I was wondering how I'd go about hooking up a laptop to my car so that I can monitor it's performance and be able to see diagnostics/change settings to 'tune it' on the fly. Possibly be guided to a forum that would know about this?
How to hook up a laptop to your car...
- Thread starter imported_goku
- Start date
Ricemarine
Lifer
- Sep 10, 2004
- 10,507
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Been watching some 2 Fast 2 Furious huh?...
Seriously I had to say that. I'm sorry if its off topic
.
Seriously I had to say that. I'm sorry if its off topic
.Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Been watching some 2 Fast 2 Furious huh?...
Seriously I had to say that. I'm sorry if its off topic
Well yes and no.
I just happen to remember the laptop very well in the car. But anyways I thought that an older laptop in a car would be an excellent idea. I can use the laptop to tune the car either for better mileage or better peformance AND use it to stream music from my collection at home or play movies etc.. I can also use it to go online while in the car to look up something while on the road which IMO is invaluable. Having a laptop installed in a car has been a dream that I have dreamed of for quite a while.You should search for a forum for your specific car model. I am sure they would have the information there.
- Mar 4, 2000
- 27,370
- 239
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That would be fun - but all my cars for the past 6 years have had computer readouts that provide INST MPG. All I do is maximize that number, and it really saves a lot of fuel. On trips, I can get 30 MPG with my minivans. My last trip was from Bakersfield, CA to Tucson Arizona on one tank with 4 gallons left over.
To control a laptop while driving would require a co-pilot. That would be worse than a cell phone for the driver - and it Arizona, could be a violation of the "no distraction" law for drivers.
To control a laptop while driving would require a co-pilot. That would be worse than a cell phone for the driver - and it Arizona, could be a violation of the "no distraction" law for drivers.
Uh i think you are in the wrong forum. You need to go to a car enthusiast forum, they would know all that stuff.
You won't be able to tune your AF ratio on the fly, or even at all, with the ECU thats in your car.
You can, however, do some neat stuff. I was suprised when I opened this thread that noone here had an answer for you, its pretty common stuff. Then again, I am a bit of a car nut....
The first thing you should do is research a little on OBDII diagnostic systems. Determine if you have one (96 and newer, but if really new, I think CAN is the new protocol), and assuming you do, which kind. There are 3: one specific to ford, one to GM, and one to Chrysler (and most asian imports). There are some special ones for some euros like VW, and you might need an adapter for BMW and Mercedes, although BMW and mercedes use the ISO (chrysler) standard.
Next, take the type of OBDII system you have and search for that + code reader on ebay. I got an ISO (mom + sister have chrysler, I have a BMW, girlfriend has a Camry, dad + wife have hondas and mitsus, etc) since we have all chrys + world cars for $75. You don't want to get just a code reader, you want to get one that interfaces with the serial port on a laptop.
Software is free and plentiful for the ISO standard. I got digimoto lite (like that one), and it works pretty well. Scantool.net has a very small program that runs without a lot of memory (good for older laptops). Experiment with the ones you want.
Since it doesn't seem like you know much about the stuff, theres not much its going to be able to help you with out of the box. Its primary use is to monitor A/F ratios (O2 voltage), RPM, % engine load, fuel consumption, gear, degree advance/retard, etc, so its more of a diagnostic thing. Yes, it will also give you your gauges on the laptop screen, and it seems like thats the wow factor you're looking for.
As far as changing data, I would recommend you not try that. There are ways of flashing the ECU the same as you would any normal computer device, but the software is not easy to acquire (and I actually think you have to have different hardware, not just the reader. I might be wrong.) You can't change your AF ratio on the fly with anything I'm aware of.
If you get past that step, there are standalone engine management systems that you can run from your PC, but those are not for the average enthusiast. You want to learn about stuff like that, look up "Megasquirt". Cool stuff.
Looks like you lucked out and got a car guy on the geek board. Hope this helps you.
You can, however, do some neat stuff. I was suprised when I opened this thread that noone here had an answer for you, its pretty common stuff. Then again, I am a bit of a car nut....
The first thing you should do is research a little on OBDII diagnostic systems. Determine if you have one (96 and newer, but if really new, I think CAN is the new protocol), and assuming you do, which kind. There are 3: one specific to ford, one to GM, and one to Chrysler (and most asian imports). There are some special ones for some euros like VW, and you might need an adapter for BMW and Mercedes, although BMW and mercedes use the ISO (chrysler) standard.
