I originally bought this thing to diagnose a check engine light on my 4runner. I didn't think it would work on the E55 but to my surprise, here is some data if anyone is interested in looking at it. I can also log a bunch of other parameters but only 4 simultaneously. My only question on this run is why did my intake manifold pressure spike to 20psi when the supercharger is only supposed to pump out 12 psi. Is anyone here knowledgeable when comes to reading this data.

 

Neat!! I was going to order the AutoTap product becuase I need to do some data logging for the testing I am doing.

Which product did you use?

I looked at Ease, AutoTap and carputing.

 

Its called Car Chip EX by Davis Intruments. I pretty sure they have a web site.

Here ya go,
www.davisnet.com

 

I made the biggest d'oh sound when I read this thread.

I totally forgot about OBDII dataloggers, and how MB isn't f'd up like many Japanese cars when it comes to straight OBDII datalogging. Toyota Supras were not compatible with straight OBDII dataloggers and I used to have to log through my standalone ECU. I have actually used a pocketlogger on a DSM before and know how incredibly useful it is, especially if the car has good sensors that feed accurate information.

I feel like such an idiot.

I am ordering one of these tonight, and overnighting it to me. This is going to seriously, seriously change the ease at which we can tune our MBs. You can get downright dangerous with these wonderful pieces of electronics if you know how to make sense of the readings... (and without giving myself too much credit, I can say I do). Look out boys, things are going to get interesting...

Thank you so much for making this post, best damn thing I've read for this car in a long time.

-m

 

Just ordered the AutoTap OBDII logger, I've read up on it once before and I really like the software that comes with it... $240.00 with everything overnighted to me... should have it on Monday...

Let the fun begin

-m

 

Oh, and also to answer your question Gunite... Intake Manifold pressure is not necessarily equivalent to the pressure your supercharger generates, it can fluctuate and spike depending on throttle, camshaft, and crank position. Don't worry, spikes aren't necessarily a bad thing.

-m

 

Marcus, Marcus, Marcus... You dissapoint me...

How could you forget about datalogging????? Shame, shame...

Ok.. I'll stop making you feel bad now... I am going to order the AutoTap as well.. Alison from Autotap was the only person to reply to my inquiry and it seems to have the best featureset. She quoted me $179 for the ATU model and $40 for the ATSG sensor guide... Did you order the extension cable?? You will probably need one of those.

The Carchip is nice for doing things like bringing your car in for service and wanting to keep an eye on it, but it lacks the real-time data display. I will probably order a carchip also just so I can keep tabs on people when I leave my car somewhere.

This is great.. We'll be able to compare notes now!

 

I'm not sure but could the absolute manifold pressure be the sum of 1 atm (14.5 psi) plus the compression of the S/C (11.6 psi) which would equal 26 psi at full boost. Just a guess.

 

From what I have read on ODBII Tools, they are to slow to be very accurate, is this correct? I'm not sure if they are all the same, but they only update data once or twice per second.

Check this tool out, the LH-1 Air/Fuel Digital Wideband Ratio Meter. You can data log in real time with it to, 44 minutes and can download to a laptop.



It would help with tuning for sure, especially on dyno day if you have the ability to change the A/F ratio's! (Chip tuning) You can install permanently in the vehicle as well.

There is a Two Car Guys video on their site to, click on Video's.

BTW, I have no connection with this vendor, I just stumbled on it researching stand alone ECU's for another project. Autronic guys love it.

 

marcus,

enlighten me/us. since i do number / data crunching as my business, what can we get out of this software/data? how can we adapt/change our cars/driving habits by this data? please let me know. i freely admit to knowing nothing in this area. this sounds very interesting.

cheers,
Gareth

 

Victor,

I didn't order the extension cable... but thanks for the heads up.

RossN,

I think you underestimate their accuracy! No, they aren't the end-all-be-all tool for tuning, and like I said they rely off factory sensors that let's just say aren't always the greatest, however with these cars to install our own sensors and to be able to detalog the amount of sensors the OBDII datalogging tool gives you the ability to do would be extremely expensive, and almost impossible. This data is better than nothing at all and will not only give me some insight as to how the car runs, but what kind of things it responds to and how it does... the basis to knowing how to improve it's performance.

