ITB'er needs a Megasquirt

[Gavin]

I've had all my hardware installed for more than a year now (running GSXR ITB's) but haven't had my car on the road for lack of proper engine management.

I'm looking to run megasquirt to tackle the aforementioned problem, but unfortunately I know nothing of megasquirt; what unit I should be buying, what software, what add-on's I'll need, nothing.

I don't want to get fancy with the ignition, I just want to be able to manipulate my fuel and drive my damned car (as simply and cost effectively as is possible).

Any advice? MS I or II, what do I need in the way of software and set-up? I'm reading-up on this as I go but if anyone can spare me some grief or costly mistakes I'd love to hear from you.

[nando]

don't run a fuel only setup - 99% of power gains come from the timing map. Fuel only setups also rarely run well.

I would highly suggest looking into a DIYPNP - it reuses your stock harness. There's still some assembly/setup required, but not nearly as much as a standard megasquirt kit. www.diyautotune.com, I'd call or email them.

software setup is basically free. for firmware, you'll want to run the extra code - it's basically standard for MS2 and MS3 now. the DIYPNP uses the MS2 CPU. www.msextra.com

[Gavin]

Emailed diyautotune asking for advice on what kit is right for me, and received a reply asking what kit I want to buy???

It seems to me the only real difference between the DIYPNP kit and the traditional MSII is the 55 pin Motronic harness connection? Am I wrong or could I save myself some time, effort, and funds by buying the assembled MSII and scabbing on the 55 pin connector from one of my spare BMW ECU’s??

Am I missing something? I’m assuming I am based on the cost diferential.

[blueapplesoda]

To be honest with you, from my personal experience with MS1, MS2, and the DIYPNP...

It's cheaper and easier when all is said and done to go with the DIYPNP.

I am running a standard ms2 in my car, and Ive done a bunch of DIYPNP setups, and I would never go back to ms2, however much "the same" it is, the quality of the diypnp just seems soooo much better in comparison to a bunch of through-hole components hand soldered.

could I save myself some time, effort, and funds by buying the assembled MSII and scabbing on the 55 pin connector from one of my spare BMW ECU’s??

The amount of time and effort put into building a ms2 and making/troubleshooting an adapter using the stock motronic 55 pin would be better used to go to work and make $$. Life is just easier with the diypnp.

It would be like trying to climb a dirt hill in a paddle boat when there is an express tram to the top for a small amount more.

[decay]

if you need the car running in the meantime, you can use motronic with ITBs. my alpha-n box died on me, so i went back to my chipped ECU and messed with injector sizing and fuel pressure and the car is both faster and cleaner than stock, and i can still drive it while i wait for my guy to build my pnpms- if you want to do this as an intermediary solution, it is viable.

[nando]

Emailed diyautotune asking for advice on what kit is right for me, and received a reply asking what kit I want to buy???

It seems to me the only real difference between the DIYPNP kit and the traditional MSII is the 55 pin Motronic harness connection? Am I wrong or could I save myself some time, effort, and funds by buying the assembled MSII and scabbing on the 55 pin connector from one of my spare BMW ECU’s??

Am I missing something? I’m assuming I am based on the cost diferential.

no, there is more to it than that. the DIYPNP comes with some add ons that you'd have to buy seperately for a standard MS2 installation, and of course all the work of having the stock connector is already done (trust me it's a lot of work, even when you have it all mapped out and you've built a couple).

[Gavin]

dk, you’ve been able to run your ITB’s off the factory ECU? I had assumed I’d be able to achieve a basic level of drivability doing this as well but haven’t arrived at anything close to a drivable status.

My attempt to run of the Motronic had me replacing the AFM signal with a 0 – 5v variable TPS signal that I routed through a signal calibrator so that I could mess with it. But, no matter how much I play with this TPS signal I can’t get things to run worth a damn. Car runs monster rich (10.3:1) at idle, leans-out pops and stalls when you try to accelerate quickly, runs fat again if you rev her up very slowly and hold at any given RPM (though she’ll hit a viable AFR at high RPM this way).

