Time Lapse Assembly Of A Megasquirt ECU

[afdhalatifftan92]

Could I completely replace my stock ECU with MegaSquirt?

Mine already blown, stock priced way too high than MS...

[aaroncake]

@afdhalatifftan92 It depends on what type of car you are referring to. In most cases the MS can totally replace a stock ECU. But sometimes other functions are run through the ECU such as dash gauges. In that case, more will will be required other than just swapping ECUs. And keep in mind the Megasquirt needs to be wired in and tuned from scratch.

[afdhalatifftan92]

@aaroncake

Thanks for the quick reply!

[tienshenhan86]

Could I use this in conjunction with an HKS PFC F-CON Piggy back Computer?

[aaroncake]

@tienshenhan86 No. The Megasquirt is a full standalone. It replaces the stock ECU completely.

[DALE97DSM]

Is there any difference between this Mesquirt from DIYautotune and ones from Symtechlabs for the 420a yes, the Eclipse 420a not Neon.

[aaroncake]

@DALE97DSM Looks like Symtech Labs customizes a standard Megasquirt to run that engine by adding the ignition outputs. DIYAutoTune sells the ECU but you need to perform the modifications (which are documented on the DIYAutoTune website).

[ZLadie2000]

do u recommend the MS for the 280zx turbos?

[aaroncake]

@ZLadie2000 If you are into DIY and have a little electronics knowledge, then sure. But if you have never assembled an electronics kit before, then it's probably not a good idea.

[yerboogieman]

Sweet music.

[Adnowwwwn]

LOL! nice Russian music bro.

[celestialthought]

im running my st170 on gsxr throttle bodies and mega squirt 2 micro squirt and ive been told i need a switch to activate the variable valve timing i read somewhere the solinoid needs a 5v feed how will i go about this i should also add i havent got the mega squirt ecu yet its on the way

[aaroncake]

I'm not sure on what exactly your vehicle would need, but generally solenoids are 12V. So you will probably need to configure one of the spare outputs on the 'Squirt by adding a drive transistor (2N3904/2N2222) and using that that switch the solenoid. If you are not using FIDLE, then FIDLE is already set up to drive a solenoid.

[kd7vea]

hey, first off, your info has been extremely helpful to me. I have read your info on the turbo setup with MSII. I ordered my MSII today and will be putting it on my N/A 13B. I hope to turbo it in the near future. one quick question, I am dealing with a 1986, and the stock ignitors may be bad. if so, what would be my cheapest route for getting spark? EDIS? I am guessing I will just be running leading, or leading and trailing with zero split. thanks

[aaroncake]

The cheapest and easiest route would be to just replace the stock ignitors. It is very, very rare for the 2nd gen ignitors to fail.

[89AreExSeven]

Try dying it again. Maybe youll have a diffrent way of thinking. Or leave it as it is. Itll go great with the comment I said about megasquirt. Have a nice day Mr. Cake.

[aaroncake]

Doing what again? Building a Megasquirt? Building an RX-7? I've done both so many times that I have lost count. To combine the two, just two weeks ago I tuned an 88 TII on Megasquirt that made 380 RWHP and drove better on the street then any stock ECU.

[89AreExSeven]

A lot of people give you a good comment on your car in the forums because they really havent see something other than their car. To them your car is a beast. To me, most of it is crap. I hate to talk shit on the forums just because there is so much rice in there and a bunch of idiots that only agree with other people because they cant do any better. So I stick to my self and to my original post. Megasquirt is garbage. I think all that hair and your head is getting in the way of your thinking.

[aaroncake]

You saying that my car is crap is the same as you saying the Megasquirt is "gay". It is completely useless and has no meaning because you have not justified the statement. In no way does it bother me, but it does baffle me so I must ask, why do you think my car is crap? I'd like to see what  you are comparing it to, especially if it is your own car (which I do not see in your YouTube account).

[aaroncake]

It's worth mentioning that my car is always a huge hit at shows. I have everyone from the 60 year retired machinist to the 13 year old kid congratulating me and wanting to know more. It has won multiple awards, attracts attention from hard core car people everywhere I go, and will even be featured in a book due out this spring. So I find it odd that it would be considered crap...Then again, there's always someone out there who won't like it.

[aaroncake]

But without justification, it's a meaningless comment.

[89AreExSeven]

Megasquirt is gay...

[aaroncake]

Why is that?

