Is it possible to detune for fuel economy?

bikejog

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Will there be a future tune that will detune for better fuel economy? Is that possible?
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Hondata

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The short answer is no. You can reduce boost, but that is the same as just taking it easier on the throttle a little. The engine runs stoichiometric lambda below about 3500 rpm, so there's no gain in efficiency there. Cam angles and VTEC are optimized from the factory. So no, you're not going to see any real gains in fuel economy from tuning.
 

heavyD

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Should have bought/ or should buy an Si if fuel economy was that important that you would consider detuning the Type R. Really is gasoline in North America (cheapest in the world) that expensive that you would consider detuning a 4-cylinder engine? Sheesh.
 
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bikejog

bikejog

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I care less about the cost, but the range. I'm filling up about every 4.5 to 5 days at 290+ miles hypermiling it almost. People at the "range" thread are saying 200 to 280 miles per tank. Given that the Type-R and my Prelude has the same MPG rating and the Prelude's tank holds 3 more gallons, I figure a more realistic type-r range is around 240 maybe (or less?). So a better range is always better.
 

scoobysnack

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The smaller capacity tank helps reduce weight but yeah means the range takes a hit. I actually prefer to drive with a half tank max to cut weight further, not that 5 or 6 gallons of liquid weight is even noticeable. It’s as much a mental thing, that i’m driving light.
 


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bikejog

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The smaller capacity tank helps reduce weight but yeah means the range takes a hit. I actually prefer to drive with a half tank max to cut weight further, not that 5 or 6 gallons of liquid weight is even noticeable. It’s as much a mental thing, that i’m driving light.
Here's something to f with your mind more. The less fuel you put in, the less front-rear balance the car is. :doh:
 

shihabp79

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I care less about the cost, but the range. I'm filling up about every 4.5 to 5 days at 290+ miles hypermiling it almost. People at the "range" thread are saying 200 to 280 miles per tank. Given that the Type-R and my Prelude has the same MPG rating and the Prelude's tank holds 3 more gallons, I figure a more realistic type-r range is around 240 maybe (or less?). So a better range is always better.
Curious, but why’d you opt for a Type R? There are literally dozens of more economical, comfortable performance sedans in the R’s price range that would suit your needs. Do you ever plan to take the car to the track?
 
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bikejog

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Curious, but why’d you opt for a Type R? There are literally dozens of more economical, comfortable performance sedans in the R’s price range that would suit your needs. Do you ever plan to take the car to the track?
I'm considering a few others such as SI, Golf R/GTI and WRX. But I'm interested to hear what other alternatives are out there that are: in the price range, front or AWD and not Korean. And no an Accord 2.0T Sport is not a fun car as those mentioned and it's huge.
 

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I'm considering a few others such as SI, Golf R/GTI and WRX. But I'm interested to hear what other alternatives are out there that are: in the price range, front or AWD and not Korean. And no an Accord 2.0T Sport is not a fun car as those mentioned and it's huge.
Chevy Bolt, Model 3 or Nissan Leaf.... you can thank me later.
 


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Honda has been doing Lean Burn for quite some time, yes I think it is possible to tune for fuel eco. Just need to find someone willing.
 

EricDET

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As others have said.... It's probably possible but the time involved will be lengthy and very car specific. Different engines react to leaner mixtures in different ways. You could definitely find some extra mileage on 93.

The range does suck but the car gets really good mileage in comparision to other DIT cars that actually are fun.
 

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Lean tuning part throttle has been a thing since Crome.

Unfortunately it sounds like Hondata is saying that the stock ECU uses fundamentally different tuning paradigm from previous Hondas.

Older Honda's you could tune the fuel and ignition maps directly, from what I am reading on Bosch ECU tuning and some of the things Hondata has said, we won't be able to fine tune those tables directly.

If you really want that level of control, you might need to look into a standalone ECU.

Once Hondata releases the hardware, I will probably be looking at the software to see what they've been able to give us control over before buying.
 

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Will there be a future tune that will detune for better fuel economy? Is that possible?
change your driving style

specs said my previous 2008 type R was supposed to get around 18 mpg in urban cycle. owners said the figure was optimistic in real world
I was getting 25+ easily

the highway difference would not be that huge because there is not much you can do on the highway.

but if your mileage is mostly highway - why do you even looking for type R? it is like buying a go-kart to start your own trucking company
 

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When cruising I can get b/w 32-34+ mpg. But Would be awesome if we could flip to a max economy map, like 45+mpg for long distance!
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