ECU for D16Y4

[saikou27]

hey guys .ive got a 1998 prefacelift ek sedan with a d16y4 in it. i was looking around for different tuning methods for my car. im pretty much going to be tuning up the basic i/h/e mods. so my question is what is a decent ecu that would do this for me. ive been looking at apexi vafc or whatever variants are around( i know its not an ecu) and greddy emanage blue and some hondata stuff. also ive seen some debate over what the stock ecu is in the ek civic as in obd1 or obd2 etc

any help or opinions will be greatly appreciated:D

[CRXer]

OBD2

if your not willing to open up the motor & poor bucket loads of cash into it or boost it,then a D16 in a EK is never gonna put a smile on your face no matter how many things u bolt to it or how close to the edge u tune it.

keep saving your pennies for a swap or snail,avoid ultimate disappointment

[saikou27]

thanks for clearing that obd issue up crxer. i must make it clear though that ive already decided to tune my car and what i need is opinions on different ecu's. im not here to debate how good a d16 is and whether it should be tuned or not. and what puts a smile on your face could be far different to what puts one on mine. i am not asking about turbo's or engine swaps and i definitely will not be suffering ultimate disappointment when i get my car tuned because im not aiming for 'tuning on the edge' for 120kw atw

[VTECnique]

your not aiming for 120wkw? what is your goal then? do you want a nice reliable motor thats a little more responsive than stock?

There's a few options you have mate

EK1 > OBD1 conversion harness from Edge Automotive, with a chipped OBD1 ECU from an EG, itll have to be a non-vtec ecu though. chipping an OBD1 ecu lets you modify & alter fuel & ignition maps, etc.

A'Pexi AFC Neo. these only alter the fueling (pls correct if wrong), so if you go this route, you'll only be fiddling with fuel, & ignition will still be stock as a rock. they call it an AFC hack for a reason.

Hondata S300. most expensive out of the above 2, but imo worth the money...

I have a Y4 build list somewhere, i was going to do, but as my goals are a little different now, im planning to swap in a B18B2 from an integra gsi. nothing over the top, i wanna stay non-vtec & have a nice build for the B18B...

[CRXer]

sorry dude,not trying to antagonise,but u asked for opinions & mine is that id rather see u get some value for your money.

The 1-2K your gonna spend is really going to see very little benefit over the stock ecu. The stock honda ecu is no dud product.

u could prob put a B16 in the EK for prob 4-5k & realise an instant 30-35kW peak gain. Thats huge considering the 2-3kW gain u'll get with tuning the D16.

so u see what im saying,keep the money u got,double it up or a bit more with what ever method u choose & im sure u will be happier with a more powerful,more reliable motor with much more potential.

remember,just my opinion & im entitled to it

[rbk_212]

^^dude your not gonna get only 2-3kw from a tune, and in terms of bang for your buck, tuning is at the top.

an exhaust system and tune will yield respectable gains for a d16 and I'm sure it'll make saikou happy

and it most certainly wont cost 1-2k to tune his car. He'll probably be looking at an interceptor unit or something simple like an AFC Neo which have proven to give decent gains across the rev range. i have a greddy e-manage(with the ignition and injector harnesses) i picked for 400 bucks and itll cost me around another 300 to install and tune it.

Even Hondata's can be installed and tuned for around 1200-1300 and theyre top of the line (and not really worth it on a D series).

after all saikou is only on his P's

[saikou27]

hey thanks VTECnique. i had that idea in my head for a while about swapping to a b18b2 from an integra. but like rbk_212 said, im on my p's so engine swap and turbo is outa the question anyway. all i need now is something thats going to be a nice, responsive, fun car to drive for the next couple of years and im happy with my civic atm. but were always wanting a little more right :D im really leaning toward the greddy emanage that rbk has

[VTECnique]

if you can find a nice priced emanage, go for it mate. here's a few mods i can suggest, to compliment the emanage. & yes, i have done my research on a nice little d16.

bored throttle body with port matched intake manifold
bisimoto stage 1 cam (cause then you wont have to upgrade valvetrain)
if you wanna do some bottom end work, there's oem honda pistons that raise compression, & also wont cost you an arm & a leg.

there just a few things that can help make the y4 a little more responsive. hope it helps in your quest my friend...

