VTEC controller review ?

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VTEC controller review ?

By KRYSTED9354
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:04 am #51189 i was thinking about getting a vtec controller read many posts about people liking it and about others saying its junk, wanted to know if any one has used it on here and if they think its worth it, i can get a buddy club 1 for like 60$ shipped and wanted to know if i really need it for an evryday car ? thanks
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By SOHCivegra
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:06 am #51193 Honestly, it depens on which company you go through. There are so many options out there.

You've got spoon, which only changes the RPM at which it engauges. Doesnt change any sort of fuel maping.

Apexi- i've ran all three. VAFC. VAFC II and NEO. unimpressed by all. They make great monitoring systems. But from my point of view, with these three you need to know how to tune them before trying to run one. Took me almost year to be able to just talk to someone and figure out what type of tuning they needed. You can only change so much with a system of this caliber.

Buddy Club, just about the same as APexi. nothing really to special. and i'm sure you will be getting mixed reviews from different people.

I daily drove my hatch and it was cool to see everything. and at the time i could have sworn that my crossover was harder but i could be wrong.

Definately do some reading and find out what parameters you can tune/monitor before purchasing.

if you can get a good deal, why the hell not try one. you can always remove it.

also remember, vtec is factory pretty damn good at its position. sooner engaugment doesnt always mean better if you dont have the power to move it behind you.
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By KRYSTED9354
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:13 am #51194 WoW thanks just what i needed, i have power to move it LOL and yeah i was just thinking that if i would like to race or just run it a bit harder i can lower my crossover and if im on the highway turn it up, ok thanks
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By SOHCivegra
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:17 am #51196 remember its based on oil pressure.
if the rpm is lower it wont cross as hard
the higher the rpm the harded. what i meant in the other post was if you wanted more fuel and air lower. then lower the crossover. just make sure you have the power to compensate for the increased air and fuel. or it could turn into a dog
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By teal_dx
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:31 am #51207 Vtec controllers and VAFC's are old school. The honda ecu does a great job, often you can do more harm than good with a piggyback system. Now a days get a chipped ECU and have it professionally tuned. There's even free software like CROME or Neptune which do a good job compared to a VAFC hack.
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By KRYSTED9354
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:37 am #51208 what chrone ?? an dis it for everyday use ?
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By 0p71mu5pr1m3
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:53 am #51213 VTEC controllers are for the most part, garbage. Like Teal said, get a chipped ECU, Hondata is always a good one to go with, and have it professionally tuned.
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By SOHCivegra
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:25 am #51220 I will vouch for CROME, that is the new tuning system for me and they are rediculously cheap.
Teal is correct on having Hondata or a chipped ECU. That is the best option you could go for.
Wouldv'e mentioned it earlier but by you mentioning the cheap buddy club it looked like you were on a budget.
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By LowTEC-Derbo
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:59 am #51239 Crome is free. It requires proper soldering techniques to get the chip solder though. Also requites proper tuning.


A STOCK CAM + VTEC Controller is useless. Almost 99% of the time a BUTT DYNO showing changes doesn't mean your power is gain. Majority of the time, STOCK cams will have a few hundred rpm of a difference to gain some power. Unless you changed your camshaft I would even bother with a vtec controller. VAFC is useful if you need the extra fuel map adjustments for other things, but I would suggest a proper tune + chip ecu for those mods.
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By SOHCivegra
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:10 pm #51261
LowTEC-Derbo wrote:Crome is free. It requires proper soldering techniques to get the chip solder though. Also requites proper tuning.


A STOCK CAM + VTEC Controller is useless. Almost 99% of the time a BUTT DYNO showing changes doesn't mean your power is gain. Majority of the time, STOCK cams will have a few hundred rpm of a difference to gain some power. Unless you changed your camshaft I would even bother with a vtec controller. VAFC is useful if you need the extra fuel map adjustments for other things, but I would suggest a proper tune + chip ecu for those mods.


very good wording. thats what i was trying to get across. you can mainly use it as a monitoring system.
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By k0rean4life
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:19 pm #51272 James From Neptune is one of my really good friends. From what I have learned from him is that they are completely JUNK! Yes you can adjust vtec and a little bit of fuel but there is NO IGNTION Maps which is very important. If this is for a simple bolt-on ONLY build than I say sure you can use one but nothing will compare what you will get out of a tuned P28 or P72 with Neptune. Its way more affordable these days also.

I have his RPG Program so once I get my motor ready I will post results.
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By stefan
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:25 pm #51279 Get an APexi for monitoring, but keep your hands of the settings... you'll just end up killing motors, especially when you don't know what you're doing.

Friend of mine has one for his CRX B18 turbo, a lot of nice features on the thing to monitor (like peak boost, water temp, looked cool).

IMO it's a gadget that looks nice.

By cpubugs
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:34 pm #51303 What about for people who did a d16z6 swap and don't want to rewire anything? Wouldn't the controller be the easiest option? Also I saw a write up on honda swap forums about using a tach with a shift light and some how wiring it to trigger the vtec at the desired RPM range. Any thoughts on that?
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By KRYSTED9354
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:38 pm #51304 thats what my point was, man thanks for the info and i agree for all of it, and re-considered it for an everyday car, i just thought i could make it lower or higher depending on my driving conition as would make it higher on highway so it wont turn on and can save more gas, and what no, but yeah screw it , :thumb:
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By BAXTER_EJ1
- Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:16 pm #51312 Imo, in 5th gear on the highway, you wouldn't be hitting VTEC until like 160km. If you're going that fast, you shouldn't/wouldn't be concerned about gas economy...

FUCK MY H BUTTON! :x
Last edited by BAXTER_EJ1 on Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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