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I’ve read a lot of threads on ECUs. My current set up is a 1991 chassis, Hydra 2.7, 2003 VVT engine, NA about to get boosted to the moon. These are the things I am looking for:
-Ability to add external sensors to my heart’s content. I currently own, and mostly have wired in, oil temp, coolant pressure, EGT, and turbo speed sensors. I’d like the freedom to add more, like trans temp, diff temp, four wheel speed sensor for traction control and launch control, and other things I think of down the road. Ideally, I would like to be able to log all of these as well
-Ability to customize a dashboard of gauges, including gauges for the added sensors already mentioned. My goal is to have a touchscreen tablet mounted in the center area of the car with gauges displayed. I’d like to be able to change which gauges are displayed on the fly, and I’d like to be able to use the same screen to access the ECU to change settings if I so desire. Basically, exactly what Greg Peters from Carpassion on Youtube has set up. My understanding is that Haltech locks down their CAN outputs, I don’t know if that would impact the hypothetical tablet set up.
-Good VVT control. I built a VVT engine, I’m going to use the VVT. This thread has me questioning MS for VVT control:
I am having issues with idle with VVT plugged in now on the Hydra, although it is possible that is a mechanical problem rather than ECU issue. TBD.
-Some number of customizable PWM outputs to control things like PWM radiator fans, nitrous, whatever else.
-Launch control and traction control capabilities built in
-Something that controls all the other stuff the car does without too much set up or effort. AC, idling up for AC and fans, priming the fuel pump, basically making the car livable and close to OEM for everything not related to engine power.
-Decent fuel, spark, and VVT table resolutions. The Hydra’s 32x32 for everything might be excessive, but 8x8 for something like VVT is probably not enough.
There is nothing here too exotic for requirements, but finding one unit that does all of them is where I am stuck. I know Megasquirt is popular here and probably the easy and correct choice, but I have reservations about the VVT control and map resolutions. The Hydra doesn’t seem to allow custom gauges, and is poorly supported and generally non-intuitive, but otherwise not terrible (and I already own it). Haltech concerns me for adding sensors and outputting gauges, although there is probably a work around. Adaptronic’s M1200 has caught my eye – it seems like it might meet everything I am looking for and is on the lower end of the price range ($855). I haven’t looked at any others but am certainly open minded.
Anyone have any thoughts? Price is not my primary concern, but more than $1500 or so would need to be friggen awesome compared to the cheaper options. If I am going to switch, I would like to do so before turboing to avoid redoing tuning work as much as possible.
Everyone and their mother will be by shortly to push their opinion on you, get offended, insult everyone, and take everything personally, so I'll get it out of the way and bow out: MS3.
I don't sell them, I don't get anything from them (them being a very relative term, because it's not like megasquirt is a company), and I have zero incentive to suggest it.
When someone shows me a unit that is as capable or more, with as much support and info or more, and with a similar price or less, easy to work with or easier, I'll gladly change my suggestion to that unit, whatever it may be. So far, tuning miata's for the past 12 years, I'm still waiting on that to happen.
Another question. I'm looking around Tuner Studio. Is it possible to disengage the AC clutch above a certain RPM? I'm not finding that anywhere. I found where you can disable fans above a TPS percentage but so far that is it
MS3 actually has a max RPM and TPS cut for the AC compressor. Under idle control -> AC idle up
And if I had anything further to add, there's only so many ways to implement speed density, boost control, vvt, flex control and the like. Pretty much anything you read for MS3 is going to apply to pretty much any other ECU also running speed density.
The wealth of information is great, but it's also largely universal.
I found what you said. I don't see a max RPM cut off, just the TPS. It might be nice to floor it at lower RPM in an NA car without losing AC, although the TPS thing prevents spinning the compressor too fast assuming one would not redline their car at part throttle.
Interesting. I must have downloaded the wrong version or something. I'm looking through the Haltech 1500 software - can it not control PWM radiator fans?
It should be able to. Under ECU functions you should have an option for digital switched or duty cycle. From there it has mappings based off whatever you want, but sadly no 3d table this time, just 8 values.
Otherwise you could make a generic output and use a 3d table there, full 16x16 and near any frequency you want. That would be similar to how it's done with MS3, which has 6x6 and a very limited selection of frequencies but no fan PWM otherwise. That would be another feature many have been wanting for a while now. You obviously lose the fan trigger settings (idle, speed, etc) when not using the built in fan control of either ECU.
