Page 7 of 9 FirstFirst ... 3456789 LastLast
Results 121 to 140 of 170

Thread: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

  1. #121
    turbo addict
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    7,351

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by bgbmxer View Post
    I have been thinking about using a name brand stand alone ecu that I can take and have someone else tune In. Am I looking at this situation wrong?
    You might as well stay with SMEC.

  2. #122
    turbo addict
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    york pa
    Posts
    1,813

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by tryingbe View Post
    You might as well stay with SMEC.
    To run a 600+ horse srt4 engine. Idunno about that, and the car has no wiring now anyways so I was gonna wire the whole car from scratch to simplify everything

  3. #123
    Super Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff contraption22's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Havertown, PA
    Posts
    9,517

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    There are shops out there that tune MS in addition to the "name brand" systems.
    That said, if I had the money, I might have gone with one of the pricier systems as well.
    Mike Marra
    1986 Plymouth Horizon GLMF "The Contraption" < entertaining sponsorship offers
    Project Log:
    http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?69708-The-Contraption-2013-14&highlight=

  4. #124
    turbo addict
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    york pa
    Posts
    1,813

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by contraption22 View Post
    There are shops out there that tune MS in addition to the "name brand" systems.
    That said, if I had the money, I might have gone with one of the pricier systems as well.
    Ms does have a few tuners listed but I haven't recently looked. But I do know of a local tuner to me with a dyno that I feel is capable of doing the job and that is swaying my decision heavily. The other systems seem a lot more user friendly.

  5. #125
    Supporting Member II Turbo Mopar Contributor A.J.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    2,427

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by bgbmxer View Post
    I have been following this thread and trying to decide which route I will go when I put the srt motor in my charger. I'm sure I could wire up a ms and figure out to start tuning but am not to the level where if I spent a few grand on a motor I'd be comfortable tuning it in. I have been thinking about using a name brand stand alone ecu that I can take and have someone else tune In. Am I looking at this situation wrong?
    Just because you take it to somebody else to tune it doesn't mean things can't go wrong. Granted the more experience someone has the less the chances of mistakes are going to happen. I had a customer with a 350Z bored and built to a 4.0 and he ended up detonating and burnt a piston. That was tuned by someone who "knows." I don't know if it was the tuner or the owner that messed up but either way my customer is now the proud owner of a boat anchor.

    Quote Originally Posted by tryingbe View Post
    You might as well stay with SMEC.
    Quote Originally Posted by bgbmxer View Post
    To run a 600+ horse srt4 engine. Idunno about that, and the car has no wiring now anyways so I was gonna wire the whole car from scratch to simplify everything
    I kind of maxed out the SMEC, single coil, and distributor at 330 hp. I or somebody else who's more knowledgeable probably could have squeezed out more but how much time and money do I throw at something that I just have to upgrade anyways? At some point you just cut your losses and move on to something better. I spent $200 on an MSD box that's just sitting here now when I could have put that towards MS. Good thing I borrowed a monster ignition coil instead of buying one or I'd be sitting on that too. Plus you're going to LOVE having a cleaned up engine bay running your own wiring. There's so much less clutter in mine and it's great.

  6. #126
    turbo addict
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    york pa
    Posts
    1,813

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    Just because you take it to somebody else to tune it doesn't mean things can't go wrong. Granted the more experience someone has the less the chances of mistakes are going to happen. I had a customer with a 350Z bored and built to a 4.0 and he ended up detonating and burnt a piston. That was tuned by someone who "knows." I don't know if it was the tuner or the owner that messed up but either way my customer is now the proud owner of a boat anchor.





    I kind of maxed out the SMEC, single coil, and distributor at 330 hp. I or somebody else who's more knowledgeable probably could have squeezed out more but how much time and money do I throw at something that I just have to upgrade anyways? At some point you just cut your losses and move on to something better. I spent $200 on an MSD box that's just sitting here now when I could have put that towards MS. Good thing I borrowed a monster ignition coil instead of buying one or I'd be sitting on that too. Plus you're going to LOVE having a cleaned up engine bay running your own wiring. There's so much less clutter in mine and it's great.
    My goal for the wiring is to make it as simple as possible that way if something goes wrong it's easier period. Also I do want the engine bay clean as well. And as far as taking it to someone else I know for a fact that I could blow it up right there on the dyno I hope not but there are no guarantees. But taking it to someone who has been doing this longer than I have with the proper equipment will definitly be better off. I also want decent drive ability at that horsepower level and I'm not sure that's possible with smec. I know it will be with ms fast or aem or others.

