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MS self build kits
lotusmadandy - 1/6/11 at 07:03 PM

I have seen a self build kit on the bay for £150 delivered

I am reasonably competent with a soldering iron but dont want to dite off more than i can chew.

Has anyone taken this route and had good results???

Or should i forget it and buy a good second hand one?

Andy

PSpirine - 1/6/11 at 07:11 PM

I did it, having never done somthing like that before - just random soldering here and there.

If you do it methodically, don't rush and take care, it's not very difficult, and incredibly satisfying!

I ordered mine from the states back when I got it a few years ago, and it was pretty cheap. Everything was spot on.

lotusmadandy - 1/6/11 at 07:18 PM

Yea,

It is very cheap and i feel pretty confident about building it up.

It is from the states,so i am a little worried about import taxes as well though.

Andy

rf900rush - 1/6/11 at 08:01 PM

I bought one like this a few years back.

Did get good results. But electronics is my work.

Had to pay VAT and a tax handleing type of charge.
So I guess at least 20% plus charge is likely. I was lucky at the time $1.90 to the £

Even with this, it was cheap enough to get my money back several years later when no longer needed.

Don't under estimate how much there is to learn.
If you are usefull with PC's that will help with the setup.

If you do go for one, it may well be work getting to "Stim board" for testing before in goes in the car.



Martin

lotusmadandy - 1/6/11 at 08:07 PM

Thanks Martin,

I'm still a little undecided Atm.

He has 20 kits for sale so i have time to have a think about it.

Andy

omega 24 v6 - 1/6/11 at 08:08 PM

I did it this way too V2.2 and then self build. as well as building the Vr conditioner from scratch and adding it the BIP trannys and an idle valve control tranny ( which I never used).
I'd say if you feel confident give it a go just be methodica,l the instructions are spot on. You learn so much as well when you come to load the firmware and software.

lotusmadandy - 1/6/11 at 08:17 PM

Thanks for all the Reply's lads.

It looks like i will go for it and order one

I will no doubt be asking for more advice,in due course.

Andy

se7en - 1/6/11 at 08:22 PM

Excuse my ignorance but what are MS self build kits?

If you can get the seller in the states to mark your parcel as a present or gift the tax people do not usually chase you for any taxes. I have used this method several times before and it has worked.

Tom

lotusmadandy - 1/6/11 at 08:38 PM

It's a Megasquirt in kit form.

The seller states in the listing that he will not mark the package as a gift,
so i may or may not get stung.

Andy

Chippy - 1/6/11 at 09:58 PM

I have built two MS1 V3's and both worked fine, didn't even use a stim. The only advise I would give is to get the finest, (thin), tip for your soldering iron that you can find, makes it much easier. HTH Ray

PSpirine - 1/6/11 at 10:11 PM

One thing I'd reinforce is follow the instructions all the time, even if they seem to follow a strange order. They are excellent, and if you don't deviate from it, everything will make a lot more sense in the end.

rf900rush - 1/6/11 at 10:14 PM

What ever you do DON'T use the new "Green" unleaded solder.....
Use the old 60/40 tin/lead with a rosin based flux. Then clean of the flux.

Martin

matt_gsxr - 1/6/11 at 11:08 PM

I bought mine from the states from
DiyAutoTune

http://www.diyautotune.com/
v2.2 board is listed at $147 but would have to add shipping to that.

Not sure whether they are cheaper than you have quoted, but they have a good reputation and haven't let me down.

Assembly was straight forward and the instructions are brilliant. Worth borrowing a stimulator or buying one at the same time, as without it you would have to test on the car, and that is difficult if it doesn't work as you will be trying to sort out tuning out at the same time (if you see what I mean).

V3 board is surface mount isn't it? quite tricky to solder. The earlier boards are easy if you give it some time and patience.

Building the MS isn't that difficult as long as you can follow instructions. Getting you car running with MS and then tuned is much more interesting and a real education (which I think is a good thing).

The manuals are a bit weak but the support and camaraderie are strong.

Matt

lotusmadandy - 2/6/11 at 08:13 AM

Matt,

How much import duty did customs charge you mate?

I'm just trying to work out how much extra wedge to put aside.

It is cheaper to buy one from the diy autotune website,than from ebay.

Andy.

matt_gsxr - 2/6/11 at 09:32 AM

Diyautotune ship it with US postal service which use ParcelForce.

Duty is 20% (same as VAT)
ParcelFroce charge an annoying £8 handling fee on top.

lotusmadandy - 2/6/11 at 11:11 AM

Thanks for all the reply's and help gent's.

i guess i will email autotune and get started then.

Andy

BaileyPerformance - 2/6/11 at 05:22 PM

quote:
Originally posted by lotusmadandy
I have seen a self build kit on the bay for £150 delivered

I am reasonably competent with a soldering iron but dont want to dite off more than i can chew.

Has anyone taken this route and had good results???

Or should i forget it and buy a good second hand one?

Andy


There is no reason why you couldn't build the kit yourself, there is loads of info out there. Dont bother with MS1, always go for MS2, we have switched over to MS2 and found it much better (bigger VE table, better/finer fuel control)

I would go for V3.0 MS2, mite be some cheap V2.2's out there, that's fine if you are going EDIS. (no ignition drivers in the V2.2 as standard)

If you need any help when building it give me a shout, all free!

lotusmadandy - 2/6/11 at 07:08 PM

Now i'm realy confused

I was on the verge of buying an ms1 with a v3 board.

A bit more research me thinks.

Andy

BaileyPerformance - 2/6/11 at 07:22 PM

quote:
Originally posted by lotusmadandy
Now i'm realy confused

I was on the verge of buying an ms1 with a v3 board.

