LS3 swapped BRZ with EVERYTHING working - Plug in Canbus Translator
 

Hey guys, a few of you might remember me from a few years ago on this forum particularly around the Canbus discussions, as well as a few of the conversion Facebook groups. I developed the first Canbus translator for the LS3 to BRZ/86/FRS platform several years ago.


After selling a few translators and traveling large distances around Australia wiring up LS conversions in these cars, I had two great ideas.
1) I have to do this awesome conversion myself
2) Provide a product that requires minimum to no wiring by the end user so it can be wired up quicker and easier.
3) Need to get EVERYTHING working, particularly in Australia, where safety systems such as ABS, VDC and Traction control must work to be fully road legal, as well as having full OBDII compliance.


So, I purchased a used 2013 BRZ, Brand new LS3 crate motor TR6060 Gearbox and the standard E38 ECU. The LS3 was chosen because another requirement in Australia is the engine is to be the same year or newer than the chassis, with all emissions components in place. This pretty much limits the conversion to the LS3 or the 6ltr out of the VE/VF SS Commodore.

So, designed some lasercut engine/geabox mounts in 3D CAD to allow fitment of the standard LS AC Compressor with enough room at the firewall for the heater and AC compressor lines, other mounts on the market at the time didn't work with the AC compressor, or work well in a RHD vehicle..
The Canbus translator got a new twist. Rather than wire in several wires to get it to work ( or about 20 if you want Cruise Control, AC and Pushbutton Start to work), all the wiring is available at the original FA20 ECU plugs, so lets plug it into these plugs that are already wired up inside the car!
This then leaves about 50 wires free to use at the redundant FA20 plug in the engine bay, so used the translator circuit board (which fits into the FA20 ECU housing) to patch wiring from the FA20 engine plug, to the wiring within the vehicle.
Rather than retrofit a GM pedal into the BRZ, the translator converts the BRZ pedal voltages to GM voltages.
After producing a few prototypes in 2018 and trialing in a couple of cars, we released the full version early 2019.
The new system gets just about every OEM function working, including:
ABS, VDC and Traction Control (with two traction control calibration settings for Normal and SPORT modes)

Cruise Control
Pushbutton Start
Air Conditioning (both manual and climate AC as well as clutch and variable displacement compressors supported)
Fuel Pump controller
All the original translator functions for the display (Tacho, Temp, MIL and Oil Pressure Lamps) as well new functions such as gear indication and shift light)
The new translators also have bluetooth connectivity, allowing live data, diagnostics and test modes to be run using an App and Android phone.

We did originally provide a full plug and play solution with a modified GM harness with the FA20 engine plug pre-installed, however had issues getting more after purchasing the last one from GM month ago. We have now sourced an alternate supply of looms and will have them available soon.

The traditional wire in translator has also been updated with just about all functions of the Plug and Play version, including the Bluetooth option, and can be wired up to non-canbus engines (such as older LS1, 2JZ, Barra engines), this is about to be added to the plug and play version also, however the customer will have to work out their own engine wiring.

In early 2020 we will have a 3rd translator available, this will be a very basic translator. No screen (although it can be optioned with Bluetooth), concentrating on just the basic functions (although still more than the original translator, and any other translator on the market). This translator will also be suitable for older non-can engines and provide a very cost effective easy solution.



https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f3&oe=5E5C1077


https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...5e&oe=5E572291
https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ed&oe=5E5B720D

https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a6&oe=5E4516BDhttps://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...4f&oe=5E40BD4B

https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...72&oe=5E48BBBF





And some Videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCc...hRP7zOzolfB96w


Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AGTEngineering/

2017+ steering wheel controls?

Yes, there's one translator in a late model facelift model. There are also a few extra gauges on the later model clusters such as oil temp, which is mapped to the LS oil temp sensor (if fitted).

This is awesome, exceptional work!

@toddy101 Could you show more of your engine mounting solution?

You are nothing short of astonishing. The software engineer in me is geeking out as hard as the gear monkey is. Your project strikes a special chord with me as I grew up building engine with a man who’s done some wild stuff with LSX’s not terribly long ago; he mounted two sequentially in a Z28 show car and I think he’d get a kick out of your doing this. May I show him the pictures? (Just wanted to make sure I got your permission.) Finally? As your are the a wizard of the CanBus. Could you please point me towards some reference material you found particularly helpful during your research; I have a macchinaM2 open source dingo and would love to do more than log data to my iPhone on an app so wrote. Thanks again for sharing all that,

Newb questions...

If this translator replaces the stock ecu, how/where does traditional "engine tuning" get performed? That is, if I take the car to a tuner to perform a tuning service to squeeze out best performance of the LS3 engine from the engine map is this still performed by generally available tools like ecutek, oft, via OBDII etc? Would the tuner need any special instruction for such a process or will they see this process as seamless as any other customer? Would the tuning process look like any other GM LS3 customer to them?

