You COULD outsource it to China or India. How awesome would that be to go into Walmart and buy a BEGI DP? Haha, j/k (sorta)

Anyways, here's to wishing that Santa drops a DP under my Charlie Brown x-mas tree.

I can tell you that FMs customer support isn't what it used to be. I have purchased parts from them over the last couple of years and they used to be very friendly. Especially when I was installing my roll bar. I had a brain fart on the instructions and they were VERY helpful and friendly in setting me straight and didn't laugh at my in the process. This is in stark contrast to my experience with them this summer. I called to ask them about the overboosting problem and their first question was "did you read the manual?". OF COURSE I READ THE MANUAL! I am replacing my ECU!! I have never felt more like a customer number in my life.

For my situation, I have decided that I am either going to a) get a MS which cjernigan has already PM'd me to taunt me about or 2) pay a local shop for a decent tune with the Hydra after the holidays.

Sell the stupid fucking Hydra, buy an MS, and spend the extra money on a perfect dyno tune by the best tuner in your area and something nice for your girlfriend.

Hydra gets you an ECU. MS gets you an ECU, and gets you laid too. :bigtu:

Wow. That is all I can say about that. :) I wonder what I can get for that Hydra on M.net? I could probably sell the Hydra, the connector cable to the stock ECU and keep the wideband.

What wideband does it use? With MS, an LC1 of AEM is ideal and the most affordable options.

Heh, FM claims "this wideband is not compatible with other ECUs" :) Just four wires and a voltage output the last time I checked what O2 sensors do...

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?...umber=06-99150

Widebands are more than just a sensor. They require a controller. I believe the Hydra has a built in wideband controller that you just connect the sensor to. Which means yes you can keep the sensor, but you must buy a controller to work with it.

Maybe if you signed up for food stamps, Corky could make some money... You are costing him a pretty penny aren't you?

Mark

Good to know. Hrm, there is an LC-1 with controller for sale in the classifieds right now. Maybe it is fate. You may have an order coming soon. At least then I can sell the Hydra as a complete kit. The only thing left that I might still be using is the air temp sensor. Should I keep this too or just use the stock one and mount it in the airbox? Right now FMs temp sensor is installed in a bung just before the intake but after the intercooler.

I'll provide a new airtemp sensor for you IC piping like the FM one if you decide to go MS. The LC1 would be a great unit to use with MS though there are some fake's out there and when it comes to using something to tune your car, I suggest buying something you know is quality.
You'll have better luck selling the hydra in complete ready-2-go form. It's a pretty powerful ECU though, i think you should hold out and try and get it tuned. Once tuned it should be golden.

You are correct. The Hydra has the L2H21 driver built into the main unit. As far as I know, even the DIY WB's are more than just a ohm meter or a volt meter.

Alright, alright... I won't start ripping stuff out of the car just quite yet. A local shop estimated it should take no more than 2 hours to tune the car. Luckily this includes as many runs on the dyno as it takes. Is $350 reasonable for this? I told them I would probably do it after the holidays when all of the bills are paid off.

As a side note, I think part of the problem with FM is growth. Obviously, they are growing at a rate that might be alarming to them even. They are probably having trouble growing the business to keep up with the demand.

As I've learned, growing costs more than the profit of the growth. It's a temporary situation, but if the company doesn't either have a) existing money or b) investment capital, they could fall on hard times trying to expand to manage the growth. In a situation like that, everything suffers. Customer service, shipping times, etc.

I have been in a company where sales out paced the liquid income. It's not a pretty situation.

$175 an hour is about right, that comes to like $100 and hour for the dyno and $75 for the tuner basically. $350 to have a hydra ready to rock is worth it . How much boost and what injectors are you running?

I'll trade you straight up an MS for the hydra. :cool:

I am using the 550cc RC injectors (which I could have picked up from down the street, I live maybe 10 miles from their facility :rolleyes:) and I only want to run about 12psi of boost.

I think I will pass on your trade offer. :nono:

Sounds like a plan to me man. I'd rather see you running sequential injection on the hydra then sell you an MS. If you decide to come to the darkside let me know.

What kind of dyno? I wouldn't pay jack shit for a tune on an inertia dyno. $350 for 2 hours of load-bearing dyno time with a tuner well-versed in the Hydra will get you a pretty good tune.

Wow, I may never have found a thread I agree with so much. I'd comment on Iraq but I don't want to kill the buzz. Seriously, no one respond to that or I'll beat you with my whupem stick.

Never underestimate the fickleness of the customer, or how a SMALL amount of laziness will switch someone over pre-sale. Making a number jump out at you instead of having to search is A-#1.
Also, and this is something all sites do because they know the material: People want to see a turnkey option. They really, really do. They hardly care if it works, they want package number one.
Include that someone can call you to discuss the package, but a Low/Medium/High kit, even if it hardly makes sense, will HAVE to get you a lot of sales and will get people on the phone. But don't make it hard for someone to order! Don't make them pick a lot of options. LET them, but don't make them.

What, in the end, sold me on my turbo kit was refrences. Knowing that I could talk to someone (even ride in the car, as most miata folks are friendly) who had bought the kit and could say good things about it.


Ditto. Wholeheartedly. I used to really like FM, their service was top notch. Back then I had no complaints about BEGi and no interaction. I still have that. But FM I would have highly recommended unless you really knew just what you wanted. They would help you with a competitor's product. Now they quite literally won't help you with their own. I've given them some suggestions and offered to test stuff for them and they don't even want to hear it.

I'm not sure what keith is doing over there now, but he used to really make FM FM. Now he's nearly impossible to get ahold of.


She doens't look like she can really put it away or anything. :-)

There's a guy I almost bought a NIB MS-I all moded up and pro built who I know would let it go really cheap. I wanted an MS-II or I would have bought it myself. If you're serious about it, ask me. But.. I'm with everyone else. There's nothing wrong with the hydra, it has a lot of ability, it's pnp, and if FM ever start supporting their stuff again it'll be a good thing to have. If you want to give it away I might concider piggybacking it to my MS to let it run my fans or something. :-P

Seriously, with a good tune, it'll last you forever, no worries. If you want to play, selling it is a good idea, too bad you won't get much of your money back.

Many businesses close down either their first year, or soon after a move/major expansion. Maybe they are just overworked, but I certainly feel they could work a bit harder on the support end of things. I'd rather wait a week for a solid answer than get an instant "go @^&$ yourself".


Now, I've got to go hug my cardboard box full of componants. Got to spend some quality time with my precious... My precious.... It loves me, my precious....

I wonder how one spells precious?

you gotta be kidding....

He drives a BMW and lives with his parents. So take what he offers with a few grains of NaCl.