RE: VAG scan tool & codes for V8

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

>     I have heard that on some V8q's that there are programs that can
> communicate with the car.  Check specific fuel system components, lock and
> unlock the doors, etc...  Is that true for all V8q's or a complete myth?

... that might very well be true for the 4.2 liter engine, but it is
definitely not true for the 3.6 ... which is found in the '90-91 models.  In
fact it was a bit disappointing to me to find that all of the cool features
that CarComp supports cannot be run on the 3.6.  If you have a newer car you
can log a number of vehicle parameters during a test drive and play it back
afterward.  I downloaded a demo of the software ... I think it was
www.baum.com or www.baumtools.com ... 

BTW, this isn't anything specific to the V8 ... all of the newer cars with
OBD-II support it.  AAMOF, a couple weeks back I hooked up an OBD-II scanner
to my mom's Chevy truck and could read parameters like throttle position
sensor value and watch it change as I depressed the accelerator.  

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)