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Build Your Own Fuel Injection Computer
renaissance-redneck writes "I was searching for details on assembling a fuelie setup from junkyard parts when I stumbled across this: 'MegaSquirt is an Experimental Electronic Fuel Injector Controller for Internal Combustion engines. Its main goal was to create a simple fuel-only controller that could be easily reproduced with cost-effective components.' If you've got the time and the skills, it beats spending $2000."
But I'd rather be blown!
This raises an interesting question - namely, when are we going to see more hacking done on modern engine control computers?
I don't mean the current crop of "chips" that increase horsepower by overriding emissions control code, or remove the rev limiter code, I mean real, creative hacks.
For example, a friend of mine and I were discussion this possible hack:
On an engine with sequential multipoint injection (one injector per cylender, near the intake valve), could one modify the ECU so that, when the engine is under minimal load, instead of firing the injector on every intake stroke, it would fire on every other intake stroke - in effect changing a four stroke engine into an eight stroke engine?
In theory, this would allow you to run a leaner mix (leaner = hotter burning) without burning up the cylinder, and you could save fuel. When the ECU detected the engine being placed under more load, it would start firing on every intake stroke (and remap to a richer mix).
Of course, I suppose the reason we don't see this is because hotter combustion = more carbon monoxide produced instead of carbon dioxide.
Now, if I could just get anoncvs access to Ford...
www.eFax.com are spammers
Does this mean I'll have to gas up my computer now? The oil companies are controlling everything nowadays...
Would my auto insurance cover any injuries sustained while doing this?
...does it run Linux?
However I would much prefer my car to continue operating afterwards.
Seriously though how long till you see *Hacked with Megasquirt* stickers on all the rice mobiles going around?
37 - what does it stand for really...
Not this weekend! I build my MS back in December but didn't get my new motor together until about a month ago. Now I'm about ready to start putting it all together and /. finally notices the project.
;)
h tm
/ phpBB2/modu les.php?set_albumName=album43&op=modload&name=gall ery&file=index&include=view_album.php
So of course just when I need the site the most it will probably be overrun and unavailable
Seriously though it's a great hardware hacking project. Quite a few revisions to the basic system have been made by the users and there are even a few spin-off projects (MegaSpark, MegaSquirtAVR, MegaJolt, MegaView, MegaTune, MSTWeak3k....) all of which were created by users of the system.
It's based on a stripped down simple version of the DIY EFI-32 project that aimed at building a homebrew version of the GM computer but was getting so complex it was turning some people away.
If the main site does get slashdotted there's the Yahoo Group: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/megasquirt
The MS FAQ:
http://members.shaw.ca/megasquirt/MS%20FAQ.
And a few photos of my own project for those of you you just want to see the pretty pictures:
http://www.americansandassociation.org
--- Juggle juggle@hitesman.com
confidently expect to see a lot of geek car enthuasiasts being nominated for Darwin awards after this mod.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
That aside, that's pretty cool. I wouldn't be willing to put one in my car, but it's still cool. Plus you could hack up the monitor circuit so you could connect it to your incar Linux PC with a little LCD panel to watch your engine in real time, or maybe use you're engine's performance (rpms, mix, etc) to somehow controll the music being played. The pointless add-on possibilities are endless.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I'd rather see a Mass Air Flow version of this. Maybe because I'm a little biased towards Ford's system, but MAF seems to be easier to modify. Supercharger? Turbo? No problem! Just make sure you plumb the MAF sensor before the blower or turbo inlet.Of course this is on a stock system, stock or mild cam, and good exhaust. No other modifications necessary.
OTOH, with access to the assembler code for the EFI controller, you can run any setup you want, but you'll have to spend a couple days driving around with a laptop in the passenger seat adjusting A/F ratios and various timings until the engine runs smooth. This is also a great option for the multitude of oddball engines that never had an EFI option, or if you're like me and don't like those overpriced Rube Goldberg TBI setups Holley makes.
Sounds like one of those pills advertised in the back of mens magazines or through spam...
They do sell other standalone setups which we use for Rallying (Yes, like you see on SpeedVision, or what you have played on GranTurismo or other Rally racing game) - examples: Link ECU, MoTec, AEM-EMS
All of the above allow control and modification of all elements of the car via a serial link to a laptop. You can even data log and so forth.
