With so many thread choices its hard to decide where to put this, but since I am building the car for road racing this is where its going. My desired result for this car is a streetable track car, not daily.

I have a Built D16Y8 Turbo Hatch. I need to get the car tuned and will be installing an engine management system at the same time. I have a lot of friends that are in the Honda world and I am getting opposing thoughts from each. One side says Hondata S300 and the other AEM Series 2? Which do you think I should do and why?

Thanks

 

Hondata s300.

 

Reasons?

 

That's all you will need and hondatas are fairlÝ issue free. I don't know about the series 2 box, but the aem's hate heat. Ask an aem user how many times the box shut it self off cause it overheated. I know both drag guys and road racers that have had this issue.

 

Hondata S300
Simple to use, most honda tuners prefer it.
I love how it performs, and it's been money well spent!
Never had an issue with it.
Cost??? you yourself can tell the cost one vs the other.
The money you save is better spent on other things.

 

*raises hand* aem user here
answer = never
longevity = 5 years and ~104,000 miles on 1070 box (k20a3/ep3), ~196,000 miles on engine - still going strong, still getting 30 mpg city.

 

have had both. i ran Hondata at first then i started having tuning and electrical problems. after i replaced the motor harnesses twice and used two hondata's and got the same problem. switched to an AEM series2 and no more problems. i even reinstalled harnesses and everything was fine. i sent the s300 to hondata and they said it was fine. tried the ecu in three cars same problem. the question you have to asked your self is, do you what to use a 20 year old computer or a new one. the aem also allows you to run a wide band that adjusts your air fuel and you can run all the aem boost controls

i chose the new one, best money spent and a lot of racers are doing the same in my area.

 

Robert (DAMotorsports) is talking about his and my car as we've both had issues. He's crewed my car on a number of occasions and tried to help with some of the issues we've had in the past 2 years that we finally traced to the ECU.
I used to be a really big supporter of the Hondata ECU's, but after I had 2 failures of them and Hondata couldn't find anything wrong with them, I switched over to the AEM EMS.
The AEM has been fantastic in the car with no issues at all and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone! Tune-ability and drive-ability is awesome with the AEM EMS and it's what I'll continue to run in the future in all my cars!

 

First you should talk to your tuner, and see what they are most comfortable working with. You could have an M800 Motec unit, but it'll be nothing more than a REALLY expensive paperweight if you don't have a tuner that can use the software.

 

I have a really reputable tuner, whom I've never done business with, that works with Hondata, and a friend who is a tuner than recommends the AEM.

 

I'm a fan of Neptune after doing my research, but it has been a while and I couldn't tell you details atm. Just thought I'd toss the name out there . You can get it as a nice Software + LC1 + Datalog kit.

 

x2. I've ran my NSX hard at numerous track events, with an engine w/ inches of the unit, in 100+ Oklahoma heat and humidy, and haven't had an iota of trouble.

Can't say that issues don't happen but it isn't an issue w/ my AEM unit or anyone else that I know that runs them.

 

I've been happy with my ECTune setup, it's what my tuner is most comfortable with and haven't had any issues with it so far.

I've used AEM in the past and was also happy with it, although when we had our AEM setup the car wasn't run as much as it is now so I can't confirm or deny whether heat affected the unit.

 

100% true

 

True Story, and if they call themselves a "tuner" you should probably look for somebody who can calibrate the engine properly

 

If your friend who's a tuner never touches the tune he's a bystander with an opinion just like everyone on the internet.
Talk to the person who's going to tune it, the hardware is just like the engine, only a tool. it's the settings in the ECU that makes all the difference in the world.
Power curve, mpg, drivability, smoothness, and a lot more than you can imagine, all up to the quality of the tune.

personally I'm a Neptune or eCtune fan/user. To me the rest are simply overpriced for what you get.

 

Good points. Looks like a split decision

 

Go with what ever you can afford.
They both have their upside,and down...
I have dealt with Hondata directly on my S300, they were very professional and provided me some great customer service.
495 plus 75 ecu modification.
Or you can go with the others which are too rich for my blood.