Firmware and software

GCU units run the 1.x firmware line. It is still maintained, and a unit can still be updated. The original configuration software is not distributed here — see Configuration software below for what to do instead.

The 1.x firmware line

Every 1.x changelog is kept, version by version, on Release history — legacy 1.x. That page is the record of what each version added and what it required.

Three things in that history matter in practice:

  • The torque model was rebuilt several times. Which version you run decides which torque calculation methods you have, and the naming changed later — engine torque estimation.
  • The DBW modifier arrived in 1.0.17, for engine control units that cannot act on a torque-reduction request.
  • Dual-clutch control was the main development thread, and several releases require the transmission adaptations to be re-run after updating.

The compatibility break at 1.1

A configuration written for firmware before 1.1 does not load on 1.1.1 or later. This is the single most disruptive thing in the version history. If you update across that boundary, the configuration has to be rebuilt rather than transferred.

Check your firmware version before planning an update — Identify your unit explains where to read it.

No graceful shutdown on any 1.x version

No 1.x firmware handles losing power part-way through saving its state. The controller commits adaptation data after the ignition drops, and if the supply goes at the same moment the write does not complete. This is a wiring requirement rather than something a firmware update fixes: Adaptation data lost when the supply drops with the ignition.

Configuration software

The configuration software originally supplied with the GCU — HTG Suite — is not ours. It is not distributed here, and no source for it is listed on this site.

You do not need it. Apex Control Innovations' own configuration software talks to 1.x firmware, so your unit can be configured with the current software as it stands. It is free — ask for access at contact@apex-control.com and see Getting the software.

Updating a unit

You can flash it yourself. Updating is not a return-to-base service — the current software carries the firmware loader, and you use it directly. That covers moving onto the current 2.x firmware line, not only newer 1.x versions.

An incompatible configuration does not break the unit. Where something in the old configuration does not carry across, the firmware raises a fault code for it. The unit still starts and still talks to the software — you read the faults and fix what they name. See Fault codes.

Read the changelogs before deciding to update. A newer version is not automatically better for a working car: some releases require adaptations to be re-run, and crossing 1.1 means rebuilding the configuration.

Where to go next