ZFuel

[mjr45]

No you're right I probably wouldn't cut any holes in any panels, but might look for a panel from a 77 or 78.

[superlen]

If I do place the connector there, I'll supply a template for cutting if someone so chooses. Really all that would be needed would be a hole. I'm not sure if there enough clearance to plug in the cable and have it turn before it hits the back of the panel if someone doesn't want to add a hole. As much as I dislike a pigtail cable coming out the back of the ECU, that may well still be the best solution.

Len

[FastWoman]

Lenny, would a DB25 connector on the shell hold up to the rigors of an automotive environment? That would be more civilized than a pigtail. Perhaps some sort of Molex connector would work better.

FAIW, anyone wanting to cut a hole in the kick panel should probably back it with some reinforcing material. I think the kick panels are ABS, and there's black ABS cement in the plumbing isle of your local hardware store. I've not tried it for repairing interior panels yet, so I can't report how well it works. But I bet it's the stuff to use.

[Pharaohabq]

I think I have a spare AFM to loan/give you. It was good when pulled a year or so ago before I started that VQ35 project. I believe it's in a box in my garage. I may be able to pick up a couple more "questionable" AFM's too, if consideration in the Hellfire Beta pool is possible ;-) If you PM me, I can send it to you.

I really like the OBD2 idea too, though you'll either need a pigtail out the Hellfire, or you'll need to repurpose more lines in the Engine bay. Wireless would be awesome, but that gets you away from the idea that a mechanic could just hook up to it with standard diags equipment. The Mechanic would not only have to know where the plug was, but wold have to expect to look for one. I think that'd be a little much to ask considering you're looking at USB connection for PC, and/or Bluetooth app. Putting something in for the off chance that a mechanic would be looking for it seems a little redundant. Yes it's be cool, but I don't think it should be a priority unless you're thinking of it as a selling point.

The Oil Temp was just an example. You're right, Fuel pressure would be much more awesome.

Another possibility which could add function is the idea of a Display/video out. Composite is probably best. This is because many after market car stereos have monitor screens in them. An aux input screen on your stereo could bring up the Hellfire Virtual Dash with RPM, mixture etc on it just for a system monitoring basis. That way you wouldn't necessarily have to even have a laptop in the car to monitor your engine. Screens could be changed via your phone or with a toggle button on your ECU. A lot of radios control CD/DVD decks now, possibly you could control the Hellfire through your Stereo using the same protocol. That would likely take some research to see what's standard.

It would be integration of modern systems, but still using the OEM plugs and harnesses. I want to put my other Z on a MAP based system so I wouldn't need the AFM anyway.

[superlen]

Lenny, would a DB25 connector on the shell hold up to the rigors of an automotive environment? That would be more civilized than a pigtail. Perhaps some sort of Molex connector would work better.

Sarah,

The pigtail will be a USB Female B connector like this:

I envision just having a short 10" or so cable that comes out of the ECU and normally just tucks away behind the kick panel. When you want to connect to the laptop, you just fish it out and then plug a normal USB A - B cable from your laptop to it. When you're done, just stuff the 10" pigtail back behind the panel.

[superlen]

Phar,

Thanks for the offer on the AFM. I actually have a lead on 15 local as well as some ecus, so hopefully that will get me set up with a few to test, but the more I have the better chance I have at finding the "uh ohs" that we didn't plan for. I'll PM you.

The CAN bus is mostly just for me to play around with CAN some more. At my company we build a product that uses CAN now, but we are using an interface chipset, not using our own internal CAN firmware. I was just going to use the HellFire as a good test bench for that. I agree with you for our cars, it's probably not going to be way useful or even a great selling point. In the future that might change though.

The Virtual dash is something I have thought about and from my limited research, the people who are in to that sort of thing are just running small embedded pcs in the car. Given that, my HellTune GUI would just run native on it & they could just configure up their own person virtual dash through it as well as have access to all the other features. I think this would be way cool and is what I have earmarked for my own personal Z.

BTW, I just downloaded the upgrade to my development system today that allows me to create IOS and Android native apps. I don't know when I'll have time to play with it though.

Thanks again for the offer on the AFM and the great feedback.

Lenny

[FastWoman]

Lenny, apparently my mind had gone somewhere else. Inexplicably, I thought you were proposing a pigtail for the additional I/O lines, not for the USB link. In the words of Emily Litella, "Never mind."

[rossiz]

i've been up for the last 2 hrs. reading this thread from the very beginning - LOVE IT! i'm a very old school guy when it comes to engine management, even been known to yank all electronics and retrofit carbs, simply because i have a clue with them and don't with efi... but this sounds great - right on the money. i have a '78 that i've been restoring for the past few months and now that it's on the road and i've replaced all the hoses, wires and sensors, i'm dealing with the "dreaded hot-start issue". so i would be happy as can be to have something like the HellFire to tune past these voodoo demons that make a fool of me in the grocery store parking lot after the car sits for 10 min!!

keep up the good work - watching with great interest.