feature check

gurov · Newbie Joined: Dec 29, 2005 Posts: 2

allright, so one of the turbo spec guys bought me an xfc to test out and i'll be trying to get it working on mine and ship it to him with an autosport harness.

features i'm looking for that i didn't directly see in the software:

1. being able to modify MAF signal as a function of RPM vs MAP, aftermarket map sensor that i'd calibrate using the provided functionality.

2. possibility of having more than one 16x16 map for airflow modification based on different input parameters.

3. rich/lean trigger based on feedback from wideband sensor to cause a map switch or some sort of alert to prevent rich/lean condition.

4. airflow percent change assumes the maf output is linear ?

5. does "z axis input" in XFC setup determine which input is used to pick up airflow signal for modification ? or is it just to set the scale on the map ?

6. default settings for commonly-used map sensors ? (gm/toyota/3.5bar aem ?)

it would be neat to get some answers before i get to installing this thing and what to expect from it.

thanks

jballenger · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 4:04 pm Post subject:

1. You can't modify it based on MAP vs. RPM but you can output a MAF signal based on MAP vs. RPM. You should select the "Z Axis Input" as MAP and you will be working with MAP values to modify a MAF output. You are effectively converting the MAF based system to speed density by doing this. This will require significant tuning and I would not recommend changing a MAF based system to speed density unless absolutely need to.

2. There are several other parameters and trims that work with the 16x16 tables in specific modes and/or conditions. What exactly are you trying to do here?

3. Our o2 feedback system, when setup properly, will maintain the programmed air/fuel ratio values for closed loop condition. This is usually all driving done below 90% throttle and therefore will keep the air/fuel ratio in check most of the time the car is being driven. When in open loop, the ECU will not be making additional corrections and therefore any tuning you make here should be consistent.

4. The airflow percent change assumes nothing about the input curve, it is reading the input curve directly and making direct modifications to the values (so if the sensor is non-linear, the output will be non-linear with the specified changes). When you start converting a MAF based system to speed density, the software will use values in the same table locations as though it were a MAF based system. This will require significant tuning and I would not recommend converting to speed density unless you absolutely need to.

5. The "Z axis input" is the scale in the Target MAF/MAP table. It will provide MAP and RPM axis points for your MAF output table. You can present these values in a number of different ways to suite your preference.

6. We do not have a list of pre-programmed sensors; this is an item that we will be adding to the software in the near future.

If you give me an idea of what year, model, make and engine the vehicle you are tuning has and what modifications you are planning to do, I can offer suggestions on how to approach tuning it with our XFC.
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James Ballenger
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gurov · Newbie Joined: Dec 29, 2005 Posts: 2

i suppose i will know more about what i need once i actually get the thing installed on the car and see how i can make it react.

basically, what i want to have is effective functionality of a "boost safc" (map signal is connected to the afc's throttle input) in conjunction to another safc hooked up normally.

as i said, i'll know more once i get the thing installed sometime next week.

TeckniX · Newbie Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 3

I know from talking a bit with TE that you guys are working on ignition timing - just wondering what the status was -
I really like the fuel control, but just like everything else ignition is also key.

Thanks

jballenger · Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:32 am Post subject:

Timing control is of course important. It is not a requisite for many of our tuning customers until they reach higher levels of modification and/or boost. You can also maintain more timing if you add more fuel and though this is a wasteful technique, it gets the job done (too much fuel slows the flamefront and effectively reduces timing).

As far as our status on timing control, I don't have an official timeline for this product except to say that we do plan to add ignition control capability with the XFC and that it will take some time to validate. We should have much more detailed information about the ignition control system for the XFC towards the late spring/summer of this year.
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TeckniX · Newbie Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 3

Awesome, i am really looking forward to the timing control of the xfc - I've heard a lot of good reviews about the xfc and timing is right now the only thing that was making me lean towards the UEM(ultimate e-manage)

Please keep us all updated Smile

- And if I can help in anyway I'd be more than happy.

Thanks again.

ps: any words on a software port to the OS X/linux aficionado(s)? - I know I'm asking a lot.

JDeBlander · Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 9:14 am Post subject: Operating System Support

We do not presently have plans to officially support any other operating systems. All of our software is designed on Windows based machines and will be in the foreseeable future.

This is not to say all of our software will not work on other operating systems however. Projects such as Wine and Bochs allow emulation of the windows environment on other platforms. $50, an ebay account, and a good knowledge of Bochs and you can have a Winows 98 SE machine up and running within Linux. I actually have debian running on Windows x64 in Bochs at home.

In the future we may port or start some of our projects to Visual Studio.NET which along with Mono might allow greater platform interoperability though Windows will most likely remain our platform of choice. Myself and others here enjoy interacting with Linux based machines on a daily basis but unfortunately most people who contact us don't know how to go about installing Linux or even how to use a Live CD distribution and install packages to a flash drive.

On slashdot I saw a comment recently which was quite telling as to why most people still aren't using another operating system - "Also, the second someone buys their $199 Wal*Mart, 'Google PC' and it does not run their 4-year-old daughter's "Blue's Clues" and "Dora" CD-ROMs, it goes back - just like the LinSpire boxes did."
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Jared De Blander
Powertrain Control Solutions

TeckniX · Newbie Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 3

Sorry it took me so long to reply - It's actually interesting to know that the software will run rather well while emulated - i fiured that the lag created by the emulation, would definitely affect the data flow while tuning the car, or creating a datalog - Or am I reading this wrong, and you are only stating that the software can be easily emulated, but not fully controlled just like it would through a regular windows lappy?

thanks for taking the time to look at my simple and boring questions, that are a bit of topic too Razz

-

Although I think I'm sold on the PCS xfc Smile

JDeBlander · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:37 am Post subject:

TechniX,

I am glad to hear you are interested in the XFC! Sorry for not being more clear about the interoperability. Let me try to elaborate.

I have not tried running any of our software in an emulated environment. With some of our devices it may be possible but I am unsure how well it would work - if at all. If the host OS could give control of the serial port to your emulated installation of Windows or emulated process via Wine or something similar, then devices like our XFC and TCU, that communicate over the serial port, may be able to communicate back to our software in the emulated environment. However with USB devices like our D200 the level of complexity to do this may increase significantly. I am not going to go out on a limb and say it absolutely can’t be done or can be done, as I am sure there are people who would argue both points, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

The bottom line is that I would highly recommend having a native Windows based machine to work with. About 2 years ago I picked up my first Windows based laptop. A meek IBM Thinkpad with a P2 400 running Windows XP for around $300 on ebay. Up to this point it has been able to run all of our software and work with all of our devices even with a hog like XP on that machine. More recently another coworker picked up a 1.2GHz Pentium 3 based laptop with far more resources for just a little bit more than I spent 2 years ago. If you already have an existing x86 laptop or desktop you want to use you could consider using a second hard drive to swap in and out for each OS, changing the boot order, or dual booting if you have unpartitioned space on your main drive depending on your situation. From the sounds of it you probably know most if not all of this already but for anyone else who happens to come across this in the future it may be useful information!

Take care,
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Jared De Blander
Powertrain Control Solutions

Portly · New Member Joined: Jan 29, 2006 Posts: 16

jballenger · Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:33 pm Post subject:

Timing control is planned. There are several variations required for different vehicle types and we wish to support as many applications with one unit. Therefore the development of our timing control system will take some time. Timing control will be done via an add-on module as theXFC requires more outputs to directly control or modify ignition signals.
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James Ballenger
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