TSXrated

Sunday night and I'm a little bored so I figured I would share the story of my TSX's Hondatification last week with my new friends on A-Zine.

First a little background.

My car is a little more than a month old. One of the reasons I purchased the TSX was because I knew of the availability of the Hondata reflash. I was thisclose to pulling the trigger on a V6 Accord. The 3.0 Liter V6 in the Accord is a truly wonderful engine and I was worried about the TSX being so much down on power from my last ride. After doing my homework here on A-Zine, I discovered the availability of the Hondata reflash and made my decision in favor of the TSX.

My original plan was to wait until the engine was broken in a bit more before doing the reflash. My car only has 1200 miles on it so the engine is still a little green. I thought I would do the modification at about 3,500 miles, but the opportunity presented itself to me last week so I decided to jump on it. (The wife went out of town for a week so I would have the use of her car while the TSX would be out of service during the reflash.)

I will post the mechanical details of doing the modification myself in the performance and mods section, but I wanted to tell the tale of what happened when the ECU got to Hondata.

I send it off by FedEx last Tuesday and tracked it to delivery on Wednesday. Hondata usually does the reflash the day they receive the ECU and send it back by FedEx immediately. I expected the ECU back on Thursday. I confirmed payment and figured everything would go smoothly. WRONG!!!

A very sweet woman from Hondata called me on Wednesday and asked "what year is your car?" Well I was a bit taken aback. I filled out the form correctly and clearly stated the car was a 2006 5/AT. I asked her why she needed to confirm that. She answers me that my ECU has a serial number they have never seen before and that the reflash doesn't appear to be taking.

My heart sinks. I thought that as long as my car was one of the ones listed on the website, there would be no problem. She told me that the website lists the ECU s/n's on which the reflash will work. I ask to speak with the owner, but he is offsite (apparently at the dyno facility). She tells me that the owner (Doug) will be in tomorrow (Thursday) morning and that he might be able to tell me something different.

I wasn't happy, but I was willing to wait patiently until I spoke with the owner (and I had use of my wife's car for a few more days). Owing to the 3 hour time difference, I had to wait until Thursday afternoon to speak to Doug. Turns out he is one of the nicest blokes you could imagine (I use that term because Doug spoke with a pronounced British accent). He told me that my ECU is brand new (i.e., a new version just introduced late in the model year), but that he was confident that he would be able to load the program onto it. He asked for a few hours and told me that he would contact me later in the day. Sure enough, I got a call from Hondata later that day telling me that the reflash was successful and that I would get the ECU back the next day (Friday).

FedEx delivered it to me Friday morning and I had it back in the car by that evening (but I could not test drive it right away).

Over the weekend though I put the car through it's paces. While it was sitting idle last week, I also replaced the OEM air filter with a K&N drop in. The idea was for my first drive with the reflash also include the better breathing offered by the K&N filter.

Review of the Reflash

In short (which is not something this post will ever be accused of being), I couldn't be happier. The car responded just as I thought it would. The K&N allows the engine to breathe a little easier (and rev up a little quicker), and the changed power profile of the reflash totally smoothes out the torque curve. Having the vtec's high lobes kick in at 4850 rather than 6200 is the way the car should have been made in the first place. Although the Hondata website says the reflash is hard to feel on the butt dyno, I would disagree. The car so clearly pulls harder from 4850 on up (and you can hear the difference too).

If you have a 5AT TSX like I do, this should be a MUST have modification. The car feels so much improved now. It is so much more flexible. Kicking down a gear (or two) does not put you into the hinterland of the torque curve (where you have to wait and wait to get the engine back up into a zone where you have some pull). Using the sport shift it is now fairly easy to keep the engine spinning in it's power band.

In sum: 5 Stars for the Hondata Reflash (with a K&N filter swap).

ninjamyst

Very nice. I wonder if anyone has a similar experience to tell for an '06 MT reflash. I been contemplating for a looong time whether to get it. So far, the only thing holding me back is the warranty issue. This is my first MT and I would hate for the dealer to use my lack of inexperience and the Hondata reflash to their advantage if anything goes wrong with the car.

jaehshim

jus by looking at the previous car list, i can see you are one car enthusiast... lol
I have a PWP 06 TSX 5 speed auto ,that's about a month old too!
i'm from north Jersey, about 15 minutes from GW bridge!

how much total did you spend?
read the whole post, interesting....but being still a noob, can you simply explain what reflash is ? and what impact does it have on the engine in BHP/what RPM and Torque aspect?

thanks

TSXrated

I just posted a rather long description in the main forum of my experience adding the Hondata Reflash to my 2006 TSX and my review of it.

