Dealer Logs Performance???
04-15-2006, 01:23 AM
#1
2nd Gear Member
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Posts: 213
Dealer Logs Performance???
Hey all....new here....as they say long time reader, first time [poster]. So I was reading a post about the Span Oak...and that it adapts to your style of driving....and that it records things such as rpm, speed, and such, and the dealer can look at this in case of a blown motor to see if you were running it hard. Could they void the warranty if you were to blow the motor...stock...just because you were running it hard?? I'm kinda pissed about the fact that the Span Oak adapts too....that it can possibly lessen the performance of the car if you drive it easy...that just plain out sucks, because I drive it nice most of the time to get good gas mileage, but I want all 300 horses there when i mash on it....not 295 or 290 (Im not talkin rwhp, Im talkin about a stock GT, and its 300 hp.). Thanks, please comment I want to know your thoughts....
Cory
Cory
04-15-2006, 11:31 AM
#2
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Nashville Tn
Posts: 1,644
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
Simple fix if you do not have a tuner. Just disconnect the battery to clear all of the memories in the processor which also clears all of the learned memories and sets it back to the way it was originally. If you have a tuner, just reload your tune.
04-15-2006, 01:12 PM
#3
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RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
Awesome MusiccityGt, thanks for the quick reply. Nope....I don't have a tuner, so I guess I'm gonna have to disconnect the battery every once and a while to get rid of the Span Oak's evil ways (for a while). Would diconnecting the battery also clear say, the last time you ran it to 140 or so??? Just wondering, because I saw on another thread that the processor would keep track of things like that....I just didn't want to hijack the other thread....
Cory
Cory
04-15-2006, 10:30 PM
#5
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Join Date: Aug 2005
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Posts: 454
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
Okay boys and girls,
Time to explain a little something about computers....Just because you remove the power does not mean you wipe the memory. If this was the case then if you disconnected your battery then your car would never start again. Same as if you put a tune on the car and removed the battery, it would be gone. These types of computers have been gone since the 80's. Just like your home computer, which always knows what time it is still, no matter what. There are things in the world called CMOS, ROM, and BIOS. All of these are permenent rewriteable memory. So, unless you know for sure that there is no little tiny battery anywhere in the computer hardware, then it is possible that somewhere deep down in the computer is information that you can neither read, retrieve, or erase. I'm willing to bet that the Spanish Oak computer is just like 90% of new car computers and has some memory that stores some information. Now the question becomes "what information". That is still unknown, and I say unknown because everybody seems to have a different speculation as to what is stored. But dealers do have the hard part of trying to "void" a warranty. Basically if the car is stock and the engine blows then Ford buys a new one...if it is modified, you may have some work to do to combat anything that they said "caused" the problem.
Do we understand now?
Time to explain a little something about computers....Just because you remove the power does not mean you wipe the memory. If this was the case then if you disconnected your battery then your car would never start again. Same as if you put a tune on the car and removed the battery, it would be gone. These types of computers have been gone since the 80's. Just like your home computer, which always knows what time it is still, no matter what. There are things in the world called CMOS, ROM, and BIOS. All of these are permenent rewriteable memory. So, unless you know for sure that there is no little tiny battery anywhere in the computer hardware, then it is possible that somewhere deep down in the computer is information that you can neither read, retrieve, or erase. I'm willing to bet that the Spanish Oak computer is just like 90% of new car computers and has some memory that stores some information. Now the question becomes "what information". That is still unknown, and I say unknown because everybody seems to have a different speculation as to what is stored. But dealers do have the hard part of trying to "void" a warranty. Basically if the car is stock and the engine blows then Ford buys a new one...if it is modified, you may have some work to do to combat anything that they said "caused" the problem.
Do we understand now?
04-15-2006, 10:41 PM
#6
Retired MF Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: I live in Canada, eh
Posts: 7,156
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
ORIGINAL: ponyman
Okay boys and girls,
Time to explain a little something about computers....Just because you remove the power does not mean you wipe the memory. If this was the case then if you disconnected your battery then your car would never start again. Same as if you put a tune on the car and removed the battery, it would be gone. These types of computers have been gone since the 80's. Just like your home computer, which always knows what time it is still, no matter what. There are things in the world called CMOS, ROM, and BIOS. All of these are permenent rewriteable memory. So, unless you know for sure that there is no little tiny battery anywhere in the computer hardware, then it is possible that somewhere deep down in the computer is information that you can neither read, retrieve, or erase. I'm willing to bet that the Spanish Oak computer is just like 90% of new car computers and has some memory that stores some information. Now the question becomes "what information". That is still unknown, and I say unknown because everybody seems to have a different speculation as to what is stored. But dealers do have the hard part of trying to "void" a warranty. Basically if the car is stock and the engine blows then Ford buys a new one...if it is modified, you may have some work to do to combat anything that they said "caused" the problem.
