WORKS ECU flashing update
Sep 30, 2008, 09:01 PM
#1
Account Disabled
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: CA Bay Area
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
WORKS ECU flashing update
It's been a while since I updated you guys from the trenches of the WORKS Lancer/EVO X flashing program. I'm usually busy behind the scenes and not rearing my ugly head in public, but I thought you guys might like seeing some of the in-house tools we've built and use for our flashes.
First and perhaps most importantly - I'm sure most of you have heard of the DTCs being thrown in the past - I'd like to show MapWORKS. MapWORKS is an interactive map flowchart engine and ECU simulator, which we designed to answer questions like, "under what conditions does the ECU use map X," "precisely how is the coolant temperature sensor used," and "how is DTC P1235 thrown?" MapWORKS interfaces with our sensor database that associates names (like "MAF air temperature sensor" or "drive timer") with maps, axes, and software conditionals, and uses its built-in ECU simulator to parse ROM images into flowcharts and to add important interaction/investigative tools for intuition and understanding.
DataWORKS is our logging and tracing program. It interfaces with our custom ECU tracing interface to display real-time traces over any maps currently opened. I'll have to get a screenshot of tracing in action, but for now imagine a stream of dots overlaid tracing a realtime RPM-load curve. The dot overlay, instead of cell highlighting, allows us to position traces between cells with the same accuracy as the ECU's own interpolation. Thanks to the ECU tracing interface, all sensors can be logged and traced in their raw form. This is crucial for tuning since values output over standard ISO/SAE requests are typically dumbed-down (i.e. load and boost) and not all sensors are available through standard requests.
Finally, FlashWORKS is what we upload and download ECUs with. I'm happy to say we've flashed many mail-ins and drive-ins with FlashWORKS and have even helped Mitsubishi Canada win their class in this year's Targa Newfoundland.
Looking to the future, we've successfully transitioned from developing in-house tools, and I'm excited about what we're going to be offering 1Q 2009; I think many of you will be too.
First and perhaps most importantly - I'm sure most of you have heard of the DTCs being thrown in the past - I'd like to show MapWORKS. MapWORKS is an interactive map flowchart engine and ECU simulator, which we designed to answer questions like, "under what conditions does the ECU use map X," "precisely how is the coolant temperature sensor used," and "how is DTC P1235 thrown?" MapWORKS interfaces with our sensor database that associates names (like "MAF air temperature sensor" or "drive timer") with maps, axes, and software conditionals, and uses its built-in ECU simulator to parse ROM images into flowcharts and to add important interaction/investigative tools for intuition and understanding.
DataWORKS is our logging and tracing program. It interfaces with our custom ECU tracing interface to display real-time traces over any maps currently opened. I'll have to get a screenshot of tracing in action, but for now imagine a stream of dots overlaid tracing a realtime RPM-load curve. The dot overlay, instead of cell highlighting, allows us to position traces between cells with the same accuracy as the ECU's own interpolation. Thanks to the ECU tracing interface, all sensors can be logged and traced in their raw form. This is crucial for tuning since values output over standard ISO/SAE requests are typically dumbed-down (i.e. load and boost) and not all sensors are available through standard requests.
Finally, FlashWORKS is what we upload and download ECUs with. I'm happy to say we've flashed many mail-ins and drive-ins with FlashWORKS and have even helped Mitsubishi Canada win their class in this year's Targa Newfoundland.
Looking to the future, we've successfully transitioned from developing in-house tools, and I'm excited about what we're going to be offering 1Q 2009; I think many of you will be too.
Last edited by Steve@WORKS; Oct 1, 2008 at 09:52 AM.
Oct 1, 2008, 11:53 AM
#6
Evolving Member
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Honolulu, HI
Posts: 299
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am assuming they charge more beacuse they incurred all R&D cost for the software/cable and will need to make that money back until they lower the price, if they decide to lower it at all.
Oct 1, 2008, 01:04 PM
#7
The rough cost of engineering time is $100/hr (including captial, blah blah blah). So how many hours do you think it took to first, decipher all the stock ECU stuff, and then code custom software applications? I'd venture to guess well into the hundreds.
