This is how V8 is designed to work.


  • All PIDs are pre-defined by EFILive in metric units
  • Calculated PIDs defined by a user must (should) also be defined in metric - otherwise the unit conversion routines will not work correctly.
  • All PID calculations that are performed in the software are done in metric.
  • When a PID's value is displayed there will always be (should always be) an option for the user to choose to display the PID's value in the units of their choice.


Many people (myself included) prefer to view some or all of the PID values in units other than metric, usually US Customary units (sometimes incorrectly called Imperial units - I'm guilty of calling them that in the past). Anyway when V8 was designed we chose to allow PID data (and eventually calibration data when the V8 editor is done) to be displayed in any units that the user wants to use, not just a choice between Metric or US Customary units. For example different people may choose to view pressure in kPa, psi, inHG, inH20, bar or some other unit that measures pressure.

In V8 we created a units customization option to allow you to add your own units and also add the conversion parameters required by the software to convert from the default metric units to the units of your choice. That is what is shown in the first two tab pages ([Units] and [Conversions]) of the screen shot in post #6.

There are two places where PID data can be displayed:
  1. On the FlashScan/AutoCal screen during black box logging.
  2. In the V8 scan tool gauges, charts and maps during pass-thru logging and log file playback.


For option 1, you can choose to have FlashScan/AutoCal display the PID values using one of two display modes:
Metric: is default metric units.
Custom: is the user selected custom units - these are the units that you select in the [F5: BBX] window by right-clicking on a PID and selecting "Properties", as shown in post #2.
During black box data logging you can change the display units of the entire set of PIDs between Metric and Custom by pressing the [Enter] key on FlashScan's keypad. For AutoCal you need to pre-set the display mode using the [F6: Devices]->[F3: Display] option.

For Option 2, you decide which units you want each PID to be displayed in on each of the [F3: Data], [F4: Charts], [F5: Gauges] and [F6: Maps] tab pages by right clicking on the PID and selecting the PID and one of the available display units. Once you've set up a dashboard with all the PIDs using the units just the way you want, you should save that dashboard using the [Save] button's drop down list option "Save Dashboard As...". Then you can quickly/easily select that dashboard from the "Dashboard:" drop down list of most recently used dashboards whenever you want to see the PIDs in the units that you've defined for that dashboard.

For example, to change between Metric and Custom units for the EFILive supplied default E38 dashboard, use the [Open] button's drop down list option "Open Dashboard" to open the "EFI_E38_Sample_Metric" dashboard for metric, then open the "EFI_E38_Sample_Custom" dashboard for US Customary units. Once you've opened a dashboard, it will appear in the "Dashboard:" drop down list (the last 10 dashboards are stored there) where you can select one or the other to quickly/easily change all units at the same time.

The "Group" column in the [Units] tab page tells the software which units can be converted between themselves. It stops the software attempting to offer conversion from km/h to ft-lbs or other equally impossible conversions.

The "Group" column in the [Default Units] tab page is to allow different types of PIDs that would otherwise have the same units to be handled differently. For example you may want to display Mass Air Flow (MassTime.Gas) in g/s but fuel flow (MassTime.Liquid) in lbs/hr.

The [Default Units] Group option is currently only used when selecting multiple PIDs in the [F2: Scan]->[F3: Data] tab page. If you select multiple PIDs, then right click you can select one of the presets to change all the PIDs at the same time. That only changes the PIDs' units on the [F3: Data] tab page. It does not change the PIDs' units on other tab pages. It will also be used in future to select/change the displayed units for calibrations in the V8 tune editor. So you can quickly and easily change all calibrations' units to one of those presets.

Regards
Paul