Next, take the type of OBDII system you have and search for that + code reader on ebay. I got an ISO (mom + sister have chrysler, I have a BMW, girlfriend has a Camry, dad + wife have hondas and mitsus, etc) since we have all chrys + world cars for $75. You don't want to get just a code reader, you want to get one that interfaces with the serial port on a laptop.
Software is free and plentiful for the ISO standard. I got digimoto lite (like that one), and it works pretty well. Scantool.net has a very small program that runs without a lot of memory (good for older laptops). Experiment with the ones you want.
Since it doesn't seem like you know much about the stuff, theres not much its going to be able to help you with out of the box. Its primary use is to monitor A/F ratios (O2 voltage), RPM, % engine load, fuel consumption, gear, degree advance/retard, etc, so its more of a diagnostic thing. Yes, it will also give you your gauges on the laptop screen, and it seems like thats the wow factor you're looking for.
As far as changing data, I would recommend you not try that. There are ways of flashing the ECU the same as you would any normal computer device, but the software is not easy to acquire (and I actually think you have to have different hardware, not just the reader. I might be wrong.) You can't change your AF ratio on the fly with anything I'm aware of.
If you get past that step, there are standalone engine management systems that you can run from your PC, but those are not for the average enthusiast. You want to learn about stuff like that, look up "Megasquirt". Cool stuff.
Looks like you lucked out and got a car guy on the geek board. Hope this helps you.
Well , you got extra lucky and got 2 car dudes. on a geek board (I'm a geek) But I'll only partly agree with Hoorah.
Depending on the make and model of your car Apexi has a product called the S-AFC or Super Air Flow Converter. A lot of turbo guys run this because it allows them to run this between the MAS (Mas Air Sensor) and the ECU of the car in a "piggy back" set up. I have the newest version in my talon which is the S-AFC II. And allows you to tune your air/fuel ratio throughout the entire RPM range in 200 RPM increments. This will allow you to "Fatten up" (richen) or lean out your fuel mixture to get optimal power. This is best done in conjunction with a EGT (exhaust gas temperature) gauge to monitor your exhaust temps, the leaner you go , the hotter it gets , and you start to risk detonation in a cylinder. Something you don't want to have happen. BAD
YOU CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR ENGINE WITH THIS DEVICE. you need to know what you are doing , and why. Not just because it looks cool (which it does I might add)
As far as hooking up a laptop for the purpose that you may have seen in "those movies". (someone who didn't like them , and was into turbo cars way before they came out!!!) you saw a laptop that was displaying information that was being fed from an AEM ECU.
Hoorah , did give some good information as well , with the scantools and some simple software which will pretty much turn your laptop into a digital gauge for reading throttle position , knock sensors , ignition timing...blah blah...the cool thing with some of those tools are that they allow data logging. which is essential if you are wanting to be a real "Tuner" and not a perpetrator..... You don't have a honda with a huge wing and a muffler do you?
Mine's talon is pimped out............under the hood. where it counts. good luck.
Depending on the make and model of your car Apexi has a product called the S-AFC or Super Air Flow Converter. A lot of turbo guys run this because it allows them to run this between the MAS (Mas Air Sensor) and the ECU of the car in a "piggy back" set up. I have the newest version in my talon which is the S-AFC II. And allows you to tune your air/fuel ratio throughout the entire RPM range in 200 RPM increments. This will allow you to "Fatten up" (richen) or lean out your fuel mixture to get optimal power. This is best done in conjunction with a EGT (exhaust gas temperature) gauge to monitor your exhaust temps, the leaner you go , the hotter it gets , and you start to risk detonation in a cylinder. Something you don't want to have happen. BAD
YOU CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR ENGINE WITH THIS DEVICE. you need to know what you are doing , and why. Not just because it looks cool (which it does I might add)
As far as hooking up a laptop for the purpose that you may have seen in "those movies". (someone who didn't like them , and was into turbo cars way before they came out!!!) you saw a laptop that was displaying information that was being fed from an AEM ECU.
