Megasquirt EFI? In turbobuicks?

[Daniel Jost]

I posted this in the Aftermarket ECM section with little response.. So here it goes..

I have been seriously looking into swapping over to Megasquirt with my car i have been doing a lot of searching on here trying to find what i need for hardware (What version, ect).. I couldnt find an exact answer of which computer version was the one i would want to use. I PM'ed Markr-nc about it becuase i know he has direct experience with it and is willing to help. Im looking for people that have direct experience with this system on turbo buicks to help me a bit on what type of ECM and hardware optioning i need for it. If Anyone knows someone that i can get a hold of that would also be a big help.

Thanks,Dan

 

[TurboDave]

Why are you so set on Megasquirt???? With so many other choices available that lot's of board members have tons of experience with, you'd be better off looking at more common choices.

And IMHO, the level of your present build hardly justifies such a change.

 

[Razor]

+1

One half of the problem with any aftermarket computer system is hardware.. making it work with the sensors on the car, the next battle is support.

The support battle will be tough. And this one plays hand in hand with the hardware one above.

If you had an all out race car, it could be a consideration. For a street car.. not worth it.

Why not do this, get a power logger.. chip burner/eraser.. and get in touch with Eric and have him burn you a custom prom for the car. Sending him files, he can tweak on the parameters and you can get the chip to work 100%. All the changes happen through email so there is no downtime.

If your hell bent on getting the megasquirt to work with the Buick.. let us know how it goes.

Some battles i've learned not to enter the battlefield first, becuase of casualties. Let alone in the future selling the car, anyone buying it would have to really consider that platform since the support is not there.

 

[SGRIM]

All in one:biggrin:

http://isacalky.com/

 

[JayC]

If youre hell bent on an aftermarket system, Id pick up a classic FAST box and roll with that. We've tuned some MegaSquirts here on the dyno and they're okay but theyre also kind of problematic. That could be with whoever is building them but we seem to always have issues with them when they come in.. like they erase their firmware for no reason, etc.

With your build, if you want some degree of tuneability, Id recommend a MAF Pro setup for your car. Its scaleable as you do more mods and has most of the features that the mainstream engine management systems have.

 

[Daniel Jost]

The reason that i am looking to run MS is that it is cheap and through searching i know there are others on this board that have successfully run it. I figured i would be bashed on being different, but MS is much much cheaper than any other aftermarket system out there, and with my mods i know it isnt neccesary but in the future after im done with school i will be looking to get much more serious with my build, and dont want to buy a bunch of stuff that will be useless then.. I do have Powerlogger now, with a WB02 and 3Bar, but chip burning software is almost $200 and for that you can almost but a MS box.. Im open to going the chip burner route, but i need to know were to get the software and the hardware....

 

[machinegun]

You can contact moates.net for chipburning components, equipment and software.

I use the APU1, coverted my ECM to a flash chip socket, using the APU1 and RTT software I can make changes on the fly and push them to the APU while the car is running. The APU emulates the chip. Once done I burn a flash chip and insert. If I want to make changes I just hook the APU modded ECM make my changes reflash the chip and I am off again.

I use the APU for scanning but the powerlogger would do that much better.

Since you already have items to do it you may want to consider this option.

Personally I tried the MS way and was not happy with it. I use a stock ECM on most of my customers cars and use the procedure above, I modify their ECMS to take the flash chip.

 

[Daniel Jost]

Ok you have me confused now, why cant you just keep the APU1 in all the time? Why would you have to burn a chip still? also what did all this cost you?

,Dan

 

[machinegun]

You can keep the APU1 in all the time. It has a battery and flash chip so it will be fine. I dont as I use it on a regular basis for other cars.

I still use the flash chips for customer cars. Once I am done tunning the car I burn a chip for them and we are done.

I will flash my own chip so I do not have to have my APU1 hooked up all the time. For most occasions I tune the car when I have done something new or want to change from pump gas alky to race fuels. Other than those mods I just leave it.

The APU1 also allows external inputs fro wideband or boost sensor. You have to configure it in your software but it has that capability if you want.

I use the flash chips as they do not need an eraser like a EPROM does.

Hope this helps

 

[Grumpy]

Ok you have me confused now,

,Dan

wait till you really get involved. You better have some GOOD support .. Bottom line.. give it a whirl. Could be a very good learning experience

 

[ttypewe4jim]

wait till you really get involved. You better have some GOOD support .. Bottom line.. give it a whirl. Could be a very good learning experience

Dan you don't even really need the support tbh. I taught hot rodding was about making a bunch parts work together. What did you guys do when hot rodding first started?..... I assume/ hope you figured out things your self.

