[uucdigest] Wednesday, February 26 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6149
_________________________________________________________________ | | Search the ARCHIVES: | http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] | | Visit Richard Nott's Ultimate BMW Database: | http://www.bmwdatabase.com | | For all available Digest commands including unsubscribe/subscribe, | visit the BMW UUC Digest page: http://www.uucdigest.com | | Send SUBMISSIONS to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Complaints? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you must. | Technical Problems? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] |__________________________________________________________________ In this BMW UUC Digest: Re: [uuc] 1995 BMW 540i 6-speed pre-purchase info? RE: [uuc] Oil Loss in S50 Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming RE: [uuc] Re: calibration development ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 11:58:05 -0600 From: Sean Cordone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] 1995 BMW 540i 6-speed pre-purchase info? Other than the usual pre-sale inspection, here are some issues particular to the E34 540i: The Nikasil issue is big. If you're comfortable with it, it's still a topic to discuss with the seller when agreeing on the price. Advantages of the 6-speed? Well, it's a 6 speed. All the auto/manual issues apply here (although the iA has a good tranny as far as autos go.) You already noted the seats and suspension. That about covers it. A/C is BMW, meaning it's just ok. It won't have a lot of cooling margin on hot days. I have to run mine (w/ black interior) pretty hard to stay comfortable in the south in the summer. Thrust arm bushings, the standard E34 malady, are the most common problem. 750i bushings are a nice upgrade. Check out www.bmwe34.net for more info. At 130k it may have other steering/front end issues as well. Do a couple of gentle stops from 70 or so on the test drive and watch for shimmies, shakes, and pulling. The cooling system is ripe for some plastic ruptures. You might ask if the radiator/thermo housing/aux coolant pump have been replaced. The power steering hoses will almost certainly be leaky. Tap on the catalytic converter, or listen under the car for rattles under load (you can do this by driving next to a wall w/ the window down). There was some trouble with the catalyst material breaking down internally, which could cause emissions issues. A 130k, the level of maintenance the car has gotten is important. If you find a well maintained one - you're getting a great car. --SC Howard Poe wrote: >I'm looking at the possible purchase of a '95 540i with 6 speed >transmission. Car has 130k miles, and original nikasil engine block, but >has been exclusively on the west coast, so probably hasn't been exposed to >sulfurous fuel. > >Car looks to be in good condition. It is not a 540i sport, however it >does have the M technic suspension and seats. > >Guy is asking $15k for it, book is $13,500 for private party retail sale. >I'm hoping I can talk him down a bit. > >I'm thinking about the advantages of the 6 speed over the automatic... any >thoughts? > >Only other problem is that it's black on black, which will get very hot >and dusty here in the summer. Is the A/C good on the 540i (my 325iX >didn't like to cool sitting stuck in traffic or in a drive through on hot >days)? > >Anything to look for problem wise with this car? Car has new tires, >clutch and brakes. > >-Howard > > > - -- ______________________________________________________________________ Sean Cordone RF Development Group ISCO International tel:847.391.9482 fax:509.355.3165 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:45:17 -0500 From: "Chris Scott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Oil Loss in S50 I do have a little smoke up top in the rev range (5k+ and only when on the gas), but its black/un burned gas. The car runs a little rich up top with the Euro HFM/Chip/Injectors. No smoke when clutching or otherwise. I will do a compression check but it seems to fine as the car made 234whp/219lbs on the dyno. Chris - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 06:36:21 -0800 From: "Brad Houser" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Oil Loss in S50 You could be literally burning oil. Are you seeing smoke in the exhaust, especially during clutching? A smog check can measure it. Did you try a compression test? Remove the spark coil to distributor wire, remove the spark plugs, insert the pressure gauge in the spark plug hole (some can be screwed in, others just held), have a friend turn the starter. Write down the results. Squirt some oil in the cylinder, and remeasure. Repeat for each cylinder. If the pressure changes with the oil, you have leaky rings. If two adjacent cylinders are low, you have a bad head gasket. Another possible cause of low pressure is leaky valves. Brad Houser ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:03:38 -0800 (PST) From: Brad Couvillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming - --- Andre Yew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If you're willing to spend some time cobbling your > own ROM emulator, > that's doable as well, though I don't know of any > resources off-hand to > point to you. It's a tradeoff between time and > money. There are lots of > kids reverse-engineering their game consoles these > days, so there's got to > be pretty affordable DIY ROM emulation solutions out > there. I would actually rather build my own emulator. I would benefit two-fold from this process: a) learning something new and b) saving a few bucks. > The ROMulator looks like a decent product at a > decent price. Just make > sure you have a serial port on your laptop. I think > it's great project > even if you end up destroying a couple of ECUs --- > you learn as much from > failure as success. I don't normally work with > 16-bit micros like the > 8051, but let me know if you need help on the > computer or programming end > of things. Much obliged for the words of wisdom and support! Brad Couvillon __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:05:44 -0800 (PST) From: Brad Couvillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming - --- "Dorffer, Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Umm....a motor perhaps! But, we are talking about > Brad here....he probably has a spare motor cobbled > together from parts other people were getting rid of > and would be able to swap it in over a weekend if > need be. Sometimes I hate you, Rich! ; -) I actually DO have a spare engine, but I went and sold the ECU, head, intake manifold, and exhaust manifolds, so I guess all I really have is a bottom end now. Oh well! > Rich - Brad's nemesis...but also cheering him on, > don't forget about me when your able to do custom > programming ;-) Yeah, I won't. I'll definitely have a "special" chip for your car. Can you say "full lean at redline"?!! : -) Brad Couvillon __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:20:16 -0800 From: "J. Ochi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming If you do a Google search on "2732 EPROM emulator", you'll find a whole bunch of different plans for these things. If you know enough electronics to etch a circuit board (or wirewrap!), you can probably put one of these together for fairly cheap. However, just to throw in my 2 cents worth, although it sounds like a cool project, I think you're focusing on the easy stuff and ignoring the hard part. The hardest part of this project is going to be pulling the code out of the microcontroller and the eprom, disassembling it, and tracing what it does. Especially if you don't have any experience in assembly language programming or embedded real-time systems programming. I remember doing something similar way back in the dark ages of computing (took apart and modified a computer bios), and it wasn't exactly easy, even though it was something that I had studied and worked in. So, you might want to start boning up on 80C515 assembly language and architecture... Good luck! Jim Ochi [EMAIL PROTECTED] At 10:00 AM 2/26/2003 -0800, Andre Yew wrote: >Brad, > > > What it looks like I'm going to need is a ROM > > emulator. I saw one for about $175 called the > > ROMuLator or something silly like that. Looks like it > > could work, but I feel like I can cobble some parts > > together and do it for about half that. That's what > > I'm looking for: a sub-$100 ROM emulator. > >If you're willing to spend some time cobbling your own ROM emulator, >that's doable as well, though I don't know of any resources off-hand to >point to you. It's a tradeoff between time and money. There are lots of >kids reverse-engineering their game consoles these days, so there's got to >be pretty affordable DIY ROM emulation solutions out there. > >The ROMulator looks like a decent product at a decent price. Just make >sure you have a serial port on your laptop. I think it's great project >even if you end up destroying a couple of ECUs --- you learn as much from >failure as success. I don't normally work with 16-bit micros like the >8051, but let me know if you need help on the computer or programming end >of things. > >--Andre ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:29:04 -0800 (PST) From: Brad Couvillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming Jim, Thanks for the info on the emulators. I'll do some more Googling and see what I can find. As far as. . . - --- "J. Ochi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So, you > might want to start > boning up on 80C515 assembly language and > architecture... I was definitely planning on doing that. There seems to be a wealth of information on this stuff on the 'net. I found a whole table with 8051 assembly language. I didn't mention this in my original post, because I know how I'm going to do this part (learn the friggin' language and get to workin') : -) > Good luck! Thanks! Brad Couvillon __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:37:04 -0500 From: "Robinson, Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Re: calibration