[Diy_efi] RE: BMW Motronic 1.3 table editing?

Tue Oct 10 05:51:18 UTC 2006

Thank Chris,

I've done some poking around on this and know the following:

- Car's chip based, not flashed.  I actually have a nifty device called a 
ROMULATOR which will allow you to take a modified BIN file and simulate a 
ROM chip.  Nice setup - you and tinker with the BIN file and then load it up 
to the ROMULATOR and give it a try.
- I'm doing all this via a HEX editor; extremely crude to say the least. 
The Atlantis software offers some hope in giving you a good tool that will 
map out the tables and axis' to let you better visualize what you're working 
with.  Of course, to make it all work you need the table offsets in the 
chip.  While I have some of these - the idle table and WOT table, the ones I 
really need to tweek are the mid throttle timing and fuel maps. I'd love to 
find someone who's tried the Altantis tool and worked with my chip.  Seems 
like most of the dedicated amateur motronic hackers are Porsche guys.  Code 
line is similar it seems but the actual tables and placement are not.
- There is a group of tuners out there who've essentially disassembled the 
microcode in the BMW motronic ROM.  Jim Conforti, Mark D'Sylva, Dinan and 
others seem to have all figured how how to successfully mod the base tables.
- I think I've searched around on the posts in that old USENET group.  Jim C 
seemed to be pretty active at that time and outline some of the techniques 
he was using to break the code. If that group's still active I'd love to 
have the links to get the list.
- No one's offering a custom chip for my setup.  Cam's from an outfit called 
Metric Mechanic - a BMW specialty machine shop in Missouri.  Proprieter is 
Jim Rowe, a very nice and knowledge guy.  But, he's machinist at heart and 
not a tuner / EFI guy.

Any tips, pointers or others who've tackled this is most appreciated.

Jeff
90 BMW 535
86 Porsche 951

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris" <support at cad500parts.com>
To: <diy_efi at diy-efi.org>
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 2:47 PM
Subject: [Diy_efi] RE: BMW Motronic 1.3 table editing?

> Jeff -
> I was waiting for someone who knows better than me speak up, but I'll give
> the fuzzy memory a poke here...
> When I was at the dealership we had a guy in house that did that on the
> older cars with the EPROMS (pull it out and flash it). I'm not sure now as
> to exact model years, but I think the general rule is if you have the big
> screw on diagnostic connector, it is EEPROM, and factory tuning updates 
> are
> flashed through the diagnostic connector. If you have the small push on
> diagnostic connector, it is EPROM and factory updates are done via chip
> replacement. I also remember there being exceptions to that rule.
> There used to be a very active USENET group specifically for BMW EFI 
> modders
> - it is worth a look. The guys on the USENET group were talking about
> modifying a reset tool to use as a connector for flashing the EEPROM from 
> a
> laptop once upon a time, but it is probably better to just buy a cable, if
> not the software.
> I seem to remember Dinan being the king of the hill in that department 
> (ECM
> tuning software, connectors, and such), I'm sure a quick Google search 
> will
> get you there. At least you should be able to quickly ID what options are
> for your car based on what they offer.
> Last, but not least, the source for your camshaft may have a 
> pre-calibrated
> chip or a one-shot flasher for your setup.
>
> I know, not the answer you were looking for, but hopefully at least a 
> little
> help.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2006 09:51:46 -0700
> From: "JS Nord" <jsnord at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [Diy_efi] BMW Motronic 1.3 table editing?
> To: <diy_efi at diy-efi.org>
> Message-ID: <BAY108-DAV16445BE62F3B6A1EB9E133C1110 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=response
>
> Hello,
>
> New arriver to the list here.  Thanks for having me - great resource.
>
> My interest is in being able to modify the fuel and timing maps for used 
> in
> the BMW E34 535i, Bosch motronic version 1.3.  I'd like to be able to do 
> to
> help tune out a modified engine that includes a displacement increase and
> cam shaft change (no forced induction)
>
> I'm curious if anyone on the list has experiance in understanding the
> mapping structure associated with this version of Motronic.
>
> I'm also curious if anyone has experiance in using this tool from Atlantis
> software that seems to have the ability to edit the motronic tables
> http://www.atlantisconsultingllc.com/atlantis.php?page=Motronic%20Editor
> Best case would be someone who's used this tool on the BMW 1.3 motronic 
> and
> has the offsets for all the tables with some real world experiance on how
> well this tool works.
>
> Anyone have any thoughts on past discussions or projects in this area that
> might help me get started?
>
> Cheers!
>
> Jeff
> 90 BMW 535i
>
>
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