Gauging interest for PnP Megasquirt solution, MS anyone? Options

[JamesM]

For my most recent Megasquirt install i went a different route and had some mini-MS boards produced. It did not make a lot of sense to just have one PCB printed so needless to say i have more then a few empty boards laying around. Now i am trying to decide if it is worth my time and money to build these boards out and sell them as a plug n play solution for d-jet cars.

For those who don't know, mini-ms is electronically compatible with megasquirt 2.2 however the components are arranged tighter on the board and it integrates the relay board all on a form factor smaller then the original MS. My first couple of installs i used a standard megasquirt 2.2 with relay board and DB-37 cable but the mini-ms seemed like the better way to go so that is what i am playing with now.

The setup i a running right now looks almost stock, the mini-ms is enclosed completely in a gutted d-jet brain and plugs directly into the d-jet harness. the only difference from stock is a MAP line running to the brain and the 2 injector ground wires being run back as well. You have to look close to tell its not stock, however i have a feeling i could make it even more stealth by hiding the MAP sensor in an old MPS in order to get rid of the vac line to the ECU. I just have not cared enough to cut up an MPS yet.

The great part about this system is it makes troubleshooting way easier and eliminates the need for stock trigger points, MPS. ECU, decell valve, and cold start injector, though they can all be left in place if desired in order to appear stock. It also allows for cool things if you desire like closed loop operation with a wideband O2 sensor, spark control, rev limiters, traction control, and a bunch of other stuff depending on how far you want to take it. It can be tuned around just about anything, so its great if you want to change cams or go bigger on your motor and still look stock.

So is there any interest out there for this sort of thing or should i just dump the empty boards on ebay or something?

[JimN73]

I know very little about MS or other aftermarket systems, so, I hope you don't mind a coupla questions.

What can I expect to gain from an MS install? What's going to be involved in the installation/set up? Can a not-technical person do it?

thanks for your help.

Jim

[JamesM]

I know very little about MS or other aftermarket systems, so, I hope you don't mind a coupla questions.

What can I expect to gain from an MS install? What's going to be involved in the installation/set up? Can a not-technical person do it?

thanks for your help.

Jim

The more questions the better, it gives me an idea of where people are at on this.

If you have a perfectly running fuel injected stock motor, I can not say you will gain much at all beyond the geek factor of being able to plug a laptop or palm pilot into a 40 year old car and do some data logging. If you have a good running stock setup and are not looking to tweak anything I say stick with the stock setup.

HOWEVER
Should one of the stock components start acting up this might become an option for you as it takes the place of the majority of d-jet components, while still allowing you to leave them in place to retain a stock look. For people looking to modify their motors while retaining a stock apperance an MS setup offers a lot of advantages.

in my experience with Megasquirt systems some of the bigger "pros" i have encountered:

MUCH easier to diagnose problems - the main reason i first installed one, just plug in your laptop and you can get a sanity check on the whole system

MUCH easier to get a decent tune over the stock system - especally if you use a wideband O2 sensor

It replaces some really expensive and sometimes hard to come by parts.

It allows you to run pretty much any fuel injector you want. - I had a problem with a sticky 2L injector the day before an autox so i swaped them with a set off a 1.7, changed a single variable in the system and was good to go.

It allows tuning for modified engines/cams/exhaust/ whatever

And then there are the options once you have the system installed. They make it less plug and play but they are there if you want them. To many to list here but i will say the biggest gain i got out of my car was locking my advance weights and letting MS handle ignition control. The stock 40 year old dizzy was leaving power on the table for sure.

As far as a non technical person being able to do it, that is what i am aiming for as a stock d-jet replacement. If you wanted to do some of the more advanced things with you would probably want a little more technical ability or someone helping you out. On a technical level, if you can replace parts of your existing d-jet system, you could install this MS setup.