development For sure it was an oversimplification..... There are many more factors involved. For sure any ecu maker has an engine management expert.....I bet it's some guru with 15+ years playing with engines. That being said, every car can't have a unique setup. First of all, it's not fiscally practical, nor is it the German way. My experience with Siemens is automating rolling mills and processing lines. OK, they are way more complex than an ECU, but the ideas will be the same. Fact: German stuff is ALWAYS more complex than it has to be. It may be the best, but it is always over-complicated. Just do mechanical work on your car & this becomes blaringly apparent. I can image German tankers in the world wars, "Klaus, qvickly, zee Americans are coming. Yea, just hand me special tool nummer 546 for the barrel locking pin..... NEIN! NEIN! I said 546, not 456!!!!" Does the engine manufacturer just throw some specs over the wall, no, but there is a lot of faith put into the fact that the ECU maker has a clue. >From the ECU maker....if you're a company who puts together ECUs probably makes them for other engine builders too. Does every engine builder get a special unit? Of course not. As a matter of fact, based on my experience, there is probably one hardware/software package for many applications. Each one is customized by simple software parameterization and vairous I/O configurations. This is how almost all of our standalone systems are done, and I would be surprised if it were any different here. I think, in general, this stuff may be somewhat conservative with the emphasis put on emmissions & keeping everything proprietary. Special needs will cost extra, I can garuantee. Doesn't matter who does it. I think this is why you'll probably find a lot of Japanese companies doing this stuff in-house. This way, they can customize their stuff specifically for their needs, and not have to worry about outside vendors. That being said, there IS a reason that BMW & Mercedes outsource this stuff.... Lee 88 M3->with Bosch DME > -----Original Message----- > From: ben keyes [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 11:17 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [uuc] Re: calibration development > > > "Robinson, Lee" wrote: > > > I can tell you what happens. BMW's engineers design an > > engine. They send some parameters to Bosch/Siemens with specific > > requirements for engine management as well as physical > durability. To the > > best of their knowledge, electrical & computer engineers > come up with a > > control unit to what they believe, best suits the > requirements. Is it > > excellent work? Yes. Is it the best, simplest solution? > Definitely not. > > Is it able to be figured out? Definitely. While these guys > are great > > engineers, do you really believe they know the engine's > requirements for > > things like fuel/air optimization, idling, heat sink, etc > as well as the > > engine designer, or even experts like Don Fields, Brett A or Jose? > > I think you're simplifying the relationship between the > calibration engineers, > the designers of the physical hardware DME & the engine people. > > I seriously doubt BMW just throw the desired parameters over the wall > to the calibration guys & lets them come up with what they > think is the > best solution to the problem. there might be a bookshelf > approach to the > actual hardware of the DME & it's associated circuitry, but > that's not going > to have any major effect on the ability of the calibration > people to write > an optimal map to fit the requirements. > > the players all work together to come up with the calibration > that best suits > the specific regulations & operating conditions under which the engine > will have to handle. when you take out things like stupid > owners putting > in the wrong octane fuel, off-throttle emissions mapping & the list > into account, there are certainly areas for improvement. > > viewed relative to the Motoronic for DME's originally > designed in the mid-80's > things are a lot farther along now. witness JimC having no > desire to put out > a re-flash for the S54 engine as he feels that it's pretty > much optimized to the > > knife's edge already & there is little or nothing to be > gained by messing with > it. > perhaps his "I'm not going to put out a new calibration just > to raise the rev > limit 50rpm & claim marginal improvement in minor areas, I > I'm not going to > do one period." statement is really him being unable to > decode what was done > in the DME, but I seriously doubt it. > > > > Ben > not a calibrator, wouldn't dream of playing one on TV, hasn't > stayed at an HIE > for several months... > ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6149 *************************** | | In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. |________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | | Autoscope-Motorsports - http://www.autoscope-motorsports.com | |==================================================== | | Koala MotorSport . 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