I used a Motion Computing M1400 for both MegaSquirt on various cars and the AccessPort on the RX8. Pentium M running Windows XP Tablet. It worked great, both for tuning, OBDII interfacing, service manual display, DAQ data capture, and more. The only think I had an issue with was the digitizer being oversensitive (it was an old inductive touch-screen, so needed a special pen). So I wouldn't worry about it - the OBDII connection is effectively RS232, with CAN being a little faster but not much.

 

I take it we can expect some amazing documentation of after results from you

 

Well, documentation in the way of chronicling events, sure.

And results are going to be subjective, like, "OMG! This is amazing!" Or the flip side of that will be a half-hearted "Meh." We'll see.


[edit]

It was neither of those extremes, but still money well spent.

 

You know, data logging is going to be a PITA with this cable hanging right next to my left leg.

Suddenly I see the added value opting for the Bluetooth Connector.

 

I've got my wife's old laptop dug out of the attic. Booted it up, seems to function, although quite slowly. It has Windows Vista Home Premium installed.

Downloaded the software installer, which really isn't the "install program" per se. It's the pre-install downloader, if that makes sense. And in order for it to work, you need to have the Cable and USB key plugged in. So... OK. I took the laptop out to the garage, and launched the pre-installer program. That asked me to plug in the ECU cable, which I did. It found it, then asked me to plug in the USB key, which I did. The software preceded to download and run the installation files and drivers and whatnot.



Everything seemed to be going fine, except at the very end when it tried to launch the ProECU software. At that point it failed, with an endless loop of the same error message and no way to end the program except to kill the process tree. Lovely.



Lesson 1: Windows Vista just isn't compatible. That's a problem, but I shouldn't be surprised. Vista is super old.

Lesson 2: This old laptop won't charge above 50%, and when disconnected from the wall it will only run on battery for 15 minutes. That's also a problem.

Hmm. This kind of sucks. Now I have to scramble for hardware.

 

I guess you run Mac OS if you don't have a computer running Windows 10

 

Yup, Bootcamp is what I'm using.

 

Those gears are also on my list!! Probably after 2 piece rotors and clutch + flywheel. I know how much gears make a difference. On my RSX-S, I installed 5.062 gears and the stock was a 4.3. It was by far my favorite mod and I know it will be on the G too. Really really looking forward to that time.

 

Goodwill down here sells relatively recent laptops with a valid Win10 license for $50-150. They're also my go-to for monitors.

Guess if it isn't WinXP, Win7, or Win10 don't bother LOL.

 

If I had looked before leaping, I would have known up front that Windows Vista is not supported by EcuTek:

https://www.ecutek.com/os-end-of-support

Totally reasonable. I mean, the OS is super old. This ACER laptop is super old. I get it.

So this morning I downloaded a Windows 7 ISO image, burned it to a DVD, and tried upgrading. Well, the upgrade failed, LOL Not too surprised, though, so I started over as a clean installation. And that actually worked! Now this old laptop is running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Pretty snappy, too, which is a pleasant surprise. Then I went through Phone Activation with Microsoft, and was shocked again to discover that worked. Next up is to try and start the EcuTek ProECU installation all over again. Fingers crossed, LOL.


[edit]

No wait, I found a second laptop battery, and this one seems to hold a charge a little longer. Well that was another pleasant surprise! I still might buy an inverter, though. Anyway, starting to feel optimistic again.


[edit]

If you're using a laptop for data logging, and the battery won't survive hours of logging time, then just buy a power inverter and plug it in. Pretty simple solution.

 

With the laptop reborn with a clean install of Windows 7, I tried to install the software while sitting in the car.

Why Windows 7 Home Premium? Seemed the safest choice when installing the Windows OS on a laptop originally built for Vista. Plus, EcuTek still claims support for Windows 7, so there's that. I really should have researched this requirement more thoroughly. But honestly, I was never going to use this old laptop. I was very loosely planning on using my work laptop, until someone rightly pointed out how much that would be frowned upon if audited. Realizing the obvious, and with some humility about that, I remembered that my wife's old laptop was in the attic.

Anyway, enough of that nonsense, and... Success!




The running software itself is kind of awkward. Just a floating, horizontal menu. What a goofy design.

Observe the obvious "no soup for you" areas in red. I suspect this is what you get until you purchase a license. Anyone want to confirm that for me, please?




If I hit "F1", it brings up an info screen:



Note the License Key and Registration Code values. I believe that's the info you need to provide when purchasing the license. Which, as I mentioned up top, is something you can do through Visconti Tuning entirely through their website, or you could get it when making arrangements with your remote tuner. So this time next month, I'll reach out to AdminTuning and make arrangements for a stand-alone purchase, in prep for a tune in May. If that doesn't fly, here's the link for John Visconti's site. Oh and by the way, I emailed him and he replied (immediately, too, which was impressive) that the 370Z license and the G37 license are one in the same.

https://www.viscontituning.com/produ...=9533306077236

 

That's correct. Those boxes will turn green once you plug in the license dongle and you can select Tools > detect ecu or program ecu I think. And you'll probably have to do some software / firmware updates.

 

"plug in the license dongle"? The dongle that came with the cable was plugged in for the download & install.

Are you saying the purchased license comes physically on another USB key? I was under the impression it was all just data files at this point.

 

The license just has to be activated or applied to the USB I think, if you haven't purchased one yet?

Or just plug your laptop into your ECU adapter under your dash and it might light up those boxes green then , and turn your ignition ON (2 clicks)

 

You're asking me? I don't know, backman. The OBD cable was connected, along with the USB key that came with the kit. No, I haven't purchased the license yet. Not buying the license until March.

Baby steps, prep and budget. At this point I have the Kit (cable and usb key), with the software successfully installed on a dedicated laptop, and am in position to buy the license.