Gareth,

If you goto www.autotap.com they have a link to a series of videos to show you what their software can do. Essentially, with this tool you can view and log many of the sensors your car uses to execute it's functions. You can view the intake air temperature, the manifold pressure, air/fuel raio, timing, knock, etc. All the factors that go into determining how your engine is performing and what is effecting it. Then, using this data, you can see real world results of any changes you make and prove if they are effective or not rather than just using your butt dyno or a dyno chart which never tell the full story.

The best part of all is that anyone can really do this and gives you as an individual tremendous power and ability to see results for yourself rather than take a tuner's word for it.

For instance: I am kicking myself for not having this before I thermotec wrapped my airboxes to see what kind of reduction in Intake Air Temperature it netted. I'll just have to find someone around here without thermotec on their intake system, do a preset run, and then hook this up to my car and do the same run. Then I'll have the data and I'll be able to see, look, with that airbox my intake air temps were down X degrees because of the thermotec. Visible, verifiable results.

-m

 

FYI, any '04+ owners looking at ordering you may not be able to use AutoTap as it doesn't yet have CAN support. As far as I know CAN was fully implemented in MY2004 so you may need to contact AutoTap prior to ordering to make sure their product would work.

-m

 

Okay, so ODBII accuracy is good, got it.

 

I'm glad I could provide some useful info around here. I should have posted this months ago but like I said I just plugged it in the E55 yesterday and didn't think anyone here would be interested in looking at data from my 4runner.

Victor
I have been reading about your water/alky kit, Its a topic that has peaked my interest for many years. I hope it works out. And keeping tabs on your car with this when you leave it somewhere(dealer) is a great idea. It never even crossed my mind until you mentioned it. I just wish there was away to keep it plugged in even if the dealer had to plug in their scanner.

Marcus
I'm happy I set off a couple of light bulbs your head, I know you'll come up with some useful mods and info to share with all of us here. Please keep us updated with your findings on the scanner you just purchased. I only paid about $100 for this one but its only good for 300hours of logging. I can download all the data on my PC with the supplied software and I can reset the check engine light if on.



View / Trip Log / Record Trip 23
Vehicle : E55
CarChip : Joe's 4runner

Start Time : 2/17/2005 4:42 PM
End Time : 2/17/2005 4:48 PM
Duration : 0:06:02
Idle : 0:01:25
0 to 59 MPH : 0:04:36
60 to 79 MPH : 0:00:00
80 to 90 MPH : 0:00:00
Over 91 MPH : 0:00:00

Distance : 1.8 Miles
Average Speed : 18 MPH
Maximum Speed : 52 MPH

Hard Brakes : 2 (Between 0.25 G and 0.45 G)
Extreme Brakes : 1 (Over 0.45 G)
Hard Accelerations : 2 (Between 0.28 G and 0.48 G)
Extreme Accelerations : 1 (Over 0.48 G)

Parameters
Parameter 1 : Vehicle Speed Every 5 Seconds
Parameter 2 : Intake Manifold Pressure Every 5 Seconds
Parameter 3 : Coolant Temperature Every 5 Seconds
Parameter 4 : Intake Air Temperature Every 5 Seconds
Parameter 5 : Timing Advance Every 5 Seconds

Comments :

 

how did it recognize 0-59 sec but a max speed of only 52?

 

FYI... Autotap reads data 40 times per second and can watch 4 simultaneous inputs. That is pretty accurate in my eyes.

I was looking for a good data logger because I wanted to do some testing with the alky system mainly. But, like Marcus said, I wish I had decided on which one I wanted earlier because I too installed Thermotec on my airboxes and would love to have quantified the benefits. Even more so, I would have loved to test out the EVO intake spacers to see what benefits they provided.

Well, from now on any changes that are made to the car, a datalog of before/after will be taken to see if there are any benefits.

My Autotap should be here in a couple of days.

