ECU Question...

I thought about buying an ECU for my 1990 Acura Integra, but i dont want to rush into buying something i may not need to its not to important....i guess my question is:Should i buy an ECU first before any upgrades on my car?? For example maybe getting and intake or some Headers......I have heard that an ECU can give you up to 15-20 HP more but what more can it do....the other thing is what exactly to install an ECU on my car and how much do they cost...new or use what ever is recommended.....:smokin:

chipped/modded ecu's are mainly used for fuel management, timing, and higher rev limit. you've already have a stock ecu from honda, but honda sets their own timing, fuel management, and has a lower rev limit. you can either buy a chip and replace it yourself or buy one that's already modded from a company that specializes in car modding (ex mugen, spoon, etc). i've seen some used ecu's in the $600 price range but that's for a dc2. you should invest your money on i/h/e first. it's not a bad idea getting an ecu down the line but you won't noticed that much difference if you don't have i/h/e with it. oh btw it's "header" not "some headers", you only have one header.

he has an OBD1 ECU already so all he would need is for it to be chipped. What model Integra is it?? If it is anything short of a GSR, there's no point to get the ECU chipped unless you have a bunch of other stuff done. The ECU can give you 15-20hp more, but ONLY if you have something more than a base non-VTEC Integra....