Depending on where you buy it and so on, it's not going to be as cheap as the product listed here - but, you gain boat loads more functionality. For Rally racing like we do - we need the control/fine tuning ability to change fuel maps, ignition timing, Anti-lag for the turbo (amongst other things) to squeeze out every bit of performance that we can to go against much better funded teams.
-victor
I too came across this, but I was searching for something entirely different... MegaSquirt oh come on :-)
Some people are replacing stock computers in more modern cars for performance reasons, and some are putting them in older cars, and getting some impressive results. And, yes, you can hook up a laptop for on-the-fly tweaking. Now I want a car.
"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
It's a pretty cool way to get supercar performance from lesser (read: cheaper!) vehicles. My daily-driver Miata has the factory 1.8L engine, force-fed 15psi boost by turbo. It puts out 250hp/250lb reliably (up from factory 120hp or so) and, thanks also its low weight, it outperforms 'Vettes -- except for top speed, and excluding the awesome Z06, of course. But then I paid about $20k for my car, not $50k... (Check out Flyin Miata for more info, no affiliation except as a happy customer.)
I'm not using the MegaSquirt (using Flyin Miata's Link ECU instead) but the concept is the same. There is a HUGE need for an affordable programmable ECU among us automotive tinkers.
Is it *that* obvious that all computer geeks computers less valuable then their automobiles?
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
If all you get is the injector pulse, you can buy a system for much cheaper than $2000 US!
Blar.
Is this flame bait???
Why not just cut the injector pulse width in half and accomplish the same thing? You'll still be limited by cylinder temps either way -- I just don't get what the "eight stroke" approach buys you that smaller pulse widths doesn't...?
The above comment is because i didnt understand that story, after rereading it......
I know somthing i shouldnt know untill im in my teens
The modern ECU's control more than just the air/fuel (by reading 02 sensors, etc.). They alter things like timing and monitor a host of things.
Many in the Honda crowd use an Apex'i S-AFC (or similar) to attach in line with the computer to adjust various things. Additionally you can buy other controllers and the like to adjust realtime at will.
This thing is impressive, but is no replacement, it's a piggyback, and has a long ways to go.
Colossians 2:8
Scary....I was just talking to a friend about attempting to make an OSS version of Ford's EEC (IV or V) with nothing but software and some jerry-rigged type of wiring harness. I definately think it is possible.
I haven't had time to get into trying it just yet, but after recent issues with my car (fixed now), I thought up the idea. If time permits and I actually do get something hacked up, I will surely post it as OSS for all the world to play.
Then again, if I or somebody did make something like this...what would Ford's reaction be? I mean with all the casual sueing going on recently.
Oh well!
Beowulf cluster, etc...
668: Neighbour of the Beast
When I first read the title of this article I thought it said "Build your own Fuel Injected Computer". I for one think that would be a whole lot cooler.
Go to this link and see what people have done already. Lotsa hacking going on there...the entire GM Engine Computer has been reverse engineered. I drive a GMC Typhoon...and there are several guys on the "syty list" that have really taken apart the code, and made it possible to change all sorts of things. There is even a programmable box you can use to flip through various programs of timing and fuel.
Not to mention an emmisions violation. I'm reporting this guy post haste.
NT
are the editors crazy? that's impossible! typo aletr!@
Yahoo MegaSquirt Group This has the message archives, files, and links to MS related sites.
MegaSquirt FAQ This is the place that you should look for answers before sending to the list. If it hasn't been asked here, Lance is more than happy to add the Q/A to the FAQ. It's very well organized and will take a novice through the whole process.
Since Bruce and Al's site was already linked, I'll forego that link. The best place to start is the Yahoo group, since it really is the nexus.
Just a couple of quick bits. If you are planning on using GM TBI injectors, get some 2 ohm 25 watt ballast resistors FIRST.
Second, if you are planning on using a distributor for the tach signal, you are best off by using the hall sensor directly. A lot of VAG vehicles have reported noise problems on the tach signal.
These are really the only 2 things I'd want to caution about first.