[CRXer]

^^dude your not gonna get only 2-3kw from a tune, and in terms of bang for your buck, tuning is at the top.

an exhaust system and tune will yield respectable gains for a d16 and I'm sure it'll make saikou happy

and it most certainly wont cost 1-2k to tune his car. He'll probably be looking at an interceptor unit or something simple like an AFC Neo which have proven to give decent gains across the rev range. i have a greddy e-manage(with the ignition and injector harnesses) i picked for 400 bucks and itll cost me around another 300 to install and tune it.

Even Hondata's can be installed and tuned for around 1200-1300 and theyre top of the line (and not really worth it on a D series).

after all saikou is only on his P's

man......

u r quoting used emanage figures & $300 worth of install & tune aint gonna buy much more than a copied base setting from another d16. good luck with that.

so all up uve given me a figure of $700(almost 1K) for the cheapest option.

hondata into OBD2 is gonna set u back considerably more than 1200-1300,especially if again u just dont want a half tweaked base map loaded onto it.

dont be disappointed also by the 20kW u dont gain from the tune(unless u go to AK motorworks for tune of course),expect like i said a few kW's in certain areas.i dare u to run it before & after down the quarter mile than come back & talk to me about your gains.

so bang for buck,
tune = about $300/kW
b16 swap = about $150/kW
go figure............

[rbk_212]

man......

u r quoting used emanage figures & $300 worth of install & tune aint gonna buy much more than a copied base setting from another d16. good luck with that.

so all up uve given me a figure of $700(almost 1K) for the cheapest option.

hondata into OBD2 is gonna set u back considerably more than 1200-1300,especially if again u just dont want a half tweaked base map loaded onto it.

dont be disappointed also by the 20kW u dont gain from the tune(unless u go to AK motorworks for tune of course),expect like i said a few kW's in certain areas.i dare u to run it before & after down the quarter mile than come back & talk to me about your gains.

so bang for buck,
tune = about $300/kW
b16 swap = about $150/kW
go figure............

dude what the hell, the e-manage tuning figure was from AK motorworks himself and the Hondata tune and install(and ecu changeover) was from a Daniel Pirotta at Springy Motors, whom i know personally is a very good tuner

in neither of those instances will a tweaked base map be installed, theyll be properly dyno tuned

and again with the B swap... have you read none of this thread? :thumbdwn:

[CRXer]

dude what the hell, the e-manage tuning figure was from AK motorworks himself and the Hondata tune and install(and ecu changeover) was from a Daniel Pirotta at Springy Motors, whom i know personally is a very good tuner

in neither of those instances will a tweaked base map be installed, theyll be properly dyno tuned

and again with the B swap... have you read none of this thread? :thumbdwn:

ahhahahha..........how did i guess........another AK brainwash experiment.......

will he sprinkle extra fairy dust on his magic dyno for yours?

as for the b swap,u r the one who mentioned,i quote,"bang for buck,tuning is at the top"........just trying to unwash ur brain a little.......

[rbk_212]

ahhahahha..........how did i guess........another AK brainwash experiment.......

will he sprinkle extra fairy dust on his magic dyno for yours?

as for the b swap,u r the one who mentioned,i quote,"bang for buck,tuning is at the top"........just trying to unwash ur brain a little.......

hmm okay heinrich himmler good work on the brainwashing...:confused:

care to explain what your problem with AK is, who's your tuner?

and my point with the B swap was that
a)its not an option for him
b)its his first car he just wants to get a little bit more out of it until he gets another car.