Does it allow for any other enhancements traditionally discussed on our ECU's for things such as CEL code ignore, rev match, flat foot, various maps that you can quickly access at start up like valet mode, accelerator mapping etc?

Does rev limit and shift indicator/beep still function?

Also the GTS has a display in the cluster with g sensor, power/torque curve, odometer, trip meter. Are these retained/working?

I'm on the Sunshine Coast QLD and will start swap soon. Probably get an LS3 and 6060 from Holmart. 2017 GTS manual. Car has less than 1000km on it so if anyone is interested in virtually brand new engine, trans, diff etc, pm me.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi Matt, yes the translator replaces the factory FA20 ECU, however on the LS engine wiring, the LS Engine ECU is basically on the engine (you can see it mounted in front of the fusebox), so it runs the LS ECU (E38). As far as OBDII, tuning etc, it behaves exactly as if it was plugged into a Commodore. You can use tuning software such as HP tuners, and this plugs straight into the factory 86/BRZ OBDII port and can be set to do some of the functions you mention.
I purchased my engine from Holmart.

The translator is working in a late model GTS, believe most of the extra displays on the dash are working.
The other good thing about the new translators are that they are software up-gradable via bluetooth. Just finished a minor update that added a few features as a result from feedback from customers.
I was actually up your way just over a week ago. Unfortunately never made it to the Noosa North shore park due to the bushfires, although managed to do a beach run from Rainbow to Noosa after a lengthy detour via Gympie.


Thankyou others for the kind comments. I will try and add some more build photos soon, including the mounts (once I can host more photos).

Thanks for the response toddy101. Yes, it's a shame the fires up this way at the moment.

It's good to know you also used Holmart. It gives me peace of mind I'm going in the right direction.

That said, did they supply the LS3 with or without the engine harness and E38 ecu? Did you have to buy these separately? If you had to buy these separately (or any other key items to connect and get it running) are you able to refer me to any good suppliers you know of for these additional items?

I notice there are a few sellers on ebay offering things like E38 unlocking, tuning etc. Should I avoid these?

At least now I know if the E38 is used I can rock up to any Holden skilled tuner and get the job done. I have found in the past the minute you kind of (but don't really) know what to ask for with tuners they start to see dollar signs in their eyes and start charging like wounded bulls, saying it needs longer, more dyno time, more fault finding etc. which would obviously be a load of crap if it is just a bog standard commodore tuning job.

So just out of interest, how much do you sell the whole package for? I see on your Facebook page that the translator is $1400 AUD, how much is the conversion kit?

This looks promising. Solid work, M8!

Regarding the water pump plumping i think you have mistake,
its better to have the thermostat inlet to the lower outlet in the radiator.

Hey Matt, The Holmart engine is pretty bare, no harness, alternator, belts, idlers, starter motor or AC compressor. Some of these you can purchase from Holmart with the engine, the rest I purchased from Holden at a reasonable price (compared to Subaru Prices!).
I have just sourced a whole heap of brand new LS engine wiring harnesses, so will get these modified with the FA20 plug shortly. With the E38, just purchase a 2nd hand one (or can buy new from holmart), you will need to remove the VATS anti-theft (the unlocking) and a few other options to run correctly. I can also do this, however if you plan to get a tune done, probably best to get your tuner to do it. To get into the ECU you have to purchase credits for every unique ECU, so if I (or an unlocker) unlocks the ecu will cost credits, then your tuner to edit the tune will have to also purchase credits. Most cost effective to get the tuner to unlock it, then only one shop has to purchase credits for your ecu.

Hey Snake, the translator and plug only for a DIY harness mod is $700AU. $1400 includes a GM modified LS wiring harness with the FA20 plug pre-fitted.

I probably won't use Holmart now. No matter how much I ask Mick nicely he seems stubbornly stuck on the fact that he doesn't want to tell me when his engines were manufactured. Even telling him one of the conditions of achieving the certification for the modification approval here in Qld is ensuring the engine is newer than the car he is now telling me if I pay him $110 he will get some of his employees to pull the engines down from the pallet racking and check the engine numbers, dates of manufacture etc. Even getting him to this stage was like pulling teeth. When asking him dates of manufacture on his engines I was just advised when the LS3 was used in the different series of commodore. Then the old "all in all my years I've never heard such questions....". Then another time when asking about the MAFS type, injectors type etc so I could ensure the correct harness is ordered I got met with the old "If they don't know what an LS3 engine is, take your business elsewhere". Honestly, how a business can deal with someone asking simple questions about their $15,000 products they are trying to sell in such a condescending manner and then be asked to pay for their poor record keeping and stock management practices is just ludicrous in today's world.

So it's a big fat no from me on using Holmart. I'll probably use Eagle Auto Parts in Brisbane now. The delivered price of their engines are pretty close to Holmart.

For the additional items like alternator, compressor, starter motor etc, I'll probably just use ebay or maybe even a US based site if I can get the items cheap enough. Maybe Eagle auto again or as you say, Holden direct.

Can I assume your harness is compatible with the different MAFS location, type, MAPS type, Injector type? If you have a look at the ordering page at Sikky or wiringspecialities for their harnesses they ask a series of questions to ensure the harness they supply is correctly configured for items like this.
https://www.sikky.com/product/standa...iring-harness/
It would be good to know if your harness already answers all these questions.

On the E38 ECU, is there a series or model of ECU that I should be aiming for? New units from Summit seem cheap enough....
https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...rolet/model/ss
Also it seems some of them have three port connectors, but others only have two (the port in the middle is missing on some models). I think that I would be needing to get one that at least has enough of a flash with VATS removal and a startup tune to at least be able to start the car, ensure it is running in stock form, run the car for testing etc then once I believe everything is running correctly in terms of all other modifications take the car to the tuner for the final performance tune. Sure, I know this is going to mean a few wasted dollars on the ECU thing, but I don't think I have much choice otherwise. Powertorque in Brisbane seem to be the go-to tuners for Commodores around here so that is probably where I will end up going.

For a nice story about good customer service, I had a good phone call with Craig from Performance Auto Inspections today. He seems very knowledgeable and was happy to give advice and guidance on things I should be looking out for when doing my conversion, in order to make sure he can then provide the certification/mod plate easily enough when I am at the end of the line. If anyone in the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast area needs mod-plate/certification/roadworthy service I would recommend him for sure.

What would you think if I said I was considering going for an LT1 instead? Do you think you would be able to provide a harness and able to get your interface to work? I am guessing it would be an E67 ECU, not E38.

Challenging, yes, but I like a good challenge.

matt88 I am located in Beerwah. Keen to have a chat PM sent.

Just looking for a donor car. Would 2014 Toyota 86 ZN6 GTS with auto, be suitable for LS swap, or would a manual be a better option ?

What is the all-in expected finalized cost to get this working with Air Conditioning/Heater still functional?

Hi @toddy101!

First of all, thank you for this realy great Translator. Got my swap working two days ago. The car is not drive able yet since airbox, driveshaft and a section of the exhaust are still missing. This beeing said, I am already very impressed how OEM like the feeling is with your Translator. Also in matter of OBD scaning and ECU tuning. Only point where I was strugeling a little was doing the correct wiring since I started the project before your latest wiring guide was available.

If you agree I could share my personal wiring notes here. Maybe it helps some other useres with doing this job. Also the perspective of an actual user and the findings I made could help to make this even more easy. This beeing said, with the new wiring guide it should be a realy easy Installation.

Again, I have to Thank you. I would give a 95% rating for this product at the moment.

If you could provide a download link for the Bluetooth Test App I would give an instand 100% rating. Would be great if you could come up with a link.

@all they are planing a LS swap: I just can recommend using this Translator. Its simply great. As promissid nearly everything is working.

Only exception is the EVAP system, but I dont know any Translator or adapter which keeps this alive. As well, in my case the car doesnt even have this system since I'm located in Europe and the EVAP leak test system is not mandatory here. Since this system can be completely controlled by the GM ECU, you have basically two options:

-deactivate (as I did, but keep in mind this tweak could be illegal depending on your location)

-or use the GM EVAP solenoid valve (attention: This is NOT the purge valve, purge valve is operational out of the box) and the GM tank pressure sensor: install the sensor in the top of the 86 fuel pump, remove the 86 EVAP vacuum pump behind the diff carrier and place the GM EVAP solenoid valve therefore. Wire this to the GM ECU (overall this should be a harness with 3 wires plus 2 wires for Power supply) and it should work.

I researched this pretty far until I noticed that there is actually no EVAP system on my car since I didnt know that this system is not installed on EU 86'. In the end I left this mod out since it was not needed, but I can say that even this seems very possible.

Again, I have reasearched close to any available CAN Translator option out there, watched a bunch of Videos and read through 100eds of posts in several build threads in different boards. I was not able to find any more complete and more Plug&Play style solution.

I would also state that, if I knew that this thing is working as it does before purchasing, would be willing to pay even a much higher price for this great unit! Just keep in mind that other solutions which have at least nearly the same OEM style functionality would mean to use a very expensive free programmable aftermarket ECU as well as doing the complete wiring with that. With the Translator you can use the complete functionality of the GM E38 ECU, which provides nearly same functionality as a free programmable when using Hptuners. Sure, specialised stuff as ALS and launch control are not available (at least not as far as I know, but I'm for sure a HPT beginner), but even a forced Induktion setup should be possible. Overall the Translator is not only the most complete and most comfortable solution I know, it is also very very inexpensive, even if you sum it up with the costs for the HPT Tool which is necessary if want to do the tune on your own. (The necessary adjustments to get it just running can be done in less than 30min even by a HPT-noob like me, so a local tuner should be able to do this for a very low rate)

Please support e40 ecu's soon!