This may be a dumb question, but understand that I'm mechanically inept and I'm man enough to admit it!!

I recently installed my J's Racing N1 exhaust and I was wondering if I should reset the ECU?? There's nothing wrong with how my S2K is running with the new exhaust, infact the VTEC transition is smoother with the new exhaust installed.
I'm just wondering if resetting the ECU is standard procedure after an install of a new mechanical mod of anykind?

 

It really dosen't hurt to reset your computer. The computer will eventually caclulate in the new values over time.

 

Yup, I'd reset it; it won't hurt anything.

I theorize that smoother VTEC transition means that you may be making just a little more power right before the change over which makes VTEC a little less noticeable. Any body agree with that? disagree?

 

I'd agree, though it's hard to say without actually looking at a dyno plot.

There are a few schools of thought on the ECU. Mine is that the ECU will eventually "detune" the exhaust some, and that resetting it occasionally (weekly?) will provide a little more of that grunt you feel when first installing it.

The other school of thought (UL) is that the ECU actually improves spark mapping over time and resetting the ECU "retards" that process a little. I haven't done an exhaust on the S2 yet, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

Not performance related, but you might want to think twice before resetting the ECU. If you have the stock head unit, or even some of the aftermarket units, you're going to want to make sure you have your security code handy before disconnecting the battery. Those who have aftermarket stereo setups, make sure you have your systems settings memorized, or written down, because everything will be forgotten.

Also, I had my exhaust installed and drove directly to the dyno place (less than 20 miles) and immediately showed gains. The car was dyno'd again with no other mods added and it turned out the exact same results. So, the ECU did not need to be reset for the car to get gains from the exhaust. And also, the gains did not go away with time.

 

Wes - in the FAQ section, there is a way to reset the ECU without disconnecting the battery. Just pull a fuse and wait a few moments. Then you don't need to hassle with resetting the radio, the time (for '01's and up) and preset radio stations. Waste of time I think.

 

I'm with Wes on this as well ... You don't need to reset the ECU because it has learning capabilities. I don't see why you need to reset your ECU unless you do a big major modification that specifically requires so.

 

Thanks for your input my knowledgeable fellow S2K'ers!!
I just got curious with the ECU reset because I did an archive search on it and I turned up a few posts where resetting the ECU improved or fixed some performance issues, which BTW was never really proven with any tests...
I'm still not sure if I'm going to reset my ECU or not since it's running just fine. I'm just curious as to see what the results may be, positive or negative. I really don't think it will mess anything up, but then again why try to fix what ain't broken...

 

Only if you know how:

https://www.s2ki.com/faqs/showfaq.php?threadid=17414

Utah