I had written-off trying to get things started this way, but maybe I’ve got another issue causing me grief that I hadn’t thought of if others have seen some success.

nando, what I’ve read to date agrees with what you’re saying (DIYPNP>MSII), makes sense to me. If I’m putting information together correctly at this point it looks to me that all I’d need is the DIYPNP kit, and the IAT sensor kit. I already have a wideband with a 0 – 5v output to feed the megasquirt so I’m good on that front.

I’ll be looking to buy these goodies this week. Is DIYAutoTune.com generally considered the best spot to buy?

[decay]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]dk, you’ve been able to run your ITB’s off the factory ECU? I had assumed I’d be able to achieve a basic level of drivability doing this as well but haven’t arrived at anything close to a drivable status.

yes. keep in mind i have an m42 so that's a different version of motronic... but when i determined the alpha-n (which did the same thing you were attempting) had died i said "fuck it" and decided to see how it'd do with the stock AFM plugged into the dbilas inlet.

i lost a little pull from 6K to redline, and had to get an adjustable FPR, but it works well now- pulls nicely and when i had it smog checked last month it was at 10% of allowable limits for HC and CO2, so it's running pretty clean also.

if i get a wild hair up my ass this weekend i may see if swapping from the 22lb injectors i have now to the 24s i have in storage gets me any more power, because i'm pretty sure i'm somewhere north of 12.8:1 @ WOT, which MarkD says is optimal for my engine.

assuming you still have your AFM, it wouldn't cost anything to see if it'll work for you also... my rationale for trying was "well, the e30m3 came with ITBs and an AFM, let's see if it works..." i think you should give it a shot; i'm guessing you see throttle-response and top-end pull improvements over the stock intake manifold.

when you go MS you'll be able to choose between MAP and MAF, so there will be more gains to be had there as well. i plan on that too, but i still have other stuff that needs to go in first, most notably the wideband O2.

[nando]

DIYautotune is definitely one of the best, if not the best, places to get MS products. And the DIYpnp is their product anyway, so you won't be able to get it from somewhere else. I would definitely try to contact them directly about it, and ask them questions. While it's way easier to build and setup than an MS kit from scratch, it can still be difficult for somebody new to it due to the amount of potential setups and options you can choose from.

[Gavin]

Just ordered my DIYPNP. Should be here in 3-5. Then all I'll have to do is assemble a complicated piece of electronics that is completely alien to me, install, calibrate, plug-in an ocean of table values that I have only a rudimentary understanding of, and tune.... easy.

I enjoy a challenge, so this should be very enjoyable.

[decay]

hahahah. godspeed man :D

are you using a wideband? if so, it can auto-tune up a rough map for you. i have an AEM UEGO ready to go in, because i wasn't counting on being able to find anyone with an ITB-ready map for my engine either...

[Gavin]

Yes, I've already got a wideband installed and running full time, with a little red display where my ashtray used to be.

I too figured a WBO2 would be a must for an ITB setup.

[Gavin]

Wow! just recieved my DIYPNP. Somehow I had'nt quite envisioned as much assembly as is going to be required here. I had pictured the microsquirt module being basically assembled - requiring a few configuration wiring steps, connection to a board, and then jumpers from the board to the harness connection, but there's a lot more to it than that. This is going to take a while.

[ieatmango]

i have one on my car, took about 6 hours working slowly (and semi drunkenly) it's really simple and straightforward, i just caution don't open any bags until you've installed whats already open, very simple work my friend. oh and buy the auto tune it's awesome, and really can dial you in pretty close way faster than you can type i assure you that

[Danny]

i have one on my car, took about 6 hours working slowly (and semi drunkenly) it's really simple and straightforward, i just caution don't open any bags until you've installed whats already open, very simple work my friend. oh and buy the auto tune it's awesome, and really can dial you in pretty close way faster than you can type i assure you that

I know who you are.