I've just been given a free CD with the full VAG-com on it, copied of course but fully working and cracked along with a few other programs. This is a usefull thing to be given as I can tweek bits on the VRS now, all I need is a lead but I will make one of them myself. Trouble is my mate who gave me them also offered me some German software that enables the user to re-write their own ecu:eek: He has used but advised me to be sure of what I do before touching anything and on my head be it if anything goes wrong....

So I am tempting fate here and allready comdeming my engine to 1000 fun miles before terminal failure, or should I just go carefull and see what happens????

I suppose if i developed my own map based upon other sucessfull ones, there should be no problem.

Can you afford to bu99er up your car? If you can then go for it ... otherwise leave well alone. Also not sure it's wise to discuss cracked software!

Chris

Just look at all the posts on here about unsuccessful remaps from supposedly trained and experienced companies, and then decide whether you as a novice want to have a go...

Don't wish to put a downer on you, but it's not like pi$$ing about with the registry on your PC where the worst that can happen is you need to do a clean install...

Without being rude flash programming is very simple and you can always recover from it *assuming you make a backup of the ECU image*.

Of course if you get the values wrong you would toast your engine and destroy it.

Now if you were to find a car the same as yours that had been mapped and read the ECU and then buy a spare ECU for your car from a breakers and put it on that....

Of course using any of this software and doing such a thing might be illegal.

Of course if you get the values wrong you would toast your engine and destroy it.

That was more what I was getting at - sure if you messed it up but didn't drive it, you could always reinstall the backup...

If you do go down this route make sure you double check all the connection, your laptop has plenty of juice and also your battery has a stable voltage. Any issues and you can lock your ecu which requires the pro's.

Other than that if you are willing to play then go ahead.

Thats what worries me obviously, ruining something and not being able to fix it, although the idea of practising on another ECU is appealling.

I do have some sort of knowledge otherwise I wouldn't even consider it, but have actually never written my own map, I think I would be wise to studier others first before diving in.

The beauty of it would be though I could make many small changes untill it was right, and would be able to constantly tinker with it, making only small changes to minimize any suprises, if that makes sense.

I was told by someone that a obd cable alone won't write to the map section of your ecu. You need something like a byteshooter(£3-5k) in the middle to write to that section . Vagcom alone just writes to the convience module allowing you to setup cruise and locks etc but not re-mapping the car.

He may have been talking out his **** and your may work though

Byteshooter obd ecu programming

One of these is what he meant

mmm, thats an interesting and beleivable theory I suppose. I am going a beer with my mate now so I will ask.

I wouldnt trust an ebay style map. You have no real idea what the map is going to do to the car.

I have a very expensive peice OBD Flash Equipment, and having used other equipment that scared the living daylights out of me, as there would be no back up if it went wrong.

However, I am a business, you would be doing it to your own car.

To write your own maps you would need some very expensive software to enable changes, but alot of files are coded to stop others looking into it.

For the sake of saving yourself £200, you'd be best off letting a proper company do it.

Plus you'd need other equipment to do the mapping, not just a lead.

You can buy writers off ebay but they are illegal clones made in China using cheap parts and are more likey to fail plus you wont get any support of the seller unlike the real thing.

You can buy writers off ebay but they are illegal clones made in China using cheap parts and are more likey to fail plus you wont get any support of the seller unlike the real thing.

Oh yes.

This doesnt touch newer cars, and has been known to crash and damage ecu's.

The replys are getting less positive now, but very much appriciated none the less.

Angry Dog - Is this kind of thing your busnisess then?

The writter is not an ebay special, but I dont have the name of the software as yet. I shall find out as soon as possible. I think I would rather use a spare ecu incase of failure though.

The replys are getting less positive now

Nah Just plug it in a whack the boost up to 30psi

It will be fine!!!!!

Disclaimer. I have no knowledge of ecu tuning, all advice to be treated as ******

Nah Just plug it in a whack the boost up to 30psi

It will be fine!!!!!

Disclaimer. I have no knowledge of ecu tuning, all advice to be treated as ******

Hi Sri5,

yes it is, I am awaiting for confirmation from John D as to when I can start trading on here

Are the keys coded to an ecu?

Also, ECU's have different vin numbers and ecu numbers, so therefore you may be putting an older revised file on, with the wrong vin number and ecu number.

its your car and your call.

To write your own maps you would need some very expensive software to enable changes, but alot of files are coded to stop others looking into it.

