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Author: Subject: MegaSquirt and Turbo's Opinions Wanted
ashg

posted on 9/3/11 at 06:08 PM Reply With Quote
MegaSquirt and Turbo's Opinions Wanted

Hey Guys

Just wanted to know who is out there running MegaSquirt on a turbo'd engine.

Can you list your MegaSquirt Version and what engine you are running. Also have you mapped it yourself or got someone else to do it and what your feelings are towards MS in relation to running a turbo'd engine, Does it run well is it problematic etc etc.


There is a reason i am asking this all will be revealed later.


Cheers

Ash





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mark chandler

posted on 9/3/11 at 06:56 PM Reply With Quote
Blade megasquirt turbo, its fine for tracks.

Pre-turbo faster on TB's than carbs.

I used autotune and wideband to set up originally, then tried megatunix but never felt it was correct, visited a rolling road and they found another 25bhp, better starting and running across the whole range than I achieved using megasquirt type tools but I was using a JAW as WB.. this is rubbish should have spent the money on something better which may have improved things.

When I mapped I logged the MAP bins and clustered mapping points around these and RPM most used.

Squirt only, v2.2 running megasquirt extra which gave me lots more mapping points as I started off with the early small resolution table.

The system can run spark as well, I could not be bothered as it does not pink and produces good HP.

In summary, happy user need RR to fine tune.

Regards Mark

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jollygreengiant

posted on 9/3/11 at 07:07 PM Reply With Quote
I believe MadTeg is running megasquirt and Turbo on a 2.0Zetec hybrid.





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ed1801

posted on 9/3/11 at 07:46 PM Reply With Quote
About a million MX5s are running turbos on a megasquirt at mx5nutz.com
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matt_gsxr

posted on 10/3/11 at 09:29 AM Reply With Quote
MS2 running sparks and fuel v2.1.0d of the software but with a home grown modification to use stock ignition wheel. Was running alpha-N. Mapped using LC-1 Wideband, all seemed to work nicely.

Only just put the turbo on, it idles and revs up, but haven't been for a drive yet. Changed control to speed-density but I don't anticipate any particular problems.


Possible issues:
The stock pressure sensor goes up to 250kPA (1.5bar), but this is more than enough for me though, other pressure sensors are available.
Check your favourite rolling road are able to deal with MS.

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djtom

posted on 10/3/11 at 11:00 AM Reply With Quote
MS1 v3 running the Extra Hi-Res code (can't remember what version), it's running squirt, spark, boost control and closed loop lambda using an LC1.

Engine is a home-brewed 2.0 Zetec turbo conversion, it goes very well!

Tom






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flibble

posted on 10/3/11 at 11:10 AM Reply With Quote
Is this to do with your Saab engine ash? Have you considered tuning the Original ECU?
I've just got my Trionic ECU hooked up to the PC as of last week (for which thanks lie with 'The ECU project' ) , at this point mapping it incredibly simple to do (I'm not saying it's easy to get it right though!).
Maybe you have other plans though!

Kev

P.s. Auto mapped mine for 260 (ish) bhp via the auto tune function, hopefully having it's first start this week after finally finishing the wiring loom, someone keep their fingers crossed for me!

[Edited on 10-3-11 by flibble]

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ashg

posted on 11/3/11 at 12:10 PM Reply With Quote
yeah it revolves around running the saab engine. i dont have the saab ecu otherwise i would have used it.

I have installed an ms3 with the MS3X sequential card plus a few other personal tweaks. it is installed and running and i have pretty reasonable map on it working. i have an innovate lc1 for tuning which all seems to work quite nicely.

Called atspeed to book a rolling road session to really hone the map in on their dyno and they said they wouldn't touch mega squirt and that i should buy an omex. I was a bit disappointed because they did a good job of setting up my bike carbs and megajolt on my old engine and would have loved to go back to them.

when i enquired as to why they wouldn't touch it they said that it wasn't a professional setup (something that i am well aware of) and that it couldn't be trusted to run a turbo engine.

now no offence to the older ms owners but the MS3 is a million miles on from the older ms1 and ms2 and the developers have worked very hard to up their game with faster dual core processors all new code, new tuning software etc etc.

Personally i don't want to spend £600 on an omex ecu then another £250 for the omex loom. Especially when i only paid £100 for the engine with everything other than the ecu and a 3 month guarantee from the breaker .

I am quite happy to run it on the MS safe in the knowing that if it all goes pair shaped and i pop the engine it will only cost me £100-150 for a new engine and an afternoon to fit it. now obviously if i had spent 3-4k on an engine i would have just gone and got an omex or emerald as its a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of replacing an engine but for me thats not the case.

so in summary i really cant understand the logic of it all. the engine is running and drivable, making good boost etc etc. i am well aware of the ms3 capabilities and limitations and dont expect the same as i would from a £600 ecu. I can't see the reason for the reluctance to put it on the rollers and have a fiddle regardless of how long it takes as i am willing to pay by the hour.

so thats why i posted to see how many people were successfully running ms on turbo engines as i found the comment from atspeed a bit dismissal





