Ok guys my car is a Daily driver civic with a JRSC.

The car came chipped im not sure what it uses. But im looking for something i can tune with thats the cheapest method. I have S300 on my acura. But i sort of dont want to spend $500-600 on this car for EMS unless its my last resort.

I want to do my own tunning and chip burning.

If i wanted to go ECT or chrome or neptone what would i need to buy and a rough price.

I hear that everyone says there all as good as the Hondata S300.

If it comes down to it being few bucks more for S300 Ill go that route.

People's input would be nice.

 

in order to burn your own chips, you will obviously need a chip burner which is $100-150, then you will need an ostrich $175, then you can either use crome for free, or buy neptune or ectune for $100.

What I would do (did) is get the Neptune rtp for $350 which serves as a chip emulator, datalogger, and comes with a neptune program license.

 

For the $, I would do the Neptune RTP or the S300. Messing with an emulator and chip burner is a PITA. If the RTP had built-in datalogging (they say they will soon, but not yet) I'd say maybe go with it, and if they didn't do that regional exclusive tuner thing when they first came out with it, but for now I lean toward the S300. I like to datalog when I'm racing, so onboard datalogging is important to me.

Ok, really I'd get the AEM EMS, which is what I did, but that's not for soneone on a budget.

Chipping the ECU is simple, I did a P05 last night. I just ordered the Xenocron kit for $35 (includes VTEC conversion parts). You can probably get the components for less, but the Xenocron kits are convenient and have everything that you need. You just need a solder extractor, a low-watt iron, and some practice. David Blundell's write-up on pgmfi.org will step you right through the process. If you are not good at soldering, then pay someone to install the kit.

 

chipped ecu, Ostrich, datalogging cable, CROME, Freelog

 

If you want a stable program, great hardware and awesome support I would suggest the NepTune RTP Demon Package.

You really can not beat this system for the price.

 

s300 ftmfw. You really cant beat its versatility and ease of use/reflashing. Or get equivalent neptune..

 

honestly, cheapest route shouldnt even be a thought.
i have been using hondata for 6 years. 4 on the s200b and the last 2 on the s300 and im not looking back.

dont let price be your determining factor on a product of this much importance.

 

All these systems are within $100-150 of each other... Can't go wrong with either ECTune, Neptune or Hondata for a solid tuning system.

If you are planning on doing the tuning yourself, find a system which users are willing to share their tunes and discuss about how their car is running. I find ECTune great for that, so that could be your primary choice.

 

To answer the OP's original question, that setup should be the cheapest.

 

OK im going to take a look at ECtune. Or maybe ill take the S300 out of the EL and put it in the civic and maybe AEM EMS in the EL who knows.

 

bump

 

I'm a big fan of ectune after running my new motor on it for a couple thousand miles. You can get ectune and demon for $400 and not have to mess with chips and all that crap. Crome is a cheaper setup but it's just not as easy to use and has less features and support. It does work fine though...but I was an Uberdata fan before that haha.