Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

would like to hear some *first hand* experinces with the Megasquirt ECU...

i dont want to hear "its good for the money" bullshit cuz nothing else compairs to the cost. i dont see FAST/TEC3/Motec selling unassembled units ::)

i stumbled across this (i have heard of it before though) when lookin for extra injector controlers, and this will cost about the same, plus it has more features and is NOT a hack/piggyback/last resort item... im liking what i have been reading but would liek to hear some feedback from the homemadeturbo guys on this :-*

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

Ive never used it but just from reading it sounds good except that it only does batch inject or "ping pong" between banks. No indivual injection. Have you thought about running a honda ECU. Converting over the sensors and wiring harness and running turbo edit??

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

that sounds very crackheaded and crazy...i will look into it...

but the car this will be going into will make that idea like putting a Ford motor into a Chevy, DSM into a Honda, etc...i will be banded from the other camp... but brings the cost of the 'standalone' to under 100bucks..... i will look into the possiblity though...

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

I have MegaSquirt (AKA MS) on a turbo VW Rabbit. What do you want to know?

I can tell you that the 8x8 fuel map is a little limiting - you can get an excellent fuel map, but it takes a little more time. The tuning software is as good as any, it will "self-tune" the fuel map if you have a narrow band, or wideband O2 sensor plugged into it. You can get ignition timing with software changes, and run it from a coil pack with a fair amount of fabrication work.

www.msefi.com is the message board - ask some Honda / DSM / whatever specific questions, they will be glad to answer them.

I also built a DIY wideband, from www.wbo2.com which was $165- shipped to the USA (the Bosch sensor was another $35)

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

a Rabbit? well aint that great...this is gonna be for my Golf project (well no car yet, but leaning to the golf). so i want to know everything! you have AIM? ludesi or MSN? i dont remember my msn but it in my profile.

you rollin an 8v or 16v? im interested to know what your doing for spark.

im hoping to put my PLX WB to some good use with the datalogging setup on the MS..

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

<<<you rollin an 8v or 16v? im interested to know what your doing for spark.>>>

It's on an 8v - the 16V parts are priecd like Porsche parts, and the marginal gain in horsepower (okay, 10 - 15HP) really didn't make much sense to a cheapskate like me.
I have a Rabbit, original 1.6L motor that I rebuilt for $129 with a JC Whitney kit, port and polished head (80HP of fury, baby). Built a log manifold, used T3, crappy (but cheap!)Audi 5000 intercooler where the battery used to go, battery stuffed into a box in the trunk.

Megasquirt is controlling the fueling, using the stock distributor for spark ...BUT... you have one or two options for spark. The simplest is to use the distributor from a 1987-1993 Golf/Jetta?Cabriolet etc , wire it to the Megasquirt and change the software and boom! programmable timing.

The more complex way is to use the Ford EDIS box. The only advantage I see with this is that running the distributor from the intermediate shaft introduces a little "play" into the distributor - your actual timing may be +/- 1 or 2 degrees of what you've set it, whereas the crank based EDIS will be rock solid and spot-on.
I also explored a variation of the MS-n-EDIS at www.picasso.org, bought the kit, but it's been a pain in the ass to put together - the instructions aren't very user friendly. The advantage of this is that you get to keep teh warm-up regulator on MS, and you can add whatever extra features you want, like MAP/RPM triggered boost control solenoids, sequential shift lights, water sprayers on the intercooler etc etc.

A cheap engine option that I might explore in the future is this: 1993 - 1997 VW 2.0L engine from ebay for $199 - $299- with 70,000 miles - this is a prety common deal. The engine is pretty rock solid, it has oil squirters under the pistons to cool them, making it ideal for a turbo, and up till 1997 has a tougher forged crank.

Some links:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1010367
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1408586
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/megaVAG
www.msefi.com

e-mail with questions : ijcameron -at- hotmail.com

Iain

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

I'm running megasquirt with EDIS, I can't say enough good things about it, it's as good as it gets, short of having sequential, but I have no interest in sequential, just adds a level of complexity I don't want to pursue. The MSnEDIS setup runs the car smooth and strong, and their isn't anything I can't program or datalog, it doesn't get much better than that :)

I also have MegaJoltLiteJr from picasso.org, I assembled it in about half an hour and I'm a rookie, I thought it was waaaay easier than the MS unit to assemble. The only reason I'm not running with it yet is I have to get an enclosure and wanted the 2 stage rev limiter functionality of the MSnEDIS for my current wimpy block.

A friend of mine is building a late 2.0L VW turbo setup, he picked the engine up from a late model wrecker with 20,000 miles on it, he's going to keep the block stock. He's using a T3 from a saab, it's all going in an '84 Jetta 2 door. His project is on hold at the moment while he takes care of a few other priorities. I think he was planning on running Bosch engine management from a Volvo with knock retard etc. and VW dizzy, but I think I've got him convinced to use MSnSpark

Neil

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

well for spark im not sure what i want to do really... i would like to use a complete system not MS and some Bosch managment, but no real problems with that... so far im leaning toards the 16v motor with MS. my buudy says i can use a Bosch/SAAB dizzy etc and it sounds like that is good for 20psi...also the limit of the Motorola MAP sensor...

but i have been lookin at some VW race cars (most likely this car will be built as a racecar) and noticed that "Lugnuts" is running 33psi on his ABA/16v Scirocco!!! thats a lot of boost on a big ass turbo for the 535hp he is making (and beyond the limits of the MS)... also noticing that some of the fastest waterpumpers are running 8v motors (or a VR6). im a little torn with what im going to do...

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

how about knock control? seems that knock control would be a very important part of turbo engine management. the latest version of MS i've seen didn't yet have it, but i may be behind a few versions...

a possible alternative: the saab APC system. essentially, it is a system that measures knock, rpm, boost pressure and when knock is detected, it cuts boost pressure down to a safe level to prevent engine damage. you can find an APC in the jy for as little as $20. think of it as a knock dependent boost controller. i have one of the red box units on my desk right now, hopefully i'll have it picked apart soon with more info, but it seems a viable supplement to systems like MS and uberdata that have no provision for knock protection.

Re:Megasquirt? your opinions....
 

Well, you can't depend on a knock sensor as your primary knock input, inaccurate at best.
Do your maps well and you'll be pretty safe all over.

I've been running megasquirt with dual table code on my suzuki for over a year, now converting to megasquirt'n'spark. It really is quite sophisticated. IMO the best thing is that I can customize it any way I want. Need a feature? I just write some assembly and get it done.