Hi guys,
Yesterday I took delivery of the Test ECU courtesy of UKCL9. It was very well packaged and had been sent recorded delivery. Today, I was not working, but I drove to work, as I know this journey inside and out. I wanted to cleanse my driving palette and be as objective as possible. So I drove to work with the normal ECU. When I got to work, I installed the reflashed ECU. Then drove home. I then drove back to work again with the reflashed ECU and once at work, refitted my normal ECU and drove home. This meant I was on a mixture of high speed A roads, country lanes and busy town driving. I did both directions with both original and reflashed ECU. In fact I bookended the reflashed ECU with the stock one for maximum clarity, objectivity and to ensure there was no placebo effects.
I haven't spent a penny on this, I have nothing invested in it. This is an impartial and objective user review based on approximately 30 miles stock vs the same 30 miles reflashed.
Low Revs, low gears, busy town traffic, crawling around:
Car feels very similar to stock, but a little bit smoother with gear changes. I suffered less of the jerkiness that I sometimes get, although this is very circumstantial. Basically, below 2K I didn't notice a great deal of difference, but it was slightly smoother.
Above 2K RPM:
Car is more lively with reflash. It feels like it wants to take off more. It's nice, but requires a little getting used to. It's basically goading you to put your foot down and you need to exercise a little discipline. It zips through the Revs quicker than stock ECU, feels much more torquey.
VTEC (4.5K RPM)
This again, takes a little getting used to. The VTEC transition is extremely smooth, no kick as such, just a notable change in engine tone and you're very aware that you're rising through the revs and moving at quite some speed. Remaining in VTEC with gear shifts is very good. Makes the car feel much more ballsy and nothing was keeping up with me. The new Red Line of 7500 or 7800, whatever it is, is a little scary. It goes against your instinct to see the rev counter going deep into the red and the noise is insane. But I'm fairly confident from what I've read on Hondata that taking the revs this high is still safe.
General Operations
VSA can still be disabled, cruise control works fine, there were no fault codes on the ECU according to my bluetooth OBD reader and the Torque App on my phone. Torque App was indicating a minute MPG improvement on the Reflash, but this is circumstantial I believe and the difference wasn't noticeable enough to warrant any discussion really. At least, with how I was testing the high revs... But my next point could point towards long term gentle driving seeing a positive return in MPG perhaps?
General, Gentle Driving & Cruising:
The noticeable factor here is that you don't need to row the gears so much, I imagine due to the improved torque. Where I would sometimes have dropped a gear and upped the revs to pick up pace (e.g. going up hill), I can, with the reflashed ECU, just apply a little more throttle and there's sufficient torque there to pick up and pull, no downshifting required. I found I was leaving the car in high gears at low speeds for longer. More relaxing driving.
To Sum Up
I like it. I think there's a notable difference in drive quality. It's not rip your face off different, it's actually more sophisticated than that (until your into the depths of VTEC, then it really does rip your face off). The increase in torque in the lower rev range is nice to have and I think is probably the best thing about this map as it's ironed out the dull spots in the area where the engine spends most of its life. And as mentioned above, it's more rev-happy and lively too which makes it feel like a more engaging and enjoyable drive.
VTEC coming in earlier, meaning the VTEC window is larger and remains engaged during gear change is obviously a good thing for not losing momentum in overtaking scenarios and things. Takes a little getting used to though. My car feels/sounds like a bit of an animal at high revs now, what with the CAI and Stainless Exhaust, and even at naughty speeds, is eager to pull more :blink: .
I'm going to do a little more driving with it tomorrow to see if I notice anything else worth mentioning.
---
This review is my own personal experience and NOT an official endorsement by Type Accord.
There has been some heated discussion of late about the credibility of the claims made by those selling this map and the newness of members posting reviews. All I can say is, in my humble opinion (which I know for some, doesn't count for much) the car feels better with the reflashed ECU and it has done to the driving experience what was claimed it would. It is definitely not a placebo.
If you wish to contribute to this thread, ask questions or discuss things, please do. But, given the recent heated discussion in other threads, I won't tolerate any silliness of any sort in this thread. This is my review thread, not Littlebo/UKCL9's Reflash Thread Part 2. I trust we're all clear on this. Please keep things clean and keep personal snipes out of it. I won't be posting polite reminders if the mud flinging starts.
