Having been tuning cars for 9 years now (5 of those years professionally), I have tuned many different engine management systems and worked with a huge variety of cars from Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Chevy, Dodge, VW, etc. The one thing that seems to make or break a set-up is the engine management system that you use. It has been common practice in the Honda community as a whole to get tuned with an engine management system that is the cheapest solution. While I can appreciate building a car on a budget and saving money, engine management is something that spending a little bit more can go a long way. Our cheapest solution for tuning a Honda is NepTune. While NepTune offers many of the features other engine management systems offer, it lacks on board datalogging, clear and well defined datalogs, and the ability for you as the end-user to make any changes. Although to most this seems trivial in comparison to the price difference between being tuned with NepTune (600.00) and Hondata S300 (1025.00 including system and installation into your virgin ecu), that difference is what will make or break your set-up.  Here are scenarios I want you to consider:

Scenario #1: You decide to use our Evans Tuning boost package in order to control boost while you are getting tuned. The boost package allows the OEM ecu to control a boost solenoid. This gives the ability for you to have boost controlled directly from the ecu, and vary the amount of boost you run based on gear and engine rpm. You can dial the boost to put you right on the edge of traction for maximum acceleration. Sounds good, right? When I tune, I set up the boost per gear vs rpm to the best of my ability based on what you are going to do with your car (drag race, street race, road race, etc). Often times, after you leave you will want to increase or decrease the boost in a given gear, or change the boost profile completely if you are running street tires or drag slicks (which makes a huge difference). Being thrifty, you decided to save some money and be tuned on NepTune. Having no way to make any changes, or see exactly what is going on with the boost in a given gear you are essentially stuck with what I have set the boost profile at. Now, flip the scenario. You were tuned using Hondata s300. You would simply take a datalog while doing a boost pull through the gears. Email me the datalog file. I look through it, see where you want the boost increased and possibly make some recommendations based on the conditions that you are racing in. I send you back an updated calibration file, you upload it to the s300 and you are on your way. Better yet, YOU make the changes to the boost profile and your set. No wait.

Scenario #2: Your car is doing something weird. Whether it’s breaking up, cutting out, stalling out, etc. It was fine when you were tuned a few months ago or longer, but now it’s acting up. You were tuned on NepTune, and with no real good way to datalog you email me what is happening and I give you a few things to check out. You check all of the things I suggested, and the car is continuing to act weird. Without physically seeing the car, I cannot troubleshoot it. You are forced to schedule a retune for me to look over the car. Best case scenario it takes an hour to go over the car and fix the issue, but you are spending $150.00 to have this done. Flip things around, you were tuned with Hondata s300. You take a datalog while the issue is occurring and email it to me. I look through it, pinpoint the issue and either tell you what needs to be fixed with certainty or email you a revised calibration. No downtime, no additional money spent, and no need to take a day off of work to drive to the shop.

Scenario #3: You get a check engine light. You are tuned with NepTune. You need to check the code the computer is throwing in the traditional manner from the service connector under the dash. Once you fix the code, you need to pull the ecu fuse out for 30 seconds in order for the ecu to be reset. Turn things around, you are tuned on Hondata s300. You throw a code. You open the software, connect to the s300 unit and use the “check code” feature in the software to see what is going on. It displays both the code name and number, so there is no guessing “how many times did it blink?”. You fix the issue, and reset the ecu through the Hondata s300 software. Quick and simple.

Scenario #4: You get tuned on NepTune. While you are at the tuning appointment I ask you as many questions as possible in order for me to properly set up the boost cut, rev limiter, 2 step and other features. You leave, drive the car for awhile and want to make changes to some of the basic parameters to suit your needs the best. For example, you want the 2-step set higher at the track, you want the shift light to come on sooner in the rpms, you want the rev limiter set higher, etc. Because NepTune is burnt to a eeprom chip you are not able to make any changes yourself. You email or call us find out there is a $25.00 fee each time a eeprom chip is burnt and shipped out to you with the changes made that you want. Switch the situation, you are tuned on Hondata s300. You get tuned, and immediately after being tuned I email you your tuned calibration. You drive the car for awhile, decide you want to change the 2-step at the track. You open the calibration file up, connect to the s300, make the change and you’re done. No wait, no additional fees and no hassle.

Scenario #5: You drag race. You want the most out of your car, you have spent the money on the best parts and you don’t want to compromise. You decide to get tuned on NepTune, because you heard from other people its the best system to use. You get tuned, make good power and you are on your way to the drag strip. You run the car, but you are not happy with the E.T. or MPH that the car is running. Because you were tuned on NepTune, you don’t have good datalogging and/or you don’t have any datalogs at all. You want to go faster, but you have NO idea what to change. You are not a tuner, so you are unfamiliar with what would need to be changed or done to the tune to go faster. Again, flip things around. You are tuned on Hondata s300. You make good power, car runs great and you take it to the drag strip. The E.T. or MPH is not what you expect. You take some datalogs from the onboard datalogger built into the internal memory of the Hondata s300. You shoot me some of the datalogs. I look through them, in conjunction to your time slips. I make some changes, email you the calibration file back and you make some more passes. The E.T. and MPH pick up. You datalog some more, and send me the logs. I repeat the process over and over again until your set-up is maximized. You spend no additional money, and are getting the MOST out of YOUR set-up. No guess work, no being frustrated.

Bottom line, we are in 2009. Technology is all around us, and is growing faster and faster. The Hondata s300 is just more advanced and allows for you to ultimately gain information through datalogging compared to NepTune. Yes, it’s more expensive, but only a few hundred dollars more. You spend money on having the best possible parts so you have the most reliable performance set-up, and get the most enjoyment out of  your car. Using the Hondata s300 will drastically cut down on troubleshooting when it arrises, and for me to best help you as the customer out. The scenarios that I listed above are just some of the more common things that I see from being a professional tuner that customers go through constantly. Its frustrating for me to try to help someone out when I just don’t have good information to work with. Making educated decisions to adjust the tune, whether it’s something as simple as troubleshooting a problem or as complex as getting traction at the drag strip, is ultimately limited on how much information is present. As with any of the products we carry, we offer the best possible pricing to the customer as well as having it in stock! We offer s300, s300/ecu, boost packages (for s300 controlled boost) and conversion harnesses for OBD-0 and OBD-2 cars. If you are interested in getting set-up with a Hondata s300 package please call our office at 1.866.975.TUNE or email sales@evans-tuning.com.