More is better, right?
Not everyone’s been happy to see automakers drop naturally aspirated engines from their lineups, but these new turbocharged engines certainly have one advantage: They’re incredibly easy to tune. More power is often a simple ECU tune away, and those tunes usually cost only a few hundred dollars. In this case, if you happen to think your Honda Civic Type R needs more than 306 hp, California-based Hondata can fix that for $695.
Hondata is far from the only Honda tuner out there, but in the last few years, it’s gotten incredibly popular. Giving the regular Civic more power than the new Si and turning the 2.0-liter Accord into a Civic Type R-beater (at least on paper) will do that. Now Hondata’s back with a tune for the Civic Type R. On 93-octane fuel, it’s good for an extra 47 hp and 72 lb-ft of torque. If you live in a state where 91-octane is all that’s available, the tune still works, but you’ll see a more modest increase of 33 hp and 39 lb-feet of torque.
It’s important to point out, though, that there are a few downsides to Hondata’s new Civic Type R tune. The first is that the ECU needs to be removed and sent to Hondata to be jailbroken. The video below shows how to do that, but it’s still inconvenient. The second is that the tune isn’t emissions-compliant. A different version that meets both EPA and CARB requirements may come later, but at least for now, you can’t legally use it on public roads.
Still, if you’re regularly taking your Civic Type R to the track, this looks like an affordable way to knock a few tenths off future lap times.
Source: Hondata