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hornetball 07-06-2013 05:37 PM

Very surprising how big that ECU is. If anything, it should be smaller than stock. ???

You're just not having much luck on this build for some reason.

FowlerMotorsports 07-06-2013 05:43 PM

Nearly twice as big as stock. I may order some parts from brain and build a harness myself, maybe this is a bad sign and my car is trying to tell me something

hornetball 07-06-2013 06:08 PM

Personally, I'd try to return it. Unsuitable for the application. It needs to fit, after all.

You know, you can get a Gen 2 MSPNP for your car and leave your harness completely intact. Does wonders for electrical reliability.

FowlerMotorsports 07-06-2013 06:31 PM

Not sure how Dimitris is on returns. I'd love to run ms3 honestly, if making a harness isnt expensive I'll build it myself.

hornetball 07-06-2013 06:44 PM

If you paid with a credit card, you can always return. It's called protesting the charge and then working it out with the vendor.

I hate being a dick to Dimitris, but, honestly . . . he knows Miatas. You can't build something that big and expect customers to just deal with it. He advertises PNP solutions. That's not what you got. Were you advised how big it was going to be or that you would need to fabricate a long extension harness to make it work?

You've got a really nice car this time around. I'd take pains to keep it clean and reliable. 5' extension harnesses are not a step in the right direction.

Off soapbox.

FowlerMotorsports 07-06-2013 06:54 PM

Unfortunately if I protested I would only be fighting for half of my money. I traded in the MS2 and upgraded for this. PayPal allows 45 days for a claim, it's been months and months since I originally bought the MS2 from him.

I have been pm'ing Dimitris about it, I will see what I can come up with. If I didn't have to run the extra harness for the wideband, sensors, etc... then I could make it work. The adapter hits the firewall and just doesn't seem likely to fit snug and out of the way of your feet. The only way to make it work is a harness extension, bummer

hornetball 07-06-2013 08:54 PM

Dimitris cares about his reputation, especially here. Pretty sure he'll do the right thing, whatever it is.

You might ask him if he's running this in his car. If so, how did he mount it and can he supply you with instructions for a clean mount.

I suspect if you research PayPal, you might find you have more options due to the delay in shipping.

FowlerMotorsports 07-06-2013 09:20 PM

From Dimitris


Originally Posted by Reverant
Good question - all european 90-05 Miatas have the ECU on the original 90-93 location, so it hasn't actually troubled me so far. ANd without a vehicle to look for good spots to mount, I can't offer any advice on that.


Originally Posted by Reverant
One of the reasons I started building the new-style MS3 is to avoid doing the harnesses. A typical 99-05 harness takes about 5 hours to build. You can ask Boomslang to build you a custom longer one. It won't be cheap, but then again, I'm charging $120-150 for a replacement harness anyway.


Reverant 07-07-2013 05:36 AM

It fits fine on my 2002. All miatas all over the world except for the US have the ECU on the same location as the 90-93.

I would love to be able to see for myself a 99-05 US Miata so that I can advise how to mount it, or in the case of US customers, provide an additional extension harness if there's no way to make it fit.

shlammed 07-07-2013 10:30 AM

its an ECU. mount it anywhere.

I don't see what the problem is.

Leafy 07-07-2013 10:34 AM

How big IS this thing? I thought it was around the same size as the hydra which fits in the NB even with the stock ECU in place.

How important is your A/C? if you remove the A/C you can fit it in the spot where the evaporator was and run the mazda tube there instead.

hornetball 07-07-2013 10:42 AM

I'd venture to guess that MOST Miatas are US spec. Why would a Miata-based business enterprise design a part that would not fit most Miatas?

There also is no reason that an ECU in 2013 would be 2X as large as an OEM ECU case designed (probably) in 1997 or 1998. These cars as small, and small size gives mounting flexibility. Why is it so big?

