Asian Candy

Reading through hondata's website on how to use the flashpro, it says "It is very important that the ground from the wiring harness to the engine (G101) makes good electrical contact with the cylinder head. Otherwise the return path for the sensors, ignition and VTEC may be through the OBDII connector, FlashPro, laptop, laptop charger and inverter to the vehicle body, which may damage the ECU/FlashPro.". What wiring harness are they referring to and has anyone actually taken this step and ran a ground to this location?

UTAH TSX

We have that ground it's on the driver side of head it has a bunch of black wires bolted right on the head

Asian Candy

Awesome, thanks. Guess I don't have to worry about that part then.

katanamast279

Is it possible for an AT car for the Hondata tune to help with the way the transmission shifts?

iCrap

Mine shifts a little firmer after the hondata

xtcnrice

With Hondata, AT/MT should both experience less rev hang right? So when it shifts, your RPM should dip/raise (depending on up/down shift) more quicker than without FlashPro.

ssjoeboe9

I honestly never noticed the rev hang on our vehicles, and when I got the flashpro it didn't seem to change the "rev hang" at all. Shifted exactly the same to me. But everyone else seems to think it improves

xtcnrice

Cu2Suspect

Coming from a RSX with a Kpro tune... The rev hang is so noticeable especially when trying to shift fast at high Rpms ... Hondata works wonders in my experience ... Still waiting to flash my tsx tho

ssjoeboe9

I think that I just don't notice the slight difference. I've even tried to watch youtube videos and it looks the same haha. I need a side by side video to see the difference lol

iCrap

I noticed no difference with rev hang but then again, auto..

Username 0

Rev hang is VERY noticeable on my 2012 6MT. One of the main reasons why I want to get flashpro is to get rid of it or at least get rid of some of it.

Its very annoying.

ssjoeboe9

Post a before and after video...

or just post a video of the rev hang. I never found a good video that clearly shows it.

iCrap

There are a few vids on youtube but they are of Civic Si. From the video it looks really bad

ssjoeboe9

Post here

iCrap

ssjoeboe9

iunnno I feel like most of the time the RPM drops as soon as I push in the clutch.

iCrap

Well the Hondata is supposed to eliminate the rev hang anyways, so it should drop as soon as you put in the clutch.
But i don't get why it happens to some cars and not others... weird.

Asian Candy

Anyone ever have trouble with Flashpro Manager? I downloaded it with no problem, but anytime I try to open it I get an error message that the application cannot be started. I've uninstalled then reinstalled several times and on 2 different computers, but always with the same result. I've contacted hondata a couple of times in last couple of weeks, but haven't gotten a response.

VitViper

Disable any and all anti-virus type software. That error message has been addressed over a dozen times on the Hondata support forum, at this point I would probably would just automatically delete all inquiries that mention that issue automatically without any response, lol.

Asian Candy

Oh, whoops. Lol. Didn't think to look into a support forum. Thanks for the help.

xtcnrice

Hey Vit, dumb question. But a few of us here are curious: Is a FlashPro meant for another vehicle (i.e., an R18 Civic) compatible with other vehicles (like the TSX)? I'm 99% sure the answer is no. The general consensus here is that the FP hardware is the same for each model (FP-TSX, FP-SI, etc.).

ssjoeboe9

You still haven't tried it yet? Nothing can really happen, if it is not supported then you will probably get a paring problem when you enter your vin#

iCrap

Yea that's what i said ^

xtcnrice

No, I haven't tried because in the case it doesn't work, I might get screwed on return/exchange. The USB cable comes in a sealed plastic bag, and I don't wanna break it open just to find out the FP doesn't work properly with my ECU. Besides, I really doubt Hondata would go through the trouble of having various part numbers for their FPs, as well as implementing an ECU checker on their site that spits out which FP you actually need to buy. Plus there's that bit of text,
It isn't exactly a cheap piece of hardware... so I don't wanna void potential return/exchange with HeelToe. I mean, if I had bought a second hand FP that wasn't FP-TSX, sure I'd give it a try.

iCrap

well the USB cable is actually just a standard one... printers usually use that cable.
Well anyways so what are you going to do? exchange it? How did you end up with the r18 one anyways, did they send the wrong version?

The thing that annoys me about the FP is that... it IS a cheap peice of hardware. We are just paying a crazy amount because its a specialty item and Hondata kind of has the monopoly on this. I'm sure it costs them like nothing to make each unit lol..

xtcnrice

Yeah I agree. I'm sure the hardware contains pretty cheap hardware. It's just all in the smarts, and you're absolutely right. It's a monopoly. We should step in and take over half their market share lol. I'll brush up on my hardware stuff from uni hahah..

