MegaSquirt PNP for Miatas

[tnord]

http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/m...3280033cd2a1cd



is there anyone out there using these things for their miata?

1) how easy is the interface to use?
2) how close is the tune that's pre-loaded? how many hours on the dyno to optimize?
3) does this solution give up anything to something fancier like a Haltech or whatever...
4) does it work better on any miata iteration than the other? (90-93 vs 94-95 vs 96-97)
5) is there anything like this available for the 99-00?

[Wreckerboy]

Travis - In addition to the many MS forums that are out there, this stuff gets big play over at the Grassroots Motorsports forum as well ( www.grassrootsmotorsports.com )

[tnord]

MS forums eh? i'll have to go look for those i guess. thanks.

[Wreckerboy]

http://www.miataturbo.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18

http://www.msefi.com/index.php

On the GRM forums look for a user named MaddScientist Matt, who works for MS.

[C. Ludwig]

If any of you guys are looking for plug and play units we can provide a Haltech system for any of the Miatas or RX-7s. Most of the Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans too for that matter. The price point is higher than that of the MS but you gain a lot of resolution, flexibility, and datalogging power over the MS units. Our E8 and E11 units are also CAN capable for anyone that may have or want to add a dash/logger unit with CAN input. Meaning with one connection the dash will display all the info the ECU is seeing/using.

To answer the earlier question on how long it should take to tune a system, if you are starting with a clean slate tune and need to work through fuel and ignition and have absolutely no idea where to start on either an experienced tuner should be able to work through the calibration in 3-6 hours. Some of that will depend on how the cooling system responds and how capable the fans of the dyno are at keeping the engine cool. Some shops and cars just don't cool well and you spend more time letting the engine cool than tuning. If you have a good base map and a good idea of where you need the timing you should be able to work through everything in around 2-3 hours. A very strongly supported adage in the world of standalone systems is to go with the system your tuner knows. While all systems really do the same thing when it comes down to it and IMO if you can work with one system you should be able to work with any of them, there are idiosyncrasies of each system that makes it prudent to have experience with that system before jumping in. And you don't want to spend time on a dyno learning the software interface. BTW, I'm available to travel for tuning and installation.

[tnord]

thanks rob. i was hoping to get more IT specific information since i bet 98% of people with a MS are running some sort of boost. i'll browse through those sites and see if i can at least figure out how the thing works, and if it's something i want to tackle.

Chris -
I'm sure your units are great, and the single point connection for the data aq display is uber-cool. I'm not a guy with deep pockets though, and i'm guessing these systems are in the multiple thousands of dollar range. Thanks for your estimates on tuning time as well, the 2-3hr figure is kinda what i had in my head.

[FoundSoul]

Travis-- Jerry from DIYAutoTune here.. Definitely make your own decision here, and there is something to be said for using a system your tuner knows, though the MS interface is extremely easy to use. Mac Spikes is actually running an MSPNP on his IT car, you could chat him up.

You're right alot of the guys running these are running boost, but that's simply as that's the forums we hung out on a bunch and borrowed beta testers from during development. That and we have a 250+ whp boost 91 Miata running an MSPNP. We also have a fairly mild N/A 95 Miata running an MSPNP. Both run great and the 95 picked up power with a good tune too. The 96/97 test cars we borrowed for that models dev process responded well too of course. Bottom line, it's a great product and the price is tough to beat. The base map is a great starting point, very driveable unless you're modded to the gills, and makes tuning a breeze. I have to agree with the above, tuning time varies with any EMS, and one of the biggest factors is how cool does it stay while on the dyno. In some cases (many in fact) you'll spend more time waiting for the car to cool down than you do tuning, that costs you money. I'm guessing your car has a fairly adequate cooling system though, and in general Miata's aren't that bad off in my experience. For the racer crowd that I know is running adequate fuel, I can even give you some pointers to end up with a very solid ignition map quick, only needing minor touch on the dyno. We have a Dynapack in house, and basically tuned the ignition map optimally, and then pulled 3 degrees across all load ranges from 2300rpms on up to redline. This was on pump93 fuel. If you're running pump93 or better you should be able to drop this back in and be 90% there, just letting your tuner fine tune from there based on the fuel you're running and your engines unique needs. They will of course need to go through your entire fuel table, but that takes no time at all.

Any questions... just let us know.

[Flyin' MacLean]

I was ready to put one of those in my car before I sold it. Mac Spikes has one for his 1.8 I believe.

Contact DIYAutoTune and they'll give you the details on the non-boosted cars they've installed these in. DIY are very close to my house and I know at least 10 cars that have these units installed, all LOVE them, all made big non-boosted power by installing them.

IMHO installing one of these is as close to a no-brainer as you can get ESPECIALLY if you have a 1.8 with a legal OEM chip and are running with the crappy air-fuel mixture you get stock.

I know they were working on a '99 version, don't know the status.

[tnord]

thanks Colin.

i know Mac has one, but I know Mac pretty well, and i HIGHLY doubt that good-ol-boy has any clue how it works.

i've heard some power figures on 1.8 cars also and was floored. you're right....it's a no brainer. what i don't know is how big of gains the 1.6 cars see over just messing with the AFM. thanks for the data points on the people that have them installed and are happy. i'll probably contact DIY once i get a car, for right now i'm just trying to determine which is the best miata iteration to go with.

[JWX]

1) how easy is the interface to use?
2) how close is the tune that's pre-loaded? how many hours on the dyno to optimize?
3) does this solution give up anything to something fancier like a Haltech or whatever...
4) does it work better on any miata iteration than the other? (90-93 vs 94-95 vs 96-97)
5) is there anything like this available for the 99-00?

How easy the interface is would depend upon what you are use to. Ive heard a lot of gusy praise MegaTune, others hate it. You can download the tuning software and stuff though.

The map that is comes with it pretty conservative and thats for a good reason. I wouldn't think it would take very long to get it dialed in.

It really depends what you are looking for exactly. We have engine datalogging, and a number of other features. I'm not really sure what Hal-tech offers though, or how they compare.

There isn't really one that it stands out for, but that might not been what you are asking.

Nothing out for the 99-00 yet.


the MT forums would be a good place to get reviews, as there are a good mix of MSPNP users, and the hardcore DIY guys. You should be able to get some good information there.