As for "mount it anywhere," true enough. But why should we have to? An extension cable is weight and dozens of little potential failure points. Plus, Justin's car is no hack job. It's super clean. It's an entirely reasonable expectation that a replacement ECU would mount in the original location. If it won't, the vendor should at least warn the potential customer that there will be an issue.

Leafy 07-07-2013 10:44 AM


Originally Posted by hornetball (Post 1029130)
There are plenty of pictures on the web of US ECU location behind the passenger seat. I'd venture to guess that MOST Miatas are US spec. Why would a Miata-based business enterprise design a part that would not fit most Miatas?

There also is no reason that an ECU in 2013 would be 2X as large as an OEM ECU case designed (probably) in 1997 or 1998. These cars as small, and small size gives mounting flexibility. Why is it so big?

As for "mount it anywhere," true enough. But why should we have to? An extension cable is weight and dozens of little potential failure points. Plus, Justin's car is no hack job. It's super clean. It's an entirely reasonable expectation that a replacement ECU would mount in the original location. If it won't, the vendor should at least warn the potential customer that there will be an issue.

NBs are mounted under the dash. I know on NA8s there are connectors right at the firewall that would have been perfect for my EMS4 patch harness to put it in the NA6 position, but they were different that the ecu connectors.

hornetball 07-07-2013 10:45 AM


Originally Posted by Leafy (Post 1029127)
How important is your A/C? if you remove the A/C you can fit it in the spot where the evaporator was and run the mazda tube there instead.

Justin lives in the same town as I do. It was 98 here yesterday (cool for early July). He has modded his car with a permanent fastback hardtop. AC is mandatory, unfortunately.

FRT_Fun 07-07-2013 10:52 AM

I thought I remembered reading in Dimitris' thread about how you would be on your own for a mounting solution. Weren't you aware of this issue before purchasing?

FowlerMotorsports 07-07-2013 11:06 AM

22 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by shlammed (Post 1029126)
its an ECU. mount it anywhere.

I don't see what the problem is.

No space to mount, as I said earlier.


Originally Posted by Leafy (Post 1029127)
How big IS this thing? I thought it was around the same size as the hydra which fits in the NB even with the stock ECU in place.

How important is your A/C? if you remove the A/C you can fit it in the spot where the evaporator was and run the mazda tube there instead.

This is not a track/hack job car. With Texas heat I would be insane to remove.



Originally Posted by FRT_Fun (Post 1029134)
I thought I remembered reading in Dimitris' thread about how you would be on your own for a mounting solution. Weren't you aware of this issue before purchasing?

I was not aware. No where in the Basic MS3 thread does it state this.

Stock Location
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576


Comparison
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576


With the ecu pushed as far forward as possible (towards the driver) you are putting serious pressure on the ECU harness. While the ecu is pushed as far forwards as possible, the harness included to install your wideband, sensors, grounds, etc... will not fit due to the clearance between the MS3 and firewall.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373209576

Reverant 07-07-2013 11:56 AM

How much more room do you need? If you didn't have to fit the DB37, would it fit?

FowlerMotorsports 07-07-2013 12:02 PM

Yes It would fit if I did not have to fit the db37. With the MS3 pushed back as far as possible it leaves me 2" of space between the firewall and MS3. The db37 would need close to 4" of space in order to not completely crush the wires coming out of it.

I am not sure how low it will sit and if your feet would hit it or not though. I think my clutch foot may scrape it if I can get it to fit.

Reverant 07-07-2013 12:23 PM

So would it fit if I could find a DB-37 cover that is about 1" long gets the wires out sideways? The current one is about 2" long and has an optional side port.

Reverant 07-07-2013 12:25 PM


Originally Posted by hornetball (Post 1029130)
There also is no reason that an ECU in 2013 would be 2X as large as an OEM ECU case designed (probably) in 1997 or 1998. These cars as small, and small size gives mounting flexibility. Why is it so big?

Would you be willing to pay about 50% more to make it smaller?

Yeah, I didn't think you would.


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