Do we understand now?
Okay boys and girls,
Time to explain a little something about computers....Just because you remove the power does not mean you wipe the memory. If this was the case then if you disconnected your battery then your car would never start again. Same as if you put a tune on the car and removed the battery, it would be gone. These types of computers have been gone since the 80's. Just like your home computer, which always knows what time it is still, no matter what. There are things in the world called CMOS, ROM, and BIOS. All of these are permenent rewriteable memory. So, unless you know for sure that there is no little tiny battery anywhere in the computer hardware, then it is possible that somewhere deep down in the computer is information that you can neither read, retrieve, or erase. I'm willing to bet that the Spanish Oak computer is just like 90% of new car computers and has some memory that stores some information. Now the question becomes "what information". That is still unknown, and I say unknown because everybody seems to have a different speculation as to what is stored. But dealers do have the hard part of trying to "void" a warranty. Basically if the car is stock and the engine blows then Ford buys a new one...if it is modified, you may have some work to do to combat anything that they said "caused" the problem.
Do we understand now?
04-16-2006, 07:06 AM
#7
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location:
Posts: 21
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
No, because the computer is designed to be able to supply that information in case of needing crash data analysis. After a good crash, the battery is normally destroyed but the "black box" will still store all of the information. Believe me, the car manufacturers didn't put this technology on these cars for your good, it is for theirs. That way, when you sue after crashing because of "faulty brakes" they can look and see you were going 140 and never touched the brakes.
ORIGINAL: TexStang06
Would diconnecting the battery also clear say, the last time you ran it to 140 or so??? Just wondering, because I saw on another thread that the processor would keep track of things like that....I just didn't want to hijack the other thread....
Cory
Would diconnecting the battery also clear say, the last time you ran it to 140 or so??? Just wondering, because I saw on another thread that the processor would keep track of things like that....I just didn't want to hijack the other thread....
Cory
04-16-2006, 12:06 PM
#8
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 227
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
When are one of these california computer gurus going to figure out the auto computers and produce all the little piggyback chips and such that can wipe these things out? Maybe if those "Geek Squad" guys had new Mustangs to drive, instead of VW beetles.
04-16-2006, 04:14 PM
#9
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location:
Posts: 737
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
I'm hoping to go one better someday- lose the thing altogether and replace it with an aromat(panasonic) PLC and touchscreen...I know a guy that worked with oem processor logic, he said he'd try to get me some old source code to look at, just to get a feel for whats needed, then convert to ladder format, modify freely...I think the touchscreen would be cool to select efficiency/power, etc...
if not for the drivebywire, theres some aftermarket stuff out there too- look at www.megasquirt.org for a cool little aftermarket controller (um, not megasquirt.net- I couldnt recall the name at first, but that was not it!)
if not for the drivebywire, theres some aftermarket stuff out there too- look at www.megasquirt.org for a cool little aftermarket controller (um, not megasquirt.net- I couldnt recall the name at first, but that was not it!)
04-16-2006, 04:39 PM
#10
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Nor Cal
Posts: 2,179
RE: Dealer Logs Performance???
ORIGINAL: k9eros
No, because the computer is designed to be able to supply that information in case of needing crash data analysis. After a good crash, the battery is normally destroyed but the "black box" will still store all of the information. Believe me, the car manufacturers didn't put this technology on these cars for your good, it is for theirs. That way, when you sue after crashing because of "faulty brakes" they can look and see you were going 140 and never touched the brakes.
No, because the computer is designed to be able to supply that information in case of needing crash data analysis. After a good crash, the battery is normally destroyed but the "black box" will still store all of the information. Believe me, the car manufacturers didn't put this technology on these cars for your good, it is for theirs. That way, when you sue after crashing because of "faulty brakes" they can look and see you were going 140 and never touched the brakes.
ORIGINAL: TexStang06
Would diconnecting the battery also clear say, the last time you ran it to 140 or so??? Just wondering, because I saw on another thread that the processor would keep track of things like that....I just didn't want to hijack the other thread....
Cory
Would diconnecting the battery also clear say, the last time you ran it to 140 or so??? Just wondering, because I saw on another thread that the processor would keep track of things like that....I just didn't want to hijack the other thread....
Cory
The ECM that controls engine functions is seperate from the Black Box. The Black Box also only records data for about a 30 second time frame and then loops and start over. It does not keep track of all your driving. That is to much datat to be stored.
Richard.