I'm scared of megasquirt...will it do what I want? 1991 car
 

I don't want to deal with modifying a board at all. I want to buy a complete unit that will control spark, fuel, radiator fan, and data logging would be nice. Basically, I want cheap stand alone. I don't want to mess with splicing into the factory harness, and don't want to deal with o2 clamps and spoofing the maf.

Basically, I'd like cheap stand alone and want to hook up my trigger, sensors, and drive the car. Is that possible with MS? I was very interested in emanage, but for the price, megasquirt might be a better option especially considering all the ghetto rigging you have to do. I just want to plug this shit in and tune it.


Also, how difficult is it to just run fuel, then use msd stuff to deal with timing? Does MS throw in fuel from a MAP input, and then do I have to worry about the stock ecm trimming in response to MS maps? Can I run a 330+cc injector, or do I have to worry about inability to trim on the stock ecm side?

I hate this crap, and would really like to find a cheap stand alone ecm on ebay.


Thanks for the help, I hate how expensive stand alone engine management has to be.

Basicly it is like this; the MegaSquirt is a DIY ECU. It is not a plug and play system. Hell most of the time you gotta build it yor're self. Sorry man there is NO way you can get around having to wire and mod the board you're self. If you want plug and play go buy FM's Link ECU. You will have it up and running within a few hours more than likely.
With the MS doing fuel the stock ecu will have no control over the injectors, you can run any size you want.
The reason most of the ECU's out there are so darn expensive is becuase somebody had to make them and they would like to be payed for their hard work. If you spent countless hours developing something you would want to get some money back in return right? Like the old saying there is no free lunch. The MS is a friggin steal for how powerful it is tho, just takes some extra time getting it working. :bigtu:

Then I would suggest that you go and search ebay.

The whole point behind the MS is that it's a learning experience. The tone of your post suggests that you aren't interested in learning or doing anything and the whole MS experience would be wasted on you.

Go find a cheap Link somewhere and I hope that it fulfils all of your needs.

I don't see why link wouldn't work, but I'm not going to find it for less than the price I payed for my car. :(

I wish I could get it from someone other than fm. I also don't like how you can't just buy thier ecm, you also have to buy a bunch of crap so you can actually use it.

What do you consider expensive? What would you consider cheap?

I don't want to spend more than $500 on engine management. At this point I'll either do megasquirt, find a cheap used system from any stand alone brand, or just save up for link. I'll probably end up doing just fuel on ms, and run the msd retard box.

Why not just follow this:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/show....php?p=1862982

Looks pretty straightforward!

You got a miata for 1500? Thats pretty cheap. :) I assume you plan on turboing the maita?
Basicly the ECU is a drop in the bucket compared to some of the other stuff you will end up buying/destroying when you have a turbo car. I mean the greddy kit on sale, the most barebones "kit" ever is still 1200 dollars. 1200 dollars, think about that. A clutch is $300+. Injectors are $74-300 depending on what you go with. Tires and wheels $1000+. An intercooler is $300-1100 dollars. BOV is $25-250 dollars. A ballbearing turbo? 800+ US $. Oil lines, downpipe fab, exhuast,wideband,tuneing,gauges it goes on and on. I mean really ECU's are inline with what everything else is. The megasquirt is a freakin' steal! If you cant afford it then save up or just dont buy it at all. Remember you dont _need_ a fast car :gay:

OK, I am asking about plug and play MS. BTW... I live in Portland, ME

First, I recommend you read through the following threads:

KingofL337's installation:
https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2217

Aussie Drivers installation:
https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2993

There is a bit of a learning curve to understand all the terminology, but it just takes time. If you want to use the megasquirt you will likely need to spend lots of it. So whats worth more ... your time (and a great experience) or your money? I chose to spend my time as I enjoy the challenge ... however I wouldnt even think about it if it was my only car

Thanks for the information!

I have read the above threads and have a pretty good idea of what I would be getting into w/ this install.

I have a 91 Mariner, the car is a third car for me, and sees about 7-8K miles per year. I am still working through an all motor build vs. a turbo, but that is another issue.

Time is my enemy at this time, and I believe that I can budget the time to learn to tune MS, but I am not sure if I have the time to build and tune, thus the interest in kingofl337's signature about plug and play for 90-93.

I was going to send him a PM, but the board won't let me until I have made 10 posts, and his email link is not active.

I also live pretty close to him and would love to check out the setup sometime.

I made a few posts, now I can PM!!

blue sky you have PM