuel tables for each cam angle) for the low and the high speed cams, low and high speed meaning without or with VTEC engaged. The ROM Editor therefore lets you toggle between low and high speed cam tables. Note that low cam and high cam maps have rpm different resolution and scaling. Even within a cam table, the rpm differences between rows in the table are not always the same. The overall idea is to tweak values in cells or “tuning positions.”
You start by loading a calibration map for a particular car. Start with one that has the most similar components as the motor you use. Some stock maps have settings for a particular feature, like an intake manifold with specific characteristics.
How do you edit data points in the table? You can change individual values. Or you can change a bunch of values all at once. Or you can select a bunch of points and then use an “interpolate points” feature. That comes in handy when a curve is rough and needs to be smoothed out. Or you can select all points of the table and advance everything by a couple of degrees and see what it does on the dyno.
Once all the desired changes are made the modified maps can be saved under a descriptive name and uploaded into the ECU.
Doug then demonstrated the injector sizing calculator of the s200 Series software. They allow you to set larger injector size, different fuel pressure and then scale the tables accordingly. He said that the K-Series runs a wide-band oxygen sensor which allows for more accurate recording.
Settings for forced
induction and nitrous
Supercharged cars love low VTEC points, but that is not always desirable for daily driving, so the ROM Editor allows you to set the VTEC point so that it comes on, but ONLY at certain amount of boost (“boost-activated VTEC”). Else, the VTEC would come off and on and off and on during part throttle driving, which is detrimental to fuel economy. Doug said Hondata can set dry nitrous systems on and off automatically, depending on certain conditions. He said that nitrous is very efficient. You can get far more power from 440 injectors with nitrous than from a supercharger. Or you can use nitrous to cool the supercharger intake charge or to reduce turbo lag. Or set nitrous so that it won’t spray under certain speeds or above certain revs.
Under Options you can turn off certain sensors which certain ECUs may not have. Under Notes you can describe what you did/changed and other particulars about a chip.
Datalogging and target lambda
Target Lambda is the air/fuel ratio you want to achieve using a wideband meter wired into the oxygen sensor. You datalog, then load the run and analyze. If the log shows the engine is running too rich or too lean in certain areas, you select those and then add or subtract fuel via a dialog box. One view in the program shows duty cycle on selected injectors in percent. That way you can see if your injectors are adequate. Note: The stock oxygen sensors of pre-K-Series engines cannot be used for accurate datalogging because they are narrow-band! Also note that K-Series Oxygen sensor measures current not voltage and conventional A/F gauges will NOT work on it. Installing one and going by its readings can mess things up.
Other interesting
facts:
- Air scoops and ram air should be low on the car! Swoopy hoods and the entire top of the car increases air speed and thus lowers pressure, just as on an airplane wing. For best ram charging the scoop should be underneath where air pressure is highest.
- A G-Sensor can be added inside the s200 box for acceleration figures.
- MAP sensor can show you how your air intake is doing. If there is too much of a vacuum, you need more air (à CAI).
- One of the obvious pros in the audience referred to the “infamous hesitation issue” – That was Honda code relating to emission controls. Revision 37 of ROM fixed it. Apparently you can download new ROM revs from Hondata’s website
- Note that the rev limiter does NOT keep engine from over-revving during a misshift, because it cannot react fast enough.
- Starting/cranking is in upper right part of the data table. Do not have much ignition advance there, perhaps even zero or less.
- In general, stock Honda ignition timing is very conservative to accommodate for poor fuel.
Hondata uses the PLX wideband sensor (www.plxdevices.com) or the more expensive FJO (www.fjoinc.com) for datalogging and road tuning.