All in all, the MegaSquirt is a good system for DIYers because it bypasses all of the complexity of factory systems. You can use it with most factory sensors and it performs great. One of the bread and butter applications is replacing CIS with EFI, many people have done it.
BTW, my engine is the 1991 CBR 600 F2 engine on the IT Runs! page.
Don't you think if they could get pussy they would? You insensitive clod!
Once upon a time whilst walking in a park I asked a geek "Do you have a girlfriend?". He responded with a very puzzled look. "A girlfriend?," he mused, "Who is the developer?". I chuckled and told him this was not an open source project. He then became slightly angry and inquired, "Are you trying to insult me? Only the best geeks use open source only! What planet are you living on?!". I reassured him I was well aware of his integrity as a geek (white skin, clumsy, pants that are too short, lack of daily shower, pocket protector etc), and explained, "A girlfriend is a female who to a male (most oftenly a male) has an intimate friendship." He gave me a very confused look. "I have never heard of such a thing.. this.. g-g-irlfriend?" He asked me, sounding very baffled. "I have heard of friends before, those pets other people have. But what is this thing you say.. Grill?". "Girl," I corrected. Then I asked him to sit down on a bench nearby so I could explain it too him, the poor, helpless thing. I told him that for human beings to reproduce, sexual intercourse must occur between a male and a female. "Perhaps you hear the trolls mention a thing called "pussy" on slashdot?". The geek burst into laughter, "Haha, you have been browsing at -1 lately, haven't you? You know that is just troll talk. Those silly trolls never have anything intelligent to say."
My face turned serious. "My dear geek, are you not aware of the female population amongst you? Do you not stare in the street and want to hump a post when you pass by a hot, slim, gorgeous looking chick with a firm bust and well sculpted ass?". The geek immediately began to appear as if he was having a nervous breakdown. His glasses began to fog up and he took them off to wipe them with this linux embroidered shirt, "I think I know what you are talking about. Those things are icky. They have cooties. Get away from me!" I felt offended. "Nonsense, I pleaded! Pussy is a beautiful thing. A sacred thing that you should strive to give pleasure to." The geek would not listen and he began to cry. "STOP IT!! You are EVIL!!" He then, quite geekishly, skipped off down the path.
I walked back to my house feeling rather disheartened. 'Why don't they listen to me' I asked myself? When I got home my girlfriend opened the door. She was wearing short-shorts and a sports bra. She had been doing the thigh master for the past 30 minutes and was sweating. I could see her dark nipples underneath her slightly damp bra. Oh god I could fuck her to the moon and back. I could smell her horniness the second I took my shoes off. I chased her, both of us laughing, to our bedroom [THE FOLLOWING has been censored for the well-being of geeks].... Six hours later, finally satisfied a little, I sat up and noticed that same geek hiding in the trees. He had been watching us the entire time. I swear his penis had to have been the size of a fucking horse cock (not bad for a geek, i might add), and he appeared as if he had gone into a state of shock. I could see cum stains forming near the bulge of his pant zipper. I thought to myself. There is one geek, finally brought into the real world.
The main problem with a MAF is the expandability. For most cars if you increase the plumbing size for better flow, the MAF unit diameter has to remain the same in order for it to be accurate, and this creates a bottleneck to your induction side.
The next problem with hacking the default ECU controller is that most of these things are built to a cost. The ROMs holding most of the program will generally have just enough space for everything, meaning you don't really have leeway to introduce interesting stuff, like Anti-Lag, Traction Control or Water Injection. The true solution comes with fully programmable ECUs, like Motec and Autronic for instance. Right now they're quite expensive, but I'm hoping increased demand will eventually drive down prices.
Ok; It seems that engine tuning isn't the biggest geek topic. That suprises me, since a few years ago when I got my first car, I learned everything I possibly could about every nook and cranny in it, engine included. There's a lot of interesting things.
This project isn't of interest to most big engine tuners right now, but it could be. The Megasquirt - which only has fuel injection controllers, you still need to time your ignition spark, a much more difficult problem. Replacing your cars computer right off will not get you much - it will probably cost you HP, because cars have many, many R&D hours into them and are already running at close to maximum efficiency. You can trade a little emissions for power, but in a modern Honda engine, it isn't much.