  7. #127
    turbo addict Turbo Mopar Contributor
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,063

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by krut View Post
    Ondonti,
    What was the general learning curve for tuning your 3.0 after getting everything set up? How good is the self tuning that is advertised for MS?
    The version I used had to be hacked to allow autotune to function beyond a small "cruise" window of the AFR map. That had to do with editing a text document that runs while tunerstudio or the no longer supported megatune performed autotune. This was very very maddening. This is how Megasquirt builders think. They think that stuff is exciting and fun! The MSpro has forced them to become less oddball so I guess the expensive product is a good thing. Software has changed and is less awkward.

    I tried using active tuning years ago, it worked, you could even have it change your maps without having a computer hooked up. These days I am happier with using Megalog viewer and going through datalogs. That way I can choose certain load points I want to tune based on my datalog and then change AFR delay to make sure the AFR is a proper representation of what is really happening. Lower rpms, more delay. I can also choose what level of "sensitivity to change" want to apply to my map. Megalog viewer requires loading an MSQ (megasquirt file) and you need an AFR table in there so Megalog viewer will know what your AFR goals are in each load cell.

    BTW, when it comes to boosted runs, if you start with too much fuel, its pretty easy to dial back fuel until it gets close. I used to mess with boost manually, but it would probably work great with datalog review. Basically one datalog running pretty rich and you would be able to get it close, then run a few more to fine tune it. The thing that is harder to fill out are the load cells that you don't spend much time in (like the other boost levels that you go through but not what your boost setting is). I often resort to averaging between two known points so you can get close.

    Open the MSQ you were running when the datalog was recorded (don't get things mixed up, though sometimes I have purposely loaded the wrong MSQ for experimenting).
    Click analyzer

    Change the load (rpm, map, delay) situations that you want to change. If you just did a few boosted pulls, you might not want near idle settings or cruise modified. You can kinda figure out when a change is bad idea because its based on an odd situation. Load cell requirements get wacky the lower your pressure/KPA is. I have found that even N/A @ WOT the numbers change a bit pull to pull when analyzing.


    Change your settings as a NEW NAME so you can go back to your old tune if you don't like what changes you made.
    If you think its a really long good datalog, you could do 2-4 different cell blocks and have different sensitivities or delays (idle with more delay). This would mean making 4 different changes. It will show you how much you changed things so you have an idea how much you are messing up or fixing your tune.
    The challenge in this all is the spark map.
    Last edited by Ondonti; 02-02-2015 at 01:57 PM.
    Brent GREAT DEPRESSION RACING 1992 Duster 3.0T The Junkyard - MS II, OEM 10:1 -[I] Old - 11.5@125 22psi $90 [U]Stock[/U] 3.0 Junk Motor - 1 bar MAP [/I] 1994 Spirit 3.0T - 11.5@120 20 psi - Daily :eyebrows: Holset He351 -FT600 - 393whp 457ft/lb @18psi 1994 Spirit 3.0T a670 - He341, stock fuel, BEGI. Wife's into kid's project. 1990 Lebaron Coupe 2.2 TI/II non IC, a413 1990 Spirit 3.0 E.S. 41TE -- 1993 Spirit 3.0 E.S. 41TE -- 1994 Duster 3.0 A543 1981 Starlet KP61 Potential driver -- 1981 Starlet KP61 Parts -- 1983 Starlet KP61 Drag 2005 Durango Hemi Limited -- 1998 Dodge 12v 47re. AFC mods, No plate, Mack plug, Boost elbow -- 2011 Dodge 6.7 G56

  8. #128
    turbo addict
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    york pa
    Posts
    1,813

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Was just doing some digging and found that aem has a pnp setup for the srt4. Which doesn't help me per day since I don't have any wiring and will start from scratch but they do have base tunes so that is worth a lot to me honestly. Not to hijack this thread maybe I did tho.

