ME221 and FM221 rip off DRAMA....NOW WITH 60% less RIP Hydra?
 

Their site is completely neglected, and they no longer respond on their forums. There have been no updates to the firmware or tuning software in years. Does anyone know if they're still actually around, or just manufacturing their stuff for Flyin' Miata to sell?

even FM doesn't sell that junk no more

What?

Rumors have been going around for about last year of them being for sale or going out of business. They also let their domain name expire a bit later back, then managed to renew it. So yeah not sure how much longer they will really be around.

They still sell the Hydra. They are just now starting to sell the FM221 as a cheaper alternative.

FM has a new product they're working on with some English ECU company (I forget the name). They had the prototype board at MRLS this year, it goes inside the stock ECU case like the old Link ECU did.

They're still selling the Hydra and will likely continue to support it for many years to come even when (if) they stop.

--Ian

Anybody have any experience with the new Flyin Miata ECU (FM221) as yet? Looks like they are dirt cheap on their site today ($410 w/o knock sensor or WBO2), and I'm thinking hard about pulling the trigger on it. I wonder how it compares to the Hydra and MS.

It's mediocre at best. And it's not 400 lol

You are not scrolling down to the actual price. The intro price of the FM221 is $999.95. The $410 is just the knock sensor and WBO2 price and IAT sensor.

Yeah I just figured that out, my bad. Well at $1000 it no longer holds my interest versus a Megasquirt unit. Still need an ECU, Reverant still building?

You can buy MSLabs stuff at Trackspeed Engineering in the US (vendor here).

I spent six months at FM working on the FM221 project...
Yet, I'm still on a Megasquirt in my own car.

I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions.

Most of us have, a long time ago :)

Mslabs
 

I am really happy with my MSlabs ms3basic, and yes he is still building, and you can have one made to order directly, if you don't mind a little lead time.

Can't get much more authoritative than that, thankya' sir.

Or buy one sitting off the shelf and have it shipped today :)

MSLabs Megasquirt MS3 Basic

Yeah, you can. Joe's experience is working with fairly early prototypes. There's been a lot of progress since he skipped town early last year. He's never driven what's being offered to the public, and even if he wanted an FM221 there's been no way for him to get one until now.

As for Hydra, yes, there's some change at the company. I don't think they're going away, but I don't know all the details of what's going on behind the scenes. Nobody - including the vendors who sell Hydra on other platforms - wants it to disappear.

Another authority on the subject! Keith the MS platform is proven and costs the same as the FM221, at least until the sale on the FM unit ends.
Why should I buy the FM unit over a MS? I'd seriously like to know. Pretty much everything in my car is from FM but I always balked at the Hydra because of the cost.

In all honesty, after the ridiculous bugs of the last year or so, the me221 is "manageable". A friend of mine has been a guinea pig for the manufacturer, as he released updates to the software based on his and other's bugs. While he got his car tuned by a tuner, some little hiccups were fixed by me and him in several aspects including idle and boost control. The platform is fairly straightforward, though the menus are a PITA if you are used to TS.

Hydra's are still being sold, installed, and tuned on various platforms. Very much not a dead company, just looking to switch hands. Still a great ECU if you are knowledgeable on the platform, or know someone who is.

It's a fair question, and probably a common one. I'm going to ignore spec sheets, because they're roughly similar.

The user base for MS is large, but primarily consists of amateurs or racers. The former vary widely in their experience, knowledge and tuning abilities, so you need to be able to evaluate the quality of what you're reading. The latter pay very close attention to the parts of the map that are important to them, but tend to ignore the street drivability aspects. Remember that the MS is a universal ECU that's being used on the Miata. The FM221 is more of a Miata-specific unit. I know from speaking to the guys at DIY Autotune that we've gone a lot deeper into Miata-specific setup then they have because they simply don't have the time to focus so closely on one vehicle. Our base maps will be more finely tuned and all the difficult corners of the map like AC compensation and cold start are addressed. Honestly, most of our back-and-forth with getting the ME221 ready to sell involved these areas.

The install base for this will grow, so you'll still be able to go to forums if that's how you prefer to get your information. There's already an enormous install base in the UK for the ME version of the ECU, actually. Based on the sales numbers over there, I suspect it's outselling the MS. But you'll also have the option of going to a professional. Instead of digging around to see if someone might have had the same behavior you're dealing with AND solved the problem AND posted a correct solution - you can just email us a log and say "what's going on?". If you're at the dyno and you come across a weird problem, you can make a phone call instead of searching.

We've had a number of MS cars come through our shop. The quality of the tune is almost never what we would expect, despite the size of the install base or the number of forum posts. It's that 20 years of experience in tuning ECUs and a full-time tuning expert on staff, that's what we bring to the table. To a lot of people, this professional support is important. For those who love the smell of solder, then the MS is always an option.