Logging with a motec, is the ECU logging enough?

I’m looking at purchasing a MoTeC m150 ecu and c127 dash for my club level street/racecar.

The m150 comes with level 1 logging and it’s about $330 extra for level 2. The dash has no logging and it’s about $1000 for level 2.

Is there any reason I can’t log everything on the ecu? I should have enough pins to wire every sensor to the ecu directly.

I don’t full understand what the dash can calculate that the ECU can’t (like lap gain/loss, theoretical laps, splits, etc.). But for stuff like this can the dash do the processing / calculations and send the data via CAN back to ecu to be logged at a high enough rate? I’ve never used a MoTeC device so apologise if I don’t fully understand the basics here.

Regards

Tim

You are asking great questions. My advice based on doing this several times:

- Unless you are using ECU Firmware that specifically handles ALL the sensors you will want to use (Tyre Presssure Monitoring, IR Temps, Strain Gauges, IMU, etc), you are better off with I/O and logging in the MoTeC Dash. The channel naming & CAN flexibility is so much better in the dash.

- If you need to diagnose / debug a challenging subsystem in the ECU, like Paddle Shift, or something that doesn't transmit all the channels over CAN, then adding Level 2 or 3 logging to the ECU is worthwhile.

However, if you are building a complete system (ie. M1 Build development license), and your logging requirements aren't too great. It's possible to use an M150 as the logger, and / or I/O extender for simple Dash Logging. You can run out of ECU CPU bandwidth if you are trying to deal with channels that aren't needed to run the engine -- so you still need to be careful in your requirements.

Also, for most drivers, the features such as Lap Time Gain / Loss, Predictive Lap Timing, make using a C12x or C18x dash a requirement, as the Dxxx series displays don't offer this, and none of the M1 firmware does this (but a separate L120 or L180 logger does handle that).

Hope that helps. A good MoTeC dealer can help you sort this out and configure your system for maximum usefulness.

Hey David

Thanks so much for your useful reply as always!

I'm looking at the M150 GPR package. I don't think I'll have Tyre Pressure or IR Temps, but definitely Strain Gauge and potentially an IMU in the future. I spoke to a local MoTeC dealer today and didn't have time to go through my full build requirements, but they said Level 2 logging (or Level 3 if using shock sensors) on the M150 should be all I need, and I won't need the I/O upgrade or logging on the C127. They said connect the GPS to the dash and the data will be logged on the ECU via CAN. I'm assuming with the GPS connected directly to the C127 it'll be able to show me the live lap data that would be useful while racing.

I know you mentioned the channel naming and CAN flexibility is better through the dash, but apart from that is there anything else I should be aware of or anything I could clarify with the MoTeC dealer to ensure I go down the right route here? I'm just trying to make sure I set everything up as best as possible and don't pay for things I won't use.

I'm still very new to the world of motorsport so unsure on exactly what my logging requirements will be, but my two initial intentions are to 1. diagnose any engine related issues and 2. use data to identify opportunities to improve my driving skills.

Since they mentioned shock sensors -- ask them to provide a configured GPR package with suspension sensors (suspension position or damper position) or strain gauges. I don't see any appropriate channels to use for that in GPR.

But it's possible that other firmware packages have that (my Partner Pkgs do, and I know the Geartronics pkgs do as well), but not GPR, GPRP or GPRP-Pro.

OK -- I am leaning toward tools that would be used for car development. Obviously the ECU has all the necessary logging for engine development/tuning. For driver feedback, control inputs (Throttle, Steering, Brakes) and outputs (wheelspeed, accelerations) is all that really required, and the GPR package does handle that. Hope I haven't confused you.