Stated limitations

What these devices do not do. This page exists so you can find out before you buy rather than during commissioning.

Nothing here is a defect list. Some entries are deliberate architecture, some are platforms still in development, and a few are configuration fields that are visible in the app but not yet implemented — those are called out explicitly, because a field you can set that does nothing is worse than one that is absent.

Platform maturity

Platform Status
ZF 8HP The most mature platform. F-series and G-series, Gen 1 to Gen 3
BMW DKG Under development. Configuration documentation is incomplete and behaviour may change between releases
Porsche PDK Newer than 8HP and actively expanding. One control unit (7DT45) is documented, including standalone wiring; 997.2 support is recorded in the release notes as a draft
DQ250 / DQ500 Standalone controller only — there is no gateway path. Wiring is documented for DQ250 and for DQ500 gen 1 and gen 2
DL501 Standalone controller only. Wiring is documented — five pads and the group D assignment still need confirming
DL800 Standalone controller only, via the dual-clutch drivers. No wiring documentation exists yet — plan on working from the controller pinout and the gearbox's own connector

If you are planning a build around DKG or PDK, treat the current state as "works, documented thinly, expect to be an early adopter" rather than as equivalent to the 8HP support.

Transmissions being withdrawn

The following are no longer supported and will be removed in a coming release. Do not start a new build around them:

ZF 4HP · Honda NSX · Mercedes 722.6 · Aisin AA80E · Aisin A960E

What a gateway cannot do

With the OEM gateway drivers the factory TCU stays in charge. That is the point of the architecture, and it sets a hard boundary:

  • Shift points, drive modes and torque converter lockup live in the transmission's own tune, not in the device. There is no device parameter for any of them, and changing them is a transmission tuning exercise — see Shift points, modes and lockup.
  • Shift firmness is not a gateway parameter either. You influence it indirectly, by giving the TCU an accurate torque signal — which is why torque calibration matters so much more here than people expect.
  • The ECU performs the torque cut, not the device. The gateway sends a percentage request; your ECU turns it into ignition retard and pedal position. If it ignores the requests the transmission still shifts, but quality suffers and manual downshifts arrive without rev-matching. Setting up that half is on Executing cut and blip in your ECU.

If you need direct control over shift points and pressures, that is the standalone controller's job, not the gateway's.

The DBW Modifier is not available on the gateways

The standalone drivers can execute a cut themselves by overriding the accelerator pedal signal. The 8HP and PDK OEM gateways do not implement this, and there is no way to enable it.

⚠️ The configurator still shows the fields. The DBW-modifier parameters exist in the 8HP OEM gateway's configuration schema — cut/blip mode, pedal position in and out, PPS target and ramp maps — but the firmware does not read any of them. Setting them has no effect. Use the Cut request and Blip request outputs and act on them in your ECU.

Configuration fields that do nothing

Visible and settable in the app, but not consumed by any firmware. Listed so you do not spend an afternoon on one.

Field Where Behaviour
Ignition angle input Every transmission driver Decoded from the ECU where the preset provides it, but no driver reads it. Available for logging only
DBW modifier group 8HP OEM gateway Present in the schema, not decoded by the firmware — see above
Maximum MAP value Torque estimation Reserved and unused. It is not where you declare your boost ceiling
Flex fuel input Ecumaster EMU Black, MaxxECU presets Exposed by the preset but never populated from the stream. Fuel-property lookups fall back to 0 % ethanol
Analog 5 / Analog 6 Ecumaster EMU Black, Fueltech presets The stream frame carries only four analog channels; 5 and 6 never receive a value
Injector PW (primary / secondary) Fueltech preset Exposed but never populated — so the fuel-based torque methods cannot be used with this preset
Idle state Tacho output In the schema, never read. The pin holds whatever state it was left in when the output stopped
Mode (PWM / Current) PWM output Never read. Every PWM output is a duty-cycle driver; there is no closed-loop current mode
Current limit PWM output Never read. Nothing limits the output current in software
Proportional hold PWM output Never read. Peak and hold always uses the fixed Hold value
Signal mode Frequency input Read, then unconditionally overridden with Legacy. Quadrature and direction are therefore unavailable
Hold Digital, analog switch and compare inputs Accepted, then overridden by the filter with a fixed one-cycle event length

The tacho output

Two separate limits, both easy to hit:

  • IOcan has no tacho output at all. The driver is not part of IOcan's firmware, so the type cannot be created on that device. To drive a tachometer from an IOcan, send engine speed on a CAN output instead.
  • The standalone controller can have exactly one. The driver owns a single hardware timer and a single set of pin registers, so a second tacho output is not created — and no dedicated fault is raised for it. The configuration looks valid and the signal is simply absent.

See Tacho output.

Engine torque is your responsibility

The transmission sets clutch pressure from engine torque, and:

  • Nothing validates it. No fault is raised for an implausible torque value, in any calculation method.
  • Under-reporting damages clutches. Reported low, the clutch capacity is set below the torque going through it, and a slipping clutch heats and wears.
  • Most ECUs do not broadcast it. Of the supported aftermarket ECU presets, fewer than half provide a torque value at all — the rest require the device to calculate it, which requires calibration.

See Engine torque estimation and the ten-minute check.

No supported ECU preset covers every mandatory input

The gateways require seven mandatory inputs (eight on PDK). Not one supported ECU stream supplies all of them. Every build sources at least one signal from outside its ECU preset — typically the brake switch on a device input.

The most common gap is brake status, which only one supported ECU stream carries. Oil temperature is the second most common.

The per-ECU pages state exactly which signals are missing for that ECU: Aftermarket ECU integration.

Diagnostics

  • Faults are not stored across power cycles. Read them in the same power session in which the problem occurred. A fault that cleared when you cycled the ignition is gone, not fixed.
  • Some fault codes are defined but not raised. The reserved codes list them, so a code seen in a protocol capture can be identified.
  • Output short-circuit protection acts in hardware whether or not a diagnostic code is raised. What is absent for those conditions is the report, not the protection.

Use and safety

These devices are intended for off-road use only. They execute exactly what the configuration requests, and an incorrect configuration can produce unexpected or unsafe behaviour. There is no universal configuration that is safe for all vehicles and transmissions — validating yours is your responsibility.

The throttle blip deserves specific caution. Rev-matching works by opening the throttle during a downshift — while the driver is braking. An oversized or mistimed blip accelerates the car when the driver did not ask it to. Tune it up from zero in small steps, and never from a guessed starting value: tuning a blip safely.