And yeah... one huge clue it's made of some cheap hardware is that obsolete looking female printer-USB plug. The ONLY place I see that is on the back of printers. Do new printers even have that plug anymore? lol

They sent me the wrong one. Invoice says TSX FP. I don't wanna risk it because I read somewhere that people got an SI FP to work on a R18 or something, but some functions were limited because the R18's VTEC engagement is only on half-throttle or higher (because of eco engine), and the Si isn't, and these discrepancies are not accounted for or some shit in the Si FP HW itself or something. Makes no sense to me cuz it just sounds like a software-dependent issue, but I dunno. I still don't see why Hondata would have various part #s if its all the same shit though. But it'll also affect resale value. I've seen R18 FPs FS for fairly cheap. TSX ones were definitely not. I definitely could've just copped one of those used R18 FPs instead of a brand new TSX one if it's indeed true that they're interchangeable. I guess I just don't wanna take any chances, cuz this is my car I'm messing with.. and since I paid for a new TSX FP, I'm pretty sure I deserve a new TSX FP!

ssjoeboe9

yeah, I would say just send it back and get the right one, make sure you don't pay shipping. You paid for TSX so get one that says TSX on the side.

iCrap

where did you get it from? they dun goofed..

xtcnrice

heeltoe surprisingly

xtcnrice

Okay so Marcus personally called me today. He assured me that the Civic 1.8 FlashPro would NOT be compatible with our cars. He is working on getting this exchange process started for me. Very helpful person.

Marcus also assured me that the unit is not shipped directly from them. They have a "shipper" that helps ship Hondata units (maybe other stuff as well) to buyers. However, they're not exactly reliable, and he admitted this is not the first time, and they're working to move away from this particular company. He assured me that shipping costs will be reimbursed.

Sure, it sucks that I didn't get my unit on time, but it probably could've been worse. Thanks to HeelToe for their awesome customer service.

edit:
tl;dr version that somewhat applies to this thread... my apologies for polluting it with stuff that likely should've belonged in my "build" thread or 2G chat/ramblings (I can feel Joe's death stare!):
- FP hardware is vehicle (model)-specific; must use FP-TSX-* for our cars
- HeelToe/Marcus have awesome customer service. Buy stuff from them!

iCrap

quite the fail lol. the guy probably just grabbed some random one.
I still don't get this though. There should be no reason why it's hardware dependent. Unless maybe they are locking them to specific cars / engines on purpose via the firmware. Which is probably what it is... so they can get more money out of it and to make it harder to resell it.

xtcnrice

Either this, or the ECUs themselves may differ in hardware architecture between vehicles, or something in between (maybe newer ECUs, despite being on the same architecture, may have new ways to prevent Hondata from writing values, much like trying to prevent a jailbreak, and Hondata needs newer hardware-dependent tools to bypass the lock).

I'm pretty sure it's just for the money though... it has crossed my mind.

iCrap

For sure it is. There is no reason why even the reflash from them should cost $400.
R&D costs I guess could be part of it?

ssjoeboe9

haha no death stare. This thread is for all Hondata FP issues! Thanks for the update.

I do wish there was a better way to organize stuff though. When this thread gets to 20 pages long, no one new will be able to sift through all of the information to find exactly what they need. Hopefully as long as a group of us are active on this thread we can remember whether or not it was previously discussed and get whatever question answered that someone has.

ssjoeboe9

R&D is 95% of the cost. I know from experience haha. When you are talking about mass production, each of those units probably cost ~$25 in actual material and hardware.

Jaheri_cbp

Why don't you develop good honda/acura "tuning ware" comparable to hondata's and make it open source?.. Then put your last name on it like "COBB" so that when people ask me what type of engine management I'm running I can say the "CRAP" tune.. Lol I would be a proud user

VitViper

Hardware is the same, firmware on them is different. You won't get them working across different models.

PS for anyone looking, I have a legitimate TSX FP in stock on the shelf, so you won't get an R18 one from me when you order a TSX one, lol.

VitViper

Yup, electronics is always R&D. People gotta eat, bills have to be paid, or no one would bother making such things... They have to make money, in turn dealers have to make money, there has to be a margin for everyone in the chain, or why even bother lol.

xtcnrice

Had a very, very attractive price from HeelToe. Otherwise I would've went with you no doubt. Obviously kicking myself right now as the issue still isn't resolved yet.

Anyway, thanks for that bit of info!