I've now spent a lot of hours trying out Haltech ESP, Adaptronics Eugene, and to a lesser extent Tunerstudio. I am getting more and more interested in a Haltech Elite 1500. It seems like overkill, which is my general approach to things. My biggest hold up is the Raspberry Pi Dash:
This thing is awesome. You can set it up to show whatever digital gauges you want, and it runs full Tunerstudio so you can tweak ECU setting without needing a laptop. You could use it for gauges 99% of the time, but do things like drop the redline or boost targets at a track day, or road tuning to refine small changes without a laptop flying around. With a small bluetooth keyboard that fits in the glove box, you can even make semi major changes pretty easily. It only seems to work with Tunerstudio though, and I can't find anything similar for any other ECU software. I also can't find a 7" tablet that runs Windows to avoid using the Raspberry entirely.
I don't really know anything about Raspberry Pis and why one Windows program (Tunerstudio) works and another (Haltech ESP) does not. Is there a way to get something similar for Haltech ESP? Every digital dashboard I can find work over CAN, which I think means you can't use them to change tune settings.
Where do you live? If you’re not a tuning expert, you also need to consider who is, and what platform theyre an expert on. Around here (PNW) for instance, I would suggest a MS or Link. If you’re in Australia, Haltech would be a great option.
You can only display things over canbus with megasquirt. There are 4 values you can modify live (idle adder, spark adder, fuel adder, and I forget) I believe, but trying to get help over on MS3 forums for these offsets is pretty much impossible. I believe it possible to modify live data tables in MS3 live over canbus, but nobody does it and getting help for that ain't happening. Sure would be neat.
As for Haltech on Pi, doubt it. I would also temper your expectations using a 7" to tune no matter the software, real estate is at a premium. Displaying would be fine, but startup delays would **** me right off which is why I did the canbus thing on a micro.
Haltech support just sent me their full canbus I/O protocol, something I've never been able to get out of MS3 without a lot of work on my end. Enough I can make a "BCM" and fill out more I/O than MS3 is capable of. Pretty useless for most, but in my eyes Haltech is now more DIY than the "DIY" king MS3, but I'm a special case though.
I am in the Chicago area, likely moving somewhere in or near Connecticut next spring. I'm pretty badly burned by the Trackspeed turbo kit experience, so a large company with stable support that isn't going anywhere appeals to me. I don't know much about ECUs, Deezums thread going on now about Haltechs turned me on to them, and I like their software that I've played around with. Is there a US based equivalent of a company like Haltech?
For the digital gauge display and occasional tuning tweak touchscreen, a Windows 10 carputer seems like a project that could solve those problems down the road. Then one screen can do gauges, audio, hands free calls, backup camera, whatever. That's getting off topic, but it solves the lack of a Pi Dash for anything other than MS.
I've been reading up on the MS3Pro PNP as well. I know all the arguments in favor of it, and I'm not bashing it by only mentioning negatives. If anything, I'd love to find out that my concerns are completely baseless and I'll be perfectly happy, and have endless people on the forum to drive nuts with questions. But, if I'm understanding correctly, MS does not have a lot of I/Os, and the easy boxes that expand I/Os are in the $300 range. Add in the wideband, cable, autotune, and it starts getting up there in price. And my biggest reservation is the VVT map size and control. It seems like some people struggle to get VVT to match commanded values, others have no problem, but regardless you are not going to get finer than 1000 rpm (average) increments. A recent dyno day showed me the value of fine control on that - in 700 rpm a VVT basemap went from significantly better torque than no VVT, to significantly worse, then back to better.
Chicago has a good number of megasquirt friendly tuners. Lots of miata guys running Megasquirt as well. Get plugged in to the local Miata community. They will get you sorted out no matter what path you choose.
IDeezums thread going on now about Haltechs turned me on to them, and I like their software that I've played around with. Is there a US based equivalent of a company like Haltech?
Haltech has east and west coast support, they have offices in both Cali in lake forest (jsut round the corner from 949) and also in kentucky. I have emailed for support and had prompt responses from both the CA and KY branches.
It's less than 20% of rrp, but seller has 100% feedback. All recent feedback is for one type of item which is not automotive. Cant pull it up on pc but all recent auctions are for these https://www.ebay.com/itm/Onewheel-Pi...app-cvip-panel Assuming not a hijacked account, might be real? But if it is real assume there is someone straw bidding close to rrp on it or you are getting unprecedented dealz.
If I was interested, I'd ask the seller for the serial number, and check it with Haltech. It is new, but I'd also be asking the seller if it is damaged or non-functional in any way. As always, buying stuff off fleabay is not risk free. You are not going to get support like you would if you purchased from the dealer, but I imagine Haltech would assist if it is a genuine Haltech and not some knockoff, and likewise a Haltech tuner would take your money and tune it.
11-14-2020, 07:55 PM
ECU to Replace Hydra With
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