[89AreExSeven]

Oh god your still on this. No I never used it. The last thing I wanna do is tune my car by twisting knobs and looking at blinking lights and a monitor. That sounds like some honda shit. Upgrade to a Microtech fool its way better and it isnt that expensive.

Here you are running an "untuned" RX-7. Why? Thats just the dumbest thing I ever heard. Ported engine, with "custom everything" making 387 hp...13.7. G.A.R.B.A.G.E.

[aaroncake]

I'm going to reply to each one of your comments in turn, because I enjoy responding to stupid YouTube comments so that every knowledgeable person who visits the video can laugh.

[aaroncake]

@No I never used it.: So you've never used a device, yet you call it "gay". Interesting. So you've clearly based this comment on absolutely no facts and obviously not personal experience. Therefore, I am a bit confused as to why you would make such a comment you are obviously not qualified to do so.

[aaroncake]

@The last thing I wanna do is tune my car by twisting knobs and looking at blinking lights and a monitor.: Please enlighten me, exactly how else is there to tune an EFI system then? Looking at a monitor and adjusting the various settings to make the car run properly is exactly what tuning is. And what better way to represent on screen then by easy to read gauges that can be interpreted at a glance? Your comment reeks of someone who has not the first clue on where to begin tuning a car.

[aaroncake]

@Upgrade to a Microtech fool its way better and it isnt that expensive.: This Megasquirt was assembled not for my car, but a friends. As it turns out, I have been running a Microtech LT8s on my RX-7 since 2003. And I must say that while I like the Microtech, it is inferior in many ways to the far more versatile Megasquirt.

[aaroncake]

@Here you are running an "untuned" RX-7. Why?: Because the car was a long term project and I wanted to see what it would do on the 1/4 mile with minimal tuning. And use the 1/4 mile as an easy and cheap way (not to mention legal) to do some full throttle tuning through the gears. Thus I only spent about an hour on the dyno to dial in the final tune and saved a considerable amount of money.

[aaroncake]

@Ported engine, with "custom everything" making 387 hp...13.7. : Yeah, only 387 wheel HP at 13 PSI. I can't recall anyone else ever making that kind of power at that level on a GT40. I've done a bit more tuning since then and the car is just over 400 HP to the wheels on the same amount of boost. Now, while my best 1/4 mile time was only 13.00, keep in mind that is on an open diff. It takes considerable skill and practice to launch a 400HP RX-7 on an open diff.

[aaroncake]

This summer, a LSD goes in and I should be in the mid 11s without any other changes to the car. Once I book some dyno time, boost goes up and 500 to the wheels should be easy.

[89AreExSeven]

People like you just disgust me. Pushing your car when not tuned is a call for problems..that in the long run just end up costing more.

[aaroncake]

You know, I've probably done more with the rotary then you could even imagine. I'm not a guy who likes to toot his own horn to get the upper hand, but it's very clear from your posts that your knowledge level is orders of magnitude below mine. What do you think people did before cheap dyno time was available? They tuned at the strip. My AFRs were safe, my timing was safe, and while the map was still a little rough I see no reason not to play around a little.

[89AreExSeven]

I see no reason not to play around a little.---Neither do I, but when I read "untune" its an instant thing to me to think (base map) which sucks dick and I would never try to rip on my car on base map.

[aaroncake]

It was not quite a base map. Some street tuning was done so the car is safe to drive and all the light load sections were basically as they sit now; totally drivable. Tuning on the street was done until it was unsafe so it moved to the track, and then the dyno. Dollar for dollar it's a better deal to tune WOT on the 1/4 mile then simply just refine the tune on the dyno.

[89AreExSeven]

Good job on the LT8s old school but it works. I still dont see how you would want to build an ECU. For a friend or for who ever, selling an ECU that comes in pieces to build just sounds sketchy. Im more of the, buy the ECU, run your wiring, solder your connectors and go through different screens to tune. Knobs just with blinking lights just sounds like shit.

[aaroncake]

You are a bit confused. This video showed the Megasquirt connected to a Stim, the device used to bench test the ECU. All tuning is accomplished in software. No tuning was shown in this video. The ECU was built and tested. The Stim, as the name applies, allows you to stimulate the ECU as if it was in the car. It supplies an RPM input and uses pots and switches to simulate other sensor inputs. The lights represent a few of the outputs. It is a wonderful setup.