I have never really had anyone go right in and show me how to tune these cars very well. I've learned by teaching myself sure Ive hurt some parts along the way, but I think just about everyone has done that before. I used to run a MS ecu on my car but I have since taken it off. I don't have the time anymore to play with the thing as much as I used to :frown: but they do work very well IMO. But with the parts which are out there today like the power logger and Eric's Wb tracking chips...... its just so much easier to put a chip in adj your timing, AF and just go. I do like seeing people try and go off the beaten path so to speak, because that's how a lot of the part have been developed.....

 

[Grumpy]

Dan you don't even really need the support tbh. I taught hot rodding was about making a bunch parts work together. What did you guys do when hot rodding first started?..... I assume/ hope you figured out things your self.

I go threw learning experiences even today. He wants to do this because its cheap.. So I say give it a whirl .. what can he loose ???

 

[Daniel Jost]

Dan you don't even really need the support tbh. I taught hot rodding was about making a bunch parts work together. What did you guys do when hot rodding first started?..... I assume/ hope you figured out things your self.

I have never really had anyone go right in and show me how to tune these cars very well. I've learned by teaching myself sure Ive hurt some parts along the way, but I think just about everyone has done that before. I used to run a MS ecu on my car but I have since taken it off. I don't have the time anymore to play with the thing as much as I used to :frown: but they do work very well IMO. But with the parts which are out there today like the power logger and Eric's Wb tracking chips...... its just so much easier to put a chip in adj your timing, AF and just go. I do like seeing people try and go off the beaten path so to speak, because that's how a lot of the part have been developed.....

Do you still happen to have any tune files or wiring schematics? or the MS ecm still?

Grumpy your exactly right its cheap i would like to give it a try because of that, and some things you have to teach yourself along the way..

 

[HouseofSpeed]

The sweetness of a good deal will be long gone while the bitterness of poor quality remains.

 

[ttypewe4jim]

Do you still happen to have any tune files or wiring schematics? or the MS ecm still?

Grumpy your exactly right its cheap i would like to give it a try because of that, and some things you have to teach yourself along the way..

unfortunately no I do not this was a few years ago... it was even a MS1 box.. :frown:

The box it self is now in a s10 with a turbo v8....

I havent looked into it much lately but I know they where working on "plug and play" setups not sure if there out yet or not...

 

[STGMAN]

Megasquirt

I'm so sorry to inform you Mr. Mark Riley passed away around Christmas last year and he did indeed have a megasquirt on his limited. I miss him everyday.

bob

 

[slickshoe1603]

hey man i am thinking of attempting the same thing on my buick, i run ms on my jetta which is aftermarket turbo'd and it works great. is it as easy as a chip, no, it does require LOTS of tuning time and tweeking. the hardest part of getting it set up is making sure the board is wired/soldered for the aplication. diyautotune.com has lots of info on how to set up for distributorless ignition and the buick has all the gm sensors you need to hook it up as a stand alone.

the guys above have much more experiance with buicks then i do and are more then likely steering you in the right direction. and keep in mind its not just the ms, you have to get a wideband and other goodies too.

however i was going to try hooking it up as a piggy back system for just the fuel becuase i have an extra ms1 box sitting in the garage and the chip tune on my car now way too rich, someone correct me if im wrong but the ecu will still drive the ignition even if its not controling the fuel, this should be a really easy set up to do. there is some info on piggy backing on the diy website too

 

[liquidh8]

using the autoprom from moates and tunerproRT with flash chips, LC-1 wbo2

Steep learning curve till you know what you are looking at.

 

[pdooley]

MS is just like anything else- you get out of it what you put in.
It is rock solid with proper implementation.
The support is really good in the forums.
The online megamanual is very informative.
It's an excellent project for the individual who wants to learn.
That individual must have much patience and perseverance, as MS can get overwhelming.
However, seems to me that Buicks already have a decent management system. I would only run MS on a Buick if I was constantly changing things and didn't want to pay for a bunch or chip burns. Or maybe just for a fun project to learn about engine management. I definetly wouldn't try to install it over a weekend on a car I counted on for getting to work Monday.

 

[Sleeper-6]

I've been looking into mega squirt for a friends car for some time now. It is a simple V8 with a dizzy, so the learning curve will be more forgiving than a turbo Buick. It looks like a fun system to play with.

However, since there are so many options for the Buicks I woulden't consider it my best choice. If I wanted to get into more advanced tuning with a laptop I'd look into the Translator Pro system. It seems to be a nice middle groung between the factory ECM with chips and a full blown stand alone system.