The big power comes when you use something like this in combination with a supercharger or turbo charger, then use additional control software to monitor your engine. Think of it like overclocking - you trade safety margin for speed, or in an engine's case, power. Instead of upping the voltage; You shove more air into the engine, allowing you to burn more fuel - added by a device like this, or something that's missing - a true, open source ECU replacement. It is a very difficult problem.
I love to irk people with big V8s - they are silly in the age of forged engine internals, ECU control, and modern design. You haven't lived until you've seen the expression on a Z06 corvette owner's face when he gets is ass handed to him by a built and tuned 1.8L Acura Integra. My current project is an engine buildup for my 2.2L Prelude, and I have ~300HP as a reasonable target. It's amazing what a little thought and hacking can do. You can't run much more power than that on the street feasibly, so penis issues aside - if you can make 300HP+ from a 1.8L engine - why bother with more? Troll in the extreme - you can design 1500+ HP V8's, but they're not driveable. IMHO. YMMV. YHBT. etc.
Engine tuning is a great hobby - if you can assemble a PC, with proper tools and the manuals, you can probably assemble a car engine. It might even run!
OBD-III scares the hell out of me. I don't plan on owning an OBD-III vehile, though.
There is another sister project or sorts to this one, called MegaSpark. I'll let you find the links, because I don't want to slashdot the poor guys. Ignition timing is a very difficult problem because you need very, very precise control. This is difficult to do. I have played around with this, but the approach I favour is to piggyback a microcontroller onto the computers stock signals and modify them how you want. Complete standalone systems can be very, very difficult and expensive to dyno tune and test.
..don't panic
The kit normally comes in at under $200. A programmable full engine controllers like Link Plus is still under a grand as well.
MAF tends to become innacurate with boost.
Am I the only one seeing the pr0n possibilities?
668: Neighbour of the Beast
what the heck is fuel injection? can i install linux on it?
Granted, you'd have to build injector driver circuits and all. The code is provides to really show off how powerful their microcontroller is. It can run a reasonably sophisticated FI program using somewhere around 10% of the CPU!
More importantly, I'd like to see people hacking traction control, that's a bit more interesting, unless you're doing tuning for a turbocharged car.
Check out diy-efi (homebrew EFI)
gmecm (modding GM fuel injection)
efi332 (inspiration and immediate predecessor of megasquirt)
wb-02 (diy Wideband O2 sensor)
http://www.diy-efi.org/
We've been modding injection for 15+ years, how is this news?
did i get it? fp
Once upon a time whilst walking in a park I asked a geek "Do you have a girlfriend?". He responded with a very puzzled look. "A girlfriend?," he mused, "Who is the developer?". I chuckled and told him this was not an open source project. He then became slightly angry and inquired, "Are you trying to insult me? Only the best geeks use open source only! What planet are you living on?!". I reassured him I was well aware of his integrity as a geek (white skin, clumsy, pants that are too short, lack of daily shower, pocket protector etc), and explained, "A girlfriend is a female who to a male (most oftenly a male) has an intimate friendship." He gave me a very confused look. "I have never heard of such a thing.. this.. g-g-irlfriend?" He asked me, sounding very baffled. "I have heard of friends before, those pets other people have. But what is this thing you say.. Grill?". "Girl," I corrected. Then I asked him to sit down on a bench nearby so I could explain it too him, the poor, helpless thing. I told him that for human beings to reproduce, sexual intercourse must occur between a male and a female. "Perhaps you hear the trolls mention a thing called "pussy" on slashdot?". The geek burst into laughter, "Haha, you have been browsing at -1 lately, haven't you? You know that is just troll talk. Those silly trolls never have anything intelligent to say."
My face turned serious. "My dear geek, are you not aware of the female population amongst you? Do you not stare in the street and want to hump a post when you pass by a hot, slim, gorgeous looking chick with a firm bust and well sculpted ass?". The geek immediately began to appear as if he was having a nervous breakdown. His glasses began to fog up and he took them off to wipe them with this linux embroidered shirt, "I think I know what you are talking about. Those things are icky. They have cooties. Get away from me!" I felt offended. "Nonsense, I pleaded! Pussy is a beautiful thing. A sacred thing that you should strive to give pleasure to." The geek would not listen and he began to cry. "STOP IT!! You are EVIL!!" He then, quite geekishly, skipped off down the path.
