hey guys, so im probably going to buy a 1996 honda accord that’s turbocharged, only problem is it doesn’t have an ecu and the piston rings need to be changed. im not sure what ecu to run with that, i obviously need to be able to tune it. the owner told me it needs a p72 but there’s alot out there, not sure to get a p28 and then get an s300 or if there’s an ecu from like aem or someone that’s capable of being put in. im going to need to get a dyno tune unfortunately so i need a good ecu and possibly even me able to have maps? not sure guys i dont know too much of what in talking about when it comes to ecus. please help! and yes it’s a 5 speed.

 

You can use a chipped P28 just fine. There are free programs that can be used to tune it but the vast majority of tuners will not touch them and require Hondata/Neptune/etc which brings substantially more cost. Just to get a proper ECU and tune done for the car you will be looking at $1300-1500. Your best bet would be to get into contact with whatever tuner you intend to use and see what they prefer. A lot of modern tuners won't even touch "old" Hondas now because they require actual thinking and knowledge to tune, as opposed to just loading up an off the shelf reflash and calling it a "tune" like they do with modern stuff.

Honestly I would start with the engine before I even did any of that. Sounds like it was run untuned and trashed the pistons. I'd be willing to bet it needs a lot more than just new rings.