I thought I would share my DIY experience with respect to pulling the ECU and Immobilizer here in this forum.

I contacted my local Hondata dealer and purchased the reflash with the intent of pulling the ECU myself and sending it directly to Hondata in California. I downloaded the instructions on how to remove the ECU and immobilizer and filled out the form. While I am not a mechanic, I know my way around a set of hand tools and have done some mods in the past by myself I figured this one couldn't be any more complex than installing a UUC Short Shifter on my old Audi A4 (which I accomplished without too much trouble).

While the downloaded instructions are pretty good, there is one screw on the immobilizer that they do not do an adequate job of explaining where it is or how tough it will be to remove (or replace when reinstalling). Pulling the ECU was not really difficult. It is located in tight quarters, but it is pretty straightforward.

If anyone is contemplating doing it I will offer this bit of advice: use a 10mm box wrench to unbolt it rather than the 10mm socket that Hondata recommends on their instructions.

Getting that immobilizer out was a bitch. There are just two small phillips head screws holding it in (which you access by taking off the cowlings to the steering column, which was pretty easy). One of those screws is right in front and easily accessable. The other one is on the opposite side, not visible from any angle and requires the use of a short screw driver to remove. The problem is not so much that you don't have room to work, it's just that it is totally blind. YOU CANNOT SEE THE SCREW YOURSELF. While this makes the screw's removal tough, it really makes replacing it a very frustrating experience.

I offer this second bit of advice for anyone going to attempt this: use a short phillips head screwdriver with a strongly magnetized tip. Also, if have a small mirror (like a woman's make-up mirror) you might find it a bit easier to accomplish.

I probably would have had more patience doing it if wasn't 102 degrees out when I pulled the ECU. I damn near melted. At one point during the struggle with the screw I started getting a little light headed in the blazing August sun. Thank heavens it was a bit cooler when I reassembled everything a few days later.

It all went back together with no leftover pieces-parts.

Email me if you are considering doing this mod and have any questions. It really was not too difficult a job. It took me about an hour, but I would say 40 minutes of that time was spent on that one screw.

drunkenbuda

to bad its not out for the 05 AT yet....still waiting for it.

TSXrated

The reflash costs $600

THE HONDATA WEBSITE has all the information regarding what the reflash is and the impact on the engine (and they have the dyno charts to back up their claims).

Also, if you do a search on this forum (use the keyword "hondata") there has been a lot written about it.

BTW, I am in North Jersey also.

jaehshim

oh wow what town?
i'm from Tenafly/Closter area

kboosman00

Great write up. I think I'm the only 04 w/o this mod done, lmfao. Some 05 owners out there are gonna flame me for this one.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Thread merged.

subdued

glad it worked out TSXRATED. I was wondering who datafied with low mileage (you qualify with just 1200mi.). It seems like most 04/05 folks waited to 50k. I am at 8k on my 06 and will be next. thanks for the write up.

shitbox

great write up!! congrats and i'm looking forward to get the reflash too.

zidenx

iTrader: (1)

nice write up and review. so much that i want to do to my tsx but no money..

TSXdawg

I got my Hondata reflash when my car was pretty new too, I had about 5000 km on my car...I have an 06 5AT. The car definately pulls harder now. I wouldn't say it was a huge difference in acceleration but definately noticeable. However, the car really has a sweet sound now...especially when it starts VTECing at 4800 RPM. Best bang for the buck for sure. Oh, I also got the Comptech Icebox and I think the two are very complimentary. No need to wait...just git 'er done (as long as your car is broken in).

MTLer

how much was the reflash for you tsxdawg? In cad$ and how long did it take.
Thanks

rmpage

Great post, and I agree that Hondata's customer service is excellent. Also, if there is any one modification that will maximize the reflash's effect, it is a header. They cost a bit, but they'll still bolt right up, not void your warranty, and your car won't be one iota louder than it is now.

By the way, Doug's is a New Zealand accent...lower in the throat than British but without the twanginess the Aussies have. It can be really difficult to place, especially if you've never heard one before.

zidenx

iTrader: (1)

i'm waiting for a good header to come out before i buy one.. like rmf, smsp, hytech, etc..

Reach

rmpage, can you elaborate on why this would be? I've just decided to get the topspeed header (aka chineese stainless header, aka ebay) and be an early adopter. What benefit can I expect with it and hondata over hondata alone and why?

h1coupe

I wonder why Hondata can´t take our euro accords and reflash them if they can reflash this "NEW ECU" in a matter of hours he had gotten over any problems for a new ecu?

our accord is about identical to the tsx mechanically so I wonder why this is?

