bkofoed

Not nuts, but ambitious! Yes, it's always possible. But Ford made some choices to make it HARD! First off, the processor is a new generation device- the Motorola "Black Oak" specifically deisnged for use as an ECU. (I.e. supports many signal in/outs and optimizations for reading various types of sensors are streamlined in the instruction set). That said, in the good old days, ECU's were reasonably simple microcontrollers (68HC05 for example) with external Eprom for Code and data maps. That's nice because if you know the Processor, and pop the Eprom, you can read the entire software and data maps, and simulate the whole thing on your PC. A bit of trial and error, and you can work out which signal is which, such as TPS, Crank, MAF or equiv etc. Do a search on the web and you'll find any number of VN commo Rom's. In engineering we call this 'white box' as in you know what is inside. Now, the MPC 555 Black Oak is a different beast- it has on-chip 448k Flash Ram. It would not doubt be configured to boot from this Flash, and guess what- with no external data lines we can't read it or take it off the board. The only way therefore to access the internal memory it is to convince the ECU that you are a Ford Tech with your Diags module connected. Assume Ford are serious about security- there will be a lengthy and involved handshake on connection so that the ECU can't easily be tricked. And to make it harder, I would make the ECU flash write-only. (as in only say the verison info is available to a legitimate diags module, and it never sends you the whole internal data). That way should someone capture the handshake with a logic analyzer, they still can't see what's in there. (Black-box, and Ford win). If I was on the design team that's what I'd do anyways. More complicated data could be put on external Roms, but as the internal Rom only needs to hold a checksum (and check it on boot), no one can edit anything without the ECU knowing. FYI I studied Computer Sys Eng so apologies if there's a lot of new terminology here... BK PS: The latest EVO Ecu is not cracked either, and looks pretty safe....

I've looked into this a bit- though info is a bit hard to come by. I do know that the premium screen switches input by messages on the CAN bus, which apparently can be accessed at the fuse panel. The trick will be to generate a CAN message to switch the screen to another input source (the one used by sat nav) and back. CAN is a not a simple interface, (multi-drop, with several car systems on it) so interfacing would need to be done with a dedicated CAN chip and a low end micro of some sort to generate messages. Then there is the video signal interface, which I've heard is _not_ composite but some R/G/B format with sync on Green. I wanted to add a PC under one of the seats and display to the ICC- using an infra-red remote to control an MP3 player - that plan is on hold till someone else makes a breakthrough or I get enthused and start pulling the dash out to play with it. (not too likely as I like driving it too much ) Later BK

Nice- and welcome aboard! BK

Yup- the Fairmont was a good car- climate control is about the only thing I miss (trip computer is fair better in the XR) I skipped the AU series (partly money, partly that it didn't work for me shapewise!) and couldn't be happier with the BA It's been said before, but "Can't get enough of this" BK

I plan on retaking the shot with a 4 meg digi cam (and a little more light)- I didn't have a tripod for the first one and took three goes to get it blur-free. (Full Manual mode, 1 second exposure time, no flash) The headlights from the other cars adds to it a bit I reckon - and no trace of the vehicles (nice feature of long-exposure photography) Melbournites will recognize it was taken on St Kilda rd near the barracks, all around there has the tree lighting, so I'll be looking for another spot on the w/end... BK PS: No comments on the plate?

Well, after quietly observing the board for a long time, disposing of my old ride (95 EF Fairmont) and waiting for my T to be built, I finally have it! All I can say is Wow- this is a truly well rounded car, and deserving of all the accolades it has received to date. Observations after 1000kms: - merging is much more enjoyable - actually, driving is more enjoyable! - economy is 15 l/100 (acceptable, 50/50 city/highway and running in) - brush up on your double clutching if planning to drive the manual on the limit Some photos for your enjoyment Team blueprint+=1 BK

Hmmm Noticed something interesting. Powerchip, as of last week, had the GOLD 98 kit for Xr6-T, showing 300Kw and 562Nm, with a price of $1490 The document has been updated (for reasons which the observant may notice!) and now reads TWO kits, being GOLD 98 Stage 1 and 2. Stage 1 is now 270Kw, 508Nm @ Price $1490 Stage 2 is now 300Kw, 562Nm @ Price $8500 <--- yipes Where did that extra $7010 come from? And for the same specs you could buy only last week for $1490? It looks like a rushed update- you'll notice the Price/Kw calculation is based on an extra 60Kw (300-240=60) and so must be referring to the new Stage 2 kit, but the dollar value they use is from the Stage 1 kit. If this is all true (and we assume the table is just not updated), why then is the kit so more expensive now, and what does it do differently for the extra $7010? Nothing to be seen on the graphs... Hopefully just a typo in the $$$ department. I have both documents, the original FOR0108.pdf and this weeks edition should anyone be interested. BK

Name: Brett Age: 26 Sex: Please (anyone seen this sprint car at Avalon? ) Occupation: Communication Engineer Location: Melb Current drive: EF Fairmont - shortly to be the big T Previous drive: Cortina 6cyl (and breifly a *cough* VN and HG) Married: Did I mention I'm an engineer? BK

My first ride was a 1982 Cortina, which I had when I was 18 (in '95). 6cyl 3.3 Ltr 4 Spd - solid ride that I never should have sold.... only ever needed a water pump, and gave so much more- 4 speeding tickets as I recall As soon as I had enough cash to get a loan, (read: no longer at uni full time!) I bought an EF Fairmont- (no chance of insurance for an xr6 with my history, ahem) Next on the list is the BA Turbo - Lease papers on my desk.... though I have to part with the EF first BK

I've played with this a bit now, and come up with the following figures- 0-100km/h 5.9 Standing 400m 14.28 @ 152 km/h with launch revs of 3200 Rpm Cd I've put as 0.35 (0.38 being a brick-like car, 0.32 teardrop shape) - doesn't make a huge difference to the 1/4 mile time Everything else is as published, 240kw @5250, 450Nm @3250 (average of 2000+4500) and 1644Kg Seems credible... BK