www.dodo-upgrades.nl

After reading for a few hours, I'm still not 100% sure about wich ECU I need for my project and why I need it.

If anyone could help me out with wich ECU I would have to get my hands on for the different scenarios below (and preferably why), it would be greatly appreciated.

I do have the D14A4 engine (1997), with the P3Y ECU.

Items I allready have incoming:

Complete D16Y8 intake with TB, fuel rail, injectors, all sensors and connectors (intake-side)
D16Y8 head with camcover, cam, camgear and complete valvetrain (but missing VTEC solenoid)
D16Y8 dizzy with leads
D16Y8 engine harness, supposedly with one missing connector (its from a 1997 car, so OBDA I assume)

What do I need to get/do in the ECU and/or wire department if I:

1. Only do the intake swap?

2. Do the intake swap and the SFI-to-MPFI?

3. Do both the intake and the head-swap?

Do I _have_ to get a new ECU for all of these options?

Do I _have_ to convert to OBD1 (from our funky OBDX) for MPFI? For VTEC?

What options would you suggest when it comes to ECU's, considering a couple obstacles:

I have zero experience with any electronic tuning (though I can read up on it).

The tuning-expertise ain't too common in Norway, and the few professional tuning-companys are expensive.

With wages around 150€/h for bluecollar work like mechanics, carpenters, electricians etc. (not what the workers get, but what their company charge), pretty much anything involving paying other people to do anything in this country, cost a truckload. That is usually somewhat offset by your own income, wich also is alot higher in Norway then most others countrys, but only if you can actually work, and ain't forced to live of disability pension, as I do.

Anyways, from what I've been reading so far, 'get P28' seem to be the default answer, but I haven't managed to nail down if thats just cause its the one that will def work with any OBD1-converted VTEC, or if its cause it is (or used to be?) one of the few ECU's that tuners had the software/hardware/knowledge to tune for Hondas, or cause OBD2's cost alot more to tune (wich I haven't figured out why would be the case yet either) and so on.

The prices I've seen on the P28 (and possibly any ECU?) is really bumping the cost of this project a bit much on this early stage, and more so if what I'm paying for, is really something I can't handle myself, but need to have someone else tune.

Then again, I really don't know much about ECU-tuning (I'm alot more confident about the mechanical part), so don't have much then my wallet telling me whats pricey and whats reasonable.

The guy going to send me the intake and dizzy, also offer me a P28, for an extra 70£ (and a 10£ shipping increase), saying they go for 100£ normally. How does that sound?

Considering the lack of tuner-community locally (or my lack of contact with it?), is having the ECU sent somewhere for chipping and some guesstimate 'tuning' based on generic data about the engine-setup, a viable option, or is that just doomed to produce crap results, depending on amount of luck?

Will make a thread in the appropriate section for a few engine-related questions too.

I seriously need to put som sort of character-limit on myself...

Sorry for the late reply, but for me it's easy to guide you in some direction.

Intake swap only? In that case you don't need another ECU. For some reason the default ECU is pretty capable of getting a lot of hp extra once you change the mechanics a small bit. I've seen 110 to 123 bhp if I recall correctly on these types of setup.

MPFi swap? After the intake mani swap has been performed this ONLY involves changing the ECU. Changing the ECU is only to allow you to change some maps to finetune the setup. In practise this can bring a few hp more, my experience is somewere from 116 to 129 bhp.

To decently tune a VTEC head you need another ECU for VTEC.

But why would you need a P06 (though no VTEC!), P28 or P30 for instance? Because they are OBD1 and OBD1 is pretty well hacked by some people around in the Honda scene giving lots of choices on available software (AEM, Hondata, Chrome, eCtune, Neptune and I propbably forgot some). Now OBD2, to my knowledge is a lot harder and I have no experience with it. I guess most OBD2 tuners simply scan the default chip for MAP table values and change them, don't know any sophisticated software actually.

Looking at your story I recommend leaving the ECU out unless you get your hands on a stock P28. Even I (with some experience and some people around here in the Netherlands) leave the ECU tuning to somebody else. So if you don;t have ECU tuning people nearby, nor the passion for these electronics involved, stick to a nice intake mani setup. It can get you past halfway the performance of what a maxed out D14 can though, and that is a lot more than the stock D14's do.

Good topic and one which STILL needs to be properly written up!! I still don't know fully what to do with this and what the best option is and I've been on this site for years!