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Old 07-04-2013, 04:00 PM   #26
ROTORHEAD71
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Thumbs up Stewart Performance Ltd. Boulder, CO - This article is BEST write up w/links,10 !

Quote:
Originally Posted by JustinS STi View Post
I did a write up for a local board's DIY section, trying to round people up and get an open source tuning community going. I figured it might be a good start for people on bigger forums like this too, that have heard about this stuff but don't know where to begin:

I wanted to throw together all the information I've found about open source ECU editing and flashing. I have the Tactrix cable and have saved my stock rom for safe keeping, and flashed my ECU with another rom. I'm just now getting into the editing part of the game. My hope is to get other locals that have the cable and software to come out of the shadows, and new people interested so we can all start sharing knowledge. The first step is knowing where to go to get the information you need, so here we go.

First things first, you need the Tactrix cable. Only this cable will work for flashing. Others can be used for logging, but that's it.

http://www.tactrix.com/

Besides a computer (preferably a laptop), that's all the hardware you need to get started. Next is the flash software. This is what allows you to copy the contents of the ECU down to the computer, and push new roms up to the ECU.

http://www.openecu.org/index.php?title=EcuFlash

Note that to be able to write to the ECU, you have to make some connections under the dash. It varies by model but a good description can be found here.

http://www.scoobypedia.co.uk/index.p...ToYourECU#toc4

Now that you have the ability to download and upload ECU images, you'll want to be able to edit them so you can make comparisons to see what’s being changed and why. There are many options available for editors. The current favorite seems to be Enginuity, most likely because it comes bundled with the most complete set of XML definitions (more on those in a bit), and is fairly user friendly.

http://www.enginuity.org/viewforum.php?f=2

There are others. ECUFlash (link above) has a built in map editor. There is also ECUEdit,

http://www.epifansoft.com/phpBB2/index.php

and TunerPro.

http://tunerpro.net/

The editing software you decide to use comes down to personal preference. The bottom line with any of them is that you need the proper definition files for them to be able to read your specific ECU rom image correctly. Images are made of various tables of data, called maps. The locations for the maps in the raw hex file you download vary by ECU, and even by what revision of the same style ECU. In the early days of open source tuning, people (that are WAY beyond my knowledge level) were using hex editors to look at different roms and find pattern matches to determine where the tables lived. This was a very black art, but was made a bit easier when XMLWrite came along. XMLWrite is a piece of software that will look at a raw hex file and try to build a proper definition file for some of the tuning software packages out there.

http://www.tinywrex.endoftheinternet...LWRITE_rh.html

So now you can download, edit, and upload. That’s it, right? Not even close. The real trick to all of this is to tune your car to its optimum level without doing any long term damage. This is where real time logging comes in. You have to be able to tell how your car is doing out of the box to know what kind of changes to make. You also need to monitor the car’s performance after you make your changes to be sure it’s responding to them the way you think it should be. There are many logging options out there, but the favorite seems to be ECUExplorer.

http://www.tari.co.za/cgi-bin/yabb2/...LatestReleases

Something like this should be used in conjunction with other monitors, such as a wideband O2 sensor (which I’m currently in the market for),

http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products.php
http://wbo2.com/default.htm

an EGT gauge, and so on.

What does the future hold? Nobody knows for sure, but it looks promising. From what I’ve heard, the software authors are looking to integrate wideband O2 inputs into the various logging software packages. Further down the road, there is talk of developing software for real time tuning. This would be the proverbial holy grail for the open source tuning community. The way I see it, as with any open source software, the best way to push forward is go get as many people involved as possible. I hope this article is a small step in that direction. Here is a listing of forum links to get you started.

http://forums.openecu.org/
http://www.tari.co.za/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl
http://www.enginuity.org/index.php
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=142
http://www.plasmatize.com/osecuroms/index.php
http://www.wrxhackers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39
http://www.scoobypedia.co.uk/index.php/Knowledge/ECU

So what are you waiting for? Join the community!

Justin
Extremely well written and great collect of links and technical information. I have been in the "Performance Engine, Chassis, Car Audio and everything else installation + Custom Chassis Design + Automotive Performance Tuning / ASE Certified and FAA A&P Certified Aviation maintenance + service" since 1991.
THIS IS THE BEST ARTICLE WRITE-UP that I have come across (except for my E-Tuning articles and books)
Scott Stewart; Owner- Stewart Performance Ltd. Boulder, CO.
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Old 07-21-2013, 02:40 PM   #27
FOGeologist
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So this is a cool thread!

Do you guys think that open-source tuning might be able to get some horsepower out of the normally-aspirated car, or is it pretty optimized as it sits?
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Old 07-24-2013, 06:55 PM   #28
triggerscold
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Going with an open source tune next Saturday! Can't wait.
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Old 10-28-2013, 05:48 PM   #29
triggerscold
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Got mine done Sat night by a great local tech. Fun time getting it done and super professional tech made this a really painless process. Thx Josh and bengt for making my ride Stage 2 awesome!
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Old 11-13-2013, 04:30 PM   #30
paulowrx
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[quote="triggerscold;40851310"]Got mine done Sat night by a great local tech. Fun time getting it done and super professional tech made this a really painless process. Thx Josh and bengt for making my ride Stage 2 awesome![/QUOT

Any body know some one that can etune open source for me if so send me a pm please
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Old 12-30-2013, 10:48 AM   #31
000SubiBug000
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Way to go! I too want to learn more about this world of tuning! A YouTube step by step would be awesome also. Keep up the good work guys!
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Old 05-22-2014, 09:06 PM   #32
dale gribble
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Wow, lots of information.. I have a mac book and would like to learn how to use a tuning software, am I screwed? :P lol or do I need to just download windows?.

I downloaded ecu flash, it won't necessarily load up a base map I found on-line.

Also, I came across epifansoftware.com they have youtube videos etc. Also feature a "demo" mode to which you can use to see how your map reacts I believe? I'm not to sure, that would get me to use that software though.

I am running a 2000 WRX JDM ej207 w/ Power FC, 850cc injectors, & more mods..
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Old 06-02-2014, 02:39 PM   #33
mikeyPSF
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dale gribble View Post
Wow, lots of information.. I have a mac book and would like to learn how to use a tuning software, am I screwed? :P lol or do I need to just download windows?.
You can run parallels for now but we plan on releasing a Mac version of EcuFlash shortly.


Quote:
Originally Posted by dale gribble View Post
I downloaded ecu flash, it won't necessarily load up a base map I found on-line.
I'm not sure if you're asking if it would load a base map or if you're saying that you tried and it didn't load. If it's the latter, then it sounds like maybe you found a non-stock ROM that may have had its ECU ID scrambled. Also, you own a year 2000 vehicle, but do you have a stock ECU? EcuFlash doesn't support the older Jecs ECU, which would likely be the ECU you have. If you have a Denso ECU, it's likely supported by EcuFlash.


Quote:
Originally Posted by dale gribble View Post
Also, I came across epifansoftware.com they have youtube videos etc.
This is an excellent youtube series put together by one of our customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKRo...C9F1BF5C03E946

It will give you a good sense of how to use our software. The videos are done on a slightly older version of our software but the most notable difference in the interface is that we've added a button for vehicle selection. This prevents tools that aren't applicable to your vehicle from showing up, making the use of EcuFlash a bit clearer. Otherwise the videos are still a great resource for understanding how our software is structured.
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Old 06-03-2014, 02:59 AM   #34
dale gribble
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Alright cool thanks, I'll start with the videos. Are there any reliable schools for learning this stuff? Or is it usually just teach yourself or learn from others type of learning?

Yes, I did try to load one from a website..it downloaded something to my desktop and then didn't show a map on ecu edit.

I'll look/wait for a Mac version, in the mean time I may just download windows and follow through the tutorial videos to practice.
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Old 02-01-2016, 11:57 AM   #35
Wcked STI
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thank you for the info.. answered a lot of questions
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