Laptop as engine computer?

Hi, I was curious if anyone can refer me to information on how i can use a laptop as an engine computer for my car.. if anyone has a link to this software/information can they please let me know?
Thanks,
Harley

You will first need to convert to standalone engine management, expensive, but worth every penny fi you set it up right. There are quite a few standalone systems on the market. AEM makes one that is apparently quite simple and quite good, but I have never used it so I can't vouch for it personally. I believe HKS also makes a good one, but I may be mistaken. It's as simple as typing "standalone" into a search engine. Generally people don't switch to standalone engine management unless they plan on fairly extreme engine modifications, as a standalone system on a stock motor may not make much difference. Definately a cool toy, but it could ruin your motor if you don't know what your doing. When you switch to an aftermarket EMS, all safeties and fail-safes that were incorporate into the original computer, will be removed with it. So unless your planning on serious modifications, it isn't worth it.

well i figured since i already have a laptop it would be a lot cheaper than buying an aftermarket computer.., i have an almost stock mr2 but was planning on adding turbo and nos eventually.., if their is software out their that allows me to use a laptop as a controller for my car it would be pretty awsome, i really dont want to spend that much just thought someone might know of an interface/software for use instead of the ecu?

Any laptop you have, old or new, would be WAY TO SLOW to control a car's systems.

Think about a typical pc's processing for a sec.
You've got your CPU that obviously does most of the job, but you need special processors for video, audio, and various inputs. If you run an input to your sound card that just plays back through your speakers, the CPU doesn't touch the signal. Same case with video loops.

If you had a stand-alone management, your laptop would only serve as a monitor for what the EMS was doing. The laptop could also give you the ability to change settings, but it never controls your car.

Besides, would you seriously want to leave your car at the mercy of Microsoft?

If you need a new computer for your car, you're just going to have to buy one. Electromotive also makes really a good unit from what I’ve read. It controls injection, ignition, has 4 general-purpose outputs that can be used to control anything, and 8 extra inputs so it can know what's going on.
If I need a new comp for any car, I'd use electromotive's unit.

Laptops and desktops are good for office stuff, browsing the internet, music playback, video and basic video editing, games, etc...
But to do anything really powerful with them you need additional, dedicated processors (a pro-tools setup is a good example). It's the same deal with a car.

Good point, Microsoft...blah. It's true that the laptop only serves as a window to the EMS, but you can make changes while the car is running, so that's as close as your going to get to controlling the car with a laptop. Anyways, generally only race-only cars cars get standalone engine management, because they cost so much. Just have a laptop kicking around isn't reason enough to go out and do it.

However, there are other things to do with a laptop, that cost much less and are very useful. Look at this site; http://www.obd-2.com/ . This is an extremely useful tool for tuning and general problem diagnosis, it will allow you to read any information supplied to an OBD II car. Very cool, I suggest you download the trial version and take a look at what it can do. Of course if you want to use it, you'll have to buy it, but it's well worth it as it supplies an unbelievable amount of information. It also has an electronic dash that allows you to pick between a ton of different gauges that monitor everything from intake temperature, to MAP, to spark advance. Take a look, it may be what your looking for.

thanks for all of your help guys, i have a better understanding now..