B Mike

Same here. Unless a good deal on a spare pops up. So far, after 15K miles mine has had no issues. And I I bought it used with everything unlocked. I did pay 60 for two tunes.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

You found someone that tunes cars for $30? I'm so confused.

B Mike

Same here. Unless a good deal on a spare pops up. So far, after 15K miles mine has had no issues. And I bought it used with everything unlocked. I did pay 60 for two tunes.

koracing

I think that is what FM would charge for their tunes/base maps to someone who wasn't the original purchaser.

Jesse99James

On Sunday I sent Phil one last email with URGENT in the subject. Three emails, three voicemail messages in the last 5-6 weeks, having had my 2.6 Hydra for 10+ weeks, not being able to contact the upgrade and repair person unless I mail a letter to Nemesis EMS Upgrade Repair, so called "production facility" that has no street address or phone number, working out of mailbox #328 in a UPS Store...I told him all this and requested a full refund plus shipping my Hydra back with tracking by December 22nd.

Of course, he has again failed to call or email in the 48+ hours since I sent the email. It's time for PayPal case escalating to a dispute. My brother said maybe he's in the hospital with Covid or died. At this point, I don't care. I'm screwed and forced to choose between studying and learning the upcoming P&P Link G4X. or going with MS3 which seems more user friendly. The GX4 software is growing on me but there doesn't seem to be an MSM base map and I know the cooling fan control is different than NB/NB2, everything else should be nearly the same.

I already installed an MS2 and gave up back in 2012 before giving up because the base '99 was a POS and either the LC-1 was defective and/or Reverent's MS2 enhanced wasn't well built. This is why upgrading to the Hydra 2.7 was my easy button. With a decent 2.6 tune, modifying the FM 2.7 base file and allowing it to fine tune my fuel map would have given me a better running car for $500 versus nearly $1500. TunerStudio feels more familiar and easily learned compared to the Link plus, there's lots of support here, at least one person that is willing to remotely tune for a fee (something I was trying to avoid due to risk of tickets, impounding the car), and there is a Subaru performance shop 5 minutes drive from my hours that said they can tune my car with Hydra and have also tuned a few Miata with TunerStudio...didn't matter. So I'm leaning towards MS3 and might be requesting some assistance this Spring with choosing and wiring in an WBO2 controller after reading more about the CAN bus digital method versus how I had the LC-1 connected to my MS2.

What a royal P.I.T.A. this has become. Thanks for nothing Mr. Philip Grabow. Only excuse is if he's on a ventilator or dead from Covid-19. His upgrade/repair person must also be suffering because he has my email address on the included invoice. He could easily email me to get my address to ship it but either hasn't been able to upgrade it, or maybe hasn't done so because Phil didn't pay him to do so. Whatever, **** Nemesis EMS, it's truly dead and worthless as it hasn't been updated in what? 7-8 years now? I'll update once more after the PayPal dispute has run its course!
<-- Nemesis, Phil, and all of 2020...nothing but a dumpster fire.

Jesse99James

The saga continues...Phil finally responded a week later to the URGENT email I sent last Sunday. It sounds like his repair and upgrade person is not able or willing to do the work. I was given three options. Wait longer, get a refund and have my Hydra returned (doubtful that'll ever happen), or pay more after Phil is able to convince somebody else to do the work. He denies screwing another Miata owner, says one Hydra was lost in transit by USPS but it seems there are a few of us (Miata and Subaru ECUs) currently sitting in limbo.

I asked for a FIRM deadline if I'm going to wait. He seems unable to give me one but WTH, doesn't hurt to ask. I need it back for a week or two before my payment protection expires so I can verify the upgrade was done properly and everything works. I reamed him for taking so long to reply, never answering or returning calls, and told him it is HIS problem to solve if the normal person is unable or unwilling to finish the work that was sent to them. Option #3, paying more for somebody else to do the work is NOT an option you pass on to customers. BULLSHIT. I also said if he can no longer provide Hydra repair and upgrade services he needs to stop advertising and stop taking payments. HE sent ME an invoice and doesn't have the resources to provide the service.

I've looked at Link G4X and MS3 and since the G4X doesn't currently have much of any Miata base map, doesn't have alternator control ironed out, and isn't yet plug and play I'll likely install an MS3 this Spring. After my MS2 enhanced and LC-1 WBO2 failure back in 2012 I'm also considering just installing the OEM injectors and ECU and selling the Mazdaspeed. Dealing with Phil and Nemesis may have stained my MSM ownership to the point that I no longer want to even look at it let alone try to get it running again. Being overloaded at work (USPS) while trying to recover from elbow surgery isn't helping my mood. BAH HUMBUG, **** 2020!

mgtmse01

i hear you brother, i have a 2.7 but it is running just fine at the moment. i am currently looking for an alternate box.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

As in a back up hydra or a new ECU?

I should figure out if it is a hydra 2.7 in the car sitting in my yard. Maybe I could make some money off it.

