megasquirt m50?

[xLegendOZWest]

http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/megasquirti-programmable-efi-system-pcb30-kit-black-case-p-108.html

I prob wont be mega squirting for a while but i was wondering if this is what i would need to build it. how does the old motronic come into play? is it just used for its plug? (and case? ) uses stock harness for the most part?

thanks

(sorry if im a repost here)

[shiboujin]

I just ripped out about 99% of the stock wiring and started from scratch. Why waste your money on modifying the stock wiring and all that crap when you can do it yourself?

Heres my megasquirt for dummies write up: http://e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=230

only difference is that you need to wire for coil on plug. Talk to a DIYAutotune rep and let them know you have an M50. They can wire up a coil on plug setup for you using the regular MS box and 6 BIP373 drivers. Basically have them build it for you to save yourself the headache. It's worth the money.

[xLegendOZWest]

I just ripped out about 99% of the stock wiring and started from scratch. Why waste your money on modifying the stock wiring and all that crap when you can do it yourself?

Heres my megasquirt for dummies write up: http://e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=230

only difference is that you need to wire for coil on plug. Talk to a DIYAutotune rep and let them know you have an M50. They can wire up a coil on plug setup for you using the regular MS box and 6 BIP373 drivers. Basically have them build it for you to save yourself the headache. It's worth the money.

okay cool. about how much did you spend on your ms out of curiosity?

[shiboujin]

$600 for the MS and LC1 and minor other stuff I'd say.

[xLegendOZWest]

*whistels* dammmn

[shiboujin]

are you boosting? if not, theres really no need. if you are, $600 is cheap for a stand alone with a wide band.

[z31maniac]

^If you plan on more mods in the future. Not to mention you can get a much more precise tune with a standalone then a chip, even if you keep sending the chip back to be recalibrated after a few dyno runs.

Then if you say, add cams, you can retune yourself vs buying another chip.

Just a thought.

[xLegendOZWest]

i will be boosting eventually. but its my DD and ill prob end up waiting till i have a backup motor (stroked vanos m50 ftw?) so either way mega squirt will be in the picture.
would i be able to set up a 2 step with it? i love them,

[PiercedE30]

Shit, I've been using my car as a DD for the past 16 months, all with MS on it. I haven't even had to plug in my laptop to MS in over 9 months. Haha

[nando]

I just ripped out about 99% of the stock wiring and started from scratch. Why waste your money on modifying the stock wiring and all that crap when you can do it yourself?

Heres my megasquirt for dummies write up: http://e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=230

only difference is that you need to wire for coil on plug. Talk to a DIYAutotune rep and let them know you have an M50. They can wire up a coil on plug setup for you using the regular MS box and 6 BIP373 drivers. Basically have them build it for you to save yourself the headache. It's worth the money.

yeah, why use a BMW designed, engineered and tested wiring harness when you can make one with noise and grounding problems yourself out of bailing twine and electrical tape?

[shiboujin]

yeah, why use a BMW designed, engineered and tested wiring harness when you can make one with noise and grounding problems yourself out of bailing twine and electrical tape?

because the MS wiring is so different, making the stock wiring work is a waste of money. So far my harness lasted a year with no major hickups before I redid the whole car. Weight reduction!

[nando]

because the MS wiring is so different, making the stock wiring work is a waste of money. So far my harness lasted a year with no major hickups before I redid the whole car. Weight reduction!

maybe you're pretty good at wiring, who knows, but most people who have issues with megasquirt are due to poor wiring (especially grounds). Using the stock harness eliminates 99% of those problems for most people.

I also don't see how it costs you money to use the harness that comes with the engine over making your own, and they really aren't that different. In fact the M50 and M20 PNP boards pretty much prove that.

and no way you can tell the difference in weight between a factory and custom wiring harness, what's that like 6 ounces?

[shiboujin]

I had problems with mine but it was trial and error. grounding is almost an art. I simplified mine and ground most things to the block via a terminal.

I never used my stock harness for much so eventually I ripped it out. all the fuse wiring, starter wiring, relays, sensors, etc actually weighed quite a bit. I forget the numbers but it was around 1lb of weight saving by making my own harness vs rehashing the stock one.

if you CAN reuse the stock harness, theres no harm in it but making your own is moar fun imo. plus you make your own diagrams. I love making diagrams..

[nando]

I had problems with mine but it was trial and error. grounding is almost an art. I simplified mine and ground most things to the block via a terminal.

I never used my stock harness for much so eventually I ripped it out. all the fuse wiring, starter wiring, relays, sensors, etc actually weighed quite a bit. I forget the numbers but it was around 1lb of weight saving by making my own harness vs rehashing the stock one.

if you CAN reuse the stock harness, theres no harm in it but making your own is moar fun imo. plus you make your own diagrams. I love making diagrams..

Yeah but think about how many people either hate wiring, are really afraid of it, or screw it up terribly. I have a friend who megasquirted his MR2, he did his own wiring harness which was a huge mistake. He's just not competent enough to do that himself. Also he used one wire color for all the wires, it was a fucking rats nest. Needless to say he couldn't get it to run very well.

adapter boards are perfect for these people. They also save a lot of time, that you can use to work on other problems. I did the research before I built mine (there were no PNP boards back then), using the stock harness I got the car running in a couple hours from the time I removed Motronic. And if I screwed something up, I could have just plugged the stock computer back in and been fine. Of course I never did!

1lb isn't much. That's like taking a dump before I get into the car. :p

[shiboujin]

every lb adds up nando!

I've had to fix a car with a "PnP" harness. It's def easiER but not easy. You still NEED to know basics about wiring. I think of PnP systems like playing with fire. I've always been the kind of guy that learns to do it rather than plug and pray.

IMO if you aren't good or want to get good with wiring/electronics, don't go MS.