Reflashing P28 ECU on a Honda Civic 5th generation

Hi there!

I'am the owner of a honda civic 5th generation with an D15b3 engine with headers and intake systems, running on a P28 ECU.

I will use this car to practice and get confidence but at the moment I'm kind lost with all the steps to begin reflashing the ECU, I know that I have to chip my ECU and use a hardware (like a ''moates Ostrich 2.0'' ([url=http://www.moates.net/ostrich-20-the-new-breed-p-169.html?cPath=69]http://www.moates.net/ostrich-20-the-new-breed-p-169.html?cPath=69 ) to have access to the ECU and then burn a chip with the file of the tune to use.

I've looking for a software but I haven't even found how to purchase one of those. I've reading about ECtune, NepTune and Crome. What do you think about them?

Also, I know there are other options like hondata s300 (which is almost the same that if you install a chip on the P28 ECU by your own) or an aftermarket ECU but I cannot afford them hahaha. I'm looking for the cheapest way to start practicing and learning.

I am open to listen suggestion, listen about other ways and I hope you could help me to start! :)

Your best bet for learning from HP Academy, is to choose a platform that they have tutorials. Of the ones you mention, only Hondata will be found here.

I suggest setting a goal of saving up for the right tools to allow you to learn and become proficient.

Hi David, Hope you doing well!

I thought about save money but one advantage of chip the ECU is that if I would buy the device to tune in real time (moates ostrich 2.0) so I could use it to tune other similars honda models than buying the hondata s300 which only could be used in my car.

You can modify the ecu to take a chip, or an emulator. A chip burner is cheap, but is a pain as you have to stop pull and reburn every change. An emulator is more expensive, but you can upload changes while your engine is running. You also need a way to datalog, they sell USB cables as well as blue tooth adapters. Some emluators have datalogging built in. Some software you can tune with an emulator and then burn a chip, others are locked to the emulator.

Crome works but I have not heard about any recent developments. The basic version is free but you have to buy the option to unlock datalogging for $150. You can use a chip burner or emulator with it. Support comes from forums and other users. http://tunewithcrome.com/

Ectune was abandoned years ago. I have heard rumors but last I checked you could no longer purchase a license. You were required to have an emulator locked to the software to prevent piracy. Support comes from forums and other users.

Neptune I have no experience with, but I believe it is similar to Ectune requiring an emulator?

HTS allegedly got permission from the owner of Ectune to continue development and is free. You can use a chip burner or emulator with it. Support comes from the developers and other users on their facebook page Honda ECU Tuners (Official). It is fairly new and growing, so support seems to be decent right now. One could argue it is catching up to Hondata at a much cheaper price, but will it last or die out like Ectune and Crome did? Last I saw they were working on flex fuel, not sure if it is finished. You can convert to coil on plug using HondaRulez board inside the ecu. I have not heard anything about traction control. https://hondatuningsuite.com/

Hondata requires their emulator, currently S300V3. You cannot use other software on their emulator nor their software on other emlulators. The new ones come with datalogging built in, blue tooth, flex fuel, extra analog inputs and outputs etc. Support is through their forum and they don't seem to be going anywhere. You can convert to coil on plug using the HondaRulez board inside the ecu, or the Hondata CPR box. They also offer a traction control box that interfaces with the S300 [url=https://www.hondata.com/?_route_=s300]https://www.hondata.com/?_route_=s300