[89AreExSeven]

allows you to stimulate the ECU as if it was in the car:::That sounds like ass. Stimulate the ECU by rpm. What if your car weights 3000lbs or like my car 2453 lbs? How much of a load are you putting on this stimulation? Different wight = different numbers. Just like a dyno. You might put alot of power on a dyno but if the weight of your car is wrong so are your numbers. Once you get off the dyno itll be a diffrent story.

[aaroncake]

It seems like you don't quite understand the purpose of the 'Stim. It is there to allow you to bench test the ECU and run it as if it was in the car. In no way, shape or form is it any kind of a tuning aid. If you had even glanced at the Megamanual (.com) you would know these basic things about the Megasquirt and would not be making YouTube comments like this. Which I would not have to clarify for others who view the video.

[89AreExSeven]

Like I said turning knobs back and fourth. I adjust settings with a hand controller. Megasquirt just looks like some mickey mouse shit.

[aaroncake]

The Microtech hand controller is a nice device when you need to make a quick adjustment on the road, but it is absolutely not a replacement for a laptop. There is also a hand controller made for the Megasquirt, by the way. But what the Megasquirt has over the Microtech is an amazing array of data logging and tuning tools that the Microtech could never even dream of.

[89AreExSeven]

Your smoking crack. There is no diference between the hand controller and the laptop other than the fact that you can see it in 3D. By the way, microtech does have dataloggin. Even wideband loggin (not on your LT8)

[aaroncake]

Wideband logging is an option on the older ECUs, but standard on the newer ECUs as I understand it. However you still can't save to disk, there is no closed loop operation, and you can't run 3D timing tables. The software is *worlds* different then the hand controller. I've used both of course, but the software does things the controller cannot do. Like show a matrix table which is far easier to deal with then the line by line approach on the controller. ECU logging is a Microtech option...

[aaroncake]

...on the older ECUs but standard now, or so I've been told. The software allows logging above what the hand controller does. The software displays a great gauge summary and allows you to view logfiles in a way that is easy to understand (graph, raw data, gauges). There are so many differences between the hand controller and the software that it would take me many more comments to go through them all.

[89AreExSeven]

My statement stays. Its gay. I dont see why in the hell would I want to build an ECU turn knobs back and fourth to tune.

[aaroncake]

Why would someone build a house? Why would someone build a car? Why would someone build models? Or paint pictures? Or play an instrument? Because it is enjoyable to do so. Megasquirt ECUs are available in kit form if you want to put it together, and also available as a fully assembled ECU. I've installed a load of them. Sometimes I buy the kit, sometimes pre-assembled. It depends on the mood I am in. As I fully understand electronics, assembly isn't a problem for me and a welcome distraction.

[aaroncake]

Based upon your comments, you don't seem to know anything about the Megasquirt and very little about tuning in general. Perhaps you should looks stuff up before you make ignorant statements. Also, if you want to learn a little about the rotary, feel free to head over to RX-7 Club (.com).

[89AreExSeven]

Nah, just about 80% of the poeple that post in there are a bunch of morons. "my car wont start" , "idiot lights are all on" shit like that. Waste of my time. Unlike you, I dont spend most of my time online.

[aaroncake]

It's true, there are a lot of repeat and annoying comments on the forums. But you can always ignore them and either choose to help people out (like I do) or just read and learn (like I did 10 years ago).

[Modifyre]

And I'm sure you've used it enough to know. If only you had a clue.

[Turbofeest]

loose the music!!!!!

[aaroncake]

This from someone who's YouTube account is full of Fiestas? ;-)

[Turbofeest]

Lots of videos with fiestas in it on youtube not so many movies with music of boney m.How come ;)?

[aaroncake]

The music seemed appropriate. It was either that or Cibo Matto.

[Modifyre]

The music rocks, how about you loose your attitude?

[Turbofeest]

:DD

[drmmr04]

i always wondered, but never bothered to look into what the simulators were for, now i understand haha. Sweet video aaron, once i get my mx6 squirted i might just get another one done for the rx i just picked up

[mperformancerx7]

excellent video aaroncake. I also have a lot of MSQ maps I have been working on. Good luck, megasquirt is the way to go.

[rxheaven13b]

Good work! let us know how the install works out. If need be you can have my msq from my bridgeported turbo setup as a starting point.

[aaroncake]

The ECU is going into a stock port TII, sometime in the late spring. Last night I added the LM1815 circuit for the 2 tooth CAS wheel, tonight it gets tested. I have a pretty good stock of base maps, but thanks for the offer. :-)