Yesterday I took delivery of the Test ECU courtesy of UKCL9. It was very well packaged and had been sent recorded delivery. Today, I was not working, but I drove to work, as I know this journey inside and out. I wanted to cleanse my driving palette and be as objective as possible. So I drove to work with the normal ECU. When I got to work, I installed the reflashed ECU. Then drove home. I then drove back to work again with the reflashed ECU and once at work, refitted my normal ECU and drove home. This meant I was on a mixture of high speed A roads, country lanes and busy town driving. I did both directions with both original and reflashed ECU. In fact I bookended the reflashed ECU with the stock one for maximum clarity, objectivity and to ensure there was no placebo effects.
I haven't spent a penny on this, I have nothing invested in it. This is an impartial and objective user review based on approximately 30 miles stock vs the same 30 miles reflashed.
Low Revs, low gears, busy town traffic, crawling around:
Car feels very similar to stock, but a little bit smoother with gear changes. I suffered less of the jerkiness that I sometimes get, although this is very circumstantial. Basically, below 2K I didn't notice a great deal of difference, but it was slightly smoother.
Above 2K RPM:
Car is more lively with reflash. It feels like it wants to take off more. It's nice, but requires a little getting used to. It's basically goading you to put your foot down and you need to exercise a little discipline. It zips through the Revs quicker than stock ECU, feels much more torquey.
VTEC (4.5K RPM)
This again, takes a little getting used to. The VTEC transition is extremely smooth, no kick as such, just a notable change in engine tone and you're very aware that you're rising through the revs and moving at quite some speed. Remaining in VTEC with gear shifts is very good. Makes the car feel much more ballsy and nothing was keeping up with me. The new Red Line of 7500 or 7800, whatever it is, is a little scary. It goes against your instinct to see the rev counter going deep into the red and the noise is insane. But I'm fairly confident from what I've read on Hondata that taking the revs this high is still safe.
General Operations
VSA can still be disabled, cruise control works fine, there were no fault codes on the ECU according to my bluetooth OBD reader and the Torque App on my phone. Torque App was indicating a minute MPG improvement on the Reflash, but this is circumstantial I believe and the difference wasn't noticeable enough to warrant any discussion really. At least, with how I was testing the high revs... But my next point could point towards long term gentle driving seeing a positive return in MPG perhaps?
General, Gentle Driving & Cruising:
The noticeable factor here is that you don't need to row the gears so much, I imagine due to the improved torque. Where I would sometimes have dropped a gear and upped the revs to pick up pace (e.g. going up hill), I can, with the reflashed ECU, just apply a little more throttle and there's sufficient torque there to pick up and pull, no downshifting required. I found I was leaving the car in high gears at low speeds for longer. More relaxing driving.
To Sum Up
I like it. I think there's a notable difference in drive quality. It's not rip your face off different, it's actually more sophisticated than that (until your into the depths of VTEC, then it really does rip your face off). The increase in torque in the lower rev range is nice to have and I think is probably the best thing about this map as it's ironed out the dull spots in the area where the engine spends most of its life. And as mentioned above, it's more rev-happy and lively too which makes it feel like a more engaging and enjoyable drive.
VTEC coming in earlier, meaning the VTEC window is larger and remains engaged during gear change is obviously a good thing for not losing momentum in overtaking scenarios and things. Takes a little getting used to though. My car feels/sounds like a bit of an animal at high revs now, what with the CAI and Stainless Exhaust, and even at naughty speeds, is eager to pull more :blink: .
I'm going to do a little more driving with it tomorrow to see if I notice anything else worth mentioning.
---
This review is my own personal experience and NOT an official endorsement by Type Accord.
There has been some heated discussion of late about the credibility of the claims made by those selling this map and the newness of members posting reviews. All I can say is, in my humble opinion (which I know for some, doesn't count for much) the car feels better with the reflashed ECU and it has done to the driving experience what was claimed it would. It is definitely not a placebo.
If you wish to contribute to this thread, ask questions or discuss things, please do. But, given the recent heated discussion in other threads, I won't tolerate any silliness of any sort in this thread. This is my review thread, not Littlebo/UKCL9's Reflash Thread Part 2. I trust we're all clear on this. Please keep things clean and keep personal snipes out of it. I won't be posting polite reminders if the mud flinging starts.