Tsx536

Nice writeup

Glad you're enjoying the reflash. And yeah, Doug's customer service is great. When they were doing the reflash for my SC setup, Doug flagged down a Fedex driver so that the ECU would get to Comptech by Friday and I wouldn't be without a car for the weekend.

rmpage

Well, remember that our engine has variable intake valve phasing, or variable timing control (VTC, the "i" in i-VTEC) owed to a special timing gear on the intake cam that adjusts its range using oil pressure diverted to it at different RPMs by the ECU. As you're probably already aware, VTC allows valve overlap to be controlled somewhat by controlling the delay (or lack thereof) between when the exhaust valve closes when the piston is at TDC just finishing the exhaust stroke and when the intake valve opens as the piston begins moving down again during the intake stroke. During valve overlap (both intake and exhaust valves are open) the pulses that resonate in a header's primary tubes during an RPM range determined by the tubes' length can actually travel back through the exhaust valve, into the cylinder, back through the intake valve, into the manifold, and then bounce back the way they came again. When they reflect back down the exhaust header, they create a suction behind them that is stronger than the piston alone generates. This actually pulls the intake charge into the cylinder faster than the piston itself can do, aiding in induction of a higher pressure charge and thus higher volumetric efficiency (e.g. more power).

Because all of this depends on a header's characteristics, e.g. at what RPM range it will have this resonating effect, and because the reflash optimizes VTC advance across the rev range, that means that a reflash customized to take advantage of a particular header will yield even greater improvement in its presence. When Hondata developed the 04-05 reflash they tuned it to work with the Comptech header. But all things being equal, any decent header will share characteristics with the Comptech header and should give similar improvements.

Reach

Great explanation, thanks!

Tho I really don't understand all of that in terms of engine performance (my lack of understanding), what you say about the air flow makes perfect sense. So assuming the design is similar to the Comptech header (and it is) it should allow most of the performance gain w/ the reflash.

This is all assuming the 06 reflash was also developed to take advantage of the header.

cuteguy1414

iTrader: (1)

I guess am speaking for all the 05 auto owners out there..we are all cursed!!

TSXdawg

$700 CAD and it took 4 days. I got it done when I had access to my wife's car. It really shouldn't take any longer because they ship it overnight both ways.

curls

Did you go through a local Hondata dealer / representative? The ones here in Ottawa, and from what I hear, Toronto and Montreal, are trying to charge like $1,000+ CAD which is WAY more than $600 USD even with cross border shiping factored in.

miner

I'm an '04 without this mod, too.

Newplay1

First nice write up but 1hour! The instructions made it sound like its a 5-10mins job..

TSXrated

It's definitely not a 5-10 minute job.

If I were doing it again, and had the right tools (i.e., the suggestions I made in my earlier post), I probably could do it in about 20 minutes.

You don't want to rush though and risk breaking a clip or taking something apart in a manner that won't go back together in a neat and finished way.

hondata

I dyno tested Thursday an 06 TSX with K&Ncold air intake and DC header. It was the first 06 I had tested with these bolt ons.

It picked up 38-40HP at 6000 rpm! The 06 TSX rocks. The better breathing the 06 has means it responds better to modifications.

jiggaman

oh that makes me want to get the 06 now

jiggaman

can we install 06 cams on 04-05?

TSX2345

Yes, should be a direct bolt-on

jiggaman

so we just need doug from hondata to do a reflash for 04-05 with 06 cams to take advantage OR KPRO

hondata

You only need the intake cam and the only change is that the big lobe (which on an 04/05 TSX was smaller than an RSX big lobe) now has the profile from the Japanese DC5 Integra type R, which is Honda's biggest K series intake cam lobe.

kwjustin89

If I got an 04 ECU to be reflashed, could I use my 05 immobilzer? Or would I have to find an 04 also?

hondata

A dealer can match an 04 ECU to 05 immobiliser.

jlukja

NJTSXMan had this done. Shoot him a PM and I'm sure he'll fill you in on what you need to do.

gavinn58

Wow, so is it just as straightforward as changing the intake cam or will other modifications be needed? Will the 04-05ers already with the reflash see similar gains as the 06 reflash?

h1coupe

I WANT HONDATA




sorry about the shouting

hondata

Yes, if you install all the other parts that makes the 06 better:

- Bigger valves
- Bigger Throttle body
- Bigger bore exhaust system

Your TSX must have intake / race header / exhaust before installing the cam. If not you are highly likely to have a torque dip after vtec.

Tsx536

Hondata,

Would the 06 cams be safe to use with my SC setup and current reflash?