I don't necccessarily care to raise my redline or lose my top speed limiter, so I was wondering if the S-AFCII would be a good alternative to a TS re-flash? They can be had for about $250; much cheaper. So how hard it it to install and tune yourself? Is professional installation and dyno time absolutely neccessary?

My mods are:
-intake
-plenum
-UR pulley
-ground kit

Coming soon:
-cats
-Y-pipe

 

yes you need professional tuning and instalation. if it is as complitcated as installing / tuning as a V-afc i had on my acura TL then you DO NOT want to do it yourself and dyno tuning is a MUST.
-Eric

 

I checked out the manuals and it doesn't look very hard; just connecting wires at the ECU harness. I've read elsewhere that with a wideband O2 sensor, you can tune it yourself, but I'd like opinions of actual owners.

Anyone know what installation at a shop runs?

 

We did this on my daughters honda, it was easy! But remember everyone has been boosting hondas forever. There is alot of info out there for reference. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Looking through the manual again, I'm confident I can handle the install. It's the tuning I'm most concerned about and would like comments on at this point.

It'd be great to be able to tune my own A/F to 12.5 accross the board and be able to easily re-tune or tweak it when I add more mods down the road.

 

i think with the data logger this could be easily tuned by urself.

 

What is this?

 

The install is easy, I have done both the S-AFC and a Greddy EManage and both wire in very easily. Just be sure that you wrap all of the connections very well to prevent any shorts.

A datalogger plugs into the OBD port and reads many of the engines sensors. It has the ability to record the sensors over a period of time and play the results back to you. It is a nice tuning tool for reading temperatures and timing. For the S-AFC it will be of little help because you need to tune the car with a wide band O2 sensor, hit the dyno and tune the S-AFC there.

 

Ok, so if I dyno tune it, do I need to have my own O2 sensor and gauge installed or do they hook up something just for tuning purposes? Is it possible to tune it yourself with your own sensor and gauge installed?

 

i was thinking to do this same mod with the S-AFC II and a AEM wideband guage type A/F controller, let me know how it works out

 

you can tune it with your own wideband, or most dynos will have a wideband sensor that they will stick in your exhaust pipe so you can do it that way too.

 

So how tough is it to tune yourself with your own sensor and gauge? It's be nice to be able to twaek it myself whenever I add a new mod.

What sensor/gauge package is good, how much are they and what does it take to intsall?

Oh, and back to one of theoriginal questions: is this a good alternative to a Technosquare reflash if I don't care about raising the rev limiter or removing the top speed limiter?

 

Anyone?

 

Your probably taking a big risk with the DIY tuneing. What little money you save wouldn't be worth it if you blew something up. Besides, by the time you get the AEM wideband O2 and have a bung welded into your exhaust that's going to be a good chunk of change. To be safe you would want to monitor your tuneing with an EGT gauge. That's another couple hundred bucks.

 

Hmm, good point. An hour of dyno time and experienced tuning on their sensors is probably the cheapest way to go.

 

Personally, I would not go with the S-AFCII, I would get the GReddy eManage because it has more functionality and actually lets you tune by controlling the injectors. The S-AFCII only lets you change the MAF voltage to tune which may work, but is not the best method.

The only drawback to the eManage is that you either have to have a laptop to tune, or else you have to also buy the E-01 unit in order to tune. The S-AFCII lets you adjust your A/F on the unit itself.

No matter which unit you decide to go with, you will also need a wideband O2 gauge with datalogging capabilities. The cheapest fully featured unit available is the Zeitronix nt-2 which is only $279. That price does not include a gauge though. The kit with the gauge is $399. The gauge is pretty FUGLY in my opinion, but it lets you monitor A/F, Lambda, ETG, and Boost all on one display. You have to buy the ETG and boost sensors seperately if you want, but it functions just fine without them. I just got mine in the mail yesterday.

As for tuning, it's up to you. I am planning to tune myself by doing some WOT runs in 3rd gear while datalogging my A/F. Then go home, export to Excel and anaylize it to see what adjustments I need to make to the fuel map. It's a long process, but the end result is worth it.

-Chris