Introduction to tuning
Working with the ECU memory
Once you have read the content of the ECU (Refer to Reading and writing ECU), you will need a tuning software to interpret the data, edit variables, maps and tune the car.
Without a tuning software, you would be stuck with a binary file filled with a bunch of bytes without any meaning. We suggest using one of these two software : TunerPro or WinOLS
With your file loaded on a tuning software, you can then use a definition file that will define the maps information (location, axis, values coefficients, etc.)
TunerPro
TunerPro is free and easy-to-use. It uses .XDF file format for definition files. These are files generated by enthusiasts. For the moment, due to the lack of .XDF for the 2.5 engine, I would recommend to use WinOLS instead.
WinOLS
WinOLS is not free and can be pricey for enthusiasts, there are cracked versions laying around on the internet. WinOLS offer powerful features and is pretty much a standard in the tuning industry. It uses .A2L file format, which are the OEM definition files. This makes tuning more accessible since .A2L are easier to find compared to .XDF files.
Creating a new WinOLS project
When you load your binary file, WinOLS will scan the file and detect the checksums blocks. (On most cracked version, ME7.1.1 checksums are not suported. ME17.5 checksum are supported)
WinOLS will scan the file to find the project properties (ECU part number, processor type, software number, car identification, etc.), you can manually fill the project properties after.
Once the properties are filled, a new project will be created. At this point, you should see the HEX viewer/editor:
For the moment, we only have binary data with no maps defined. We can now proceed to the next step : using definition file to define our maps.
Using the damos (.A2L)
Start by downloading the definition file that match your ECU part number and with the closest software number that match your ECU. Every .A2L file are generated/made for a specific .HEX file. If you load the .A2L on your project, there are high chances that locations do not match.
Most .A2L file will be in German. If you wish to translate the file, you can use A2L translate
Load the .HEX file on WinOLS. After the new project is created, press Control-D to load the .A2L file. This will prompt the A2L import window.
Choose your A2L file, WinOLS will load the A2L and will ask you which map you wish to import, you can click on ALL.
Now you should have a project will all the map defined:
Transfering the maps to our binary file
WinOLS offer the possibility to connect two projects together. This allow for quick comparison between our raw undefined project and the .HEX/.A2L pair that is fully defined. We can easily transfer maps structures. Click on the connect button
Select the project you want to connect to. You will notice, that both projects does not seem to align correctly. We need to fix the offsets between the two files. A quick way to do is to search for the ECU part number (07K906032 / 07K906055)
With the part number selected, click on the match button, it will adjust the offset so the selected text match on both windows:
Scroll the results until you see both windows align.
Green means it is the same value on both window. Blue mean it is lower than on the other window. And Red means it is higher.
Now you can select a map you wish to transfer, right click on it and click on "Transfer map..."
This will transfer the map architecture on your undefined project.
This method works well when you are comparing two files that are alike. In some instances, they might not align, or you might not have a definition file that match well with your file. In these cases, you can look at hex numbers that are the same around the map you wish to transfer, you can select those number and use the match button again to change the offset. On complex maps (map that have axis), you can select the axis and match it. The axis often have the same values, and they can be used as a reference for setting the proper offset.
If you want to ensure you have the best definition file that match your project, you can search for the ECU type, for example: ME7.1.1:
On the above picture, we can see the undefined and the defined file are very close. One is a S11036_28AC and the other is a S11036_28AB. On this example, the maps will almost align through the whole file without having to play with the offsets too much.