  9. #129
    Rhymes with tortoise. Turbo Mopar Staff cordes's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Tuscola, IL
    Posts
    21,441

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by bgbmxer View Post
    Was just doing some digging and found that aem has a pnp setup for the srt4. Which doesn't help me per day since I don't have any wiring and will start from scratch but they do have base tunes so that is worth a lot to me honestly. Not to hijack this thread maybe I did tho.
    I know there is a member of the board here who would be able to tune that for you. IIRC you can fly him out.

  10. #130
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor mopar-tech's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Oakdale CT
    Posts
    2,419

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    I kind of maxed out the SMEC, single coil, and distributor at 330 hp.
    K-car was in excess of 440+ to the wheels with a SMEC, ignition was not a big issue.

    The processors are more than fast enough for this sort of work, the biggest issue I see is the electronics are getting old and some might be hard to find.


    Working on clearing the decks.

  11. #131
    turbo addict Turbo Mopar Contributor
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,063

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by mopar-tech View Post
    K-car was in excess of 440+ to the wheels with a SMEC, ignition was not a big issue.

    The processors are more than fast enough for this sort of work, the biggest issue I see is the electronics are getting old and some might be hard to find.
    The coil driver with SBECII will make the same power with 6 cylinders with 2000+cc's of methanol which should be more difficult to light off with much shorter dwell times. Assuming parts are functioning properly. I had more problems with blowout running Megasquirt as it either seemed to have a weaker ignitor or who knows what. At high rpms you shouldn't have enough time for dwell differences to matter. Not sure what voltage our OEM sends to the coil or amperage.
    It would be nice to know what our OEM dwell is. I could never find dwell information for FORD coils that I use since they have that TFI garbage or whatever it is that runs the coil.
    Brent GREAT DEPRESSION RACING 1992 Duster 3.0T The Junkyard - MS II, OEM 10:1 -[I] Old - 11.5@125 22psi $90 [U]Stock[/U] 3.0 Junk Motor - 1 bar MAP [/I] 1994 Spirit 3.0T - 11.5@120 20 psi - Daily :eyebrows: Holset He351 -FT600 - 393whp 457ft/lb @18psi 1994 Spirit 3.0T a670 - He341, stock fuel, BEGI. Wife's into kid's project. 1990 Lebaron Coupe 2.2 TI/II non IC, a413 1990 Spirit 3.0 E.S. 41TE -- 1993 Spirit 3.0 E.S. 41TE -- 1994 Duster 3.0 A543 1981 Starlet KP61 Potential driver -- 1981 Starlet KP61 Parts -- 1983 Starlet KP61 Drag 2005 Durango Hemi Limited -- 1998 Dodge 12v 47re. AFC mods, No plate, Mack plug, Boost elbow -- 2011 Dodge 6.7 G56

  12. #132
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor mopar-tech's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Oakdale CT
    Posts
    2,419

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Ondonti View Post
    It would be nice to know what our OEM dwell is.
    points/dwell meter should give you the answer, there is digital ones too for $28
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	$_12.JPG 
Views:	92 
Size:	22.2 KB 
ID:	53693  


    Working on clearing the decks.

  13. #133
    Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff Vigo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    10,798

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Looks like sentiment has finally devolved into agreeing with my earlier statements of you have to be at a certain level before MS is practical. Not trying to be rude. I've been working on cars 15 out of 30 years and spend a LOT of time reading/researching and have a full time job teaching other people to be auto techs and MS is still not something i WANT to do when the factory stuff is so capable. I know OP is looking for megasquirt success stories but for every 1 successful MS install in a k-car there are 100 cars with a shitty injector harness that the owner has never been able to figure out. To me MS is only viable for a tiny tiny portion of the community and those are the ones who could have made the stock stuff work anyway if they chose to. Like AJ, Gary and Brent were just talking about, its not like a single coil can't fire 500+whp of fuel sparking 50% more often then AJs 4cyl, but the cost/benefit analysis changes at some point as to whether you want to be diagnosing idiosyncracies of the old setup or diagnosing idiosyncracies of MS. It's pretty damn subjective, and so far i havent seen anyone in this thread actually claim to be doing something that an smec CANT do other than saying the ignition timing is more accurate then it is with sub-oem level worn out distributor drive parts. It's just a balance of effort/knowledge/expectations that ends up drawing a line in the sand.