I walked back to my house feeling rather disheartened. 'Why don't they listen to me' I asked myself? When I got home my girlfriend opened the door. She was wearing short-shorts and a sports bra. She had been doing the thigh master for the past 30 minutes and was sweating. I could see her dark nipples underneath her slightly damp bra. Oh god I could fuck her to the moon and back. I could smell her horniness the second I took my shoes off. I chased her, both of us laughing, to our bedroom [THE FOLLOWING has been censored for the well-being of geeks].... Six hours later, finally satisfied a little, I sat up and noticed that same geek hiding in the trees. He had been watching us the entire time. I swear his penis had to have been the size of a fucking horse cock (not bad for a geek, i might add), and he appeared as if he had gone into a state of shock. I could see cum stains forming near the bulge of his pant zipper. I thought to myself. There is one geek, finally brought into the real world.
How is this any different from turning valves on a bigger than design carborator? Give me a break. If you program your computer wrong, your engine won't work, but I doubt it will explode or burn up.
This project is cool. It looks like free software and so, we can imagine the much will come of it. A nice use of this will be to put fuel injection on engines that were never had it to begin with. I wonder what it and some new heads could do for my 1970 VW van.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Once upon a time whilst walking in a park I asked a geek "Do you have a girlfriend?". He responded with a very puzzled look. "A girlfriend?," he mused, "Who is the developer?". I chuckled and told him this was not an open source project. He then became slightly angry and inquired, "Are you trying to insult me? Only the best geeks use open source only! What planet are you living on?!". I reassured him I was well aware of his integrity as a geek (white skin, clumsy, pants that are too short, lack of daily shower, pocket protector etc), and explained, "A girlfriend is a female who to a male (most oftenly a male) has an intimate friendship." He gave me a very confused look. "I have never heard of such a thing.. this.. g-g-irlfriend?" He asked me, sounding very baffled. "I have heard of friends before, those pets other people have. But what is this thing you say.. Grill?". "Girl," I corrected. Then I asked him to sit down on a bench nearby so I could explain it too him, the poor, helpless thing. I told him that for human beings to reproduce, sexual intercourse must occur between a male and a female. "Perhaps you hear the trolls mention a thing called "pussy" on slashdot?". The geek burst into laughter, "Haha, you have been browsing at -1 lately, haven't you? You know that is just troll talk. Those silly trolls never have anything intelligent to say."
My face turned serious. "My dear geek, are you not aware of the female population amongst you? Do you not stare in the street and want to hump a post when you pass by a hot, slim, gorgeous looking chick with a firm bust and well sculpted ass?". The geek immediately began to appear as if he was having a nervous breakdown. His glasses began to fog up and he took them off to wipe them with this linux embroidered shirt, "I think I know what you are talking about. Those things are icky. They have cooties. Get away from me!" I felt offended. "Nonsense, I pleaded! Pussy is a beautiful thing. A sacred thing that you should strive to give pleasure to." The geek would not listen and he began to cry. "STOP IT!! You are EVIL!!" He then, quite geekishly, skipped off down the path.
I walked back to my house feeling rather disheartened. 'Why don't they listen to me' I asked myself? When I got home my girlfriend opened the door. She was wearing short-shorts and a sports bra. She had been doing the thigh master for the past 30 minutes and was sweating. I could see her dark nipples underneath her slightly damp bra. Oh god I could fuck her to the moon and back. I could smell her horniness the second I took my shoes off. I chased her, both of us laughing, to our bedroom [THE FOLLOWING has been censored for the well-being of geeks].... Six hours later, finally satisfied a little, I sat up and noticed that same geek hiding in the trees. He had been watching us the entire time. I swear his penis had to have been the size of a fucking horse cock (not bad for a geek, i might add), and he appeared as if he had gone into a state of shock. I could see cum stains forming near the bulge of his pant zipper. I thought to myself. There is one geek, finally brought into the real world.
