Articles » FAQ For Fuel Management Options

Uberdata. What can I say about Uberdata. Uberdata is basically a piece of software that some people decided they would start to write because they didn't want to pay for hondata. They figured if Hondata can hack the obd1 code and do things to it, so can they, and they did. Uberdata (at least in its current state) is like a continuously beta tested piece of software. The software is a bit quirky and doesn't have all the features of the Hondata, but it seems to be the new wave with people on a budget because its basically free. You need the same things as for the hondata (obd1 ecu socketed and adapter harness) as well as a laptop,a chip burner, and a wideband 02 of some sort and you can be on your way to tuning your own vehicle. This is perfect for the complete budget racer and even with its quirks is MUCH better then running a piggyback. They don't have any official support, but their forums are good since the programmers are frequently on them. The system is designed for people who don't mind investing a little more time in the system to save a few bucks and have the DIY flavor. They don't yet support real time tuning and a few other things, but they are adding features constantly and may eventually have the same features as hondata does.

AEM EMS. This is the only standalone on the market for the honda (that I know of) thats truly designed to be plug and play. It already has the connectors for obd2 on the end of the box and with a basemap loaded onto it should be able to get the car running relatively quickly. The software is very full featured and there are also alot of tuners familiar with this unit. The software is also relatively easy to use and has some neat features like a wideband auto-tune feature (though I've not heard that it works that well) and the ability to have progressive boost control based on speed and gear, etc. Its goods include that is full featured with everything you could ever want out of the box and its ability to be plug and play. Its downsides are probably that its considerably more expensive then the above two options and doesn't really have enough extra features to justify the difference. It also shares a single map for both high and low cam fuel/spark values (for those self tuners this will make sense).

Ok. After this point, the management gets a little bit more serious. These systems typically require a custom wiring harness and a tuner who really knows what they are doing to create a basemap to even get the car running. They are typically much more expensive and have features most people have no idea about. These systems include Accel DFI, F.A.S.T., MoTec, haltech, and probably a bunch I am too tired to list right now. These systems are very powerful and allow for the most precise tuning thats needed on race cars, etc. Though some people do run them on street cars, they don't really have a huge advantage over the simpler systems above in this environment.

Ok... this is all for now, but I'll be adding a fuel section to this pretty soon including injectors, fmus, fprs, etc. Now for a few disclaimers and random information. First of all, if you tune your own car and you don't know what you are doing, don't blame me if it blows up. All tuning should be done with a good quality wideband o2 sensor (plx, techedge, innovative, fjo, etc). THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOOD TUNING. A well tuned car on a standalone will make more power, be more driveable, be more efficient, and be much more reliable then an untuned car or a car using a piggyback. Also, a basemap (even if its a similar or identical setup) is not a tune. It is a place to start from and a way to get the car running so you can actually tune it properly. If you don't see the value in getting this done properly, just remember that with a boosted honda you can only have two of the following:

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