These are unsolicited comments from our customers.

Kali Nguyen Type S - CA

Pauly1 Club Type S - RSX NY

Wojo - Club RSX Type S Washington DC

Fred - Base RSX

R2's lil RSX

Driving Impressions By Kali Nguyen - 02 Pearl White RSX Type S



The first time I turned the key in my 2002 Pearl White RSX Type S with the Hondata ECU, I was expecting some loud noise coming out of the car, rough idle or even a different tone to the engine, but instead the engine started normally and idled a little quieter than usual. Everything seems to operate normally so it was time to take it out to the street.



Out on the street, I notice the revs come up smoother under regular driving (shifting at 3-4k rpm), it feels like the car has more lower end torque. The engine sounds more refined and tuned.

It was until I took it into VTEC was when I realized I had a monster under hood. Taking the car up into VTEC, it growls and screams past the factory redline of 7900 RPM to 8600 RPM. That's when I realized the Hondata ECU is serious business. The car feels a lot stronger in the top end, with the power still coming in past the factory redline of 7900 RPM. It's a pure adrenaline rush seeing the tachometer needle dead smack in the middle of the red danger stripe at 8600 RPM. The car now has a serious punch at 8000-8500 RPM.


Shifting from 1st to 2nd gear and keeping in VTEC in range is no longer an issue. Before, to keep in VTEC range I used to rev the car to 8200 RPM in 1st gear and then shift in order to drop into 2nd gear @ 6000 RPM or higher to retain VTEC power. Now, with the higher rev limiter and extra power, I can easily shift into 2nd gear in VTEC range.



Driving around town, it feels like I'm upshifting less often for hills and slopes and I'm leaving my car running at lower rpms while cruising around streets and freeways. The lower end power really helps out everyday traffic driving. The car operates normally in regular driving conditions just like it did with the stock ECU.



On the freeway, 6th gear the car seems to accelerate better, I just step on the gas and it easily pulls up speed. From 2500 RPM and up, the car pulls very nicely.



After driving the car a few days, I decided to take my car to Church Automotive Testing in Torrance, Calif., for some dyno testing. They are one of the few dyno testing facilities in the area with a Dynapack system. Dynapack is a highly accurate dyno system that connects directly to your axles to get a dyno reading, the system can repeat dyno's +/- 1whp within average. I already dynoed my car there before, with a best run of 188whp. I have currently have, Cold Air Intake, Modifed Tapered Throttle Body by DPR Racing Heads, Inc., Ignition Solutions Plasma Direct Coils. Shawn Church, owner of Church Automotive Testing dynoed my vehicle. Please note that the Dynapack system reads 5-10whp higher than the popular Dynojet systems. We did three runs, first run was 199.6 HP. Even Shawn Church was impressed, we gained over 10HP to the wheels and 8 extra ft/lbs max. of torque across the board. 2nd run was 201.2 WHP and the last was a staggering 201.9 WHP with 134.6 ft/lbs from 126.0 ft/lbs.



Torque grew all across the board with the lower rpms the most noticeable. The engine now has over 90% of its maximum torque from 3000 RPM and up. It's awesome in highway driving.



In all, I am extremely happy with the results of my Hondata ECU. I have 200whp in my car completely street legal, with catalytic converter, stock exhaust, air conditioner, and no engine work whatsoever. The car purrs like a kitten just like it did when I bought it from the lot and I have sacrificed nothing for this extra power! The Hondata ECU is a must-have for RSX Type S car enthusiasts!!!

Hondata ECU and gasket installed, heres my review

Without a doubt, worth every penny, thank you Hondata.

I will start with the installation first. The ECU itself is cake, nothing more than a few bolts. The intake manifold gasket is a different story. If you don’t feel comfortable under the hood of your car DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THIS YOURSELF. you can definitely see why this gasket is making power, the old gasket is a very thin piece of metal which undoubtedly absorbs a lot of heat, the new gasket is a thick plastic composite which will not let heat transfer between the block and the manifold, in my opinion definitely worth doing.

Now for the good stuff. If you have read other reviews of the ECU upgrade one of the things that people will tell you is that the car seems to be more"tuned."

You will definitely feel the power gains when you are driving your hard. in particular, the mid range power between 4 to 6,000 rpms. The vtec engages much smoother and a lot more quietly. as before the car pulls like an animal above 6000 and is very eager to run right up to the new 8,600 rpm limit. It almost feels as if there are two Vtecs in the car 5,200 engages the first one with a slight push and that second big push comes at about 6,000, above that hold on tight and get ready to shift, because your revs move very fast through the band. A word to the wise be careful, this new rev limit is addictive, and the car wants to go there, it does not tail off at all above 8,000 and you are going to be very tempted to push it deep into the red a lot! Think of your valve springs and how much it will suck if you bend one. Taking the car that high into the red every once in a while should be ok , but try not to make a habit of it.

I think you will feel the New ECU the most , when you are not expecting it. In particular, every day driving. I put the ECU in sat. night and drove the car very hard , it was very fast. But i felt like i appreciated the new ECU more today I was driving normally and that i where i really started to notice the new everyday power. Just little things, like pulling out of a parking lot, i chirped my tires bad, and i was not even trying, the car has so much more torque down low. It is so nice because unlike before you do not have to run the car into V-TEC range to get it to go anywhere. and that means that the car is a lot more quiet when you want it be.

Overall, this the best 600.00 bucks I ever spent!

Hondata ECU - installed today

I just got my ECU back from Hondata with the K20A2-4 program. Install took 15 minutes, 5 minutes of idle-ing and then.........vrooooom.

Here are my observations after ~20 miles of driving:

1. Car definitely feels faster. I wouldn't go as far as saying that it feels like a different car, but you notice an increase in power. In my opinion, you cannot "feel" any gains <10hp, which probaly means that Hondata in fact is right and the ECU gives you the 12-20 hp gain.
2. More low-end torque/power. There is a somewhat noticable difference when launching from a standstill. Also, before the upgrade I could drop the clutch from 3k rpm, now I get massive wheel hop.
3. VTEC engagement is much smoother and less noticable. You will not feel that significant "push" anymore when VTEC engages.
4. Rev limit @8600rpms is great, although I don't want to push it that far. I think I will be switching at 8200-8300rpms. The new VTEC point at 5,200rpms enables you to stay in VTEC after switching gears.
5. As far as the gas mileage goes, although it is not my greatest concern, I will continue to monitor it and will let you guys know if I see any significant changes.

So, overall I think Hondata did a great job (again!) and the upgrade is absolutely worth it. My best 0-60 before the upgrade was 6.74 sec (AC22 performance meter) and today I got 6.28 sec (on the same road).

Overall, this the best 600.00 bucks I ever spent!

.The car runs great! It pulls MUCH harder from low RPM's all the way to it's new redline of 7600!!! Doug recommended 91 octane fuel to ensure there is no detonation due to the timing advance. A very small price to pay for a very noticable gain in power.

We do have quite a nice boost in the low end, the torque we make down low is very significant. and you will notice it.