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Thread: northstar software

  1. #41
    HP Tuners Owner Keith@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cadillacetc1997
    great job on getting back to us...
    obviously you cant do it and rather than fess up you ignore it...
    lol.

    Not even going to bother looking at the 96-99 northstar now.

    That ECM's goin in storage.
    We got this guy Not Sure, ...

  2. #42
    HP Tuners Sales Jay@HPTuners's Avatar
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    If you are interested in hearing why we haven't been able to handle the development of certain applications, including the older Northstar, I would like an opportunity to explain.

    It's a lengthy process to develop the product, that can take months for something that we are familiar with, or years for something new. It's this commitment of manpower and money that is the reason that we are not able to offer coverage for less popular applications as quickly as we can for those that there is greater demand. It's not that we don't care about making these cars and trucks go faster, we do. But if we invest the time and money into an application, we need to be certain that the sales will be there so that we can fund the development of the next application. Once there are enough applications bringing in enough sales, that money can be invested in more employees so that we can develop more products, offer better customer service, and offer you more tools to make more cars go faster!

    I would like to give you an idea of the process that must be gone through to develop the product and will try to do so in non-technical terms:

    1 Purchase the vehicle computers (or the vehicle if necessary) for a given application-keep in mind, this is done after we know what computers are in what vehicle etc. This alone can take a significant amount of time.

    2 Design hardware that will communicate with the computer.

    3 Electronically break into the computer by cracking the electronic security combination. This may be destructive, and we may "blow up" several computers. Some of these cost over 1000 each, and others just plain aren't available-which will cause development delays. To estimate how much time spent here is next to impossible as there must be a "breakthrough". It's the aha! moment, and figuring out when that will be isn't possible. There isn't much development that can proceed until this step is overcome.

    4 Figure out how to read the computer-similar issue to number 3.

    5 Figure out how to write to the computer-similar issue to number 3.

    6 Read as many computers as possible to get as many operating systems as possible. This is usually the first beta test stage. We don't know how many Operating Systems need to be supported until we are completed with this step.

    7 Reverse Engineer each individual Operating System. We need to figure out where the tables are, and what each table does, as well as where each switch is etc. This can take 1 to 6 months per operating system. Usually, once the first one is figured out, the next ones are easy for the same processor.

    8 Determine what PIDS are available for scanning, how we need to acquire them etc.

    9 Write the software to handle the information that we have discovered.

    10 Beta Test

    11 Fix Bugs

    12 Release

    That's our twelve step program! Please keep in mind, this needs to be done with every new computer processor, and we are dealing with at least 4 or 5 different computer processors for the Dodge products for 2001-2007.

    Also, We may find something in step 10, that brings us back to step 3, 4, or 5. Further, if we are not thorough enough and release a product that is somewhat functional, but not ready, our customers may end up with a vehicle with a bombed computer, etc. Therefore we cannot release a partially tested product, regardless of the demand. One customer stranded with a failed product is too many!

    In regard to not seeing speedy replies to requests such as this, when Ken, Keith, or Chris, are responding on the forum, they are not working on the development of new applications! Which slows everything down for us. The natural response is, well, hire more people!

    We do realize that you still want the support, and we are hiring more staff to work on many different projects. For competitive reasons, we will not list what we are working on, and what our specific priorities are, but we do care about everyone that cares about their car, and hope that at some point we can help you make your car go faster.
    Jay
    HP Tuners


    1967 Camaro, 2005 LS6, T56-under construction

  3. #43
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    i dont doubt its long and lengthy
    but for several weeks we have been waiting to hear anything and nothing has been said
    heck for me, im not really affected i have the ONLY prototype chip ever build by JET chips for my 97 ETC, its the fastest NA, non notorious ETC period, im trying to keep this thread alive for everyone else because i know very well the power that these engines actually hold
    and if you doubt me on my prototype chip i can provide pictures and vids...

  4. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by Keith@HPTuners
    lol.

    Not even going to bother looking at the 96-99 northstar now.

    That ECM's goin in storage.
    going into storage because you cant hack it, thats why, heck if hypertech couldnt do it and JET waisted thousands in attempts to do it in partnership with XMS racing to develop a supercharger for our cars and FAILED who is anyone to think that you guys could do it. I am the only one who bares fruit from XMS and JETS wasted time and funds, the prototype chip.

  5. #45
    Senior Tuner eficalibrator's Avatar
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    What you're showing here is NOT a reprogrammed ECU. That's basically just a piggyback signal intercepting module that shifts the ECU's inputs/outputs. It's absolutely childs' play comared to what the guys at HPTuners do with their software package.

    Merely shifting the injector outputs by 2% leaner via an outboard device is waaaaaayyyy simpler than getting access to the ECU, finding the table, correcting to the proper units, rewriting the table, and flashing the new data to the ECU. If an when the HPTuners solution is released for this car, the capabilities for it will be so far beyond that joke of a "chip" you show above there will be no real comparison.

    This stuff isn't easy to do right. If it was, everyone would be doing it five years ago.

  6. #46
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    thats my exact point
    JET couldnt hack the PCM, the best they could come up with is that chip which only modifies shift points and modified the fuel/air curve SLIGHTLY it doesnt remove the speed limiter (which for me isnt a problem my ETC is a factory Z rated car without a governor), im looking for more but hey as it stands im happy with that chip its the best thing we have currently and i paid about a grand for it, so i dont bullshit when i say im willing to pay to play....

  7. #47
    HP Tuners Sales Jay@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cadillacetc1997
    going into storage because you cant hack it, thats why, heck if hypertech couldnt do it and JET waisted thousands in attempts to do it in partnership with XMS racing to develop a supercharger for our cars and FAILED who is anyone to think that you guys could do it. I am the only one who bares fruit from XMS and JETS wasted time and funds, the prototype chip.

    I am more than confident that HP Tuners possesses the capabilities of developing a product for this application and I am very proud to be a part of the team! I am also familiar with the capabilities of Hypertech, Jet, and others. The issue is that there are other projects that are consuming their resources right now.

    I am sorry that you were waiting so long for an answer, however, when Keith, Chris, or Ken, are spending time on the forums (when they should be spending time developing products) every project is held up for at least the amount of time they are on the forum-this could add weeks to the development timeline for a product.

    With that said, I am happy for you that you have a product for your car, and am glad to hear that you are satisfied with it!
    Jay
    HP Tuners


    1967 Camaro, 2005 LS6, T56-under construction

  8. #48
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    I didnt mean to come off like an ass, we just have been waiting for a long time in general for someone to realize hey, grandpa cars wanna go fast too. i have no doubt that if someone actually spent enough time with it they can hack it, its just they spend a few months and give up. what makes it more difficult is unlike chevy with the LSX engines Cadillac keeps the N* programming a complete secret and doesnt release the software to help hacking. i understand you guys are busy really, the only reason i got pissed is if you read back several times in week intervals i posted back asking whats going on and havent herd a thing. anyways if theres any way i can help, i will.

  9. #49
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    i am in on this as well if there is anything i can do to help i will. i use this software almost every day for all the lsx cars and trucks and have been for about 3 years now and i am willing to use my own car for some of the beta testing if need be.just trying to help

  10. #50
    Senior Tuner
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    Quote Originally Posted by cadillacetc1997
    what makes it more difficult is unlike chevy with the LSX engines Cadillac keeps the N* programming a complete secret and doesnt release the software to help hacking.
    I've got news for you guy, GM does not release any code out any door.

    Now with that being said, if you want it that bad hack it yourself. We are not running a hack on demand service. You have managed to anger a few people here and now this thread is being locked.

    -Ken