S6GP CAN + BMW E46

[Mr. Y]

Hello guys.
A frind of mine is swapping 2JZ-GTE VVTi into his E46 ('01 325xi).
We want to keep as much OEM functionality as possible.
Will S6 GP suit our needs? No problems with 2JZ (been there, done that), but what about CAN communications?

Will S6 be able to switch A/C relay from CAN data (from climate ECU)?
Will S6 output necessary parameters (RPMs, engine temp, etc) to make Dash work and be climate ECU happy?
Will S6 read wheelspeed from CAN for traction control?

Thank you!

PS: some info on E46 CAN here:
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/sh ... 84882.html

[pat]

The S6GP will be able to run the 2JZ engine in the E46, but it does not have a built in CAN bridge - there is an external one available so you could use that, but it is not quite as tidy as using an S6GPPlus since that has the CAN bridge as part of the box

If the A/C is demanded via a CAN message then it will be possible to get that message sent - it is only really a question of coding that into the GPPlus. IIRC this is the way it is done on some other vehicle so there's nothing really new here.

The ECU will output pretty much any parameter that you might need - rpm is part of the default datastream anyway. It is then just a case of sending this information, in the correct CAN frames, on the OEM bus, to keep the dash happy. Fortunately, we're reasonably proficient at figuring this sort of thing out

The S6GPPlus already reads individual wheels speeds from ABS CAN messages on a number of vehicles, so again it should be fairly trivial for this to be done on the E46.

Hope this helps,

Pat.

[Mr. Y]

Thank you very much, Pat.

Can't you elaborate a little more on CAN bridge, please? Where to get and how much does it cost? I thought S6 has built-in CAN (I've used S6 with I/O expander recently)...
S6plus will be a little overkill, we're on a budget.

A/C on/off command is send via CAN from climate ECU. Engine ECU must turn a/c compressor relay according to it. So it's just like a/c request switch (from 'software' button via CAN).

[pat]

Can't you elaborate a little more on CAN bridge, please?

The unit I am referring to, which we call "TinyCANBridge" (or TCB) is what we have been using for a number of years prior to the introduction of the S6GPPlus for the purposes of vehicle integration - all S8 and S12 based kits still use this unit, but the GPPlus based kits normally don't need one (or more) given that we normally only need to get to the OEM Powertrain bus.

Where to get and how much does it cost?

We sell this unit as part of kits, but it can also be sold with custom firmware for other uses. I'll need to check regarding pricing - in a way it is actually an IP delivery platform more than a piece of generic hardware so the unit cost tends to reflect the IP in it rather than the cost of the bare hardware. In this case the IP would be E46 integration.

I thought S6 has built-in CAN (I've used S6 with I/O expander recently)...

Agreed, the S6 does have built in CAN - but there is no vehicle specific code in the S6 firmware* - it would not make sense to waste firmware space by supporting numerous different dialects for the various cars and only ever having at most one of those enabled at any one time, nor does it make sense to have twenty different firmware versions for the S6, ALL with the same version number, differing only in which vehicle protocol is included. It is more effective to put the vehicle integration elsewhere. This has the added advantage of not breaking things badly when the OEM bus wants to be running at a different speed to an S6 running CustomCAN telemetry or indeed having an I/O expander on there.

*- There is actually some support for a Lotus CAN protocol that is really trivial and takes up about 3 bytes of firmware

S6plus will be a little overkill, we're on a budget.

That being the case, the TCB would be the most cost effective option.

A/C on/off command is send via CAN from climate ECU. Engine ECU must turn a/c compressor relay according to it. So it's just like a/c request switch (from 'software' button via CAN).

That sounds quite trivial then. Should be pretty easy to sort out

Cheers,

Pat.

[Mr. Y]

Thanks a lot for explanation!
We haven't decided yet: go S6+ (and get more features like 2-channel knock control, built-in DBW driver, etc) or go S6GP (and deal with some external boxes DBW, CAN).

Very glad to hear that you're open to customer's needs and ready to sort out some not-so-popular features

[Ryan.g]

Syvecs Actually sell a Kit for the E46 S54 which has all the Canbus R&D done for the full car. You could purchase a s6plus with this code loaded and then just buy a syvecs 2jz loom adaptor