PCMtec

[mejohn50]

No.

I read and licensed my car with PCMtec
Then I flashed the car with a race tune I created in HPtuners (flashed with HP)
I then read it with PCMtec and it retained my PCMtec license.

For me this is huge. If it did not keep the license I would have to manually redo several tunes.

Ok that makes sense. Good to know it works like that.

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[tdstuart]

Thanks for joining and responding. So far I really like your product. I have the pro version. Like I said earlier I wish you still allowed the user to turn on and off rear O2 sensors. So far that is my only gripe.

Can you turn off the check engine light with pcm tec?

Lund is willing to turn off the check engine light. It still shows as a dtc code and the emissions test still fails but no light on the dash for those specific codes. It means I can still remote start my car, no annoying light, but the light still works for any other codes.

Works for me and if I need to pass emissions I can either throw my cats in or use some other methods...

 

[K4fxd]

Can you turn off the check engine light with pcm tec?

I honestly haven't looked yet. There is so much here it is a bit overwhelming. 20,000 parameters.

Also I'm learning the software which is way different than what I'm used to. So a learning curve right now.

 

[K4fxd]

Been playing with the data logger. Looks like we can log any parameter we can modify. The speed density channels look interesting. Might be able to dial in manifolds better.

I've only been at if for a short time but haven't been able to find the line logging feature.

 

[K4fxd]

The trace histogram is really cool. You can compare things like mass airflow against cam timing or any parameters against any other.

It's taking me a minuet to learn but I'm really liking what it can do.

 

[Grimreaper]

How's write time? Patiently waiting on my osid to get defined

 

[K4fxd]

How's write time? Patiently waiting on my osid to get defined

If you do a change only write it is less than 15 seconds.

What OSID are you waiting on?

 

[Rolls]

Flash with HPT and read with PCMTEC…

BUT

Unless you have the Workshop package, or you have a template from the company, you won’t be able to see the data unless you license it. That’s how I understand it from everything I’ve read and done.

The workshop package allows you to read and view a file without licensing via calibration tools -> populate unlicensed file.

Pro-Tuner requires that you license the file first.

You can read existing tunes that you've tuned with other software so you do not have to start over from scratch.

Can you turn off the check engine light with pcm tec?

Lund is willing to turn off the check engine light. It still shows as a dtc code and the emissions test still fails but no light on the dash for those specific codes. It means I can still remote start my car, no annoying light, but the light still works for any other codes.

Works for me and if I need to pass emissions I can either throw my cats in or use some other methods...

I do not believe Lund or any large tuning companies are willing to turn off check engine lights these days. Maybe a long time ago but I highly doubt it now.

We have disabled the ability to edit anything that is related to emissions compliance. Eg various P codes, MIL lamps for cat converter tests and related functions. All tuning companies have done the same for obvious reasons (eg HPT/SCT/Cobb).

We have existed as a company for 6 years and we intend to stick around. Allowing emissions tampering would instantly put us in the spotlight of the EPA and is no good for the industry as a whole. This is also why we have not supported any diesel tuning to date.

We want to bridge the gap between aftermarket and OEM by adding many race style features for use at the track, however to do this you need the OEM PCM and the OEM emissions tests/fault indications working as they were designed from the factory. I do not believe any aftermarket ECMs have the ability to pass modern emissions tests, the only way to get these kind of features on a street legal car is to use the OEM PCM with custom code like

You can make 1000hp with catalytic converters and pass emissions. It is more difficult and time consuming, however it is the only way forward.

 

[mejohn50]

Thanks for clarifying @Rolls.

 

[Rolls]

How's write time? Patiently waiting on my osid to get defined

12-30 seconds for partial write. We can drop it even lower (6 seconds) if you disable IPC checksumming however this is a safety feature so we opted not to allow disabling this.

Write times are documented here
Partial Write / Virtual Read / Calibration Only Read - PCMTec Features - PCMTEC Forums

We use 3 different types of read/write.

Partial write, if you use the same file continually we track the checksums of the vehicle and the last written binary, we then do a binary diff and work out the minimum number of sectors to write. This is called partial write. Most of tables are in large memory blocks, so if you change anything in there you are up for 20 seconds, however many scalars and arrays are in smaller memory segments, these are typically only 12 seconds to write.

If you change file, or we cannot determine the checksums (eg the car has been written in the last 90 seconds and the CVN is not yet available) we fall back to a calibration only write. This is the upper limit of a partial write and typically 30 seconds. A full write is about 2 minutes 20s on a 18 GT (which uses compression).

Older 15-17s do not use compression and are slower for a full write, however a partial write is still a similar time to write.

If the checksums match 100% we tell the user with a "Vehicle identical!" message so you don't waste your time writing a car twice.

We also do virtual read if we know the car is 100% stock. This is basically instantaneous. We can also do a "partial virtual read" where we virtually read the operating system and other non calibration areas, this speeds up the read massively, eg 4 minutes instead of 20 minutes for an 18GT

 

[Rolls]

Thanks for clarifying @Rolls.

Added some more info above!

We have gotten companies with almost thousands of tunes converted over to PCMTEC in a very short amount of time via the usage of parameter files (similar concept to templates in HPT or value files in SCT). So anyone who is worried about switching over and losing their tune collection, this is not an issue. All you need is to read out a few common tunes and export them to a parameter file collection. You can then rebuild all your different combinations of tunes very quickly.

Using the same concept you can build multi tunes as well, eg export an E85 tune to a parameter file, then import it into the alternate fuel tune slot (values and parameters) and voila. You have a 93/E85 all in one tune that can be interpolated (flex fuel) or switched instantly with no flashing.

HOWTO: Comparing files and using parameter files - General HOWTO Guides - PCMTEC Forums

 

[Rolls]

Been playing with the data logger. Looks like we can log any parameter we can modify. The speed density channels look interesting. Might be able to dial in manifolds better.

I've only been at if for a short time but haven't been able to find the line logging feature.

When datalogging you can look at the exact DMR that the X and Y axis use (not all tables, but most). This way if something says load, it might actually be inferred load due to anticpation logic (eg 1st gear revving very fast) and logging the standard SAE load value is not actually what is being used. This way you can be 100% sure you are logging the correct values.

Eg for the active exhaust you might see % and go "what percent". If you look down the bottom you can see the exact DMR to log to properly trace and calibrate this table. Simply type in MID03456 into the datalogger to log that value.

 

[tdstuart]

I do not believe Lund or any large tuning companies are willing to turn off check engine lights these days. Maybe a long time ago but I highly doubt it now.

They did it a few months ago for me. The engine light goes off but the codes remain and the emissions tests still fail.

The point is that you won’t be able to pass emissions but you can remote start and not have the check engine light on.

I think it would be a good option. Like I said it won’t allow you to bypass emissions but keeps things like remote start.

 

[Rolls]

I did not know that a MIL lamp would stop remote start. That is interesting. There may be other ways around that though I suspect that is entirely controlled via the BCM and not the PCM.

 

[tdstuart]

I did not know that a MIL lamp would stop remote start. That is interesting. There may be other ways around that though I suspect that is entirely controlled via the BCM and not the PCM.

Yep the light itself, not a code. I don’t have a check engine light but if I read for dtc the catalytic converter codes pop up.

Honesty I think remote start is the only thing affected.

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