Understanding the different "cals"

[turbo_bu]

This may be a very basic question, but after reading a thread on TB SS cal's it has caused me to wonder about just what is in the different Calibrations vs. what is carried over in a Segment swap. My quick understanding is this: (Please help me understand if any of this is correct or makes sense.)

Under the Calibration Identifiers section:
OS - contains all the code to make the whatever (engine, transmission or both engine and transmission) run.
Calibration - Not sure, maybe just the cal's required for whatever sensors are connected to the ECM/PCM

Under the Segment section:
The Engine Calibration and Diagnostics, Transmission Calibration / Diagnostics all contains whatever is shown under those headings in EFI Live. Thus when / if we are able to swap segments, this implies that it is truely plug/play and the tables should play nicely (BIG assumption).

Further theroizing ... IF we had a Tech II, then there is a way to mix and match just about any of these cals, BUT you better know what your doing or else you just make a door stop and bricked your ECM / PCM. Guessing that this was what the others were talking about when HPT's was creating a custome OS for the TB's to support e-fans.

[Chevy366]

I always thought of it as "Software Drivers for the Hardware" kind of thing , so if the software is changed to match the hardware then I would assume it would work .
But then there a platform specific features and different chassis and engine features that are involved as well .

[Taz]

Hello Darren,

As I understand it, there is no one consistent global answer to your question. Sometimes it varies by PCM / ECM / TCM. Sometimes it varies by platform and OEM components.

With a Gen III (LS1-B) PCM you can absolutely use EFILive to write the entire OS and CAL. But, this is where Chevy366’s comment about the “hardware” comes into the equation. You can write a DBW OS and CAL into any compatible LS1-B PCM - whether the PCM was originally from a DBW or DBC platform.

The reverse is not true - you can’t always write a DBC OS and CAL into an LS1-B PCM - some are missing the hardware to operate the IAC.

In other words, you can always turn a DBC S10 LS1-B PCM into a DBW Corvette PCM - but generally not the reverse.

You can swap different segment calibrations between tune files with the same OS, and these should be functional, as long as the recipient PCM is compatible (has the required hardware).


With a Gen IV ECM / TCM, EFILive does not write the entire OS into the ECM / TCM. This means you can’t use EFILive to turn a V6 Impala ECM into a V8 Corvette ECM. The “base” OS and CAL must be installed using a Tech II or J2534 compliant interface cable (like the Drew Industries Mongoose) connected to a laptop.

The base OS and CAL are generally obtained via a subscription to GM’s TIS2WEB service. You are required to enter a vehicle VIN to gain access to the vehicle specific OS / CAL files.

I’ve done Gen III tuning for a while now, and am just gaining a margin of comfort with the E38’s. I’ve never tuned an E67.

So, regarding your electric fan TrailBlazer question - can EFILive be used to swap calibration segments - Yes it can. Would swapping the system segment (electric fan control) from a vehicle with electric fans (and the same OS as the TrailBlazer), into a TrailBlazer tune work ? I don’t know. I’m guessing that part of the problem maybe that no such “donor vehicle” tune exists.


Regards,
Taz

[Chevy366]

Hello Darren,



So, regarding your electric fan TrailBlazer question - can EFILive be used to swap calibration segments - Yes it can. Would swapping the system segment (electric fan control) from a vehicle with electric fans (and the same OS as the TrailBlazer), into a TrailBlazer tune work ? I don’t know. I’m guessing that part of the problem maybe that no such “donor vehicle” tune exists.


Regards,
Taz
I think Taz that they figured out a Cadillac of Vette file would work from a specific donor OS .
Followed the thread for a while then lost interest .
Thanks for the detailed information .

[ScarabEpic22]

I think the Impala (either SS or V6, cant remember offhand) has the same OS as the 08 TBSS. So you might be able to seg swap the fans section into the TBSS file to get efan control. But EFILive already has the parameters in the latest E67 .calz files to enable the different fan types. Not sure if the actual code is in there or not, that'd be an EFILive higher-ups question.

[turbo_bu]

Taz,

Thanks for the insight. I guess my question was not specific to the TB SS's, just more thinking about how all this stuff works. For the most part, I am very good and happy with EFI Live (LS1 and LB7 Duramax tuning). Just reading about all the new Gen IV ECM's had me wondering about how all these different calibrations were supposed to play together. The example of the TB issue with electric fans was the long and sorted detail that I could see a tuner getting into when doing custom or stand alone swaps. Having only read about Tech II's and the things that others are doing, or having to do to get things working just made me wonder if there was a basic answer to what's required to make stuff work.

Further complications I guess would involve (as you've already pointed out), not only does a given ECM have the right hardware, but was it's OS written so that say the portions of memory which always points to say engine temperature, always stays the same. Thus, if one were trying to add in an electric fan patch (or whatever feature you were trying to get to work), that it too also pointed to the same memory location for looking up what the engine temperature. Obviously this is a HUGE leap of faith and one that may not always hold true.

If you had a subscription to TIS2WEB and needed to do some Cal swapping, the big hurdle is not only does the ECM support it, but is there a chance that the OS code also supported it. I guess that's why Paul and Ross get paid the big bucks :) to try and figure this stuff out.