RichardLSX

Hey guys Im knew to the honda and import crowd. I recently bought a 98 Honda Civic CX Hatch, with a B16A Sir2, And B16A Sir2 Tranny with optional LSD CTR Valve Cover, CTR Intake Manifold, And Hondatat Gasket (If that matters). It has a GSR ECU, and a friend of mine says I need to get it "chipped", to get it map'd for the B16.

Another problem is that the CEL is on, And its throwing codes related to the 02 sensor, So basically my question is, will getting my ECU "chipped" Make the car run better? And also if the 02 gets bypassed will I be able to pass for an inspection sticker?

Oh and more thing, Ive noticed the speedometer accumulates more miles then what I'm actually traveling, would this be because the ECU is most likely programmed for a B18 Tranny/Taller Gears, VS B16 Tranny/Shorter Gears and will the "chipped" ECU fix that also?

I greatly appreciate any help guys thanks

RichardLSX

Any help?

DVDr

iTrader: (2)

Hello,

Congrats on your purchase.

What ECU model do you have ?

-obd1 or obd2 ?

and what state do you live in ?, is there emission testing and obd testing ?

If no to the above, then best as your buddy said is go with a OBD1 ecu and get it "TUNED" for your setup. NOT JUST a chip .

you will get much better Mpgs and power out of a properly setup/tuned car.

D16SiHatch

do get the ecu chipped with the maps for a b16, it will make it run better.

the speedo issue has nothing to do with the ecu problem. i don't however understand what you're trying to say. be more specific.

azandford

either get a b16 ecu or get it chipped but i would get an 02 sensor and a b16 ecu if they do obd2 testing chipped ecu requires you to run a obd1 harness and all cars 95+ have obd2

they can bypass the 02 sensor with crome

RichardLSX

What I mean is for every mile I travel, It shows about 4, Or even more for instance, my girlfriend lives about 3 miles away, and when I got to her house it show about 25 miles traveled

And can I chip the ECU?




Thanks, Well He said the ECU would be out of a 96-01 Itegra DOHC B18 Vtec so Im guessing OBD-2 , And He said the parts, would be similar to a 99-00 Civic SI

And tune here costs 400 bucks, A little high for me right now at the moment, where as Chipping it is only about 80 bucks with secret services

D16SiHatch

interesting. i've never heard of anything quite like that. i imagine it has something to do with the speedo assembly internally though.

RichardLSX

I guess I shouldve explained my self a bit better, sorry.

Its a 98 Civic CX Hatch

B16A/B16 Tranny

96-01 GSR ECU So most likely a OBD-II

Question Number 1: Can I "Chip" the ECU for the B16 Maps

Question Number 2: If I do get it chipped, will they be over to bypass the 2nd O2 and therefore I pass for an Inspection Sticker, (Where I Go For Inspection They Just Plug In The OBD2 Cord And Thats It) Oh and by the way it needs a new cat also.

Question Number 3: Before I got into the Honda Scene, I was into trucks, And for instance on my regular cab 6 liter truck, it had a 3.42 gear ratio on the differential, and when I swapped in a 4.56 without getting it retuned, my miles where way off, And after I retuned it for the new gear ratio it was all back to normal

So what Im wondering is being that the B16 tranny has quicker gear ratios then a B18 Tranny could it be that when I get It chipped for B16 Maps it will Fix the speedometer problem?? My girlfriend lives like 3-5 Miles from my house, before I took off I reset it the TripOmeter, And when I got to her house it showed about 25????? WTF?

Sorry for the long paragraph, Im just really knew to this but Ive always liked Hondas, And just need to get it inspected So I can beat a friends mustang with it LOL

Much much thanks in advance guys

RichardLSX

You think so?? man I was hoping you'd say " oh no biggie tune will fix it ", well thanks I guess Ill have to look into that a bit more.

Vindicator9000

First off: If your car has a CEL PLEASE scan the code or otherwise figure out what code it's throwing first. It helps us help you. Without the codes, all we can do is speculate.

If you have an OBD2 ECU in your car, it's as simple as borrowing a scantool from autozone and getting the code. If you don't, there's a connector that you can jump to get the CEL to blink the code.

Now, inspection could vary GREATLY depending on your location's requirements. For example, if you have an OBD1 computer in a 98 Civic (an OBD2 car), that would be an automatic fail in a lot of areas. You need to find out exactly which ECU you have.

You're right in general about the gearing affecting the speedometer, but there's not enough difference between the final drives in those transmissions to affect it as much as you're seeing. I have a similar setup as you: a B16 transmission on a B18 ECU, and mine doesn't show any further off than it did when I had the original engine/transmission.

I suspect that you *may* have the wrong speed sensor for the transmission, or a physical problem with your speedometer/odometer. Does the speedometer read within 3-5mph of the correct speed? The easiest way to test that is with a GPS that shows speed... Hondas generally read 2-5mph fast, depending on your speed.

If the speedometer reads correct, but the odometer is spinning too fast, then it's a cluster problem, and shouldn't have anything to do with the ECU, speed sensor, or transmission.