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turboben

posted on 11/3/11 at 01:17 PM Reply With Quote
I've run ms on my Turbo engine for years. I don't agree that it can't be trusted -all my glitches have been due to noise or my dodgy installation! Maybe find a rolling road that will allow you to map while they operate the road?
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ashg

posted on 11/3/11 at 01:30 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by turboben
I've run ms on my Turbo engine for years. I don't agree that it can't be trusted -all my glitches have been due to noise or my dodgy installation! Maybe find a rolling road that will allow you to map while they operate the road?


i did have those thoughts actually. i know what i am doing its just some things cant be done on the open road, which is why i wanted to get it on a set of rollers to do some steady load work as well as acceleration runs. bhp output is an irrelevant figure to me.

but i don't honestly know any rolling roads that would let me hire out/use their facilities as in their eyes i am a nobody





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atspeed racing

posted on 11/3/11 at 01:50 PM Reply With Quote
hi ash

i beleive it was ian you spoke to the other day regarding the megasquirt on turbo engine.

im sure you can appreciate that unfortunately, we cannot always give the customer the answer they want to hear.
We have our reasons as to why we are not prepared to tune a turbo engine with megasquirt. We do not feel the system lends itself to a safe and reliable state of tune, and on a turbo engine where things are so critical, we do not take any chances. Im sure people have got it successfully working on their own cars, and good on them for doing so. However we are not prepared to do it, it is our descision we do not map turbo cars with any MS based system - we will not put our name on it.

many other dyno centres also express the same opinion, so not only us.

sorry we cannot be of service on this one.

best regards

colin.

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atspeed racing

posted on 11/3/11 at 01:53 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by turboben
Maybe find a rolling road that will allow you to map while they operate the road?



certainly. more than welcome to that. we do offer dyno hire. fixed price morning and evening slots, includes dyno operator and use of all dyno facilities.

- colin.

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matt_gsxr

posted on 11/3/11 at 03:07 PM Reply With Quote
Just find a dyno place that doesn't have the same issues with MS.

Its just electrons running around copper and silicon so there are no real reasons why MS hardware shouldn't be as good (and possibly better, as there are more installs) than other products. Regarding the actual installs, it is by its nature an amateur thing, so on average I would expect more bad MS installs than Omex ones, just because we all learn by our mistakes.


I guess the particular issue with turbos, is if the installer has done it wrong then you can get expensive blow-ups, which isn't a good thing for the RR company. So I can't blame atspeed for their conservative approach, and for explaining their position on here.


Obviously it is also in the best interest of tuning companies to make profit by selling you stuff, and they are unlikely to make much margin on MS owing to the transparency on pricing and the budget nature of the users, so I'd (cynically) argue that it would not be in their interest to support MS even if it were fine.


http://www.btecracing.co.uk/ told me that they would map mine if I looked after the MS bits when I called them, so maybe give them a call instead. I'm going to map it at low boost on the road, because its more fun!

Matt

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ashg

posted on 11/3/11 at 03:36 PM Reply With Quote
Hi colin thanks for the reply. I understand where you are coming from and everyone is entitled to their own opinion and to be honest i do value your opinions. you guys did a great job of mapping my last engine which is why i wanted to come back to you.

i know the omex ecu's are good which is why you recommend them but i just couldn't justify it for this low budget project. if it was my daily driver then i would be singing a different song right now and you guys would already be mapping its omex ecu. but like i said its a cheap as chips project and if it goes pop you wont see me shed any tears over it

what is the cost of hiring out the dyno for a session? i don't mind doing it myself but i come you you guys as i value you input and experience.





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atspeed racing

posted on 11/3/11 at 04:06 PM Reply With Quote
ash, i will send you a PM.

thanks to everyone for their understanding. we try to help everyone, but its nice for you to see things from our perspective, so we appreciate that greatly.

colin.

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daxtojeiro

posted on 11/3/11 at 09:06 PM Reply With Quote
Hi Colin,
I feel very sad reading that you don't tune boosted engines running MSs, but Im not surprised that you have taken that stand.

I've seen some really awfully built MSs that the general public and a company that I won't name, have knocked together, some I wont even try to repair, let alone plug into my test rig!

But, if built properly, all of the MS's are very very capable ECUs, just as capable as any of the ECUs mentioned in this thread. I've converted a lot of Tuners over to MS and some very reputable engine builders now use my ECUs (V8D, etc) rather than Emerald and the like, so dont dismiss the MS.

If built and installed properly, then the MS is an increadable piece of kit! If built poorly then it's not the fault of the MS, its the builder's fault.

Phil

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ashg

posted on 11/3/11 at 11:44 PM Reply With Quote
thats the thing phil. most rolling roads dont have the time to sort out poor ms installs. the nice thing about the omex etc is that they are essentially closed boxes with a known list of functions etc etc. i personally think the omex is a better product purely because if it doesn't work as described on the box you can go back to omex and say oi this doesnt work fix it. where as with ms you will get it fixed eventually but you have to dig and research then work out your own fix using the forums and documentation, or pay someone knowledgeable like you to fix it.


i am a great believer in open source projects and love the concept and learning opportunity that ms presents. if i was racing/competing and just needed an ecu i could fit and forget then im sure i would just pay someone like atspeed to fit an omex etc and be done with it.





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dlatch

posted on 11/3/11 at 11:59 PM Reply With Quote
can understand ATspeed stand on not wanting to tune boosted engines running MS and taking the responsibility for the engine staying together.

if it was me i would just look elsewhere, tuners that will map MS systems are thin on the ground though

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