Savington

iTrader: (31)

TBQH my MSPNP will be on the market soon. I'm switching to an AEM. I want better knock sensing capabilities, individual cylinder trims, onboard datalogging, VVT control, and the ability to talk to a Racepak digital dash. If I could make the MS do all this, I probably would, but at that point it's probably easier to just switch.

I'm going to prod Jason Cuadra and see what he knows about the whole mess.

j_man

6 times the resolution over stock

j_man

Hmmm, then what about starting with a '99-'05 OEM crank wheel ( $6 from Mazda Motorsports ) and cutting off the 4 teeth. This turns it into a nice toothless wheel (it's a perfect circle too).
Can we make the new 2mm x 2mm teeth from some ferous material and somehow stick them on the wheel periphery evenly spaced - a tooth per 30 degrees. I don't think I would trust epoxy to keep those in place though ...

j_man

The knock control doesn't retard per cylinder but all cylinders at once - IIRC they ran out of processor power or ram.
Of course you still have general per cylinder trims.

If I was putting together my car now I would've used the new AEM Series 2 instead. It is even more powerful ECU with lots of improvements over the original one. There is no PnP Miata version, but using the Supra one and just building a Supra to Miata jumper harness isn't that hard.
As a bonus the Supra AEM EMS 2 even has peak and hold injector drivers, so you can use low impedance injectors ...

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Is it 6 times better, then? I understand the resolution will obviously be better, but what does that actually gain me? Are we talking about a degree of slop removed, or a tenth of a degree of slop removed?

edit: Also, why exactly is it 6 times the resolution? Does the stock 4-tooth wheel use two of the teeth to know TDC and two of them to locate things? Forgive the idiocy.

AFAIK, the gen1 AEM will support two knock sensors and you can tell it which cylinders to retard/add fuel to when knock sensor 1 goes off (vs sensor 2).

UrbanSoot

iTrader: (24)

I told all you ******* that MegaSquirts are no way to go unless you need something basic that will control big injectors for cheap. AEM is only an entry-level ECU and it does so much more then MegaSquirt!

I bet you could make MegaSquirt work but it would take so much effort and time!

Nurburgring

Savington, congratulations on your car and results, and thanks for sharing it.

Have you considered moving to E85 and removing the WI? one less failure-prone device on the track = WIN. Specially with the stock manifold and single port.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

At the point you're at...I don't think anyone can blame you.

MS is an awesome, capable and affordable solution...and the best thing for 99% of us. You are no longer mortal like us...and need something divine in the way of engine management.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Great...now I have to spend $8k on a new computer. This **** is ******* ghey. Time to sell and buy a Lotus.

If a crank/trigger wheel will help keep my car together, then lets get some made. I know my car is a raging piece of **** because I can't afford a Magnetti Morelli computer, but its all I have so I'd like to make it the best I can. In for group buy.

Ben

iTrader: (33)

MS3, which is due very soon, will do all of that. Except for the dash thing, I don't want to say it does or doesn't do it--because frankly I don't know. (MS2 does most of it already)

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Even so, I'm not keen on dealing with the teething issues of MS3, especially without a corporate support base. I know a lot of people here enjoy fiddling with the ECU for fun, but I need it to work right out of the box, and have a support base right out of the box, and I don't think MS3 can do that for me.

Gospeed, that's exactly my thoughts on the MS. Awesome ECU, great for 99% of cars out there, but if you want to really push the envelope, you're going to want a couple of things it just doesn't offer.

miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

I noticed not much mention of Electormotive. Do they suck?

TurboTim

iTrader: (9)

non magnetic pickups have their merits. If you're going as far as putting a wheel on, why not go a step further and do it a little nicer?

It'd cost more, that's the only reason not to.

ronmastas

Is the vehicle running AST dampers now? Any impression. Low and high velocity. All this info is always subjective.
-Ronald

Savington

iTrader: (31)

I had them on the car for these two events, although I have to give them back to Emilio now. :'( The price tag will make jaws drop, but these are so far beyond my Koni Races it's not even funny. Especially at Buttonwillow, curbs that used to pop the car into the air feel like a walk in the park with these things. It's really eerie - you feel the shocks working, you can feel all the bumps and imperfections, but the car stays completely planted no matter what you drive over. I can run the car lower, which improves front end aero, without sacrificing bump travel like I would with my Konis as well. The transition through really fast stuff is improved as well - that's one big thing I noticed at Buttonwillow. There is one corner, a fast banked right-hand sweeper, that dumps onto a short straight, and then a kink to a left before a braking zone over a blind rise. (Riverside into Lost Hills for the locals.) With 200whp, I would get through Riverside, and it would be a real struggle to get the car back to the right side to set up for the left kink. Flat out, with 200whp, I would get through the kink doing ~120mph, on the limits of adhesion because the track is a little bumpy there. With the ASTs and another 75whp, I was STILL able to go flat, even though I was carrying at least another 5mph, possibly more, through that section - the big bumps that used to upset the car with the Konis are there, and you can feel that they are there, but the car stays composed and just absorbs everything. The XIDAs, combined with the OS Giken LSD, simply make the car easier to drive - a 320whp Miata should not be as easy to drive as mine is.

The bottom line is that they are the best, and worth every penny of Emilio's $3750 asking price. Some people will scoff at that - ask them if they've ever driven a set of really good shocks and see what they say. I'll be buying a set at some point next year.

spoolin2bars

iTrader: (1)

exactly what i dreamed they would be like! ^^^^

ZX-Tex

iTrader: (15)

La la la laaaa I cannot hear you lalalllalllaaaaalllaalalalalalaaaaaallaaa


That is just what I need, lust for a high dollar suspension

JKav

iTrader: (1)

Sav, so what was the verdict on the source of the det? Injectors checked out okay?

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Two at 749cc, one at 738cc, one at 724cc. I was careless when tearing it down and I didn't label them, but one can postulate that the slight lean condition on one cylinder combined with the detonation induced from high IATs didn't help matters any.

Laur3ns

3% lean on 11.5 would be ~12, doesn't help, but not overly dramatic either is it?
Could it be it's more timing* induced knock than AFR or IAT induced?

*) from the quick-n-dirty dyno session

What are the plans now?