A bit more research me thinks.

Andy


If its a new build (which it is) there is no point in using MS1, and existing MS1 (V2.2 or V3.0 hardware) can be upgraded to MS2 by changing the processor and alittle soldering. the MS2 processor is £80.

If the one you have found on web is MS1 that would explain why it is cheap! i buy my ECUs from extraefi.co.uk ready built and tested, i could build my own but it takes too long.

MS2 gives better fuel resolution (MS1 0.1mS, MS2 0.01mS) and bigger tables.

lotusmadandy - 2/6/11 at 07:41 PM

Thanks for the info BaileyPerformance.

I have to admit that the cost is a big factor in my decicion to buy a ms1.

Maybe i will have to wait and save up some pennies for a ms2.

Andy

Lars - 2/6/11 at 08:18 PM

how much bigger are tables in MS2?

I thought it was MS3 that had larger tables.
But if MS2 has larger tables I may upgrade to that soon, as it will help with mapping

matt_gsxr - 2/6/11 at 08:20 PM

I agree with the above.
If you are controlling sparks then MS2 is well worth the extra expense. If its just fuel then MS1 is plenty good enough. IMO.

You can upgrade MS1 to MS2 with a daughtercard at any time.

lotusmadandy - 2/6/11 at 08:49 PM

I only want to control fuel with it. I'm very happy to use the edis
to do the sparks.i take it an ms 1 will also do the advance
and retard bit like my megajolt then? Or do i still need
to keep the jolt in place?

Andy

jeffw - 3/6/11 at 05:48 AM

I ran a Zetec on ITB with a MS1 V3 with no problem. You don't really need the MS2 for most engines although it is nice to have, especially if you are using forced induction or more than 4 cylinders.

[Edited on 3/6/11 by jeffw]

scudderfish - 3/6/11 at 06:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by lotusmadandy
I only want to control fuel with it. I'm very happy to use the edis
to do the sparks.i take it an ms 1 will also do the advance
and retard bit like my megajolt then? Or do i still need
to keep the jolt in place?

Andy


MS1 will tell the EDIS module the spark timing. It's exactly the setup I have.

Regards,
Dave

lotusmadandy - 3/6/11 at 06:45 AM

Ok then, my mind is made up.

I am already using edis with MJ to do the sparks so an MS1 with
v3 board will do for me.

My order is going in today for my squirt,i should have it this time next week.

I will sell the MJ and carbs to help fund the squirt.

Lookout for my forthcoming questions

And once again the LCB massive has
come up trumps.. I thank you all

Andy

[Edited on 3/6/11 by lotusmadandy]

Jimbob - 3/6/11 at 07:37 AM

I got one delivered last week from diyautotune.com
MS2 V3 full kit unassembled, stimulator kit and a tuning cable
came to £285.94 all in with £43.55 import VAT & £13.50 parcel farce clearance fee

lotusmadandy - 3/6/11 at 07:38 AM

Well peep's,

I have just ordered my MS1 with a v3 board,it came in at
£147 including shipping and insurance.
I should have it by thursday or friday next week.

Thanks again for all the advice and help.

Andy

matt_gsxr - 3/6/11 at 07:58 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Lars
how much bigger are tables in MS2?

I thought it was MS3 that had larger tables.
But if MS2 has larger tables I may upgrade to that soon, as it will help with mapping


Lars,
Mine (Ms2 running MsExtra) has 16x16 but that is one benefit. It is a bit of everything.

The sync on the trigger wheels is logged.
You don't have to use easytherm or reflash to change sensor values
Clever acceleration enrichment methods (AEA)
Faster serial link
You can log the individual teeth on the trigger wheel
Ramped up time for staged injection
C-code so you can easily change things
Boost control, more idle control
Many more options and tables and toys.

I like MS1 and it does a good job, but Ms2 is nicer still.

I can send you a msq and you can see the additional flexibility (if you want), just e-mail me.

Matt

coyoteboy - 3/6/11 at 09:21 AM

Indeed I work with MS2 at work and it's much more pleasant to deal with than MS1, but MS1 does the trick nicely, you just need to know how to massage it round your problems

r1_pete - 3/6/11 at 10:26 AM

I'm researching this at the mo, am I right in my findings that MS1 will not control sparks via EDIS without internal mods and MSEXTRA code??

I've just been reading through the msextra section on EDIS, but need to test my understanding....

lotusmadandy - 3/6/11 at 11:42 AM

The way i understand it is,that it controls pip and saw the same as a megajolt
but will not trigger the coil pack.
This will be just fine for me as i am using edis for the ignition.

Andy

ed1801 - 3/6/11 at 12:18 PM

Mine is running EDIS in the way you describe. I had to build in a couple of internal mods as detailed in the manual. It was basically miss out some bits and add in a couple of wires. Works a treat.

I am running the low res msextra code as I have peak and hold injectors. Don't know why you wouldn't use the MSextra code anyway?

quote:
Originally posted by r1_pete
I'm researching this at the mo, am I right in my findings that MS1 will not control sparks via EDIS without internal mods and MSEXTRA code??

I've just been reading through the msextra section on EDIS, but need to test my understanding....

lotusmadandy - 3/6/11 at 02:06 PM

I have just had an email conversation with Russ at DIY Autotune.

He tells me that the MS1 with a v3 main board will take full control of both

ignition and fueling straight out of the box. Well once its put together.

So complete tuning can be done all at the same connection point.

As already said it can be upgraded to ms2 spec,with the addition of a sister board

for £80.

Andy

[Edited on 3/6/11 by lotusmadandy]