    I think about installing MS sometimes.. because i have a DOHC 6g72 id like to put in a k-car.

    On the other hand, i'm actively trying to convert my 2.6L Mitsu Montero to run a starion TBI off an SMEC as well.

    Dont push the red button.You hear me?

  14. #134
    turbo addict
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    york pa
    Posts
    1,813

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    I feel it depends on what your goals are. I would definitly stick with smec if I was staying with the 2.2/2.5 even going rwd with it because I feel it's capable. One of my goals for this car is to re wire the entire car as simple as possible also. Plan on using a painless setup for the chassis and then a stand alone setup after that. Simple as possible brand new wiring that's easy to diagnose at the track. Also running the srt could be done with a smec but I feel at the power levels I'd like to make it would be easier to go stand alone and again eliminate a ton of wiring in the process. I guess it all boils down to what your goals are. I also think that with megasquirt that you spend as much time trying to figure out how to wire it up and talk to your sensors correctly than you do tuning.

  15. #135
    Supporting Member II Turbo Mopar Contributor A.J.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    2,427

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by mopar-tech View Post
    K-car was in excess of 440+ to the wheels with a SMEC, ignition was not a big issue.
    Like I said:

    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    I kind of maxed out the SMEC, single coil, and distributor at 330 hp. I or somebody else who's more knowledgeable probably could have squeezed out more..........
    You are definitely more knowledgable since you're one of the pioneers and have probably forgotten more than I know about the factory set up. I really wanted to get rid of the 25+ year wiring and the distributor. The final nail in the coffin for me was blowing the spark out. I wonder if combustion chamber shape or other factors surrounding the 2.4 vs 2.2/2.5 were the reason I had ignition problems and you didn't?

    Quote Originally Posted by bgbmxer View Post
    I also think that with megasquirt that you spend as much time trying to figure out how to wire it up and talk to your sensors correctly than you do tuning.
    Wiring for me took awhile because I had to first separate the body harness from the engine harness. Figuring out the best way to route the MS harness because I'm a perfectionist took awhile but only because I also had to get rid of the fusable links and run everything through a power distribution center. That was time consuming but the easy part because it's mechanical and I can actually put my hands on the problem (if there was one). Getting it started was a breeze once I figured out DIY Autotune had a setting wrong on their SRT-4 settings page but they corrected it once I informed them of the error. Tuning and learning MS has been the challenging part. I just spent two and a half days on getting the idle better and just resorted back to my original settings. I learned a little more about what thing mean and do in MS but not enough to make use of that knowledge yet. It idles well enough for the track so I'll just work on that later.

  16. #136
    turbo addict Turbo Mopar Contributor
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,063

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    Like I said:



    You are definitely more knowledgable since you're one of the pioneers and have probably forgotten more than I know about the factory set up. I really wanted to get rid of the 25+ year wiring and the distributor. The final nail in the coffin for me was blowing the spark out. I wonder if combustion chamber shape or other factors surrounding the 2.4 vs 2.2/2.5 were the reason I had ignition problems and you didn't?