Afternoon session: the Hondata
K-Pro system
The Hondata K-Pro system consists of a circuit board with a USB port added to the standard Honda ECU, the K-Series ECU Manager software, and a number of preconfigured calibration maps. How is it different from the Hondata reflash? The reflash is a one-shot recalibration of the ECU whereas the K-Pro is programmable and can recalibrate the ECU again and again. Whereas Hondata initially tuned their static ECU reflashes for what was available at the time, i.e. the initial third party headers headers and CAIs, the K-Pro, written by Derek Stevens, can be used for tuning and finetuning any supported vehicle with all sorts of modifications. The initial product is for the US K-Series Type-S, but Hondata is also working on a K-Pro for the Civic Si and for European market Civic Type Rs. (As of May 2004, the Base RSX and US Civic Si became supported)
Unlike the s200 system, K-Pro does programming and datalogging all in one. It has integrated wideband monitoring to take advantage of the RSX Type-S’s wideband oxygen sensor. Doug feels the K-Pro is the best engine computer programming system, period. Uploading is via USB port that gets installed in the stock ECU in addition to a daughterboard that contains the interface to the Honda ECU. You can even upload modifications to maps into the ECU while the car is running. It burbles a bit, then resumes. However, loading a new map requires the engine to be off.
What did Hondata find when they analyzed the RSX Type-S ECU?
- It runs very rich at high rpm
- It has conservative ignition timing, tuned for low emission at high mileage.
- It is VERY sensitive to the knock sensor (could explain dyno power differences in stock Type-S engines)
- Once tuned, there is more power, yet the same or better emission, and better economy.
Basics: What makes
power?
- The motor is really an air pump
- Put in as much air as possible
- Add proper fuel and ignite it at the right time
- Make sure exhaust doesn’t restrict
- Simple as that!
The iVTEC system of the Type-S is a combination of VTEC and VTC. VTEC basically creates one camshaft profile for good low end drivability, torque and fuel economy, and a second more aggressive “wild” camshaft profile for high end power (The Hondata K-Series ECU Manager calls those “low speed” and “high speed”). VTC rotates the camshaft by a total of 50 degrees which results in different valve opening overlaps by changing the relative timing between the intake and exhaust valves. Both VTC and VTEC use oil pressure systems controlled by the ECU. The combination of VTEC and VTC enhances the effectiveness of VTEC and offers great tuning opportunities, especially smoothing the midrange and adding power there. (iVTEC operation is nicely explained at http://asia.vtec.net/article/k20a/)
VTEC = Variable Valve
Timing Electronic Lift Control
- VTEC is a system that changes valve lift, timing and duration; it’s like having a low rpm and a high rpm camshaft
- A hydraulically operated rod either engages or disengages on both intake and exhaust valves in the Type-S
- Engaged means the car opens and closes both valves fully (with higher lift via more aggressive lobe), allowing much better breathing (and power)
- The “VTEC Point” can be set at a certain rpm, or it can be set between two rpm points depending on vacuum. The engagement then moves linearly between the two points.
- (Interesting factoid: overhead cams were created to eliminate rocker arms; yet Honda uses a rocker in an overhead cam to facilitate VTEC)
VTC = Variable Timing
Control (rotating cam)
- VTC is a system that continually changes intake camshaft timing by a total of 50 degrees
- Why? Because different cam angles provide different power at different revs; switching angles can make for an optimized composite curve
- VTC enhances the effectiveness of VTEC
- What VTC varies by changing the angle is the intake valve opening overlap
- There is a VTC actuator controlled by the ECU that monitors cam position, ignition timing, throttle position and then advances or retards cam over a 50 degree range
- There are advance and retard chambers in the actuator wheel that cause a wheel inside the cam pulley to turn and thus turn the cam (see video clip)
- The idea is to have different cam settings for maximum power and/or lowest emissions; in general: the higher the advance the better the breathing
-
-
- There are six fuel and ignition maps, one each for 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 degree cam angles.
- High speed and low speed fuel and ignition maps therefore have tables for each of the six cam angles
- The VTC Control valve and actuator engage and disengage a lock pin
- It takes about 0.1 seconds for the cam to turn by 10 degrees
- Exhaust cam is not under computer control. There may be benefits to adjusting the exhaust cam
-
Also used by
K-Series ECU Manager software
The K-Series ECU Manager software is a work in progress. Frequently check for updates as there’s one “every few days.” The software has an “Update” feature in its menu that checks for updates over the internet and can download and install the latest version directly from the Hondata website.
The initial loading of the ECU software/calibration into the ECU takes 30 seconds or so and the car can’t run while doing it. Subsequent uploads of incrementally changed calibrations into the ECU, however, only takes a few seconds and can be done while running. Here Doug mentioned that the Honda ECU has a backup processor that allows you to limp home even if the main processor fails (maybe the backup takes over while the new calibration is loaded?)
Doug emphasized that properly setting and manipulating the cam angles is the most important aspect of tuning the K-Series engine. About 2500 dyno runs form the basis of the current software and maps. Basically, what they did is do dyno runs with the cam angles fixed and see what cam angle produces the highest power at each rpm range. Then they built a composite cam map where the cam is at the angle that produces the highest power at each point of the rpm curve.
The K-Series ECU Manager software has datalogging built-in. The s200 Series ROM Editor and Datalogger are combined here, but for now the software only has graphs and tables, and not the dials and other representations found in the s200 software. Also, the software cannot record/display air/fuel ratios on a table or “auto-tune” (which Doug later referred to as a “marketing feature” anyway).
Doug then went through some of the “Parameters” settings of the K-Series ECU Manager software. For example,
- Multiplexer off – the temperature gauge and some others will not display.
- Immobilizer can be turned off (not recommended, but good for when you use a friend’s K-Pro ECU)
- Fuel trim: #3 cylinder typically runs a bit hotter so you may want to add fuel
- For tuning, turn off closed loop because you want to be in open loop so that ECU doesn’t constantly compensate
- Knock: you can set it so that MIL light flashes whenever it knocks. “K Count” is in the Sensors list and shows how often computer felt the engine knocked. Knock is a stored value, long-term. You can go see where the knocks occur and then see if the AF ratio is okay. If so, then check ignition advance. There can be dozens or hundreds of knock counts in a second (zoom in to see closely).
While the variable cam timing is terrific for tuning, having a constantly moving cam also means that it takes a longer time to tune all this. Doug explained that when tuning a car and developing the optimal calibrations, they actually do dynos at each angle then see what cam angle is best for maximum power at each rpm. Doug showed high-speed WOT dyno graphs for each cam angle. In general, between 3000 and 6000 rpm, the larger the angle the better the power. However, between 1500 and 3000 different angles produce best power, and at high rpms also.
General procedure for
from-scratch tuning of the K-Series engines
- Have your Helms service manual handy
- Set ignition timing to stock
- Set VTEC high (6500-7000) to tune low speed cam
1. Set both cam angle tables all to zero degrees and dyno tune ignition and fuel tables
2. Repeat dyno tuning of ignition and fuel tables with both cam tables all set to 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 degrees
3. Analyze dyno curves, then set cam angle table at each rpm to angle with best power
4. Dyno again with new composite curve (you may want to “bracket” by a few degrees up and down to see if optimal)
- Set VTEC low (2000) to tune low speed cam, and repeat above procedure
- Set the VTEC crossover RPM
- Part throttle also needs to be tuned (part throttle = columns 7 and lower)
1. At part throttle/cruising (columns 2-7, 1500-4500 rpm) cam angle should be around 30 degrees. This will use EGR effect to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy
2. At higher rpms in part throttle, set angle to same as full load so that cam angle won’t go down during shifts.
Proper tuning at the
VTEC point and setting the VTEC point
Getting the VTEC point right, and setting the cam angles at the cross-over right, is very important and one of the most difficult tuning tasks. If not done right, the curve is bumpy and performance suffers. This can happen when the low speed cam angle at the switch-over is far apart from the high speed cam angle, so that the cam needs to rotate by a lot. This can result in a power dip for a few hundred rpm after VTEC while the cam rotates into proper position. As for where to set the VTC point, it should be at the intersection of the low speed and the high speed torque curve. (But how do you decide when to use a VTEC window instead of a fixed point?)
-
- Done right, the VTEC switch noise is greatly reduced; the difference in noise is because when VTEC engages you’re really running a different engine
- It’s better to sacrifice a bit of power before the VTEC point to gain it back and more after VTEC
- Getting the VTEC Point right is hardest to do on turbo motors (they generally want a high VTEC point)!
For NA engine tuning:
-
- After 7000, gradually take cam angle back to 25 degrees at redline.
- In general, with high backpressure you should retard the cam angles and raise the VTEC point, with low backpressure the opposite
- Use variable VTEC window, with lower boundary at point of highest power (intersection of low-speed and high-speed torque curves) at 90 kPa and upper boundary at 5,800 at 25kPa .
-
Air/fuel ratio
that makes best power at WOT under full load is 13-13.5
For turbo VTEC
tuning:
- Turbo motors have greater exhaust backpressure; that means cam angles/overlap must be less than stock, sometimes down to zero at 8000 rpm
- Retarding the cam can mean picking up 40 horsepower at high RPM.
- Use a fixed VTEC point. Since the crossover is high, the VTEC point should be high, around 6,000.
In general, with high backpressure you should retard the cam angles and raise the VTEC point, with low backpressure the opposite
Doug briefly talked about extreme cams. There are no really wild cams for the K-Series yet, but there are experimental ones that Hondata checked out. Add lots of timing at low end for impressive torque gains, raise idle speed, reduce overlap in part throttle.
Supercharged engines:
- Tuning is really similar to NA larger motor.
- Supercharged engines love overlap (high cam advance)
- High cam set to 50 degrees throughout most of rev range, then down to 40 from 7000 rpm on up
- Low cam VTC 45-50 degrees
-
- Set maximum closed loop to 110kPa (over that the ECU will ask for open loop).
- The higher the RPM, the higher the boost. (Greddy turbo actually got less boost at higher RPM)
- In the fuel tables, boost curves should be very flat and smooth
- However, more boost does not necessarily mean more power
-
Ideal A/F ratio
at WOT under full throttle is lower than NA, 11.5-12.5
- Street version of the JRSC had 212-220 whp, went up to around 250 with Hondata.
- Interesting note: They fit a JRSC to a base! Cables on throttle body are reversed on base. They turned the whole thing around. Not sure if it is just a technology demonstration or will become a real product.
- Use variable VTEC window like on stock engine but with two exceptions: you can set the lower boundary lower, down to 3,000, but set both the lower and higher point to occur at full engine load pressure. That way there won’t be a linear line. Under load it goes into VTEC, under part load it goes out of VTEC once revs fall below the upper boundary.
Doug showed an example of Greddy turbo K-Pro tuning on a Type-S. It resulted in a 50 hp gain over the simple e-manage “patch.”
Nitrous:
Doug said the use of nitrous was much safer with the K-Pro. He recommended a dry system. Wet nitrous system are not a very happy match with Type S because at redline Type-S cuts off fuel whereas nitrous continues, instantly leaning things to catastrophic levels. Nitrous works quite well with boosted engines. They get higher boost (by about 0.5 psi) and the supercharger acts as a nitrous mixer. Hondata tried a JRSC with 7 PSI and N2O. The nitrous dry system added boost but they found the belt slipping at high RPM (Doug runs DC twin canister exhaust and 7psi on his car). Ignition should be retarded, the system needs larger injectors, and nitrous should be shot off before redline. With turbo engines, nitrous can reduce turbo lag by spooling up the turbine more quickly.
Tuning for intakes:
Through the presentation Doug often came back to recommending cold air intakes. For tuning purposes it is important to know the resonance point (the rpm where the intake makes that extra sound as if you were blowing on a bottle) of a CAI. The AEM CAI has a resonance point of 5200, the short ram AEM V2’s is at about 5900. Longer pipes have lower resonance points. There is a torque peak (and often a lean spot because an untuned motor doesn’t get enough fuel) at the resonance point. You can tune for different intakes. Doug mentioned that pressurized intakes can really make a difference. Build a box around it to force air into it.
Intake manifolds:
Doug showed some dyno runs of stock Type-S versus the Integra Type R intake manifold which has slightly fatter runners, and so should do better. However, the horsepower difference is primarily at the high end where the Type R peaks at higher rpm.
Fuel cooling and
such:
Theoretical contemplation on injector positioning: They should be at the top of the runner. This would be bad for emissions but good for power. Doug also spoke of the power benefits of cooling fuel. 20 degree Celsius difference means 1% more power. DEI, Inc. (http://www.designengineering.com) specializes on all sorts of cooling and insulating materials and methods.
A variety of tuning
pitfalls:
- Valve spring pressure too high is bad news as there isn’t enough lubrication.
- Cams can be installed incorrectly.
- TPS and MAP sensor can be reversed.
- The MAP was not relocated in a supercharger installation. (It must be AFTER the compressor.
- The supercharger belt can be slipping
Doug mentioned Alaniztechnologies.com (http://www.alaniztechnologies.com) which did interesting work on exhaust flow on Type-S
Effects of various mods:
A stock K20A2 engine makes between 160 and 175 wheel hp. That is quite a big difference in a modern precision engine and it could be because of different sensitivity in knock sensor. Doug went on to show dyno sheets of a variety of mods they added to a stock motor.
A Hondata reflash added almost 20 hp on top (seems a lot to me; I always thought the primary benefit is mid range power and peak gains are less), an AEM CAI another 10 to about 190. A Greddy catback exhaust added a bit and ITR cams another 15 hp. Raceheaders from Comptech added an impressive 15 up to almost 230. A ITR manifold boosted the high-end a bit and placed peak power more into the 8000s. Titanium exhaust and pulleys added a few hp but not much. Finally they installed a ported big valve head with Toda cams, for a result of almost 250 all-motor whp. Hytech exhaust, 12:1 pistons, cams and intake raised that figure up to 270.
Another project (Hasport/Jackson Racing Civic Type R) replaced the K20A2 bottom with a K24 CRV bottom. This brought 40 pounds extra torque, but power dropped off quicker at the high end. Initial peak power was 210 whp. They added an 8psi JRSC and got torque of over 230 foot-pounds and over 290 whp.
Doug also showed a terrific in-car-cam video of Derek Stevens racing a RSX at California Speedway.
Who uses Hondata?
In addition to all of us enthusiasts that would be the likes of the Honda America Race Team (HART), Erick’s Racing who got a 9.99s ¼ mile, and the DC Sport RSX-S Turbo.
Blinking lights for
the SEMA crowd ….
Doug said they also have what he called a “Show Car Special” K-Pro. It comes with flashing blue LEDs (which do absolutely nothing but flash) and a clear plastic case for twice the price.
K-Series Bang-for the
buck list of mods (least to most expensive):
- Intake Gasket
- CAI
- ECU Reflash
- Header/Exhaust
- K-Pro and tuning
- Cams
- Nitrous and boost
- K24 bottom end swap
The Calibration
Verification Number
There is a Calibration Verification Number (CVN) that in the
future may be used to see if an ECU program has been modified. This number is
not currently checked even in
Q&A at the end of
the seminar:
How long does it take
to tune a K-Pro system?
A vehicle that is fairly close to stock, not too long, but as soon as you try to be very precise it can take a day or more, and even more for turbo vehicles. Compared to OBD-I it takes at least twice as long.
At what point should
one go from the Hondata reflash
to the K-Pro?
Doug seems to think primarily when you get into more serious mods. My own experience has been that it can help anyone.
Are there plans for a
G-Sensor like the one available for the s200?
This is not a high priority.
Will the K-Pro become
available for other engines?
First the
Will Hondata do something for the Honda S2000?
Problem is that the S2000 ECU is non-programmable. So they’d have to replace the ECU. Also, the S2000 sensors and pickups are very different.
Does it make sense to
use peak&hold injectors:
Doug says saturated injectors fit much smoother into standard engines. Peak & holds require extra drivers and can be made to work, but it takes quite a bit of extra work.
What’s that big black
chip on the upper left of the ECU?
That controls the wideband oxygen sensor. It’s almost its own computer. Doug says it took them almost a year to figure out what it was.
Bottomline:
This was a terrific seminar and Hondata deserves a lot of kudos for doing it, and for free to boot. I learned a lot and it was totally fascinating to listen to Doug’s presentation and wisdom, with Matt frequently filling in technical detail. The audience, of course, was pretty diverse, ranging from hardcore racing team mechanics to simple RSX enthusiasts like myself. Also, really learning how to tune the K-Pro (or s200 for that matter) takes more than just a seminar. That requires some serious hands-on. I can see a “Hondata Certification” course where professionals learn how to use this awesome tool that can truly unlock the potential of the K-Series motor.