Hoorah , did give some good information as well , with the scantools and some simple software which will pretty much turn your laptop into a digital gauge for reading throttle position , knock sensors , ignition timing...blah blah...the cool thing with some of those tools are that they allow data logging. which is essential if you are wanting to be a real "Tuner" and not a perpetrator..... You don't have a honda with a huge wing and a muffler do you?
Mine's talon is pimped out............under the hood. where it counts. good luck.
pcgeek11
Lifer
- Jun 12, 2005
- 22,109
- 4,893
- 136
In order to take control of the A/F ratios etc you will probably need a " Piggy Back " ECU controller, connect the laptop to that ECU. Then you can edit the settings in the piggy back ECU and if it gets too screwed you can turn it off and run on the factory ECU. This is the only good way to do it as the factory needs to be flashed, which cannot be done on the fly.
pcgeek11
pcgeek11
Ah, the SAFC II, I forgot about that one. I don't know a whole lot about it, but the guys on the mitsubishi board (the ones that arent 16) seem to think thats the way to go for engine management on that car, and most of the ones I work with (3rd gen, 2001 era) are not boosted either. I don't really mess with that stuff though, hard enough to keep the damn thing maintained when it comes in.
well you will need an injection system capable of doign it...
DFI Digital Fuel Injection for the 87-95 5.0 EFI stangs could do it.. but the kit was over 1000 bucks...
FI bikes can do it if you buy a Powercommander 3 module... then you can upload your fuel/timing curves from a PC...
but there is noway you can do it to a stock vehicle..
I truly love this forum.....I've yet to find another forum with such diverse topics..LOL!! I've now officially been able to at least talk about everything that I love....err..except my wife....Love ya too baby!!
GOT BOOST ? ?
GOT BOOST ? ?
You say 'explode in teh cylinder', how do you mean? Normal combustion happens in the cylinder bore (right word?). Are you talking about backfiring?
No , I'm talking "detonation" where a cylinder , or Cylinders run very lean. When they run too lean , like I was saying before , typically the leaner you run , at higher RPM's the more power you make. That's why these fuel computers are very handy to tuners trying to make the most power out of their cars. So the idea is to run an EGT gauge , with the probe properly installed in the header , or exhaust manifold runner to measure exhaust gas temps. When the air/fule mix gets leaner and leaner , the exhaust gets hotter and hotter (bad for us turbo boys because of hot air being fed back into the engine instead of cool....unless you have a nice intercooler...that's another story) But when things start to get hot. you may start to experience pre-ignition of the air/fuel mixture...sometimes violent ignitions because of the heat. Some cars are equipped with a knock sensor , which can pick this up and start to retard your ignition timing , which makes it run even worse... but to make a long story short, detonation could literally be so violent that you can blow a hole through your head , piston , break a rod, crank , and do serious damage to your engine. Thats' why these computers aren't for the novice user.
If you are looking for some cool gauges , I'd go the route that Hoorah was talking about , and look for some of the ODBII diagnostic devices that you can plug into a laptop for a large readout....good luck with your project ......and out of curiosity....what kind of car are you wanting to install this in? No need to answer if you said this earlier in the post.
If you are looking for some cool gauges , I'd go the route that Hoorah was talking about , and look for some of the ODBII diagnostic devices that you can plug into a laptop for a large readout....good luck with your project ......and out of curiosity....what kind of car are you wanting to install this in? No need to answer if you said this earlier in the post.
Car has an ODB-I sensor under the hood only. (1994 Lexus LS400) I'll probably pick up my self a performance car, was thinking about this for a friend as well whose got a 3000GT FF from '94 as well.
Also, you could use a mini-itx system from VIA. It'd likely be cheaper than the laptop and you could fit it in the car with greater ease.
Article on Wikipedia.
Studies done by NACA (predecessor agency to NASA) on aircraft engines following WWI and during the WWII time period tried to understand the process. They were performed using ultra-high-speed cameras with frame rates of 40,000 to 200,000 frames per second. In those studies the detonation process frequently went to completion in only a few film frames, indicating very high combustion speeds. Photographic evidence indicated the detonation process occurs in a time interval on the order of (5×10-5 seconds) and computed speeds of 6500 to 6800 ft/s (1980 to 2070 m/s). [1] [2] [3]
:Jawdrop emoticon;
So detonation is still not really understood yet eh?
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