Jesse99James

if it's a working 2.7 then hang onto it as many would rather swap another in and load their tune than start over. I was pursuing a computer programming degree back in the 90s I grew up learning some apple/mac in 3rd/4th grade and DOS at home before win 3.1 (as far back as my memory goes). I do not enjoy tuning at all even though I understand most of what I am seeing in the software and have learned up to this point. Like I said before, upgrading to 2.7 was the cheapest easiest route to get my car running better. I'm currently awaiting a refund from Phil and he says he will have my Hydra 2.6 returned from California but I doubt I'll ever see it again. I'm starting a PayPal dispute because I doubt he will follow through. He has never apologized for the **** poor communication, paying customers should not have to wait nearly six weeks to get a response to phone calls and email.. Normally it's two to three weeks delay if you're lucky. I wish I would have read the earlier pages in this thread, I would not have bothered trying to upgrade.

12 weeks later, no upgrade possible, Monday will be three weeks since I requested refund and return of my hardware. Third request was opening a PayPal case, escalating to dispute Monday or Tuesday evening if he fails to refund. What an ordeal, I now see behind the curtain (Wizard of Oz reference).

Ken Hill

I have about 50,000 miles on my Hydra 2.7. ECUs, like other pieces of electronic equipment, will last a long, long time when used normally. The ECU has run the engine perfectly the entire time and I have no reason to believe it will do any different in the future. I had an issue over the summer that caused me to suspect my WBO2 sensor was going bad. At that point I started contemplating my options, and switching to an MS3 was a real option. It turned out to be an exhaust leak between the turbine housing and the downpipe screwing with the WBO2 signal. After talking to Kris at KO Racing I may replace my WBO2 sensor this winter only because it is >50,000 miles old. I bought my Hydra used as well. However, my fuel table is really good so I'm also tempted to remove the WBO2 and just run with the NBO2 sensor taking care of idle and cruise conditions.

Hydras will continue to run engines for many years provided its not subjected to wiring issues or something else that will damage a component on the circuit board. It is great that we have an option for WBO2 sensors from KO Racing.

andyfloyd

I would buy it lol. I love my Hydra it actually works really well

mgtmse01

don't get me wrong, i got my hydra brand new with my fm kit. it has been running well in my car since i installed it in 2012. i am looking for an alternative because this is my only car and the hardware is apparently not supported. i agree with others that this box has been great up to this point... no issues

Jesse99James

Nearly two weeks have passed since Phil Grabow agreed to refund and return my hardware...still no refund. I sent him an URGENT email refund request on December 13th after being ghosted for 6+ weeks. It took him another week to reply and I again requested refund on the 22nd. He agreed to refund me on the 24th but didn't issue the refund.

I opened a case with PayPal on Jan. 1st and gave him two full work days after the holidays to respond. Last night I sent one last message through the PayPal case...I think that was my fourth official request. Tonight I escalate to PayPal to make the decision. Well, would you look at that! As I'm typing an email notification window popped up saying I got a refund email from PayPal. Looks like PayPal reviewed the case deciding against Nemesis / Phil without me having to escalate the case.

I need to get some stuff printed today so I'll type a short letter to mail to that UPS Store mailbox #328. Maybe I'll get lucky and his repair/upgrade person can mark it refused. That only works if the Priority box is unopened but I'm offering to pay or sending a new shipping label. Few people will be interested in used 2.7 hardware, nobody wants 2.6. I'm glad to finally be putting this **** show behind me. I'll be ordering an MS3 and WBO2 in early March. We usually don't have clear roads in Minnesota until the end of the month or mid-April and I don't like working in my unheated garage until temps get above 40-45F.

Jesse99James

A few days ago I saw an email on my phone that looked like an UPS phishing scam. I almost deleted it but waited until I got home to look at it on my HTPC screen. Looks like Phil used his Element Tuning UPS account to pay for a shipping label to return my Hydra 2.6 from California. I didn't expect to ever see it again.

I plan on reinstalling it in late April or May once temps climb above 40F. Why plug it back in? I already planned on replacing the thin walled vacuum hose and it'll only take a few minutes to reinstall and verify the tune file. I'm mainly curious if the hose was the sole reason it ran overly rich after backing off the throttle. It attained 28 mpg at 80-85 mph and survived multiple track days so it can't be tuned that poorly. I'll record another data log or two but doubt I'll have much patience to continue tuning, especially on 2.6 software. My main reason is because my mother had to cancel her visit last year due to Covid-19. She LOVED driving my '01 Miata and I don't want to be in the middle of tuning a new ECU when she visits. She thought a 1990 or 1991 turbo Probe GT was fun...it'll be nice to see her reaction to my FM2 converted MSM.

Covid-19 might have caused the inability for Phil to repair and upgrade but his serious lack of communication skills made this more difficult that it needed to be. Any company that fails to answer or return phone calls and ghosts email communication for 6+ weeks with no apology or excuse doesn't deserve your business.

Iancredible

I've noticed that all of FM's documentation for getting the Hydra tuning software on your computer points to go to a HydraEMS website to download, well that website is now defunct.

If someone needs that file for tuning Hydra 2.7, let me know. I have it saved from years ago when I used to fiddle with it.