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VCM Disable/Muzzler

10K views 39 replies 18 participants last post by  jeffs3232 
#1 ·
Out of all the variations of the muzzler's that are out there, which have you preferred, which are best, and lastly where did you buy? Our van is a 2017 EXL with about 43,000. I am just learning about disabling the VCM. Did some searches, but do not want to read years old data if there's a better and improved part out there.
 
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#2 ·
VCM Tuner II is the current state of the art so to speak. If I could do it over again, I might have sprung for that one but it was 50% more expensive than the VCM Tuner.

For $80 tho, I can still highly recommend the VCM Tuner. I bought it directly from the guy who makes them. Whatever setting I have it dialed in at is currently disabling VCM 100% of the time. I’ll have to adjust that tho when cooler weather comes in the winter. Customer service was top notch too. The wires on my first one came loose while driving. He replaced it for me free of charge, I just had to send my original back in. Received a brand new one that he said had stronger connections between the wire and connector.
 
#5 ·
Where can the VCM Muzzler II be purchased?
 
#3 ·
I run an S-VCM Custom, I would recommend just going with a normal S-VCM or the VCMTuner II. Ours has been installed only for 3 months, but over the summer, HOT, HOT days and not a single issue and we're still getting very good to ridiculous gas mileage.

If you're going to do it, do it; buy once/cry once. At around $100 it's a cheap investment to make to protect your vehicle.

Good luck!
 
#6 ·
I bought a $1 resistor from ebay, some weatherproof, crimp on bullet connectors, and some plastic wire protective loom from the auto parts store and for under $10, installed on my Odyssey and Accord by cutting the appropriate coolant sensor wire. been working perfect with no ECO light since installed in 2016.
 
#8 ·
Nice work. ?

I did basically the same thing several years ago as well. Since I already had all the parts, I can say the total cost was probably less than a dollar.

A few months ago, since I was working on stuff in the vicinity while installing a voltage gauge on the dash, I installed a dashboard switch so the resistor can be effectively removed (shorted out) whenever needed.
 
#9 ·
I sprung last week for the VCMtuner II and it finally arrived today. I'm not overly impressed with his customer service, as he's impossible to communicate with other than email. And the shipping took forever (ok, a week, I guess I'm being dramatic) but it does seem like a nice setup. Great instructions and it works fine with no CEL's. I do feel a little anxious about it, as I would with any muzzler, since I'm a fanatic with watching gauges. If I'm understanding it correctly, it'll always show the temp at 1/3 until the actual temp exceeds 212°F. I've saved head gaskets before by catching the temps beginning to rise before an overheat. So this is going to take some getting use to. But that anxiety pales in comparison to what I felt when seeing that ECO light come on. It was nice today on my test drive watching it not come on, knowing the engine is running as it should.
 
#25 ·
No not, Verbatim. It's my understanding he's from Canada. The guy from CA. He answered my question but really all of these sites seem to just have a FAQ section and they cover most things there with any questions answered pretty much from it. I realize they don't want to tell people how to build their own.
I had built a O2 sensor fooler once that didn't work quite right so that was my experience doing electronic work. I'd rather buy it done.
 
#23 ·
I tend to take a more pragmatic view of these things...

The factory cooling system in our Odysseys is remarkably robust and resilient with minimal intervention on the part of users or mechanics - you practically NEVER hear of Odysseys overheating, blowing hoses or shredding water pumps, even when they are neglected. Undesired interactions between different coolant formulations are not rare - it can happen and has happened and the fixes aren't so cheap that the risk is worth the consequences (I'm thrifty too - I'd rather pay for OEM coolant instead of a mechanic's time). Given that all this is true, the conclusion I am drawn to is that the OEM coolant is a perfectly adequate choice for the job it's being asked to do and a good value. Since it lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 years any cost difference is easy to amortize over such a long period of time. Like I said, I'm sure there are other good choices but I don't see the value in seeking them out when we're talking about a few dollars per year on average.

I do not necessarily have this same attitude towards items that have a shorter service life - engine oil, oil filters, air filters, cabin filters, transmission fluid, wiper blades, etc... get a careful analysis of value for the money because their aggregate cost is higher. They don't last as long and I have to buy them more frequently and so it costs me more.

Travelling half the country away to (presumably) save thousands on the purchase of a van is totally different - that's a one-shot deal that was probably integrated into a bit of a holiday. Mixing business and pleasure like that is a good way to stay thrifty and I'll never talk that down. But trying to save a few bucks on engine coolant in these vans is a false economy. The OEM stuff is really good with a solid and documented track record, and not all that expensive.
 
#24 ·
Those are solid points :)

Sorry if my post came across as a little crappy. With some of this stuff, coolant in particular, I'm easily agitated regarding dealer pricing etc. The Engine Ice that I keep harping on is $50/gal. That's over a 300% increase over the the same stuff with a different label. IMO that goes beyond robbery. But I will readily admit, as I already have, that I know very little in this area, as Ody maintenance is a bit of a new thing to me.

You guys are all correct IMO. If it's only a few bucks more, is it even worth the hassle to do all the research? (Although I love researching stuff, so I still will lol) Thanks for all you guys' help.
 
#26 ·
I purchased the VCM Tuner 2. I don't remember where I purchased it, I know it wasn't on Amazon or eBay. Just do a search on Google. It cost me $125.00. With my fat fingers, it was a little tough to get the connector off of the temp sensor so I used a long needle nose plyers and I only used enough force to grip the connector and it came right off. DO NOT SQUEEZE TOO TIGHT AND CRUSH THE CONNECTOR. Been working great no codes being thrown. My mileage going 60-65 MPH is 33 MPG, if I kick it up to 70-75 I get about 29 MPG.
 
#29 ·
That's a great choice - it worked perfectly on our van.
 
#40 ·
Man! I just got my VCM Muzzler II in from Verbatim for my 2017 EXL. It took about a week for it tom come in after I paid. I waited until this AM to install so the engine sat cold overnight. Took all of 5 minutes. The ECO light came on once just after the engine temp warmed up, but it hasn't since. I've driven about 50 miles today and the van runs like a completely different van. More responsive, doesn't stumble when giving it gas to get out ECO mode, and there are zero vibrations I would get like the van was driving over a rumble strip. Overall the van feels less clunky between 0-45 mph, and the buzzing sensations I got before are all eliminated. So glad I finally decided to do this to our van, my only regret is waiting 43,000 miles. I'm sold on this thing!!!
 
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