This device would be good for converting a carbed vehicle to throttle body EFI. With only two injector drivers though, it's ultimate usefullness is pretty limited. They claim you can batch fire several injectors at once (non-sequential EFI), but that is hardly 21st century technology and has all the disadvatages of carbs and TBI like crappy emissions, fuel economy, and idle quality. If your mullet-mobile's Quadrajunk needs another rebuild, then this might work for you. If your tastes reach any higher, though, you'll need one of those "expensive" EFI computers.
.sig
No animals were harmed in the making of this
This sig washed every five years whether it needs it or not!
This is a hard real-time application, so the thing had better have spare cycles available! :-)
While it sounds fast, car engine things happen at ridiculously slow speeds by computer standards. A 4 cylinder engine running at 6000 RPM still has 5 milliseconds between firing strokes to compute and time the next spark. An eternity to a computer...
...laura, whose car (1986 VW Jetta) has mechanical fuel injection and electronic (analog) ignition
Been going on for years....USA... Europe....Japan.... It's what's known as the kamakazi dyno. That's when you want to swing big mod's on the home-built car computer control system you just hung in the BMW, but you can't afford the money for hours and hours on a real dyno. You use the next best thing, right?
It's called 'the street'. Makes for tons of fun as you try to work on the software and drive the car at the same time...and the throttle is wide open!
There are literally thousands of stories of guys that have both succeeded and failed while trying out new ideas with on-board car computers....just visit a few car sites, and start reading.
Yeah, yeah.. Who needs all this fancy engine computer stuff.. Ever since I painted my Civic bright yellow (everyone knows yellow is fast), cut off the exhaust pipe, and added a 3 foot high spoiler (have to keep the wheels on the ground), it goes like twice as fast. You can clearly hear that my car has TEH POWER when I rev the engine at red lights. I am so fast you cannot even read my decals.
Where is the obligatory Beowulf comment? ;)
Be well,
- Catherine
We have a product available to us by Apex called the PowerFC (with an optional commander control) that replaces the stock ECU. It allows special control of absolutely everything. Boost, fuel mixtures, injector duty cycles, rev limiter, and every other aspect of engine management is available for tweaking, and datalogging.
Why bother with it? You can get a programmable air to fuel controller with a display for $200. The most common is the Apexi S-AFC. You put your car on a dyno and and adjust the a/f at each 500 rpm increment for optimum power.
"I am a fucktard."
Oh gawd, now the ricers will learn how to code in assembly because it will be considered 'cool' to do that to the cars and manipulate the fuel injector settings. Now how will the geeks differentiate themselves from the ricers......the standard boundaries will be broken!!! Soon we will have nothing left to get women with.
Already avaliable... click
I used to work for an AUDI dealer we sold a lot of parts by Fed-EX to an outfit in Alabama including so many Controllers that Audi contacted us to find out if there was a failure prob. Seem that these people were modifing the new controllers to pump that little 2.5L V-6 to about 450 Hp (street and very driviable) drove one later it was a sweet mod.
Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
If you increase the power output of your engine beyond the street spec, you normally have to declair it to the insurers. A major mod like an after market turbo vhargers is rather obvious but an ECU tends to be less so. Chipping should be declared, but often isn't. However, a non-standard ECU would be rather obvious to an insurance claims adjuster after an accident.
Sure...you can make an Acura Integra outrun a Z06...but modify the Z06 to it's outter limits and see what you get. Lingenfelter has sold a few that are street legal at over 1000 horsepower. Yes...you read that right. Callaway built one that was street legal and could hold at over 255 MPH for that matter. (It went over 255 on a few occasions, which wrecked havoc with the electronic speedometer...it was only 8 bit.) I am sorry...but a properly done Vette is really something to be reconed with. And again - these are street legal...Lingenfelter's works are expensive, but you can drive the thing to work everyday reliably.
No go watch the fast and the furious a few more times and tell yourself your car is still cooler than an actual sports car, ala Z06, Dodge Viper, BMW Z8, or Porsche 911. Kid...you've still got nothing but an Integra. (Although I suppose the Backstreet boys generation thinks that is a damn cool car...) Sure...price is a concern...but if you are going to play that card, I PROMISE I can make an old Nova that will faster than your integra for less money...WITH one of thos big dumb engines too. Ain't pretty...but I LOVE seeing the kids in their VW's and Acuras all pimped out getting their asses handed to them by and old Nova or Monte Carlo. Especially if it's rusty and about 3 different colors. I fucking hate kiddies in fashion cars...I like what works. That being said, some asian imports I have more respect for than others (think the older Eclipse with the 2.0 turbo, or 3000 GT - just plain nice car, Mazda rotaries were intriguing and did pretty well), but Integra's and pretty much anything Honda is pretty overrated, IMHO. Their style freaking blows chunks on top of it.
