Good evening!

I managed to get completely scared off the idea of MS due to the mapping issues everyone seems to experience. Now im edging back towards it due to the costs of other aftermarket systems (can be up to 10x the expense!) and the fact I'm handy with electronics.

Do people know if any rolling roads actually work with it, as this is a must for me as i would like to be able to trailer the car to a RR with a base map and leave with it largely spot on? Rather than struggling for ages to just to get a map that runs without issues not a map that gets the most from my engine.

Now I have all the EDIS parts needed (im running an XE) so now im looking to get the MS kit, a MEGASTIM kit and a relay kit to build while I generate the funds necessary to complete and fit my engine.

I'm looking at http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/megasquirt-kits-c-30.html as the source but do I need extras on top of the kit to run spark aswell as fuel? I understand MSNSE is a different kettle of fish, that isnt alluded to on the DIYAUTOTUNE site?

I've rambled, but if you havent read the post:

Do rolling roads deal with MS?

I need a system that can deal with squirt and spark. What else do I need on top of the kits listed on DIYAUTOTUNE, i.e. extra modules, sensors, wiring?

Hiya,

I didn't build mine, but afaik, the standard board just needs the MSnS firmware loaded onto it to do spark as well as squirt. I found it easy to set up, I haven't finished off the mapping yet, but it did fire first time once we got the spark right, and following the instructions in the manual, it was quite easy to get noticeable results out of the tuning. There have been a couple of threads about rolling roads here and here.

You can get feedback from the car if you're using an 02 sensor (and the software exists to auto-tune it for you based on that feedback), which makes life easier...

HTH


Vince

Thank you very much Vince. Am I right in thinking that this datalogging is an advantage of MSII? I hoped that loading on the MSNSE firmware would be that straightforward, but wouldnt there need to be some extra circuitry to deal with the outputs to the injectors?

I had read one of those RR threads which had scared me off! The other seems far more positive .

Thanks again.

Hi Craig,

yeh, you need the output for the sparks (the injector outputs are standard), but the manual for building the kit says which bits are optional extras, then the firmware updates take care of the rest. I'm not sure about the logging, I think it's in MSI depending on the board revision and the firmware you use. If you've got somewhere you can run the car at a steady RPM, you can auto-tune it live - give it a target lambda and its boundaries to adjust, and it'll do it for you...

Whereabouts in the world are you? If you're not far away I'd be happy to show you around it (I'm no expert tho!) - we're in Swindon.

Cheers


Vince

I'd say if you make yourself familiar with the software and your rolling road guy knows what he's doing tuning other systems you'd be fine.

The guy that did mine had never even heard of megasquirt but was used to DTA, once i showed him where everything was in Megatunix it was no problem and we squeezed and extra 30BHP out from where we started.

If they can run the rollers, read the 02 settings and understand how a fuel map works then it's fine.

I,m only squirting but with a wide band lambda sensor have got mine spot on, there are tools which enable you to tune the car when driving it. I used the auto tune feature and am more than happy with the result.

There are plenty of maps floating around for XE's on throttle bodies so you should be pretty close on someone elses. The advantage of DIY with a WB sensor is that you can manage the tune yourself so are not limited if you want to fettle the engine in the pursuit of more power.

So build MS, or possibly VEMS and give it a go youself.

As Mark says, if you have a wideband lamda and a laptop its pretty easy to get a good map with some datalogging. If you carfeully read the instructions (ignoring the bits which dont apply to your install) it all becomes clear quite rapidly. Most people run in to problems through missing a certain option in one of the menus or something silly like having the spark timing wrong.

It is more difficult to run spark as well, but there is enough help available here as well as on the MS forums to get you going.

People like extraefi will load a basic map into the ecu as well if you let them know what engine you have which should at least get you started.

Dont expect for it to work straight out of the box like an Omex or Weber Alpha kit, but then also dont expect the price tag that those systems come with!

David

Cheers for the support guys! I notice extraefi has recently increased his prices, probably due to exchange rates etc so I will be building the unit myself in the knowledge that using the *search function* on here/MS forums I'll be able to track down a suitable base map and load it after loading on the MSnSE firmware.

Would there be any reason for me to go for the MSII over the MSI? Its a standard C20XE with R1 TBs and a big bore exhaust but hopefully supercharging it in the future so it will be running some boost. I wont need launch control etcetc (ive read the difference, but wanted to make sure im not missing anything crucial).

Ta for all the help.

Vinny, I live in Burton, a little way north of Birmingham. Maybe 2 hours from you?