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Megasquirt ME221 Omex?
CraigJ - 14/10/21 at 08:04 AM

Looking to buy an engine management setup to run a turbo Zetec.

What are the options nowadays?

Any reason to pay more for the Omex/ME221 over the megasquirt?

Any other options available?

Thanks

Sanzomat - 14/10/21 at 08:29 AM

Another option at the cheaper end is the Speeduino. My R1 Locost came to me with an older Megasquirt but I couldn't get it to work properly and a friend had a spare Speeduino that he let me have at cost (he builds them as a hobby and this one had been built for another friend's project that was abandoned) Once configured it works a treat on the R1. He also built one for another friend's turbocharged Pinto in a Robin Hood - that one is a beast! It can be set up and tuned using the same Tuner Studio software that Megasquirt uses.

40inches - 14/10/21 at 08:46 AM

Megasquirt and Tuner Studio does it all.

big_wasa - 14/10/21 at 10:38 AM

My choice at the budget end of the range would be a maxx mini.
They are gaining traction and ive heard nothing negative unlike others.

But as always with standalone its what your mapper will work with that matters.

http://www.ignitionadvantages.co.uk/MaxxECU%20Mini%20Standard.html

MikeR - 15/10/21 at 10:37 PM

I've got a speeduino. They're not perfect but growing/ developing at an incredible rate.

The maxx ECU looks good but I've no experience of it.

Unless you want the challenge, check who is local that will map your ECU & that they have a good reputation for that ECU in your setup. It seems a lot of people are adverse to ECUs they don't know (and date I say it some may not know what they're doing very well)

crimondbanger - 16/10/21 at 06:19 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Sanzomat
Another option at the cheaper end is the Speeduino. My R1 Locost came to me with an older Megasquirt but I couldn't get it to work properly and a friend had a spare Speeduino that he let me have at cost (he builds them as a hobby and this one had been built for another friend's project that was abandoned) Once configured it works a treat on the R1. He also built one for another friend's turbocharged Pinto in a Robin Hood - that one is a beast! It can be set up and tuned using the same Tuner Studio software that Megasquirt uses.


Any advantage to running the R1 on speeduino over the factory yamaha ecu?

Have an R1 in my locost and a speeduino needing a home but not sure if its going to gain anything or possibly loose ?

coyoteboy - 16/10/21 at 07:42 PM

I don't know the particular engine but as with any standalone, there's always room to gain over the stock ECU. But is it worth the effort and potential reliability drop if done on the cheap- only you know that. I run an old ms1 on a 3SGTE, took a fair amount of getting right but at the time I did it there were only about 5 other 3sgtes done with an Ms and you had to manually grind new cam wheels etc.I gained about 4mpg and hugely improved my throttle response and was able to tune for an extra 2lb of boost and tune out a section where it was fueling at 8:1 under load 😂

[Edited on 16/10/21 by coyoteboy]

Sanzomat - 16/10/21 at 08:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by crimondbanger
quote:
Originally posted by Sanzomat
Another option at the cheaper end is the Speeduino. My R1 Locost came to me with an older Megasquirt but I couldn't get it to work properly and a friend had a spare Speeduino that he let me have at cost (he builds them as a hobby and this one had been built for another friend's project that was abandoned) Once configured it works a treat on the R1. He also built one for another friend's turbocharged Pinto in a Robin Hood - that one is a beast! It can be set up and tuned using the same Tuner Studio software that Megasquirt uses.


Any advantage to running the R1 on speeduino over the factory yamaha ecu?

Have an R1 in my locost and a speeduino needing a home but not sure if its going to gain anything or possibly loose ?

It was definitely an advantage on mine as it wasn't working properly before! Mine is a bit of a mongrel. Its a 4XV engine with 5PW throttle bodies/injectors. It came to me with the ignition still on the 4XV ignition module and the fuel on a MS2 running fuel only. I don't have the 5PW ECU so can't comment on how it works in a car. I'd guess as a minimum you'd need a power commander to adjust for it being in a heavier vehicle. As it was it wouldn't go over 9k rpm, was very rich low down and leaned right out over 8k. The two ECUs were sharing sensors and it seems mixed messages were getting through. I tried converting the MS2 to fuel and spark but it didn't have the ignition drivers or VR sensor and it curled up its toes adding these so that's when we tried the Speeduino on it. The guy who mapped it had only done one Speeduino before (on a turbo scooby!) but had done a few with MS and knew his way around Tunerstudio. He was impressed with the Speeduino. He got 147.5 out of it and a nice flat torque curve. The limiting factor was the standard 5PW injectors as they reached max flow by just over 11k so it wouldn't reach the red line. To avoid risking it going lean we set the limiter to 11k.

MikeR - 17/10/21 at 06:14 PM

Could you share details of the tuner? I've of the suppliers is trying to build a list of fingers who will tune speeduino.

Sanzomat - 18/10/21 at 07:39 AM

quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
Could you share details of the tuner? I've of the suppliers is trying to build a list of fingers who will tune speeduino.

Very happy to. I was really impressed by them. It was tuned by Bill Brockbank at Badger 5 Badger5 although I booked the rolling road session via Tom at TAS motorsport TAS who is a friend of the guy who built my Speeduino (who also owns a V-Storm)

ttalps2000 - 18/10/21 at 08:47 AM

i originally had Speeduino, had nothing but issues with it, no one locally would tune it and zero support!

Went to Omex, all the support you could ask for, everyone will tune them and had no issues at all

MikeR - 18/10/21 at 12:35 PM

When was this? I'm under the impression tuners are getting more on board. I know the firmware had improved massively in the last two years (I've been following that closely and had added to it myself)

ttalps2000 - 18/10/21 at 12:50 PM

was last summer (2020) that i ditched it

CraigJ - 19/10/21 at 06:12 AM

Cheers guys

coyoteboy - 19/10/21 at 10:23 PM

I think it very much depends on who you are. If you want perfection, need someone else to tune it from scratch and cant ensure it's perfect prior to going, like any system, the tuner isn't going to be happy.
If, however, you can get it running well on road tuning, dial in most variables yourself and then only go to the pro to do the final touches on the main maps, you'll find them more accommodating. Very few people fall into that later category, but I'm sure many think they do, and that's potentially part of the issue lol

[Edited on 19/10/21 by coyoteboy]

40inches - 20/10/21 at 08:12 AM

quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
I think it very much depends on who you are. If you want perfection, need someone else to tune it from scratch and cant ensure it's perfect prior to going, like any system, the tuner isn't going to be happy.
If, however, you can get it running well on road tuning, dial in most variables yourself and then only go to the pro to do the final touches on the main maps, you'll find them more accommodating. Very few people fall into that later category, but I'm sure many think they do, and that's potentially part of the issue lol

[Edited on 19/10/21 by coyoteboy]

I found the Atutotune facility for Megasquirt on Tuner Studio worked very well. Auto tuned cold start and idle perfectly, and the Autotune mapping was very impressive. A rolling road tune was needed for ignition setting and fine tuning.

Neville Jones - 24/2/22 at 06:00 PM

The exhaust O2 sensor system can make a big difference to the whole system. After all, this is the one thing that actually controls what the ecu ends up doing.
Don't go cheap, and do your research, as it can be the difference between a fun experience and a woeful time.