It's called real engineering. You can clean your floor with a nice broom and a vacuum or you can bring in a street sweeper...
http://prodtn.cafepress.com/2/5594612_F_tn.jpg
Say no more.
Where, exactly, is the fuel injected into? The PSU? Is that safe? Am I allowed to use diesel fuel? Pure alcohol? What if it runs out of gas? Can I piss into the tank? This fuel injected computer seems silly to me. I mean, it's got to smell bad. And the fire danger. Bam!
I suppose we can count on the average nerd's life expectancy dropping sharply if these suckers ever become mainstream.
hey!
Ever since i did the 3.0 conversion, i've been learning how to launch my q/m times, i had never gone to the track before my bore out. After bustin some 1.13 60ft times, i'm pullin 8's. Sometimes i unload in third, because my NOS is acting up. One time i actually blew the welds on the intake, and me my friend Dom had to rip apart the block and also replace the piston rings that I fried. It was actually fun, because theres just something about an engine that just calms me down. Hell yah is everybody ready for RACEWARS???
bite my glorious golden ass.
What the hell does this have to do with SCO!!!????
You wonder what EFI and some new heads could do for your 1970 VW Van? Well, if you approach the problem with the ignorance you just displayed in your post, it would probably blow a hole through the side of your van's engine.
Apart from actual hardware failure (your injectors seizing or fuel lines rupturing), misconfigured electronic fuel injection systems are the first, last, and only reason a computer-managed motor will blow up these days. And it does happen. A LOT.
What happens if you accidentally program your air/fuel ratio to go to 20:1 at 6000RPMs in 4th gear? Your motor will catastrophically fail (i.e., explode into little pieces and shower your engine bay with molten iron and aluminum). If this happens on a dyno while you're tuning for maximum power, well then you better feel lucky if you don't get a piece of pistonhead lodged into your face by way of your chest.
Tuning a modern EFI system isn't exactly the same as making sure the knobs on your carb are correct before you drive your junky van to work.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
side note on air-fuel mixture ratios. Many people have heard that you need a mixture reation of 14.7:1. 2 important notes about this fact, first, that ratio is by mass, not volume, and so per unit volume, an engine uses thousands of gallons of air per unit of fuel. Most underestimate the amount of air needed. Second, that 14.7:1 is the stoicheometric (sp?) correct, or chemically correct mixture ratio. As in, that ratio is what should occur under lab conditions. Under real world conditions, you get your best fuel economy in the ballpark of 16:1, and your best performance in the ballpark of 12:1, which is why the farther you push that accelerator, not only do you need more fuel for more air, but the RATIO should increase, since obviously pushing the pedal further down indicates a desire for acceleration.
>has all the disadvatages of carbs and TBI like >crappy emissions, fuel economy, and idle quality Having been involved in the MegaSquirt project for quite a while, I have to disagree with this. Electronic TBI and batch port may have been developed in the 80's, but their performance is favorable to sequential port for 21st century engine modders. First TBI is known for being able to achieve quite impressive fuel economy that is only being surpassed with OBD-II. And OBD-II is still somewhat out of grasp for real DIYers. Idle quality is pretty much a toss up between TBI, batch port and sequential port if all 3 are tuned carefully and are running the same type of idle control... ie none or bipolar stepper pintle or PWM air bleed. Emissions is the only area that sequential has a definite edge. Unfortunately even this is not quite attainable for the DIYer because even more important than the injector timing are other factors such as spray pattern, injector aiming, fuel pressure, etc... Subtle differences can have huge emissions effects that can only be detected and resolved by highly instrumented labs.
I was studying Neural Networks at about the same time I was interested in this sort of stuff. At the time I thought that a fuel injection controller could be a fun experiment to implement as a neural network.
