I have heard of guys sending in their ecu’s to be reprogrammed for more hp? I do not know much about this except that it can raise your hp by up to 20hp. I have looked around a little bit and found that to buy a new ecu that has been programmed it is like 600 bucks. does anyone have any information on this? I have a 90 integra gs, cat bcak exhaust, high flow cat, and sri, should i do this to increase hp or shoudl i wait until i get headers? Please help me out. thanks!!
you wont need that until you get inside the engine…ie cams to get that 20hp difference.
personally i felt my stock ecu becoming a limiting factor after a throtlebody & intake manifold. But after the cam swap is when the stock ecu became untolerable.
you got some ways to go buddy. you shouldnt have to spend more than $30 on an ecu program, it starts off as a very inexpensive modification.
thanks that cleared up some uncertainty for me.
I have another question now, if i wear to get the upgraded ecu that you say i can get for 30 bucks would it increase hp and take away the speed governor even though i dont have that menay mods. Would it be bad for my engine to just get it now since it is hep or is it better to wait until i have done more?
those programs basically play w/the air fuel map, so if you were to buy an external device that plays w/air and fuel, it would be like “making your own program”. I recommend this much more than buying other programs/chips, b/c each engine responds differently first of all, not including the mods that you have or will have on it. You’ll always get some gain w/tuning which is basically what you want, but whether its worth the 200-1000 bucks is up to you. I think you’re better off w/bolt ons for the money.
if youre refering to the apexi/field VAFC/AFC series (piggyback “fuel correction” devices), it’s not the same. they cannot alter ignition timing curves, they can only MODIFY the Existing fuel curve based on engine RPM (8 points of modification). it does NOT take into consideration engine load or throtle position like a modified ROM does; therefore, it is effective only to a relatively small degree (in my opinion). If you plan on paying someone to do it right, get a hondata. If you plan on learning what’s most cost effective for the car and then using that knowledge, go check out DIY rom editing.
if you insist on spending $30, go get your ecu socketed and PREPPED for these EPROM swaps (dont connect j12). Learn some more about this stuff and then decide what program youre gonna run. i doubt you will benefit from any reprogramming at this point.