[ngl]

I am wondering if anyone is using the Autosport Labs RaceCapture data logging / telemetry products.

I was using TrackAddict on a android screen (5Hz GPS) connected to OBD with OBDLink SX usb cable, for minimum latency and it worked great.

But as my skills grow so do my data logging needs and I turned my eye on RaceCapture Track Mk2. I especially needed G sensor data and oil pressure.

Since the accelerometer / gyro is integrated in the RC this data is easy to get, but the oil pressure is not. The RC app has a CAN BUS preset for the N55 M2, but I did not work for me ( N20 engine ).

I'm opening this thread to document my findings and maybe get some help from people that already have some CAN id-s and the formulas to get the relevant data from them.

On OBDII the relevant channels available are:

• engine temp
• RPM
• throttle position
• oil temp
• IAT

What I would like to have ( for now ) is:

• oil pressure
• steering angle
• brake pedal position

One thing that crossed my mind is that the BM3 already has access to those can id's, so they should be mapped somewhere, not sure how to get them though.

[msendit]

How is your Race Capture physically connected to the CAN bus?

I don't have experience with it specifically, but I've messed around with an AiM datalogger to sniff CAN data. My understanding is that the D-CAN bus (the one that's exposed on the OBDII plug) doesn't have all the custom BMW-specific PIDs (or at least it requires some special handshake I haven't figured out to get to them). You can get them if you connect directly to the PT-CAN -- in the cabin, it's easy to tap near the KOMBI or the FEM. I have the exact pins here.

[msendit]

Originally Posted by ngl

The RC app has a CAN BUS preset for the N55 M2, but I did not work for me ( N20 engine ).

Also, worth mentioning that AiM has one single preset* for all F-series cars (I know folks who use it across N55/S55/B58), so chances are your issue is with the wiring, and the RC M2 one will work for you.

*unfortunately, it's not editable, so I can't get get exact PIDs from it

[ngl]

Originally Posted by msendit

Also, worth mentioning that AiM has one single preset* for all F-series cars (I know folks who use it across N55/S55/B58), so chances are your issue is with the wiring, and the RC M2 one will work for you.

*unfortunately, it's not editable, so I can't get get exact PIDs from it

You are correct, the issue is with the wiring. I was using the OBDII Can, which I now know is filtered and is the reason I had no success in getting anything from the CAN. I will have to hard wire it to the FEM.

I also found out that AiM now has 2 protocols for the Fxx platform, the F21 that has 13 channels, and the M235i one that has 21 channels. I was hoping to get the Pid's from their documentation, but no success there. I will email the dealer I got the RC from, as they are also an official AiM dealer, maybe I get lucky.

Anyway, you should give the M235i protocol a try if you have an AiM and was using the F21 protocol.

[msendit]

Originally Posted by ngl

You are correct, the issue is with the wiring. I was using the OBDII Can, which I now know is filtered and is the reason I had no success in getting anything from the CAN. I will have to hard wire it to the FEM.

I also found out that AiM now has 2 protocols for the Fxx platform, the F21 that has 13 channels, and the M235i one that has 21 channels. I was hoping to get the Pid's from their documentation, but no success there. I will email the dealer I got the RC from, as they are also an official AiM dealer, maybe I get lucky.

Anyway, you should give the M235i protocol a try if you have an AiM and was using the F21 protocol.

Glad you figured it out. And definitely share if you find anything. My experience has been that AiM is pretty protective of the PIDs, which is frustrating, but understandable -- they've spent a lot of time reverse-engineering them. But never hurts to ask.

FWIW, the M235i protocol is for the M235iR, which runs a completely different ECU from our street cars.

If you want to poke around and see what's available with the F21 protocol, here's a random example. Off the top of my head: throttle pedal position, throttle opening, brake PSI (front and rear), steering angle, the 4 individual wheelspeeds, RPM, ambient temp, charged air temp, oil temp, gear #, gearbox temp, torque (engine and gearbox).

[ngl]

You are probably right about the M235i protocol, I can't test it since I don't have an AiM. I found some threads yesterday talking about it on F8x cars, so I tough it should work an all Fxx cars.

Considering your install is a hardwire, can you still use diagnostic tools or other OBDII devices with the AIM connected ?

I'm also wondering, with a data logger hardwired, would this interfere with tools like xHP or BM3 ? And if it does, would powering down the data logger be enough to restore OBDII functionality ?

[msendit]

Originally Posted by ngl

Considering your install is a hardwire, can you still use diagnostic tools or other OBDII devices with the AIM connected ?

Yeah, it's not a problem, I tested that earlier this year, with Torque logging over OBDII.

Originally Posted by ngl

I'm also wondering, with a data logger hardwired, would this interfere with tools like xHP or BM3 ? And if it does, would powering down the data logger be enough to restore OBDII functionality ?

You mean flash tunes? I doubt they change anything about how the ECU communicates with other devices in the car, that would be too risky. (From the little I know about flash tunes, they don't write firmware from scratch, just tweak various lookup tables.)

And yes, if there's some interference, turning down the logger will get rid of it. There's nothing that special about CAN, it's just a shared serial bus. On some other cars (new Miatas for example), the ECU just broadcasts various parameters on the bus all the time, so the datalogger really is just sitting silent on the bus reading the packets. For our cars, loggers have to specifically request the parameters, and the ECU answers. So there's some vague theoretical possibility to overrun the bus. I think there were some safeguards against that, but it's been a while since I've looked.

[ngl]

My progress with the RaceCapture is still zero, because of winter temperatures keeping me from spending hours in the freezing car sniffing CAN messages, but I found there is a new protocol from AIM for the Fxx BMW's, called "BMW F series" protocol.

Figured I'd share this for AIM users that might not know about it, since the old F21 protocol was rather crap, barely had any info. The new protocol seems quite awesome, can even log turn signals . The only thing missing is oil pressure.

[ngl]

Weather finally warmed up so I got to install my RaceCapture data logger and telemetry.

I wanted to have it installed as close as possible to the center of the car so the accelerometer / gyro can get the best readings.

It was not possible to put in in the absolute center ( where the BMW sensors are ) because a screw that holds the center console would've blocked my Can Bus wire, so I instead installed everything in the under the arm rest.

This also allows me to have very easy access while debugging and sniffing can messages.

Looking over the schematics on newTis I was able to find the closest PT-CAN bus wire are in the gear selector so this is what I used.

I moved the 2 can wires to a new connector, added 2 new wires to the gear selector switch connector and made a new connector for both the gear selector and race capture ( please see pictures, it makes more sense ).

Because the RC seems to send some messages over the can bus, ( I get some Lua debug errors ), it kept waking my car up when it went in standby if I powered it from terminal 30, so I moved it to terminal 15N ( ignition ON ). This allows my car to go to sleep again.

Since I have an android navigation, naturally I can use the iDrive screen as the display, so everything looks very clean. No wires were harmed in the process, so everything is reversible.

[msendit]

Originally Posted by ngl

Weather finally warmed up so I got to install my RaceCapture data logger and telemetry.

Looking nice and clean! Do share when you get results from sniffing.

Signed, interested.