Guys,

I have thought of this several times and was wondering what the crowd would think.

I have MANY people talking to me on a daily basis about problems they are having with their cars. After the obvious items are checked and confirmed OK. Things get a little more difficult to diagnose.

Here is what I was thinking and I think it would help out a great number of people.

I was going to buy a laptop, get the EASE software and all applicable cables and have it here to rent out for people that are having difficulties. Anyone that has used the software knows its crazy easy to hook up and with me taking a look at the logs could pretty much diagnose problems they might be having.

I we have a tight enough knit group that everyone would be on the honor system and treat the equipment with care.

I am thinking there would be a deposit and a small rental fee, and then shipping of the equipment.

Anyone that has these logger knows the information that comes from them can be VERY helpful when even just checking the performance of your car. For someone that is not into tuning etc. Then going out and getting a laptop and software, learning how to read the information etc is basically a huge waste of money, and a huge learning curve.

I think this would help a TON of people.

What do you all think? Would there be any interest in this?

:cheers:


[Modified by ski_dwn_it, 8:08 AM 2/26/2004]

 

that has a ton of potential.

:thumbs:

we should be careful tho... we do know who is good and who isn't. I would not want you to "rent" this expensive equipment out to a newbie who hasn't proved their trustworthiness, or, an older member who has proven they can't be trusted.

if you are gonna be shipping the laptop, it will shorten it's lifespan radically. Just so you know....


[Modified by bogus, 8:23 AM 2/26/2004]

 

Ski, this would almost take you to the car for tuning. Good idea. Be careful if you buy a laptop. I paid over $1000 for this Dell and it has no serial port. Most software requires it. I spent $60 on adaptors. No go. Now Dell tells me I need a Targus port replicator $100. I will get one but Im still not sure it will work.
Someone out thereknows what to get maybe they can chime in. :chevy

 

good idea, but pretty risky :yesnod:

 

Nothing ventured-nothing gained, how about a shipping Insurance charge?Sounds like something that might catch on. What kind of time frame as far as turnaround? ;)

 

well,

Yes the idea definately needs refined and worked upon.

The only thing I can think of to deter someone that may intentions of stealing the equipement, is to make the deposit hurt. But that will also make it difficult for others to have easy access to it, which is the reason behind it all.

Perhaps some ideas...open for discussion.

:cheers:

 

Super concept. I have the EASE OBD 1 system. It was the ONLY way I finally figured out where to look for a very illusive set of gremlins. I was initially put off by it as it was intimidating at first. But to actually capture and save the scan is very simple.

Back to your generous concept...I think that if you had a credit card system where you could literally have a damage deposit (much like any rental agency) then it would make sense. I state that ONLY because at some point, there's going to be a set of extenuating circumstances where somebody had your laptop sitting on a towel on the roof of their newly "Turtle Waxed" Corvette, (is that an oxymoron??:lol: ) and the thing ends up doing a half gainer onto the garage floor. Oops... "Sorry ski" Not to be a negatron on this, but IMO I would want you not to get the short end of the stick for trying to genuinely be an asset to many.

As an aside, does your version of EASE playback the MAT readings correctly? If not, I have worked with them to develop a patch that fixes it. They already had one, but it addressed something else related to MAT. Let me know.

 

I would think most people have access to a laptop these day's. i.e. Maybe it is a better idea to rent out the Ease part? Deposit would be a whole lot less.

If I were to go the laptop route,... I'd get an old $300 special. A 386 that will barley run windows. Something that would not be missed. Something that has a serial port. Something that any half wit would know, it isn't worth stealing. But then again sooner or later you run into the Darwin effect. :smash:

 

Yes the laptop will NOT be a new Dell for 3k by any mean. But it will need to be something that decent. As you said, you can pick up good laptops for around 300 beans. Maybe that is the solution.

What do you guys thinks a fair rental price would be? I will do this the same way I do my chips. I did a few and let the people make up a fair price. Stuck with that price ever since, despite the others that charge much more. Keep in mind my time coordinating the unit/s, travel to and from PO. Will need to invest in some VERY sturdy cases....etc.

Will almost need to base it on a daily rate. :cheers:

 

I think it's a great idea! We are a close knit group and if someone wanted to rent it, they would have to provide verifiable references of at least 3 people on this board that would vouch for them. Preferrably local!

The insurance idea is also very good! I know there is a form of goods rental insurance that is pretty cheap. You could also underwrite it with your homeowner's policy.

I have a couple of older laptops that I could offer up pretty cheaply. The only thing is, battery life is limited. Nothing that a new battery wouldn't solve though. :cheers: :cheers:

 

:iagree: would hate to see ya taken....

 

I love the idea. With the right rules or guidlines I think you could make it work Jesse.

It could be used for people with a certain post count...

or people who have done business with you personally (IE custom chip stuff)
That would be a good way to ensure trustworthness. I love the idea tho! :yesnod: Prolly could used it now :lol:

-Victor Russell

 

I wonder what EASE would think about that. Thats basically giving away their product as when you buy it it is licensed to a person or shop. I'd contact Mike_88Z51 and ask him.

 

Well, if there's a Corvette heaven, you're going straight there. And if you're Catholic, no Purgatory time for you, either. Depending on how sophisticated the software design and installation is, rather than shipping a laptop all over creation, you might want to consider installing the program on a USB flash drive and then just sending that out instead of a laptop. Those drives aren't much bigger than a key, plug into the USB port and you can get one with 128 megs for around $50. If something happens to it, well, you'll have a handful of identical drives. Again, this solution would be contingent on where the app installs all its files. Still, there are enough programmers on this Forum that some small,and simple additional executable could probably be written to overcome any issues. If this is possible, it would sure simplify the logistics...

 

You can't. The registry entries won't follow you and you also have to "unlock" the software with a 2nd CD. I still don't think this is kosher.

 

Summit now offers a scan tool with WIDE BAND O2 sensors. It sells for around $350. I would love to use that to tune my A/F ratio after my ported heads and cam swap.I just can't see buying it for a couple of days use.You might want to consider this for a rental as well.I would guess that the majority of members do not live near a dyno or have access to a wide band O2 scan tool. :steering:

 

Well, the registry entries can be exported (as well as any files that might be installed directly in the Windows or other directories on the root drive) and as I said, a small executable could be written that would import them into the host laptop and the second CD (or a copy of it) could travel with the flash drive. But you're right about the licensing being potentially thorny. I know a lot of these types of programs have "tiered" licensing depending on the number of vehicles you want to run it on...

 

Ski,
You would need the professional version of Ease $$$ and it would be licensed to one computer only but allow unlimited autos to be entered. I would check with ease but if no licensing disks go with the software then the licenseing stays with the computer.
No question a refundable deposit must be received to even consider this.

Jim

Scorp - if the software is tied to the computer, you are not giving the software away. If this were not the case - a garage could not put a computer in a customers car and leave it there for a few days to register/store any problems.


[Modified by 85vet, 12:51 PM 2/26/2004]

 

Think of it this way. You write software that predicts lottery #s for me. I buy it from you and then let all of my friends come over and use it on my computer. They get rich off of your hard work and you don't see another dime.

Fair?

EASE does give you a # of VINs that you can scan before you have to purchase more. I believe the pro version is unlimited VINs.

 

Ease personal version will do 30 different VIN's, then there is a $75 up charge. (Not sure if that is 30 more VIN's or not,....)