i realise that a B is better than working on a D but doing your little cost per kw equations means squat, the simple fact is an engine swap is going to cost thousands of dollars more compared to getting his current engine tuned, even if its only with an AFC or something

[CRXer]

i dont have a prob with AK's tuning,its just their outrageous claims made in their advertising intended to lure poor n00bs into buying their products,thinking they r gonna tune some magically huge power figure out of a bolt-on motor that honda couldnt find to begin with(given even safety factors/reliability included).

my tuner is me atm,till i can afford to throw it back on the dyno at TODA.

i reiterate,tuning is not best bang for buck,u r the one who said it & thats the only reason i threw the equations/B swap back at u,im not refering to the OP,just u............u referred to me,so i referred back to u.............it would be ill-mannered of me just to ignore u wouldnt it?

[rbk_212]

i dont have a prob with AK's tuning,its just their outrageous claims made in their advertising intended to lure poor n00bs into buying their products,thinking they r gonna tune some magically huge power figure out of a bolt-on motor that honda couldnt find to begin with(given even safety factors/reliability included).

my tuner is me atm,till i can afford to throw it back on the dyno at TODA.

i reiterate,tuning is not best bang for buck,u r the one who said it & thats the only reason i threw the equations/B swap back at u,im not refering to the OP,just u............u referred to me,so i referred back to u.............it would be ill-mannered of me just to ignore u wouldnt it?

haha okay then your point is noted good sir, and dont worry im not under any illusions as to what can and cant be achieved from tuning

and when i say bang for buck im talking about your regular i/h/e modifications that your average kid with a car does, obviously there's more effective ways to gain power as you said

[saikou27]

thanks vtecnique. if only everybody on this forum was as useful as you:)
rbk 212 if u could hook me up with ur mate daniel from springy motors would be great. and thanks for your input with that emanage suggestion.
crxer wtf , enough with the engine swap. its not going to happen. this thread is called ECU FOR D16Y4! not b16 swap. if i wanted a f***ing new motor i would have asked. learn to read and stop posting useless crap in my thread and stay on topic. if i had 4-5k for an engine swap i would sell my car and put that money on top of it and buy something better like an integra or prelude vtir. ill be driving this car for the rest of my p plater life and as i already mentioned before if u bothered to read it, im happy with car and its current motor. i want to get it tuned and am asking about the different ecu options i have. i couldnt care less whether u think tuning a d is worth it or not. why is it that people on ozhonda cant respond to a question about a d series without suggesting an engine swap. start posting constructively instead of posting sh** about totally irrelevant topics!!!

[CRXer]

crxer wtf , enough with the engine swap. its not going to happen. this thread is called ECU FOR D16Y4! not b16 swap. if i wanted a f***ing new motor i would have asked. learn to read and stop posting useless crap in my thread and stay on topic. if i had 4-5k for an engine swap i would sell my car and put that money on top of it and buy something better like an integra or prelude vtir. ill be driving this car for the rest of my p plater life and as i already mentioned before if u bothered to read it, im happy with car and its current motor. i want to get it tuned and am asking about the different ecu options i have. i couldnt care less whether u think tuning a d is worth it or not. why is it that people on ozhonda cant respond to a question about a d series without suggesting an engine swap. start posting constructively instead of posting sh** about totally irrelevant topics!!!

people keep referring to me so i just keep answering,like in this case.....

maybe it is u who needs the literacy test,i even stated that i was not referring to u,but just answering rbk.

so....simple......stop talking to me,i will stop answering...............:wave:

[saikou27]

people keep referring to me so i just keep answering,like in this case.....

maybe it is u who needs the literacy test,i even stated that i was not referring to u,but just answering rbk.

so....simple......stop talking to me,i will stop answering...............:wave:

good. stop posting irrelevant crap here. if u wanna talk to rbk do it in ur own thread. do us all a favour and delete ur posts, unsubscribe from this thread so that we can back to business

[VTECnique]

im sure ull notice a difference with a proper tuned Y4. nothing major, but knowing your getting the most out of what you have is all that counts...

