[MacchinaRossa]

Are there any computer programmers out there that have tried (or thought about) re-programming their transmission to override the automatic and install paddle shifters instead?

Reason I ask... my dad is a big car guy (he races vintage formula fords) and also has his ph.d in computer programming. We were just discussing the new Consumer Reports review of the Focus and were wondering about the transmission programming and what type of programming Ford uses.

Thanks for any thoughts! []

 

[DrkKnight614]

Posted via FF Mobile Im sure SCT could help and would love talking to you guys. Maybe you can even be their test focus.

 

[dman2056]

I can't say with certainty but I know that many car manufacturers use Freescale embedded microcontrollers/microprocessors in their vehicles. From what I've been told, they are pretty much the industry standard. With a quick google search I know Ford uses them to power Sync.

These little computers are usually programmed in C/C++ but occasionally you'll see stuff that has been written in Assembly for the instruction set. I don't know anything about the programming interface Ford uses, but I would imagine it would be a pretty significant undertaking to reverse engineer the transmission software. Not to mention that they may use the security features in the micros that are designed to hamper reverse engineering and unauthorized programming.

 

[mattlqx]

Uhhh, Sync and the ECU are very different beasts. Sync is just some random RISC-based integrated processor and the ECU is some proprietary system by Bosch or whomever.

You're not talking about programming if you want to get into the ECU, you're talking about hacking essentially since you have to by trail and error deconstruct the binary (and they're mostly encrypted these days) and figure out what the important values are to tweak. In any case, it's done by people that have a lot of experience in the area, not some random PHP or C coders on the intarwebs.

Rest assured though, somebody out there will release a flash tuner for the new Focus that will allow you to adjust precious few variables and give us an extra 10HP and people will fawn over it.

 

[cuke2u]

Hi, all current Ford cars, that I know of in the UK, have 'anti-tamper' ecu units, however they are now begining to be cracked by various companies that remap them so as to extract more performance from the engine...
Chris

 

[GhiaFan]

These are the people responsible for the set up on the Ford DPS6 Powershift
Ford Motor Company Transmission & Driveline Engineering
Page three of this pdf
http://www.wordsmithllc.org/uploads/Ford_Quarterly_Newsletters.pdf

Thing to remember is that the DPS6 has max torque limits of 177 - 200 ft/lb

http://www.dctfacts.com/industry-at-a-glance/getrag-adds-dry-clutch-dct.aspx
6DCT250 Transmission Specification
Max. Torque Capacity 240 - 280 Nm
Weight (dry) 72 -82 kg (incl. damper/DMF)
Installation Length 350 - 400 mm
Center Distance: Input shaft to differential 183 - 205 mm
Oil 1.7 - 1.9 l
Ratio 1st Gear 15 - 18.5
Ratio 6th Gear 2.1 - 4
Gear Ratio Spread max 7.2

 

[cuke2u]

Hi, that's strange as it seems you might have a different powershift gearbox to ours as the A6 in europe can handle the 2.0l diesel output of 250ft/lbs, or is this down to the differences in measurement between the US and the UK?
Chris

 

[Strix]

Hi, that's strange as it seems you might have a different powershift gearbox to ours as the A6 in europe can handle the 2.0l diesel output of 250ft/lbs, or is this down to the differences in measurement between the US and the UK?
Chris

I have read that the Euro Powershift has wet clutches, while the North American one uses dry clutches. Perhaps this is the reason for the difference in torque ratings.

 

[immaengineer]

hi, that's strange as it seems you might have a different powershift gearbox to ours as the a6 in europe can handle the 2.0l diesel output of 250ft/lbs, or is this down to the differences in measurement between the us and the uk?
Chris

a6???

 

[JSR84]

Torque ratings are just a number company's put out for liability reasons. GM rates their transmission torque limits based on highest torque engine they bolt up to that particular transmission. It dosnt mean your going to blow if up if you exceed that number. The only way to know for sure is for someone to reach the limits.

 

[Strix]

Torque ratings are just a number company's put out for liability reasons. GM rates their transmission torque limits based on highest torque engine they bolt up to that particular transmission. It dosnt mean your going to blow if up if you exceed that number. The only way to know for sure is for someone to reach the limits.

Yeah... it's just a number. I'm sure there was no math, engineering, or testing done to arrive at the number. It was just chosen for liability reasons. (rolls eyes)

It's just like the load capacity of an aircraft. The only way to know for sure how much an airplane can safely carry is to load it up, take off, and see if it crashes. </sarcasm>

 

[GhiaFan]

Hi, that's strange as it seems you might have a different powershift gearbox to ours as the A6 in europe can handle the 2.0l diesel output of 250ft/lbs, or is this down to the differences in measurement between the US and the UK?
Chris

Ford dry clutch 6DCT250 is being used in North America & Asian Fiesta and Focus only so far with max torque 206 ft.lb.
The wet clutch 6DCT450 & 6DCT470 are being used in Fords powertrains outside of North America, with max torque 334 ft.lb. -347 ft.lb.

Ford Powershift language
Dry clutch 6DCT250 is named DPS6
Wet clutch 6DCT450 is named MPS6
Wet clutch 6DCT470 is named SPS6

 

[JSR84]

Yeah... it's just a number. I'm sure there was no math, engineering, or testing done to arrive at the number. It was just chosen for liability reasons. (rolls eyes)

It's just like the load capacity of an aircraft. The only way to know for sure how much an airplane can safely carry is to load it up, take off, and see if it crashes. </sarcasm>

I think in this case there's probably some math involved, but then the final number is XXX-20%.

 

[Strix]

I think in this case there's probably some math involved, but then the final number is XXX-20%.

Yeah, there's usually some safety margin in there.

Sorry if I seemed snippy.

I can agree with you that the published numbers are often slightly (or wildly) inaccurate. But it's for various reasons, not just liability.

And the error can go either way... published numbers can be higher or lower than the actual values, depending on whether the manufacturer wants to show how awesome their product is with inflated numbers, or are trying to classify modifications as 'abuse' with a low-balled number.