So that's tens of thousands of development costs.
So that's tens of thousands of development costs.
Trending Topics
Oct 1, 2008, 08:09 PM
#8
Newbie
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 81
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd like to know more about the sensor database
Also, it is so nice to hear that someone is asking these questions and attempting a related study
Also, it is so nice to hear that someone is asking these questions and attempting a related study
First and perhaps most importantly - I'm sure most of you have heard of the DTCs being thrown in the past - I'd like to show MapWORKS. MapWORKS is an interactive map flowchart engine and ECU simulator, which we designed to answer questions like, "under what conditions does the ECU use map X," "precisely how is the coolant temperature sensor used," and "how is DTC P1235 thrown?" MapWORKS interfaces with our sensor database that associates names (like "MAF air temperature sensor" or "drive timer") with maps, axes, and software conditionals, and uses its built-in ECU simulator to parse ROM images into flowcharts and to add important interaction/investigative tools for intuition and understanding.
Oct 3, 2008, 12:04 PM
#10
Account Disabled
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: CA Bay Area
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
@ DVDee: Correct, WORKS developed these flashing technologies in-house from scratch. I believe we're still the only tuner in North America to have done so.
@ EvoX_SA, and spdracerut: Precisely! And, development continues as we improve our flashing technologies, support our customers, and add functionality.
The Lancer and EVO X have numerous sensors and the ECU interprets each sensor in numerous ways. Some sensors are even passed through time-dependent functions before application to engine control, making them unpredictable during observation. The end result is important maps and conditionals rely on values tricky for humans to decipher. We developed the WORKS sensor database to remove the unpredictability and associate human readable names with maps and conditionals, especially useful for investigations in MapWORKS and logging and tracing in DataWORKS.
I can't disclose much here, but I can say we've successfully transitioned from focusing on in-house development, and that we have spent time on the SST.
@ EvoX_SA, and spdracerut: Precisely! And, development continues as we improve our flashing technologies, support our customers, and add functionality.
The Lancer and EVO X have numerous sensors and the ECU interprets each sensor in numerous ways. Some sensors are even passed through time-dependent functions before application to engine control, making them unpredictable during observation. The end result is important maps and conditionals rely on values tricky for humans to decipher. We developed the WORKS sensor database to remove the unpredictability and associate human readable names with maps and conditionals, especially useful for investigations in MapWORKS and logging and tracing in DataWORKS.
I can't disclose much here, but I can say we've successfully transitioned from focusing on in-house development, and that we have spent time on the SST.
Oct 3, 2008, 07:09 PM
#11
Newbie
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: So Cal
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Steve,
With so many tuners competing in the relatively small EVO X market , I am surprised that you guys wouldn't make more noise than the above. If WORKS is really going to release a "user" tuning solution for the X (as very loosely hinted at in your message) then I would think you would want to let everyone that is considering OpenECU or the TTP/Z-Chip or another other non-mail-in tuning solution know in more certain terms just what it is that you guys are up to.
Basically, you guys might have the best solution but you can't have my dollars if I spend them somewhere else because I haven't heard about your product or your plans for a product.
With so many tuners competing in the relatively small EVO X market , I am surprised that you guys wouldn't make more noise than the above. If WORKS is really going to release a "user" tuning solution for the X (as very loosely hinted at in your message) then I would think you would want to let everyone that is considering OpenECU or the TTP/Z-Chip or another other non-mail-in tuning solution know in more certain terms just what it is that you guys are up to.
Basically, you guys might have the best solution but you can't have my dollars if I spend them somewhere else because I haven't heard about your product or your plans for a product.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
DynoFlash
Evo X Dyno Results
17
Mar 1, 2009 07:09 AM
Richard L
Water / Methanol Injection / Nitrous Oxide
14
May 22, 2008 07:57 AM
b0ostedEV08
Evo Engine / Turbo / Drivetrain
66
May 14, 2006 01:05 PM