[saikou27]

if you can find a nice priced emanage, go for it mate. here's a few mods i can suggest, to compliment the emanage. & yes, i have done my research on a nice little d16.

bored throttle body with port matched intake manifold
bisimoto stage 1 cam (cause then you wont have to upgrade valvetrain)
if you wanna do some bottom end work, there's oem honda pistons that raise compression, & also wont cost you an arm & a leg.

there just a few things that can help make the y4 a little more responsive. hope it helps in your quest my friend...

yeah i was thinking maybe later down the track if i intend to keep the car longer i would do some of the stuff mentioned. i was just wondering what exactly port matching is and how it is carried out. is it possible for me do do it myslelf with the proper equipment?

[lookingforboost]

you port the inlet on the intake where the larger throttle body is and you can do the same thing to the inlet runers on the intake to the head good gains you can do it your self but i wouldnt recommend it as if you bugger it up the whole thing can go backwards.

and you cant ask a D question without getting the swap to a B lol

[saikou27]

so would a bigger tb still be ok? without the port matching

[VTECnique]

in order for the bigger tb to take effect, you have to at least port match the intake manifold, at the throttle body entrance, meaning where the throttle body mounts to the intake manifold. here's some notes here http://www.knology.net/~jediklc/pistonnotes.htm even some good info about building a nice near bulletproof bottom end.

you could also quite possibly port match the intake runners, however i wouldnt as you do really have a guide to tell you how much material to remove.

[saikou27]

actually id been considering raising compression slightly. not too worried about the tb/im.
eventually depending on the price a stage 1 cam could be in the works:)
hey vtecnique what exactly are the oem pistons that raise compression. are they available in aus and do u know how much they are?

[VTECnique]

i believe the d16a8 is similar to a DOHC ZC, they raise compression quite a bit, unsure how much though. the stage 1 cam sounds great, just wait a lil longer til the exchange rate comes down.

to be honest, you'd be better off buying the pistons overseas. YCP pistons are very famous amongst most honda builders. Ive heard Topline do a few pistons, but again unsure where to get them & what part #s.

could shave the head a little to help bump compression aswell as fitting a 2-layer OEM headgasket will also help. they would compliment the stage 1 cam quite well i would imagine. the possibilities are endless for the d-series.

[saikou27]

im liking the idea of maybe a crower stage 1 cam so i dont have to do any additional head work. i was looking at some aftermarket high compression pistons to raise the compression. trying to avoid head milling and rod changes if possible. not going for big comp ratios just trying to compliment the cam. i was looking at maybe a 10.5.1 max if possible?

[VTECnique]

unfortunetly, crower dont make a stage 1 cam for non-vtecs, only vtecs. & you cant fit a vtec cam to a non-vtec head, so you have to get a regrind from bisimoto...

[lookingforboost]

you can get a high comp rebuild kit for about the 300-400 USD with pistons for to suit the D they will raise the comp ratio to 12.7.1 i belive though :)

[saikou27]

you can get a high comp rebuild kit for about the 300-400 USD with pistons for to suit the D they will raise the comp ratio to 12.7.1 i belive though :)

that would be perfect. any idea where i should be looking for these?

[lookingforboost]

ebay..... :P you can get the kits for them postage isent that much either just make sure you look on the american one

[VTECnique]

fjdistributors.com

they've got high comp bottom end kits, aswell as turbo bottom end kits for the d-series...

you dont wanna go too high in compression, a low 12 to high 11 is plenty...

[saikou27]

well update guys. ive decided on p29 pistons which will raise compression to 12:1. ill be getting everything i need to supports those like arp rod bolts etc. stage 2 bisimoto cam and adjustable cam gear, and pro springs, b18 t/b, all tuned on a greddy emanage.

will start up a build thread when this project gets fully underway. just a few more things i need to research and clear up. also finances lol :)