Hondata Tuning Guide

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This guide covers the specifics of tuning a 2017+ Honda Civic Type R from start to finish using a Hondata FlashPro. It is meant for those that are already familiar with EFI tuning and the Hondata interface. There are many videos and courses online about both of those subjects, so many general topics won't be covered in depth here in order to focus on techniques specifically for the FK8. If you do not understand the fundamentals of EFI tuning, you should not attempt to follow this guide blindly. An FK8 ECU is great for someone to learn tuning on, but you must understand electronic fuel injection first.

This guide is meant to be read from start to finish. General information regarding tuning a Type R can be found on the Tuning article.

Disclaimer

You are fully responsible when using the information in this guide. This is meant to be purely informational on a platform where there is very little info, and some things may not be correct or even safe. New techniques and problems with old techniques are constantly being found.

Core Concepts

First thing's first: the 10th generation Civic Type R does not have a Honda ECU. It is a Bosch MED v17.9.3 and tuning is approached in a wildly different way than any USDM Honda before it. The engine is different from most K series as well, having exhaust-only VTEC, a relatively low flowing head, an integrated exhaust manifold, and of course a factory turbo.

There are two core concepts you need to be intimately familiar with when tuning a Bosch ECU.

Air charge

The Bosch ECU uses a significantly more accurate index for targeting fueling, ignition, and cam angles. It focuses on what is actually inside the cylinder rather than the overall flow through the intake and engine.

The actual mass of air throughout any turbocharged application's intake and cylinders varies wildly, particularly during sudden throttle changes. By having an accurate measurement of the mass of air in the cylinders as opposed to just what is passing by the MAF sensor at any given time or how much pressure the manifold is under, the Civic Type R is able to target a theoretical amount of torque reliably under all environmental and operating conditions with significantly less work from the tuner.

Instead of SAE engine load or measured boost pressure, the tables have an X-axis corresponding to the measured cylinder air charge. To put things simply, air charge is a ratio expressed as a percentage of the physical mass/amount of air in the cylinders at bottom dead center compared to how much the cylinders would hold at the currently measured atmospheric pressure. Anything above 100% and the engine is under boost, anything below 100% is vacuum.

It is very similar to both SAE absolute and relative engine load and uses the same sensors, but the calculations are time-domain and significantly more complex. Things like VTEC engagement can significantly change the amount of air in the cylinder for each stroke despite the overall flow and calculated engine load not changing.