Practical Reflash Tuning: Required Hardware
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Required Hardware
06.18
| 00:00 | - I've already briefly mentioned what you will need to actually reflash a stock ECU. |
| 00:05 | But in this module, we're going to go into this in a little more detail. |
| 00:10 | When it comes to reflashing packages, they normally comprise of two parts. |
| 00:15 | A software interface for making the tuning changes and logging ECU parameters. |
| 00:20 | And a hardware interface that goes between the laptop and the OBD2 port on the car. |
| 00:27 | This is normally an OBD2 to USB adapter. |
| 00:31 | Of course, for a commercial reflashing package, the developer needs to have a way of making money out of each vehicle you want to tune. |
| 00:39 | And this is typically done in one of two ways. |
| 00:43 | Either you'll purchase credits for each car you want to tune, or you purchase a special tuning module for each vehicle you want to tune and this module remains with the car. |
| 00:55 | As an example HP Tuners, EFILive and EcuTek work on the credit system, while COBB and SCT provide a hardware module for each car you want to tune. |
| 01:07 | Normally, the tuning module works out to be the more expensive approach. |
| 01:12 | However it does give some advantages to the vehicle owner. |
| 01:15 | As often the module can be used to clear fault codes, swap between different maps, or even perform logging functions. |
| 01:25 | The other consideration with packages that use a tuning module, is that for commercial tuning workshops, there can be a reasonable investment in stock to ensure you have enough tuning modules on hand, to cover your requirements. |
| 01:39 | If you're buying credits on the other hand, this can often be done online, using an automated process, so you can purchase just the credits you need for a job. |
| 01:51 | Unfortunately, when it comes to the software used for reflashing the ECU, there is no universal option that can work across every platform. |
| 02:00 | And this is a frustration for those of us who will be tuning a wide variety of vehicles. |
| 02:06 | It means that, firstly, you'll need to invest in a range of different products, to cover all of your requirements and it also means that you'll need to learn these different software packages. |
| 02:19 | If you're running a commercial tuning workshop, then you need to consider carefully, the vehicles that you expect to be popular in your area. |
| 02:27 | As providing reflash support for a wide range of vehicles can be incredibly expensive if you're investing in commercial tuning packages. |
| 02:37 | Of course, the initial outlay will be recouped over time, but there is little point in investing several thousand dollars to support a vehicle that's not popular in your area. |
| 02:49 | It should go without saying that you're also going to need a laptop to perform your tuning with. |
| 02:55 | Tuning isn't a particularly intensive process as far as the laptop goes, so you definitely don't need the latest, or most powerful, model on the market. |
| 03:06 | Generally, tuning laptops get a pretty hard time and are constantly being subjected to vibration, so they often don't last that long. |
| 03:14 | I'm normally pretty happy if I can get more than about two years use out of the laptop. |
| 03:19 | So again, it doesn't make much sense to be spending a lot of cash here. |
| 03:24 | I'd recommend a PC based laptop and look for one with at least three USB ports, as these can quickly get used up while tuning. |
| 03:34 | It's also worth considering a solid state hard drive as these are a little less likely to be damaged by vibration. |
| 03:43 | You're also going to need a wideband air/fuel ratio metre to monitor the fuel mixture. |
| 03:50 | The options here are quite varied and the correct option will depend on how many cars you're expecting to tune. |
| 03:57 | For example, if you're just interested in tuning your own car, then a permanently installed wideband gauge is often the best and cheapest solution. |
| 04:07 | For commercial tuning operations, a portable wideband metre is necessary that can quickly be swapped from one car to the next. |
| 04:17 | Many late model cars are now equipped with wideband oxygen sensors in the exhaust and in this case we can usually log the air/fuel ratio while the engine is running. |
| 04:28 | This begs the question, is a wideband metre really necessary then? Well some of these wideband sensors do read accurately, I've also struck a number of cars where their readings are still hard to trust. |
| 04:42 | Particularly as we move further away from the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. |
| 04:48 | I'd at least recommend checking and confirming the reading you're seeing in your logger with a known portable wideband metre to ensure that you can trust the factory sensors reading. |
| 05:00 | Lastly, I'd also recommend some audio knock detection equipment, that will let you listen to the engine and let you know if knock is occurring as you're optimising the ignition table. |
| 05:13 | Again, this might seem unnecessary as most late model factory ECUs are equipped with onboard knock detection and knock control systems. |
| 05:23 | And normally you'll be able log the ECU and see if it is detecting knock. |
| 05:29 | While, in theory, this is perfectly acceptable. |
| 05:32 | I've tuned a number of factory ECUs where the knock control system was picking up knock that wasn't really happening. |
| 05:40 | More dangerous though, I've also seen situations when knock, that I could audibly hear, was being ignored by the factory ECU. |
| 05:50 | Since knock can be so damaging to the engine, we want to be 100% sure that we're not encountering knock while tuning. |
| 05:59 | I'd suggest at least using audio knock detection equipment initially to validate that the factory knock detection system is effective. |
| 06:09 | Once you know that you can trust the knock detection system, you can rely from then on, on the log data. |