The only challenge with Autotap is that having a laptop in your car and doing some "spirited" driving is rather tricky. You dont want your laptop launched all over the car, so this type of tool is really useful if you have someon that can ride shotgun and hold the laptop while you drive.

I am sure between Marcus and I you guys will get alot of graphs/charts/data from this..

Gunite,

There is a way to keep it plugged in but it would require some wiring. I did this type of thing on my Corvette. The OBDII connector acts as a pass-through. All that is required is to remove the cover to gain access to the backside of the connector. Wire in the carchip on the backside where is remains unnoticed. I will most likely tackle this when I get around to getting the Carchip.

 

Gunite,

There is a way to keep it plugged in but it would require some wiring. I did this type of thing on my Corvette. The OBDII connector acts as a pass-through. All that is required is to remove the cover to gain access to the backside of the connector. Wire in the carchip on the backside where is remains unnoticed. I will most likely tackle this when I get around to getting the Carchip.[/QUOTE]



Victor,

That's one heck of an idea. I'm sure an extra OBDII connector can be found just about anywhere since all cars from about 96 on have this same connector. Fantastic, just fantastic. Thanks for the idea.

Joe




Peter,

0-59mph is one the preset parameters that I cant change in the software so I assume it will just record your best time between 0-59 in my case my top speed was only 52 so that's what it measured and listed the result under the appropriate heading.

 

No problem my friend.

The connectors are readily available. Pickup a female coupler and just solder the wires to the back of the car's OBDII port.

Hey, if you get around to it before I do, make sure you post pics!!

 

Just to get you started in the actual troubleshooting phase, you may want to hook up a Mechanical boost guage to get a accurate pressure reading, just to verify your MAP reading is truely accurate.

Also, what about a MAF going bad? The prior generation E55's all had problems with their MAF, possible carry over problem just now surfacing?

 

Well, I received my Autotap unit today... Now the trouble is... WHERE THE HECK IS THE OBDII port in this darn car?????

Someone please shed some light on this. I searched the passenger and driver compartment and I can't seem to locate it.

As soon as this small hurdle is overcome, I should be able to test it out.

Thanks in advance.

 

Victor,

Got mine in today, already have 3 different datalogging sessions with it. Some very interesting information that I will post some conclusions on once I can properly compile the data.

As for the plug, it's on the driver's side, by the door, slightly to the right of the hood latch. There is a black plastic cover over it that swings open (downwards) to expose it.

-m

 

Good thread Nice exchange of info! Victor, hope you get some pre & post IAT alky injection readings.

Here's a OBDII port pic for an 03 E, not sure if the 04 is the same.

 

Thanks Guys!! Man, do I feel like an idiot...

I received my Autotap yesterday afternoon and was so excited to try it out, I went and installed the drivers and software on my laptop. Then, after work, I was fumbling around in the dark trying to locate the darn connector.. I didnt notice the grey cover over the connector.

Well, now that this little issue is out of the way, Let the fun begin...

Marcus: I knew it wouldnt take you long to start using it... 3 session huh... That's pretty good for having it for just 1 day.

P.S-> Have you checked your thermotec on the airboxes to see if it is delaminating? Mine is peeling at the extreme corners.. I guess I'll have to reapply once I pull the engine apart again. I didnt clean my parts with alcohol prior to installing.

 

Datalogged the drive to work today, I want to really get as many #s as possible so I can start making some calculations and set out baseline #s for how this car runs overall. AutoTap actually lets you log everything at the same time, which is really nice. I'll be posting my likes and dislikes as soon as I feel completely comfortable with this setup and know all the ins and outs - so far it seems very simple, so I should maybe be able to post something within the next day or two.

Victor,

I have not, I'll probably check it when I put on the intake spacers. I do recall it peeling a bit on my W210, but I made sure to clean down these before I did it (although, not with alchohol... that's a good suggestion).

-m

 

You havent installed the intake spacers yet?? PERFECT!!!

Now we can get some hard facts on whether or not they reduce the IATs. Make sure you get a couple of good before & after logs once the spacers are installed.

I was going to do a log on the way to work, but I was running late and couldnt be bothered setting up the laptop. Will have to try it tomorrow.

Have Fun!!