As far as getting it tuned: If you're going to be daily driving it and don't have substantial mods done, your cheapest and best bet is going to be to just buy the correct ECU for your engine. I will *guarantee* that you can get an unmodified B16 ECU for cheaper than you can get your P72 chipped and tuned. Dyno tuning costs $$$, and isn't always worth it on an otherwise stock engine. Also, if you don't already have an OBD1 ECU, then you're going to have to buy one to do any real tuning anyway... and then you run into the 'might not pass inspection' issue.

RichardLSX

Much thanks for the reply Vindicator9000, First of all, (And not trying to be rude) In my first post I wrote "its throwing a code related to the 02 sensor" And I found out it is OBD2, Like I stated after I was asked whether it was OBD1 or OBD2

Heres the codes guys, LOL By the way I work at autozone LOL

P0141
P0441

So being that its OBD2 do you still recommend I buy a B16?? And if so how do I look for it?? Just type in B16 ECU? And how do I check if the one I buy is OBD2

Thanks in advance, by the way I see why you guys love hondas so much, I love mine.

Vindicator9000

'Throwing a code related to the O2 sensor' doesn't necessarily say a lot. There are 4-6 codes related to front or rear O2 sensor, and they all can mean different things, which is why we like to know the exact codes. You have to realize that over the years, we've seen a lot of crap posts that leave out vital info lol.

I believe that both of those codes are emissions-related, so neither *should* affect how the car runs. The 0141 appears to indicate a secondary O2 problem as opposed to a cat problem. The 0441 is an evap problem, and might be a bitch to figure out... I chased an evap problem for 2 years.

Neither code should be caused by your P72 ECU, although I could see the wrong fuel maps causing a cat code, or a smog failure... so it's in the realm of possibility that the wrong ECU is causing a secondary O2 code. Really though, I think your codes indicate problems outside of the ECU.

Being that it's OBD2, you're not going to be able to KEEP it OBD2 and tune it; at least not easily. Pretty much all Honda tuning shops do OBD1 only, except the ones that do K-series work.

So, I still say that your best, cheapest, and most legal option for getting the correct air/fuel maps for your engine is to get an OBD2 B16 ECU. Your other alternative is to convert to OBD1 and get the ECU chipped and tuned, but that costs a lot more money. It might be a better option depending on your final goals, but it's more time and money, and might not pass inspection. Either way, while your car may run fine on a P72 ECU, it won't run optimally.

As far as where to get an OBD2 ECU:
First, since your car's a 98, I'm going to assume that it's OBD2a. That *might* not be the case, if someone's converted it to OBD2b, but we'll assume that, since there's no reason to have done a 2b conversion.

If you hit up hondamarketplace, there are always people selling ECUs for reasonable prices. There are also some reputable ECU vendors who do them. As said before, I don't know of any who do chipping/socketing on OBD2 ECUs. You might also be able to pick one up from someone like hmotors. They get all kinds of parts shipped to them constantly, and have tons of stuff lying around.

If you decide to go the OBD1 conversion route, you can pickup a conversion harness, and even a chipped/basemapped ECU from a place like http://www.phearable.net/shoppingcar...s-c-23_24.html. You could get a chipped OBD1 ECU and a 2a to 1 conversion harness from them for like $250.

RichardLSX

Ooohh, sorry didnt mean it in a bad way, Alright I think I finally get, so I CANT tune an OBD2 Therefore I won't be able to pass inspection by bypassing the 02, so best bet would be to get an 02 sensor, "which the seller said is missing" and a cat, with a B16 ecu so the car can actualy run somewhat decent, OK gotcha, I get it know, lol I was kind of confused at first. I really appreciate the help man. And LOL yea the EVAP Codes are always a Bi#** hoping its just the gas cap. Thanks once again

Vindicator9000

No problem man.

Yes, to pretty much everything you just said.

A lot depends on what they check in your inspection. If they plug a scanner into the port, you almost certainly can't run OBD1 in an OBD2 car. Automatic fail in most places.

Missing a cat and/or a rear O2 is also an automatic fail in most places. You won't pass a 2 minute visual.

There are ways to tune OBD2 Hondas, but they're extravagantly expensive. You could use a standalone EMS, which would be thousands. You might be able to use Kpro, with a K-series ECU and a B16 basemap, but I've never heard of anyone doing that, and don't know if it's even possible.

Long story short, people just don't tune OBD2 B-series Hondas because it's so much easier to just convert them to OBD1. If you're not tuning, just run the correct ECU for your car, at the correct OBD level if you expect emissions testing and/or safety.

Definitely check into your local laws though and find out what they look for.

RichardLSX

Well when I got my truck inspected they just plugged in the OBD2 cord, and that was it, so Im guessing as long as I get the cat and 02 in to clear the code I should be good, By the way are the ebay "high flow cats" any good and will they work just as good for passing?

Also do B16s get good gas mileage? the whole point of me getting a civic was to get better gas mileage, well it hasn't been very good so far. Could it be since I dont have the 02?

RichardLSX

Bump