99 Civic DX auto, ECU mod to increase RPM before shifting in 1st gear

[danwat1234]

Hey guys,
So i have a 1999 Civic DX auto (d16y7, OBD2 B)
I don't want to do anything drastic like swapping out the stock ECU for an OBD1 ECU because I think that would mess with DEQ?

I would like something as close to a stock ECU as possible, except I would like the car to hold 1st gear a bit longer (higher RPM) before shifting into 2nd and also when shifting from 2nd to 3rd, of course only when floored. 2nd to 3rd higher RPM isn't high priority since I can do it anyway by putting the shifter in '2', it'll hold 2 until rev limit I believe.

Right now it shifts into 2nd at about 38MPH at a bit over 6000RPM but I'd like it to shift at about 6700 maybe 6800RPM (or who knows, 7K) instead to lessen the lower power zone after switching to 2nd gear. In doing so I'd like to tweak the logic to shift back into 1st gear if you romp on it at speed, at a bit higher speed. Right now anything above 30MPH and you floor it, I believe it'll stick to 2nd gear.

Also, to allow the automatic transmission to "lock up" for fuel economy even if cold. Right now it is programmed to not lock up (use more fuel) until the engine coolant reaches 175F or so. Something about emissions (it uses more fuel to try and warm up the catalytic converter quicker, but is that greener?).

Is it possible to do this without major headachese/expenses like 'tuning' the fuel maps?
Which aftermarket ECU is cheapest to do the job and what is the cheapest programmer to get to connect to my laptop to configure it and transfer stock settings + the adjustments I want? Must be reliable, daily driver!
Thanks

 

[ekn00b96]

i vote you get rid of the automatic and get a 5spd. that way you have full control over ALL the gears.

 

[danwat1234]

That costs a lot more than an ECU off ebay and flashing it, and reliability issues and I like the automatic usually

 

[CO671]

Can't tune an OBD2 ECU, you'll need to convert it. Why are you trying to race an economical car that's automatic and a stock Y7? Even if it shifts later, you won't get more noticeable power. Also if you do an OBD1 swap on a Y7 you'll need to do a 3-wire IACV conversion. I'm pretty sure the TCU will have to come into play.

 

[danwat1234]

I believe the TCU and engine ECU are all 1 unit but I could be wrong. ->EDIT a bit of Googling says that 1999+ Civics (OBD2 B) at least the TCU is inside the main ECU.

Sometimes I race it a little for passing or whatever. The increased RPM is so that when it goes into 2nd, the RPMs are a bit higher so there is more power immediately, increases acceleration. I know at the top end revving higher won't result in more power, power is almost constant for my Y7 at 6K and higher.

I can't run OBD2 because there are no OBD2 aftermarket (tunable/hackable) ECUs?
There is no such thing as reflashing a Honda stock ECU is there, you need an aftermarket unit to do this? I suspect it may be possible by swapping chips or something.
Thanks for the help

Yeah the OBD1 computer would need to know about my IACV, the 5th gen Civics have both a FITV and IACV I think, 6th gen no FITV.
OBD1 would probably result in less fuel economy because of less strict control of fuel to air ratios?