    Wiring for me took awhile because I had to first separate the body harness from the engine harness. Figuring out the best way to route the MS harness because I'm a perfectionist took awhile but only because I also had to get rid of the fusable links and run everything through a power distribution center. That was time consuming but the easy part because it's mechanical and I can actually put my hands on the problem (if there was one). Getting it started was a breeze once I figured out DIY Autotune had a setting wrong on their SRT-4 settings page but they corrected it once I informed them of the error. Tuning and learning MS has been the challenging part. I just spent two and a half days on getting the idle better and just resorted back to my original settings. I learned a little more about what thing mean and do in MS but not enough to make use of that knowledge yet. It idles well enough for the track so I'll just work on that later.
    Your idle issues might be due to the fact that our Idle motor doesn't seem to play nice with megasquirt. We have to use always running to prevent it from sticking but then it gets too hot and again has problems. Drive to drive, your idle could go from perfect to absolutely not functional.
    Brent GREAT DEPRESSION RACING 1992 Duster 3.0T The Junkyard - MS II, OEM 10:1 -[I] Old - 11.5@125 22psi $90 [U]Stock[/U] 3.0 Junk Motor - 1 bar MAP [/I] 1994 Spirit 3.0T - 11.5@120 20 psi - Daily :eyebrows: Holset He351 -FT600 - 393whp 457ft/lb @18psi 1994 Spirit 3.0T a670 - He341, stock fuel, BEGI. Wife's into kid's project. 1990 Lebaron Coupe 2.2 TI/II non IC, a413 1990 Spirit 3.0 E.S. 41TE -- 1993 Spirit 3.0 E.S. 41TE -- 1994 Duster 3.0 A543 1981 Starlet KP61 Potential driver -- 1981 Starlet KP61 Parts -- 1983 Starlet KP61 Drag 2005 Durango Hemi Limited -- 1998 Dodge 12v 47re. AFC mods, No plate, Mack plug, Boost elbow -- 2011 Dodge 6.7 G56

  17. #137
    Supporting Member II Turbo Mopar Contributor A.J.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    2,427

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Ondonti View Post
    Your idle issues might be due to the fact that our Idle motor doesn't seem to play nice with megasquirt. We have to use always running to prevent it from sticking but then it gets too hot and again has problems. Drive to drive, your idle could go from perfect to absolutely not functional.
    I think you are correct about the 4 wire IAC. Sometimes it'll be fine and other times it seems to "stick." When it's idling high, if I go under the the IAC test and send it to "home" position the idle will come down. So right now I have it commanded by temp. It's idles high when cold, comes down when warmed up, idles about 1300 in park/neutral and 900-1000 in gear. That's going to have to get me by for now because I need to figure out my lack of horse power issue first.

  18. #138
    Super Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff contraption22's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Havertown, PA
    Posts
    9,517

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Good to know. I was leaning towards sticking with the Ford IAC. I think this solidified it.
    Mike Marra
    1986 Plymouth Horizon GLMF "The Contraption" < entertaining sponsorship offers
    Project Log:
    http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?69708-The-Contraption-2013-14&highlight=

  19. #139
    Supporting Member II Turbo Mopar Contributor A.J.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    2,427

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by contraption22 View Post
    Good to know. I was leaning towards sticking with the Ford IAC. I think this solidified it.
    I don't think the Ford 2 wire IAC is any good. Chrysler uses a 2 wire PWM valve on the 2.4 that might work better.

  20. #140
    Super Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff contraption22's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Havertown, PA
    Posts
    9,517

    Re: MegaSquirt Successes Needed

    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    I don't think the Ford 2 wire IAC is any good. Chrysler uses a 2 wire PWM valve on the 2.4 that might work better.
    I'm running a Ford throttle body, so I'll have to try the Ford IAC for now. I do also have an adapter to use a GM 4 wire.
    Mike Marra
    1986 Plymouth Horizon GLMF "The Contraption" < entertaining sponsorship offers
    Project Log:
    http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?69708-The-Contraption-2013-14&highlight=

Page 7 of 9 FirstFirst ... 3456789 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Megasquirt 2.0/2.4
    By contraption22 in forum 2.0L/2.4L 16V Engine Swaps!
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 03-09-2015, 11:28 AM
  2. e85 + 3.0 + megasquirt - whats needed
    By Sundance 6g72 in forum 3.0L V6 Turbo Engines!
    Replies: 37
    Last Post: 03-16-2012, 10:55 PM
  3. Megasquirt info needed
    By brett_498 in forum EFI Tuning
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-30-2011, 11:30 AM
  4. Megasquirt help !
    By R/Tony in forum Electrical & Fuel System
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 11-30-2008, 09:51 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •