Forgive me if I'm missing this in the forums but my searches have yielded nothing so far...

What tuning options are available for the 4G 3.5L V6? Id love to get more hp/torque out of it and potentially better fuel economy. I'm very familiar with tuning VW products but not Honda/Acura. Educate me...

Of the options out there, which would be detectable by Acura service?

TIA

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Unfortunately none so far, and probably never because the engine is unique to MDX and the market is too small.
However, you can see if throw in K&N and see if there is any downpipe available. These will improve throttle response a lot and bring some mid-range torque. If you can take advantage of these changes, the fuel economy should improve a little.

 

Ok, thanks for the reply. Such a different world between VAG and Honda/Acura...

 

VAG is a completely different company when it comes to tuning and parts availability. VAG has so much parts sharing and so many models that tuners can easily spread tunes/parts out among various models for cheap. Whereas Acura/Honda use a lot of unique parts so tuners get a lot lesa bang for the buck.

Not to mention it's a naturally aspirated engine, so even if a tune was available, at most it will be like 10-15hp.

 

You might have some options today and some future options with the Type-S MDX or with the 2.0T with the +19 RDX with the turbo engines with reflash, intercooler, downpipe/exhaust, etc. The 2nd Gen 07-13 MDX was pretty much the last gen that had an option for some hp/tq increase with high flow cats and J-Pipe for the 3.7L. The only option for more hp/tq + improved mpgs for the 14-20 3rd Gen was going with the 17-20 MDX Sport Hybrid model (321hp/289tq, 26-27 mpgs city/combined/hwy).

 

I would think it would be less about parts and more about interest. None of the BMW and VAG Stage 1 tunes do not require aftermarket parts, and they are available on both turbo and non-turbo models. They just do a better job of mapping the ECU parameters to optimize performance, shifts, etc. I guess there just aren't that many Acuras on the road vs other makes.

For a 3.5L V6, this thing is a dog, and the gas mileage is way worse than it should be. It seems like just lazy programming to me. I think they left a lot on the table that could be squeezed out with better programming. I don't really want to start putting a bunch of aftermarket parts on the vehicle. I would rather just get better performance out of what is already there. I guess I should have waited for the Type-S, but I kind of hate the interior on that. But in the end, this is a family hauler, so I will stop complaining and focus my efforts on my Audi

 

The 14-20 3rd gen MDX was really good on power to weight ratio for a good balance of performance and mpgs. The 4050lbs fwd 3.5L 3rd Gen could see 26-28 mpg on the hwy and the sh-awd version was only about 1-2 mpg behind on the hwy at 4200lbs-4300lbs with the 9AT. The 14-15 MDX got 1 mpg better with the 6AT (a tad slower in the 0-60 mph times). You can almost purchase two 3rd gen 2018 MDXs for the price of one new 2024 MDX if you want a little more performance and improved mpg without sacrificing utility.

 

Totally fair points about the stage 1 tunes not needing parts, but I guess that takes me back to my previous statement with respect to this being a naturally aspirated engine and there not really being anything they could feasibly do aside from forced induction to noticeably boost performance. If you're thinking of a tune to alter the mapping, I'm still not sure that will get you the performance you desire.

I like that the MDX still offers a V6 as the base engine, but part of me thinks they would have been better off offering the 2.0T as the base engine. A small tune and that thing is pushing mid 300's HP. But I totally agree that the fuel economy is ridiculous given the weight and power numbers. I personally think it has a lot to do with the 10AT. Even the RDX with 2.0T is delivering abysmal city fuel economy (i.e when the transmission is shifting a lot) compared to its equally powered peers with 7 and 8 speeds.

 

folks in this thread have been using jb4 with good results:
https://www.mdxers.org/threads/mdx-t...177321/page-12

edit: sorry, saw you have the 3.5L/non-type s. not sure if jb4 works for that.

 

Any updates on this in 2025?

 

This says it works on the 4g MDX 3.5v6. Anyone try it?

Monte GT & Monte GTR – Performance & Fuel Economy Tuning | Monte Tuning https://share.google/DDpb6wK5QAlAaq9uR

 

And another that seems better?

ACURA MDX 3.5L - J35Y5 V6 (2021-PRESENT) - STAGE 1 PERFORMANCE SOFTWARE TUNE https://share.google/ePZFtwxmlYwMg2Uh8