The quintessential FATS visual How-To post (with downloadable Excel file).

[mpwolf]

Ok, people are still going to have a problem with this, so I really invite discussion with this thread. Also, please test out the spreadsheet to make sure I didn't make an error in the calculations. I think this is the easiest way to make sure we're (well, you're, since I don't have an S4 anymore) calculating FATS data the same way. There's a bunch of steps, but it's nonetheless pretty quick.

First off, for people unsure what the hell FATS is, read up:

S4MadMan's FATS FAQ
S4MadMan's FATS Database
S4MadMan's 2004-08-20 post on calculating a FATS time. There is some good discussion in this thread.
My 2004-07-24 post on how to log a FATS Run.
My 2004-05-28 post discussing using a trendline to estimate a FATS time. There is some good discussion in this thread too.

Some other helpful links:

My VAG-COM Charting Tutorial. Not really necessary for what's going on here, but it could be useful nonetheless.
Make sure your VAG-COM is sampling as quickly as possible.

My FATS calculation workbook: fats_0.1.xls


Here we go (FYI: The screen shots could look slightly different depending on your car or version of Windows, VAG-COM, and/or Excel.):

1) Open VAG-COM and make sure it's connected to your car and click Select.


2) Click 01-Engine.


3) Click Meas. Blocks-08.


4) Enter 003 in the Group box and click Go!. Make sure the two other blocks are empty so that you maximize your sampling rate. Then, click Log.


5) Enter a file name in the box and click Start.


6) When you're ready to start your run, click Marker so that you can find the data later and punch it. It's still up in the air what the appropriate RPM range is for a FATS run, but my suggestion is to run from about 2500 RPMs to 7000 RPMs or redline in third gear. You'll be going about 100 MPH at the end of third, so watch out.


7) After the run, click Done, Close, and exit out of VAG-COM.



8) Locate and open the log you just created.


9) Open the log in Excel. Press Ctrl+Shift+End and Excel will select all the data in the sheet. Next, press Ctrl+C to copy the data.


Download my FATS calculation workbook: fats_0.1.xls

10) Open the FATS claculation workbook, it will open on the Paste VAG-COM Log Here worksheet. Selet the Edit menu and select Paste Special....


11) On the Paste Special menu, select Values and click OK.


12) The data from the VAG-COM log will now be in the FATS calculation workbook.


13) Now, the only thing you need to do is find the start and the end of the FATS run. This is easy because you inserted the marker before you began the run. Mark the start with an A and the end with a B. If you followed the above steps correctly, the start and end points will be highlighted in green and red, respectively.


14) Now, select the FATS worksheet and you'll find your FATS time already calculated. You can enter any RPMs in the cells to find out the time it took to accelerate between them. The calculation fits a fourth-order polynomial line to the data and allows you to find acceleration between any two RPMs, even if they are not included in the VAG-COM data. I chose a fourth order polynomial line because it seemed to give the highest R² value and was still useful at forcasting forward and backward in the event that your run didn't include the RPMs you want to time. A sixth order polynomial sometimes gave a slightly higher R², but wasn't very effective at forcasting. A linear line was easy to use for forecasting, but had a (relatively) lower R². Anyway, that's it...there's your FATS time.

[No More B5 S4]

[mpwolf]

[BiturboBoy_V2.0_S3--]

you must be very bored.
and we thought the bimmer woudl be the end of mpwolf. lol.

[mpwolf]

[mpwolf]

[BiturboBoy_V2.0_S3--]

go take out your mommy's trash or something useful. lol. what happened to your trip to europe/asia idea? or the teaching english abroad idea?

[mpwolf]

[PSmalls::DoggieStyle]

[mpwolf]