bit fields can be, but don't have to be 1 byte long... TS is fine with U16 and U32 fields as well. However there is usually not much reason for so many selections :)
In the older firmwares it was very common to cram several fields into a single byte, but in cases where there is a whole lot more memory, fields are often mapped to lower bits with a single field in a byte for simplicity.
But with that said, they do not use the whole byte either unless told to do so. More typically they are only 1 to 4 bits long.
looking at the example you send:
n_cyl = bits, U08, 0, [0:4], "INVALID","1","2","3","4","5","6".......
the [0:4] would denote that this field uses bits 0-4, so it is 5 bits long. Therefore will contain a value from 0-31, you can then assign another variable to bits 5-7 with: [5:7]
If you assign this bit field to a dialog, TunerStudio will display it as a drop down list, with up to 32 values for a 5 bit field. Hence the list of strings.. The string list is optional.
If there is no String list, TS will just display the raw value 0-31 in the list, but instead you can provide a list of strings to put in the drop down, each string in order will be mapped to the index value.
So let's look at a smaller bit field to keep simpler.
nInjectors1= bits, U08, 183, [4:7]
This is a 4 bit field, and as there are no string, the drop down will simply be displayed as a list of values 0-15.
Now in this case where this variable represents the number of injectors 0-15 isn't quite what is wanted, so this notation is supported:
nInjectors1= bits, U08, 183, [4:7+1]
This will display the index value + 1, so the drop down will have 1-16, but the underlying value will still be 0-15.
Now for the String list entry:
twoStroke1 = bits, U08, 182, [2:2], "Four-stroke", "Two-stroke"
A simple 1 bit field, only looking at bit 2. It is either set or not. If you use twoStroke1 in a formula or expression in TS is will always resolve to 0 or 1.
There are 2 strings after, so these will be used instead of index values. You will get a drop down with the two options available, "Four-stroke" will resolve to the index value of 0, "Two-stroke" will resolve to 1.
Expanding on this... Special String: "INVALID"
If you have say a 2 bit field, but the value of 3 isn't valid and you do not want it displayed:
dwellduty50 = bits, U08, 12, [5:6], "75% duty cycle*^", "minimal for HEI4", "50% duty cycle", "INVALID"
