400hp possible?

[JesseP]

I've been out on the track once and am thinking about increasing the horsepower. The sales manager at my local Acura said I could just flash the car and get up to 400hp. Sounds too good to be true. I would think I at least need to swap some parts like the intake.

Do I also need to look into better cooling options if I'm going to be on track during the Summer?

What would be the best upgrade path to accomplish this? Any help is appreciated since I have never done any performance tuning on a car before. Just suspension and wheel upgrades.

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[crepr12]

AHC garage on youtube got there according to the Dyno

 

[optronix]

https://hondata.com/flashpro-de5-us?route=product/product&language=en-gb

400 is definitely a stretch with just a tune. Hondata claims 370HP "crank" horsepower on 93 octane. But you have to ship them your ECU, unless you happen to find them during one of their "road shows" where you go to them. Otherwise no other mods necessary.

There is impact on your warranty but it's a very nuanced conversation, I don't want to lead you one way or the other. Just know that if something bad does happen to your engine with a tune, it is a high likelihood that a warranty claim will be denied.

Otherwise, there are probably folks on here who will chime in that are making north of 400 whp, which personally, I think is too much for these cars. But to each their own.

 

[ZeroGSR]

Any of the popular off the shelf tunes should hit over 400 crank hp. Mostly because the stock power numbers are quite a bit above 320hp. Yes, that will introduce more heat, but it's up to your preference and how you want to enjoy your track days.

If you are an experienced track driver, you are going to need some cooling mods, especially with a tune (Radiator, oil cooler, thermostat, water wetter, intercooler, remove rain shield from hood vent) are all popular. If you are just out there for fun and running on stock tires, and not pushing the car hard, then you are less likely to have overheating issues. Just remember, worse case, you pull off to cool down for a bit then get back out there, so don't let it scare you. Check the CivicXI forums as well, they have a lot of threads on these mods as the FL5 has been out longer and higher percentage of owners are seriously tracking them.

 

[Two Step Performance]

400bhp or crank horsepower is definitely possible but you will find that anyone half serious talks in terms of WHP, not BHP.

 

[JesseP]

Since I'm just doing track nights sponsored by the SCCA right now, I'm not out on the track for more than 25 minutes at a time. I can watch the heat and adjust as needed.

Can I just go straight into the Hondata tune without any bolt-ons? They seem to be touring and will be around me on April 20. I can just take the car there and get it done.

I know the warranty conversation is vague at best. The dealership will know if it's been tuned. As long as I'm not doing anything crazy, I should be okay... right?

 

[optronix]

Since I'm just doing track nights sponsored by the SCCA right now, I'm not out on the track for more than 25 minutes at a time. I can watch the heat and adjust as needed.

Can I just go straight into the Hondata tune without any bolt-ons? They seem to be touring and will be around me on April 20. I can just take the car there and get it done.

I know the warranty conversation is vague at best. The dealership will know if it's been tuned. As long as I'm not doing anything crazy, I should be okay... right?

Yeah seems like you get the gist of it. The warranty conversation really boils down to luck; bad luck if something does happen, possibly good luck if you get a dealer that's willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. But hopefully your luck plays out so that you never have to experience any of that because your car runs beautifully for as long as you have it... or at least until the warranty runs out then you're on your own either way

Basically the story is they have to prove that your modifications played a direct role in any sort of failure. And as you say, generally the "off the shelf" tunes that don't go crazy trying to squeeze out tons more power with supporting mods don't lead to catastrophic engine failure. There are many folks on here who track their cars with Hondata tunes with zero issues.

Also I'd encourage you to explore all the options available. I just mention Hondata because it's the only option I've considered, but I've all but settled on not tuning the car for the foreseeable future. I was kind of hoping more folks would engage in this thread, but as others have mentioned you may have better luck over on the Type R forum; there's a link at the top of this page for civicxi.com, feel free to cross-post over there you should get some solid engagement.

 

[optronix]

Also worth mentioning, if you're considering doing more track time, you should heavily consider paying attention to your brakes before doing any sort of power modifications. The OEM brakes are powerful enough so that you don't have to worry about an "upgrade" per se at least until you decide you do actually want to get a lot more power... but changing out the fluid to DOT 4 and swapping to a more track-oriented pad for at least the front, and possibly swapping to stainless lines is a wise move to ensure the brakes don't give you any issues on the track... and as a byproduct possibly keep your calipers more red for longer, especially if you elect to use titanium or carbon shims.

You're probably fine for the occasional track night on the OEM gear (I've been to one myself and only experienced minor fade at the end of the second session, could have gone a third), but if you're going to make it a regular occurrence I'd make that move and get your brakes taken care of.

They'll also more noticeably fade faster as your driving improves, also important to keep in mind.

 

[JesseP]

Also worth mentioning, if you're considering doing more track time, you should heavily consider paying attention to your brakes before doing any sort of power modifications. The OEM brakes are powerful enough so that you don't have to worry about an "upgrade" per se at least until you decide you do actually want to get a lot more power... but changing out the fluid to DOT 4 and swapping to a more track-oriented pad for at least the front, and possibly swapping to stainless lines is a wise move to ensure the brakes don't give you any issues on the track... and as a byproduct possibly keep your calipers more red for longer, especially if you elect to use titanium or carbon shims.

You're probably fine for the occasional track night on the OEM gear (I've been to one myself and only experienced minor fade at the end of the second session, could have gone a third), but if you're going to make it a regular occurrence I'd make that move and get your brakes taken care of.

They'll also more noticeably fade faster as your driving improves, also important to keep in mind.

I appreciate your input. I went completely stock to the first event except I did swap to DOT 4 fluid. I didn't experience any fade through three open track sessions when others with new cars were fading by the end of the second. If I swap to a better pad in the front, I can keep the rotors and calipers for now, correct? Is there a best pad compound I should be looking for?

This is also my daily driver and I still want the ride to be compliant, so I'm going to stay away from suspension swaps at this time. I like the option of setting everything to sport + except suspension in comfort when I'm on the road.

 

[PRDE5]

If a just a ECU tune gains over 30HP, I wonder why Honda decided to keep our engines at 320 HP vs 350 HP stock.

 

[StingertimeNC]

I do think you will need supporting mods to get to 400 whp. Intake, downpipe probably at the least. Intercooler, not sure, but also likely.

I ran Haw DTC-60 brake pads at the track and they were fine, maybe overkill as I'm not driving at 100%.

I'll be trying Hawk DTC-30's front and HPS 5.0 rear combo at my next event. Probably going to be sufficient for me.

Hell, I ran Hawk HPS 5.0's in my Stinger at VIR, and it was sufficient, although not totally confidence inspiring. No issues though, but again, not a super fast driver. DTC-60 was plenty for the Stinger and even with a bunch of weight reduction, I was still probably 3800 lbs.

Optronix is right though, if you are driving at 95-100% of the car's potential, for 30 minutes at a time, a more track focused pad is necessary.

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