Megasquirt 2 vs the rest

[Nemo]

Vespa's white turbo NA6 running a MSPNP that was recently sold was tuned by Yavuz at Unigroup. May be worth a shot trying to contact either of them.

http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=49106

[jules]

I guess this is the real world issue with MS then.
Must be like the Linux of ECU's.

Jules

[Dweezle]

Vespa's white turbo NA6 running a MSPNP that was recently sold was tuned by Yavuz at Unigroup. May be worth a shot trying to contact either of them.

http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=49106

Thanks Nemo.

unigroup are actually one of the guys i shot an email off to.
Have not heard back yet.
Might give them a call next week.

[greenMachine]

I guess this is the real world issue with MS then.
Must be like the Linux of ECU's.

Jules

I don't think that is the right analogy, but it makes the point.

The MS culture is very much self-help within the user group. As a result, the pro tuners don't get to see much MS stuff, and therefore have no opportunity/reason to build up their expertise in MS tuning, something of a viscious circle.

I have always subscribed to the view that while DIY engine management is possible, I would want the fallback (in my case the first choice) to be something that a pro could work on with no/minimal issues. It's not so much the performance as in HP, as driveability, idling, cold start (or hot), etc where their expertise comes into play. Now it is emissions. When I was ECU shopping I asked around well known/respected tuners who were accessible, and arrived at a shortlist of ECUs from which I selected one.

I take my hat off to the people who do the MS thing, but this is the downside.

[gslender]

I'd challenge that, mainly because I've seen and experienced many professional ECU systems with awful idle, terrible AC support and careless attention to finer details beyond raw horsepower. Most tuners seem to be primarily focussed on maximizing rolling road outcomes (HP or Torque) and rarely get the customer to invest in solving minor niggles related to odd idle behaviors.

I guess it depends on if you are looking to drive away with an installed ecu without any knowledge investment yourself. If that's the case, without doubt, stay away from Megasquirt and buy one of the more expensive (but not necessarily better) ecu's where you can obtain almost "dealership" support from a network of tuners.

G

[gslender]

Another consideration... Most tuners will be happy to advise what is required for tuning as long as you know how to drive and have installed the Megasquirt. Essentially you are using their general experience for reading AFR tables, using their EGO sensors, rolling road and det cans etc.

They'd then advise that the engine needs more spark adv or retard, more or less fuel in each cell etc. As long as you come equipped with the laptop, can navigate around TunerStudio you'll find they are happy to assist.

They freak out when you expect them to learn and leave it to them!

G

[plohl]

I'd challenge that, mainly because I've seen and experienced many professional ECU systems with awful idle, terrible AC support and careless attention to finer details beyond raw horsepower. Most tuners seem to be primarily focussed on maximising rolling road outcomes (HP or Torque) and rarely get the customer to invest in solving minor niggles related to odd idle behaviours.

I guess it depends on if you are looking to drive away with an installed ecu without any knowledge investment yourself. If that's the case, without doubt, stay away from Megasquirt and buy one of the more expensive (but not necessarily better) ecu's where you can obtain almost "dealership" support from a network of tuners.

G

You do realise that the reason most after-market ecu's have high HP tunes, no ideal tuning for accessories etc is because the owners generally want/are:

a. The most power the tuners can get
b. Are too cheap to pay the tuners to set it up for them
c. Are too useless/lazy/stupid to do it themselves
d. Go to a tuner with little experience in said ecu, and ask for the cheapest, most powerful tune they can get.

Has nothing to do with the quality of the tuner, or the ecu. As always it comes down to money.

[gslender]

You do realise that the reason most after-market ecu's have high HP tunes, no ideal tuning for accessories etc is because the owners generally want/are:

a. The most power the tuners can get
b. Are too cheap to pay the tuners to set it up for them
c. Are too useless/lazy/stupid to do it themselves
d. Go to a tuner with little experience in said ecu, and ask for the cheapest, most powerful tune they can get.

Has nothing to do with the quality of the tuner, or the ecu. As always it comes down to money.

Well i guess then you'd need to fully consider the true and full cost of getting a complete outcome. Eg no point in buying a XYZ ecu with perceived safety and fallback of tuner support if you're not getting a fixed price to install it including a detailed outline of the installation outcomes - like oem AC support, oem hot and cold start, complete oem like idle etc.

And that could cost you thousands !!!

G

[Sean]

Generally I'd suggest picking the tuner you want to tune the car, then buying the set-up that they recommend.
Admittedly you might end up paying more than doing this or that, but when you have a problem, it all comes back to that one point.

I have run an MX5 on a mircotech and motec, completely opposite ends of the market (or at least they were back when i was fiddling with them) and found both to work well when tuned by someone knowledgable in the system.

I'd second the suggestion of talking to Justin at BlackTrack. I know he will give most systems a look, so I'd definately call him.

I used to deal with him and Jon back in the days of RX engineering when Jon still owned the shop. Haven't dealt with him in a few years (cause I've been out of modified turbo cars) but I know he looks after a lot of high powered and street dríven turbo cars - He and Jon have done some great work for me over the years from NA to turbo MX5s and Justin and the crew even did a little work on my Twin Turbo Cressida!

He's tuned a metric shitload of turbo B6 and BP engines - although mostly on microtech, so he'd have a good idea on what sort of settings will work.

Also, I'd suggest calling places rather than emailing, you might get to talk to someone who's open to you and your car rather than a monkey who checks the emails?