Hey all. I've been a member for a while but this is my first post. I know most of us love to modify the hell outta our cars but I've never come across this one. Would it be practical to change the ECM in our cars out for a PLC (programmable logic controller)? I mean, we do all of these add ons and module build ups and prom burning, but what if you could change the parameters off of a touchscreen and not need a laptop to do it? all of the signals from sensors and such are either digital or analog, all going back out to valves and solenoids. We could do this with a good PLC program and some knowledge of ladder logic. you could control the whole car (including security, lighting, other toys) with 1 controller instead of 20. aside from size, which most of us find creative ways to hide things anyway, what would be the drawbacks?

I understand where you are coming from as far as running a PLC I used them on amusement rides for controlling the output of motors, lights, and other things. As far as I know no one has done this. I think it would be hard to program an entire fuel table map and have all the reference signals to help determine the right course of action the engine should take. You might also start this thread or ask it to be moved to the prom forum see if anyone there might have a better answer than I. I know personally I would love to follow this thread and see where it goes. Good Luck.

as far as the fuel tables and other things, you could do preset tables and switch off as you need them, all the other parameters would change as well. you could even set it up to dial in and fine tune within a 10000th of what you need. need more fuel? dial up the voltage going to the pump. i like your idea nad posted it to the ECM page but i left it here also cause there's even more creative things you could do with them. something this open ended could sprout some awesome ideas.