Spent some time with the DFI demo software
I've finally gotten hold of the GEN7 demo software - all 6megs of it. Why it's apparently not available online I don't know but it's a fairly complete demo. Like the FAST software though some options don't seem to be available for review (GRR). I'd really curious about the FAST "dashboards" for instance. I seems that both companies have taken th eproduction software and modified it some for demo use which means some options simply won't work without correct ECU inputs or data files it seems. So - another long post, sorry guys ->
I'm seeing some things that might be of interest to folks in the GEN7 software. One of the most interestng things was the MALF codes. The GEN7 has a huge list of malfunction detections that will cause it to set a light and stpre a code like an OEM computer. Things like low O2 voltage, knock sensor failures, overcurrent on injector\NOS\fan\injectors and other outputs etc. etc, the list of MALFs is about 30 long with many of them having actions associated with them.
For instance if the GEN7 sees a failed O2 sensor it will go into Alpha N mode or shut down an output driver for the electric fan or NOS if it senses that the current draw will damage the driver. This is REALLY impressive and something FAST might want to consider. I've seen more tha none caution about overcurrent damaging the drivers here that this would solve.
Bringing up the software you're first going to see the main dashboard - a status of all sensors in realtime with no extra effort on your part to bring it up (apparently). The multiple options for triggering things like VTEC (RPM, MAP, etc. etc.) or locking up a torque converter are also pretty impressive if you need either of those outputs - it's not simply RPM that wil trigger it. I'm not sure I've seen how the FAST system handles this yet.
The setup for the basic VE table generation requires inputs like cam lift, intake passage diameter, valve size, head porting, and on and on - it seems pretty comprehensive. Looking at the FAST software I'm not sure I've seen any sort of "wizard" for this but I'm still poking around in the software so I may be mistaken.
Some things I did NOT like compared to FAST - navigation was harder and displaying multiple windows didn't appear to be an option. Going through data logs with the FAST system is easier IMO and their display of the cells you're system is using seems more intuitive with nice traces and the ability to have multiple tables displayed for editing.
On the other hand it looks like, and I'm not positive, that the GEN7 software can be asked to auto-modify the VE table based on O2 correction factors from a run! This isn't done on the fly but is a post process operation that you can abort if you choose not to accept the changes. I would think this would be a BIG help for initial tuning of the GEN7.
The "help" for the GEN7 in the version I looked at stinks! It's not standard Windows help, searching is a PITA, and on my 800X600 laptop I couldn't display an entire page at a time. Scrolling to see the bottom of pages meant having to scroll back up to the top to get to the navigation buttons. There's a "zoom" function to make the text clearer (fonts do NOT scale!) but zomming makes the problem of seeing th epages worse and scrolling just plain sux. It looks like they took a hadcopy manual, scanned it, did some indexing, and put it online. I believe that FAST did a better job of this.
The GEN7 will only log 6 channels while FAST appears to log more ocncurrently but the GEN7 will show you things like estimated port temperature(?!), calculated mass air flow, MAP sensor in bar or PSI, and a host of fairly obscure things along with what you'd expect. FAST could probably do many of these since they're simply mathmatical calculations based on existing inputs. he estimated air temp at th eport DOES look like it's got some influence in the GEN7 though. Data sample rates on the GEN7 can be changed over a wide range with the 2 lowest being 20 samples per second (as I recall) and "fast as I can" which sounded promising
I'm still looking both software packages over. The FAST software\hardware could really use some of the MALF features that the GEN7 has unless I've missed something. If it's got those things and I've missed them PLEASE correct me as it would make my decision easier
However the GEN7 software strikes me as being more complicated to use with an array of options that while powerful could easily overwhelm a new user IMO. It also looks as if SOME of the options being displayed in the demo might be available to "Pro" users only but I've never seen any mention in Accel literature of a Pro hardware or software package so I'm not sure what to make of that. I found mention of "Pro" in the online help which I ATTEMPTED to read online. Lot's of greyed out options in the demo under some menu pages for both which was frustrating.
When I'm done doing my research I intend to post something to my WEB site listing as much detail about the various systems I've looked at as possible. I'm going to try and go through both the FAST and DFI demo software to pick out options and list them since I've not seen somehting published that's as comprehensive as I'd like. I'll try to mention it here when I finally post this document but it's going to be awhile as I hope to make it pretty complete
Comments welcome from experienced users of either package. I'm trying to pick a product and the feature sets are extensive enough that neither pick would be a loser. Just listing the features of both is a really tough job. Why have none of the magazines done this? The manufacturers?
Also worth mentioning is that a dealer for both systems indicated that the FAST system is easier to tune and cheaper
So far I think I can see where the FAST might be easier to use but some of the GEN7 features might be worth the steeper learning curve (and price) to have. Maybe
