DSM Link for the 3/S - Use your stock ECU to tune. - 3000GT/Stealth International Message Center

stealthxtreme4 · 11-10-2008, 11:18 AM

[MODERATOR EDIT]New thread here...3000GT EPROM conversion board[/MODERATOR EDIT]

UPDATE: 12/01/08

Quote:

Got the ECU today. It all checks out fine! Thanks, Dennis!

Time to start real work now. Give us time, though, please. This is not a quick and dirty effort. It's going to take a while. We want to do the right design here if at all possible (i.e., do away with the dual EPROM requirement).

I talked with Craig Moates about using his Ostrich 2 on this project too. He gave some details on the specs and they seem to line up within expected parameters, so I think we should be good to go there. Now it's time to see if we can do our part or not...

I'll keep the thread posted as much as possible. Expect 2-3 weeks between updates, though. That doesn't mean it's forgotten. It's just going to take time to get all this sorted out.

If Gate or someone else wants to fire up an official disassembly effort, it'd probably be time well spent. We'll offer any help we can on this, but we've also got our own HUGE new product going out in a couple weeks, so our time is going to be pretty limited to hardware only for this project.

Thomas Dorris

If you are not familiar with the defacto standard in the DSM world, DSM Link is one of the most widely used tuning choice for the 4G63. It allows you to use a socket e-prom ECU that came from the factory to change fuel, timing, launch control, safeties, etc.

Features include: ( This is version 2. Version 3 will be leaps and bounds better than V2. )

As you can see the program is pretty extensive for using the stock ECU. The best part about it is, the simplicity of the tuning involved. ECM Tuning has figured out how to make the NON-Eprom ECU usable. They've designed a chip to be placed on the board and will be introducing it with version 3.

Now why is this important? I contacted ECM Tuning asking them if they had considered this application for the 3/S market, because for years it has been one of the downfalls of our vehicles. Many of us have been jealous about the ease of tuning others experience with their vehicles. Mail order tunes, proven setups that you just install and load the tunes, etc. If this was applied to the 3/S ECU, it would allow for the same exact benefits as the other platforms, but allowing for advanced users to utilize it's more advanced and useful features.

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E-Mail I received Back:
Yeah, we've considered it. We're very familiar with the 3kgt platform.
There's nothing of a technical nature preventing us from doing it.
The problem is that it really is a LOT of work.

We could design and build the non-EPROM conversions easily enough, but even that conversion process isn't cheap. The board itself is relatively complicated to assemble and the PLCC plug is very expensive for what it is. And then there's the time to actually do the conversion on the ECU. It adds up really quickly. I could see *just* the conversion costing $125-$150. If we were doing the conversion as part of a package sale, I could see discounting that to $75 or so. But that's assuming we had a package (software) to sell with it.

Porting our software over to the 3k ECU would not be trivial. It's an entirely different processor than the one use in the DSMs. I have no idea why Mitsubishi would have done that, but absolutely none of our code would simply drop into new patch points. The whole thing would have to be recoded. That's not absolutely horrible because the two platforms are at least related in ways, but even so it's a monstrous task. With no good feel for the size of the market, it's hard to justify the investment. I'd expect it to take at least a couple months just to port code.

So, I guess to answer your question, yes we have considered it. And yes, it's absolutely technically possible. But no, unfortunately, it's not on our roadmap at this point without more market data.

Thomas Dorris
ECMTuning, Inc.

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Here are some of the preliminary look at Version 3. It would be load based, and provide massive improvements over many of the common tools for tuning today. ( E-Manage, MAFT Pro, S-AFC, etc. )

This would allow for a multitude of features. From wideband 02, anti-lag, ignition cut and lean protection, etc. I'm not an expert with DSM Link, so I do apologize if I have made any errors with the features. I have used it a great deal and am excited for this new version 3, as it will be a vast improvement over v2.

Please post up if you would seriously consider buying this product. The ECU conversion would cost ~120 or less if we have tons of people doing it. The total cost of the software and chipping would probably be in the range of 600. ( Basing prices off the current DSM Link )

I've made this thread to help judge the market for ECM Tuning. I plan on linking this thread to them if we can get enough interest. I honestly believe this would be one of the best solutions to help advance our platform. I realize we have some good options, but for the average user, this would be a full solution, and to the advanced would be one of the simplest and most effective.

So post up!

shadow334485 · 11-10-2008, 12:16 PM

This was looked into last year, due to the member here todds93r is a good friend of the found of DSM link.

He had them look at I think my ecu and they said it couldnt be done do to some issue with the ecu, if they found a way awesome... but if its gonna cost 600 to do this... I dont know if very many ppl will think this is a better option than a regular piggyback... I mean hell good on ya for getting this in the work....

Personally I thnk the best option as of right now, is everyone and their mom assist gatecrasher, GTPRO and who ever the hell else is working on flash tuners to get them the info, specs, what ever to make it work for OBD1, hybrid, and obd2(pre98/99)

stealthxtreme4 · 11-10-2008, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadow334485

Personally I thnk the best option as of right now, is everyone and their mom assist gatecrasher, GTPRO and who ever the hell else is working on flash tuners to get them the info, specs, what ever to make it work for OBD1, hybrid, and obd2(pre98/99)

This is flash. You would be flashing the chip that would be added to the board. It is the only means in which to do this using our ECU's. As he mentioned in the e-mail, its definitely doable. The question is whether the demand is there. I believe there would be, and if not.. Our platform has very little hope. 600 bucks for tuning that is better than 90% of what we have available today, using our very own ECU's, requiring ZERO wiring, or messing with anything has to be somewhat exciting.

Maybe I under estimated what people want out of their cars. 600 is nothing for the features and options it provides. I'm not wealthy by any means and I wouldn't even blink at spending that for such good performance.