I'm not sure that's true and it's perfectly feasible to be able to disassemble the contents of an ECU yourself. The reason why the software is so expensive is because it takes skill and time to do this.

Disassemble a Bosch ME7.5.5 with IDA Pro makes interesting reading....

The data itself is just bits held on some rewritable memory so if you knew which bits needed changing you could do it directly easily enough with an EPROM writer

Chris

I'm not sure that's true and it's perfectly feasible to be able to disassemble the contents of an ECU yourself. The reason why the software is so expensive is because it takes skill and time to do this.

Disassemble a Bosch ME7.5.5 with IDA Pro makes interesting reading....

The data itself is just bits held on some rewritable memory so if you knew which bits needed changing you could do it directly easily enough with an EPROM writer

Chris

When i say coded, people who use Byteshooter etc when they download the file from the ecu, it encodes the file so you cant read it.

When i say coded, people who use Byteshooter etc when they download the file from the ecu, it encodes the file so you cant read it.

You can read any data - it's just bits

Chris

If you do go down this route make sure you double check all the connection, your laptop has plenty of juice and also your battery has a stable voltage. Any issues and you can lock your ecu which requires the pro's.

Other than that if you are willing to play then go ahead.

I was told by someone that a obd cable alone won't write to the map section of your ecu. You need something like a byteshooter(£3-5k) in the middle to write to that section . Vagcom alone just writes to the convience module allowing you to setup cruise and locks etc but not re-mapping the car.

He may have been talking out his **** and your may work though

You can read any data - it's just bits

Chris

The data in an cars ECU is just stored in an EEPROM, it is nothing special you can write it over a "byte blaster" or similar port and the tools do not cost £1000's.

In fact i looked at getting another one a few months back for work and it cost under a hundred pounds for this one. The software isn't hard and there is also plenty available out there. If you use the full on software dev suit that costs thousands.

I love the way that some of the ECU mappers make out that is it something really hard. It is a doddle to programme an EEPROM and if it goes wrong you just do an erase and a program again.

Knowing what values to put in there is what takes the skill.

The data in an cars ECU is just stored in an EEPROM, it is nothing special you can write it over a "byte blaster" or similar port and the tools do not cost £1000's.

In fact i looked at getting another one a few months back for work and it cost under a hundred pounds for this one. The software isn't hard and there is also plenty available out there. If you use the full on software dev suit that costs thousands.

I love the way that some of the ECU mappers make out that is it something really hard. It is a doddle to programme an EEPROM and if it goes wrong you just do an erase and a program again.

Knowing what values to put in there is what takes the skill.

I completely agree the skill is in the creating of the map itself!

I have never maintained the actually flashing is hard or taxing, but then this reflects in the prices I charge as well. I wouldnt be able to sleep at night with some of the prices i've seen bandied about!

IMHO £500 a time for what is a map created by a major company that will be sold millions of times and can be programmed inside of 30 minutes would be an excessive amount.

The "map" will just be a set of tweaked values in the EEPROM and will not have taken a man year to develop each.

So add some R&D overheads and say what 20-30k to develop a map one off. For the VAG engines that doesn't take many programmes to return costs to somebody like CC/Revo etc.

Bearing in mind how many cars are out there you can see why these places make a good profit. Not that I'm saying they shouldn't make a good profit, just that it won't cost anything like £500 to map a car more like £150 including the time of a guy with a laptop and a building.

If the man in a van types charge £500 then well, i don't think i need to really say what i think of that.

mmm,I really hope this software is very clever!!

Regards the ecu changing comment, the keys etc will need recoding but I now have the vag com to address this and other faults.

IMHO £500 a time for what is a map created by a major company that will be sold millions of times and can be programmed inside of 30 minutes would be an excessive amount.

The "map" will just be a set of tweaked values in the EEPROM and will not have taken a man year to develop each.

So add some R&D overheads and say what 20-30k to develop a map one off. For the VAG engines that doesn't take many programmes to return costs to somebody like CC/Revo etc.

Bearing in mind how many cars are out there you can see why these places make a good profit. Not that I'm saying they shouldn't make a good profit, just that it won't cost anything like £500 to map a car more like £150 including the time of a guy with a laptop and a building.

If the man in a van types charge £500 then well, i don't think i need to really say what i think of that.

Exactly.

Which is why I dont charge anywhere near £500 for mine, especially as mine are generic ones.