ok so I know this can be done but i haven't a clue where to find the software or the required hardware to make this happen. I'm contemplating installing a northstar in my fiero I also have a "spare" laptop kicking around that I would like to controle the engine with in lue of the ECM that normaly comes with the engine. that way i could have a laptop mount in the car so i could tune on the fly. be able to switch from economy mode to insane go fast made when the guy in the camaro starts reving his engine.

Has anyone seen this as reality or did I just smoke my breakfast?

not really practical or as far as I know possible to use a laptop to run a motor.

Tuning software and a scantool is a better option for that laptop.

Emulators and switchable chip adaptors make it unnecessary to do that, otherwise you have to write a program that represents all of the required tables to access and hold variables and data to command the engine and process the sensor inputs. Not worth it unless you are racing on a professional level in which case you would probably want to invest in the systems designed for that. Otherwise an emulator will allow you to use your laptop along with the supporting programs to change chip data while the engine is running or upload an entirely different chip tune all together in a flash while the engine is running.

You may want to look into the Romulator on the Tunercat site through the links and see what it has to offer. I have the Moates emulator but it's been pretty temperamental for me and as of the current date I have not been able to get it to work with the TGP 8F ECM code which I need it to most, and Moates has not responded to any of my resent inquiries regarding it. "Pick your poison"

This suprises me I would have figured my laptop would be more powerfull and quicker to tune then the stock ecm running what is equivalent to a calculator CPU

that calculator has specificly what it needs as far as inputs and most importantly outputs available on it, and it boots up in a few milliseconds when you turn it on.

If you want to tune on the fly, just get an emulator/romulator.

I use the Moates Ostrich on a 730 ECM for my SBC and have a laptop mount on the passenger side of the console. I can tune on the fly, download different bins at speed, and datalog.

quote Originally posted by darkhorizon: that calculator has specificly what it needs as far as inputs and most importantly outputs available on it, and it boots up in a few milliseconds when you turn it on.

OpenBIOS + Linux + Solid state HD = boot times within seconds

Its not going to be feasible. PCs arent made to do discrete I/O, not to mention you will need extra hardware the PC simply doesnt have. One of which is an ADC module. I was working on a PIC-based ECM some time ago. I really dont know enough about how the ECM is supposed to run to program it any further. Not only that, I dont have a dyno or anything else to fine tune the fuel and spark maps.

quote Originally posted by Tiny: that way i could have a laptop mount in the car so i could tune on the fly. be able to switch from economy mode to insane go fast made when the guy in the camaro starts reving his engine.

Any ECU that is properly tuned for an engine will switch from 'economy' (read: emissions) mode to insane go fast mode when you press the gas pedal. That is essentially the whole purpose of having an engine controlled by electronics as opposed to mechanical devices like a carburetor. Sure, you could make a carburetor that could account for everything an ECU does, but at that point it would be an incredibly complex and questionably reliable device. A computer doesn't have to become much more complex to compute new variables. The code might, but the hardware can stay relatively simple.

Im going to jump on the bandwaggon and agree with what everyone else is saying. I have an ostrich emulator, and a moates ALDL cable. I am using a 16196401 ECM with my 3.4 DOHC. It has sequential FI, MAF... With TunerCat and EFILIVEv4, I pretty much just plug in my laptop, and its all realtime fun. All in all, once you know how the ECM works, you'll begin to realize that you can get the ECM to do almost anything. The plus, is that this comes with fairly friendly software as an interface, and the plus is you can disconnect the laptop and just drive the car. I don't see any reason to do it any other way.

Most laptops do have a ADC (Analog to Digital Converter). It is part of the sound system that takes Microphone input (analog signal) and converts it to digital.

I was just playing the devils advocate there, in reality it is not that easy.

It would take someone who was a crack programmer as well as a decent hardware person to get the signals into the laptop and write the code to deal with them. For every analog signal, and there are several, you would have to have a ADC. O2 sensor, Airflow sensor, throttle position sensor, temperature sensors times 3, and who knows what else. Your output would be the pulses sent to the injectors and spark information sent to the distributor or distributorless coil pack. That could be handled by your sound output circuits but that output would have to be buffered and amplified, current and voltage wise.

I am a old time computer hardware geek and I would not want to touch that kind of job unless I had a lot of spare time on my hands, a heated garage, and lots of extra money. (Most of the money would be spent trying to keep the wife placated while I tinkered for endless hours in the garage, )

dzimmerm

Ohh yea, you are correct on that count. But you still need more than one.

I'd love to do something like this as well, but realistically its not going to happen with PC hardware unless you forgoe the obvious choice of ebmbedded.

quote Originally posted by dzimmerm: I would not want to touch that kind of job unless I had a lot of spare time on my hands, a heated garage, and lots of extra money. (Most of the money would be spent trying to keep the wife placated while I tinkered for endless hours in the garage, ) dzimmerm

A lot of old timers easily handle the need to placate the wife by asking a simple question, "So what's it gonna be today honey, sex or golf" the reply from the wife, "take a sweater".

Actually there is a practical approach to one off computing if you are really interested in learning and creating. The basic stamp collection and the littany of sensors available to meet the requirements necessary to control an engine. The programming code is simple and the support documentation vast. I posted my kit which I've been a bit lazy with in the 3500 or 3900 thread I believe. The most attractive part of it is learning how the various systems work so that you are better equipped to invent unique tasks including making your own interface and display system. Internet search the Prallax Basic stamp company.

http://www.megamanual.com/

I have a second laptop that I keep just for tuning my car and data logging. The laptop doesn't run the engine, but it does let me tweak the car on the fly. If I have the laptop on, its about 3 keystrokes and I can switch to a second tune with more advanced timing and a different fuel map. Its not very necessary though. It will let you live out you most fast and furious dreams in real life with 3D maps and what not. You could even set up the laptop to have a screen saver that flashes "DANGER TO MANIFOLD".

Although I'm in a similar camp with the people posting about the benefits and capabilities of existing ECMs to do all sorts of wonderful things, I also have a foot firmly placed in the world of "I wonder if it's possible to do ________". In this case, there is someone who has tried (and succeeded?) doing what you suggest.

Take a look at this : http://www.diy-efi.org/diy_efi/projects/PC_EFI/

It appears the work was done quite a while ago. But, it might serve as a good basis if you're really interested in taking on a project like this.