It has a bunch of inputs, and a bunch of outputs, and a hazy sort of relationship between them all. You could give it a basic training by the maths (eg so it wouldn't melt the engine the first time it tried to run), and then stick it in and let it learn on the fly. Training could be biased towards economy or power. Economy would be interesting as peek economy might be a little too far on the lean side...
The big advantage though would be that you could shove in a few other inputs and see what happens, eg humidity, number of people on board, phase of the moon, whatever. It would work it out itself. Yearly re-training could also allow to to make adjustments for wear and tear.
Training could be done on an external device (eg laptop) as it's fairly cpu intesive, but the actual runtime calculations are relatively cheap.
That was quite a few years ago though and i haven't touched neural networks since...
Ricers, being ricers, are pretty clueless... they get *everything* wrong and/or do things in a really crappy way. So I guess they'd use VB or something. REAL hot-rodders would be the assembly coders... ;)
That's the fuel we're talking about, right?
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
This is just the tip of the iceburg for Open Source outside of computing... It would be nice to have a central repository for things like OSCar and some of the "open source" plane and other ideas out there... I wonder if there are opensource housing plans (I realize the Amish have had OS-barns for years, "pair programmed" even)..
meh
OK, if anyone is interested in experimenting to replace their worn-out Strombergs with something like this, let me know - I'd be happy to work on it too.
The aftermarket car modding industry is nice, when you've got chips & whatnot to put into your car and run more fuel, but for older cars, you do need that extra oomph. I run a turbo volvo, and while I generally get laughed at by civics, mustangs and its ilk, I can outrun em :) No megasquirt yet, but 15lbs of boost and around 220rwhp. Guys over at turbobricks run very wild setups and there are a few success stories involving megasquirt.
Forced induction will cause a need for an additional amount of fuel, and this thing is just the ticket. While I run at the ragged edge of reliability at 15-17psi, there are guys running boost in the 20's with this setup, the proper intercooler and turbo. And also much faster.
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
tuning.
... ... ... so go add your pentium ... maybe a better valve-design would do more ... i heard the new honda civics got
woah, a computer in my car? must be silly.
i ride bikes and the electric diagram of a small bike scares the hell out of me.
anyways: an internal combustion engine is a hacked down sterling engine.
you just can't start and stop a sterling engine, so the valves
BUT! what applies to a sterling engine applies to a normal internal combustion engine.
the hot and the cold cycle. you guys probably already know all this
but the cooler the air you can get into the engine the more you can fill it, the less
energie you will need to compress it until combustion (e.g. NOX BORG. they would loss any soccer match!
the big car-companies just don't want to retool their manufacturing-lines
to your ignition system
titanium valves...etc. drive safe.
Just put a computer in your car with a serrial line to the box. You can use Linux to porgram the thing and play your ogg files.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I sat up and noticed that same geek hiding in the trees. He had been watching us the entire time. I swear his penis had to have been the size of a fucking horse cock (not bad for a geek, i might add), and he appeared as if he had gone into a state of shock.
Let me explain...I had never seen Gary Coleman have sex with Pee Wee Herman before. And may I add, I didn't know you sir had balls the size of grapefruits and a penis the size of a pencil eraser.
Shocking!
Me and willy will be wanking^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hlaughing our way home to our archive of Pamalee Lee Anderson movies
My 21264 Alpha workstation: ~ USD 4,000.00
My UltraSparc workstation: ~ USD 5,000.00
My Power4 workstation: ~ USD 5,000.00
And guess which one has the the greatest performance...yes, the Alpha. Power4, due to IBM's persistant effort is only a little better performance than 21264, but these are completly different lifetimes. The UltraSparc is shit, 21364 Alpha is my next purchase if I can find USD 50k somewhere lol!
My carriage is a Cadillac Hearse with a GM 350 engine...bartered with computer services and gold coins. I don't use the fiat money from the United States Corporation.
I don't have a slashdot account...yet...I want to be user number 777777.
No.
What made you think that?
Custom fuel and timing map generation has been common for a while, and there are h/w+s/w combos that let you play with the maps on the fly with a laptop. There's a product called the UniChip, which piggybacks the stock ECU ROM, and is tuned in real-time on a dyno in 200RPM increments, giving a perfectly-matched custom setup.