Tuning, explained

Fill out the Vehicle Information form with your order number. Your tuner will reply within 2 business days (Mon–Fri) with detailed instructions — a little longer around long weekends, holidays, full moons or Honda-days 🙂

• Use the same fuel type and ethanol content throughout tuning — it affects AFR and STFT.
• Set any manual fuel pressure regulator or boost controller ahead of time and leave it alone until tuned.
• Keep the tank above half — returnless systems can see sporadic pressure near empty.
• Warm up fully (10+ minutes) before logging. Typically we want a ~30 min drive plus 1–2 WOT 3rd-gear pulls per revision.
• Long logs get big (300–700MB+). Compress with 7-Zip — they shrink 90%+ and download in seconds.

Yes. E-tuning does not touch braking, ABS, steering, traction control or the immobilizer — those are separate modules. We work in the performance tables: fueling, ignition advance and cam angles.

The ECU and tuning software also have their own safety nets — e.g. drive-by-wire throttle tables are error-checked so the throttle plate closes when you lift.

A custom map, thorough datalog analysis, and a complete report with screenshots of what was changed and why. A typical Revision 1 report lists the mods, the tune target, initial notes (VTEC window, cam angle breakpoints, throttle table, ignition, fueling) and a final checklist covering injectors, VE tables, lambda, knock, sensors and idle.

Software adjusts engine (and sometimes transmission) parameters to optimum values — for a stock car, or one with intake, exhaust, turbo or supercharger mods. It’s done mainly by email, with phone and remote PC support available.

Everything in our Vehicle Selection. K, R18 and F-series engines are supported from 2006 and up. R18 support is market-specific — check hondata.com. Send a Hondata datalog (.fpdl) and map (.fpcal) and you’ll receive a Hondata custom tune.

• Up-to-date maintenance per your owner’s manual.
• Fresh oil and OEM filter, good (ideally new) spark plugs, a fresh tank of premium.
• If the car sat a while, run a full tank through first.
• Replace the primary O2 sensor if it’s 60,000+ miles or 3+ years old — we can often spot a slow sensor in the logs.
• Decide silencer in or out before you start.
• Do jobs like a valve lash first — they have a big effect on the tune.

Both beat a basemap. For most drivers a quality e-tune is enough; for the all-out enthusiast, the answer is both.

A proper full dyno tune is ~8 hours (about 5 of analysis, 3 of physical work) at $100–150+/hr. An e-tune averages real-world conditions from your logs, and with modern OBD-II about 90% of the tuning can be done before the dyno. Then your dyno tuner can focus on what logs can’t measure — like finding MBT ignition — in less time.

For the best performance, consistency and MPG we recommend the Ultimate Tuning Package — every commonly-used table tuned and averaged, with a minimum of 7 revisions. R18 owners get a great deal on the R18 Ultimate. Add Forced Induction analysis if you’re boosted.

Come back any time for a discounted re-tune, and if you want those last few degrees, take us to the dyno with our remote dyno package.

First: safely. If you’re only logging selected channels, capture: AFR, MAP, MAF, RPM, injector pulse width, throttle position, speed, STFT, LTFT, ignition advance and intake cam angle.

Then drive normally — all gears, all your usual conditions. For MAF/AFM-based tunes, hold 35 mph and bump speed every ~20 seconds up to 80 mph (or what’s safe). Add two WOT 3rd-gear pulls from 2000 rpm to redline — at a track, under safe conditions. Obey local traffic laws.

Carbureted engines needed a dyno, plug reading and a good ear. Fuel injection turned it into a science of numbers: target AFRs, fuel pressure, ignition degrees. Good numbers produce the good plugs and exhaust note — not the other way around.

Your car already has dozens of sensors plus a factory wideband. From your logs we bring short-term fuel trims toward 0%, confirm AFR targets (13.1–13.5 for a K20Z3), clean up RPM indexing and VTEC transitions, and tune for your elevation, climate, fuel and driving. On a K20Z3 we’re typically within 5% after 2 revisions and 1–3% by revisions 3–5.

Each update to your map increments the revision number. Think of revisions as free re-tunes: the count in your package is a guaranteed minimum. Tunes are worked until complete — the point where environmental changes affect the car more than our ~1–2% adjustments — regardless of the count.

Finish early? Keep the leftovers for seasonal IAT tuning or a check-in after parts break in. You’re done when you get the email that says “Final Revision.”

You don’t need logs before ordering — logs verify how your car runs each revision we send. See our full Datalogging with FlashPro guide.

1. Open the file we sent in FlashPro Manager (use the version listed at the top of this site).
2. FlashPro tab → Calibrations → Primary → Upload. No car needed for this.
3. At the car: plug into OBD-II, ignition on (engine off), hold Program for 5 seconds.
4. Don’t touch anything for ~90 seconds — no doors, no windows. The tach counts up as it flashes.
5. When the fuel pump primes and the light stops blinking, start the car. Warm up ~15 minutes before logging.

AFR shifts with gear — taller gears run leaner with closed loop off. 3rd sits between 2nd and 4th, keeps speeds sane at redline, and gives the best read on fuel and knock. Leave at least a minute between pulls.

Drive exactly as you would without logging — we’ll sort it out. At an open test-and-tune, use the 35→80 mph steady-state method and do two WOT 3rd-gear pulls from 2000 rpm to redline.

Quite accurate, as measured by Hondata and confirmed by us. It excels at part throttle and reads well at WOT as long as it isn’t overheated or run too rich. Give it a minute between WOT runs.

Absolutely — more feedback is better. AEM UEGO, MoTeC and Innovate LC-1 all work well when installed and calibrated properly, and we have the factory sensor to cross-check.

Forced induction and high-compression motors usually need higher octane. Most importantly: use the same fuel type throughout tuning.

Signs it’s mechanical: ignition timing at idle around -7° to +4° (the ECU fighting extra air), idle vacuum of 15–19 inHg instead of 20–22, or fuel cut surging when idle climbs too high.

Diagnose in order: visual inspection → spray test → IACV → MAP sensor seal → send an idle datalog (timing, MAP, RPM). If it idled fine before new parts and surges after — check the install first.

Still stuck? Book a consultation.