GrassrootsProRacing

Anyone familiar with the MS ECU for Mazdaspeed Miata?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

yes. is that really your only question?

hustler

iTrader: (6)

I'm running MS9z on my Mazdaspeed. What do you want to know?

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Please give us less specific info and ask a more vague question.
Please....We're wet with anticipation.

MSM05

I'm an MSM owner and I'm also curious and pretty clueless as to the whole process. Is it a standalone system now? What are all the steps needed (all parts required) to get it going? What's the price? Who are the vendors? Sorry for the noob questoins, and partial threadjack.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

Look up the group buy by Reverant and Braineak.
Its a full pnp standalone box of goodness.
Read up on it there are tons of threads/posts here about it.

Reverant

iTrader: (10)

I'm building MS ECUs for the Mazdaspeed. Plug and play with the exception of two things, you will only need to replace the intake air temp sensor on the throttle body with the GM one, and the electronic boost control valve with an EBC valve from DIYAutoTune.com. PM me for availability and prices.

GrassrootsProRacing

Thank you for the info Reverant. I am PMing you now...

90 Turbo

iTrader: (3)

How does the od2 sensor work for emissions testing. Check engine light?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

It doesn't. CEL is used for better things, IIRC Reverant turns it into a Knock warning light.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

I assume you mean OBD2? If so it does not work, the stand alone MS that Reverant builds will not pass an obd2 emissions test.

msm782

If you've already replaced the factory EBC with a MBC and are happy with it, you can just continue using that without the EBC valve from DIY, correct?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

correct.

GrassrootsProRacing

I have a Greddy e-Manage setup that seemed to work well on last turbo Miata but thinking to sell it and get MS. Wanted something that will provide less limitations. I was told the Hydra ECU is good but expensive and not really any better than the MS as far as performance limitations etc... Anyone had experience with both for Mazdaspeed Miata application?

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

While every ECU has its own quirks and peculiar features (some have better knock-detection than others, some have more user-friendly configuration software, etc), pretty much all of the current generation of standalone ECUs are essentially identical in terms of their core capabilities.

What sets apart "high-end" ECUs like the Hydra from "budget" ECUs like the MegaSquirt is measured mostly in vendor support. When you buy a Hydra from FM, for instance, you are purchasing more than just the physical product- you are also gaining access to FM's world-renowned technical support, and receiving a product which has been pre-wired and pre-configured such that you can take it out of the box and plug it right into the car.

With something like an MS3, you are gaining access to an ECU which is highly "open" (the source code and SOME of the schematics are available for all to see) and also highly customizeable, but in return you are taking on the full burden of properly assembling and configuring it for your application.

Some people are uncomfortable with this, and will glady pay a higher price in exchange for someone else doing the hard work for them. Others feel confident at first, but find themselves overwhelmed and discouraged, and wind up calling us all a bunch of unhelpful jerks.

GrassrootsProRacing

Well everyone on here has been more than helpful! Great community and thanks for the extra info contrasting the 2.

soviet

iTrader: (10)

What are your plans for the car? Why do you need a standalone?

GrassrootsProRacing

The previous owner kept the Hydra ECU that the car had so it is running on just the factory Mazdaspeed Miata ECU which is a total POC as far as performance and reliability goes with the turbo setup that the car has. Was thinking of getting a Megasquirt PNP ECU to resolve that issue cause it is almost $1000 less then the Hydra and seems to have a great reputation. Otherwise if it ends up becoming more than I wanna deal with I may just sell the car the way it is to someone that can easily get the full potential out of it. What are your thoughts?

MSM05

Depending on where you live, if you're concerned about tuning, I would imagine that there should be pretty good tuning shops that can tune a MS ecu because they're so popular.

msm782

The stock MSM ECU is a train wreck. Not wanting a car that's an undriveable POS is reason enough to go stand alone.