Hondata, Can I tune this myself?

[GreenGSR311]

I want to switch to a Hondata system(probably s100 w/ boost). The only Hondata dealer here in town is kind of a dumbass. He has only tuned 1 system and it took him 5-6 hours to tune. If he lets me use all his software, is it easy enough for me to figure out on my own? I see all these threads on other boards saying that Hondata is great when tuned by a good tuner. I tuned my V-AFC myself on his dyno, but I want something better. I just don't trust this guy very much. I figure I would have a pretty good base map from Hondata already and really I would be just fine tuning everything. Any opinions will be appreciated. Oh yeah, all this is being done on an actual dyno with a wideband. Thanks.

[GreenGSR311]

Cool, thanks! I think I saw a demo or something on Hondata's websight, so I might try to download it and see if I can play around with it a little.

[lcopas]

Not saying it'll be easy ... but if you have a wideband O2 and a dyno ... I don't see any reason you won't be able to tune it yourself.

But be warned ... it can be a little tricky if you never played with the Hondata setup before.

But there are plenty of people here that have done it and can answer any questions you might have.

[JRCivic]

WARNING: "The tuning you are about to experience will be performed by trained professionals... do not try this at home."

heheheheheheh

jk

Venturing into the tuning world is a double edged sword: If you are fortunate enough to do it correctly (and the engine lasts for more than a few thousand miles), then you have earned the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. On the dangerous side: Poor tuning can damage an engine... and since this would be your first "Tune", are you willing to take that risk ??? When you perform a task for the very first time... the chances of making mistakes are far greater than when you are comfortable with the job. Just because you might be "computer savvy" doesn't make you a tuner... it just means that you can navigate the software well. One must still KNOW what to tell the mighty computer... and it will perform as you have typed. True tuning secrets are almost always held close to the vest... what is divulged is usually on the conservative side.

Either way you go... I applaud your efforts. Congrats on being a member of the dark side.

[lcopas]

I totally concur with what Jim has said ... and trust me on this ... it took a LOOOOOONG time to finally start getting the results from my Hondata that I was looking for ... as I have no access to a dyno ... I have no doubt that a professional tuner (i.e. like Jim) could easily find more HP that I have overlooked ... but fear not ... there is a lot of useful information out there, you just have to be willing to go find it. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Maybe some day Jim ... I'll make the trek to your shop so you can "edjamacate" me. [img]graemlins/smarty.gif[/img]