megasquirt questions
10-08-2010, 11:57 AM
#1
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megasquirt questions any of you guys have experience with megasquirt on a ls engine? i have a 2003 lq4 swapped into my 1991 firebird. i am thinking about getting megasquirt for it as a platform to learn the megasquirt stuff, but i kinda want ot know what the benefits and drawbacks of replacing the gm ecm and harness with the megasquirt stuff. will i lose fuel economy? will the power be the same or close? do i still use as many sensors, or are there any that are no longer necessary?
also what all would i need to locate for hardware to get it together? if i got a megasquirt box, does it splice into the gm engine harness, or will i have to start over on the harness building completely? thanks
also what all would i need to locate for hardware to get it together? if i got a megasquirt box, does it splice into the gm engine harness, or will i have to start over on the harness building completely? thanks
10-09-2010, 05:38 AM
#2
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any of you guys have experience with megasquirt on a ls engine? i have a 2003 lq4 swapped into my 1991 firebird. i am thinking about getting megasquirt for it as a platform to learn the megasquirt stuff, but i kinda want ot know what the benefits and drawbacks of replacing the gm ecm and harness with the megasquirt stuff. will i lose fuel economy? will the power be the same or close? do i still use as many sensors, or are there any that are no longer necessary?
also what all would i need to locate for hardware to get it together? if i got a megasquirt box, does it splice into the gm engine harness, or will i have to start over on the harness building completely? thanks
also what all would i need to locate for hardware to get it together? if i got a megasquirt box, does it splice into the gm engine harness, or will i have to start over on the harness building completely? thanks
10-09-2010, 09:12 AM
#3
Megasquirt 2 is an excellent option for EFI control, IF, you don't have access to HPtuners/EFi live. If you have a generic engine combo, mail order tunes are affordable. On the flip side, tuning MS yourself is a lot of fun and a good education opportunity. MS ECU's are $400 assembled and a relay board is $88. Get a cheap junk yard LQ4 harness, spend an evening stripping out all the unnecssary stuff, wire it to the relay board and you have a running engine. 4l60e trans cannot be controlled by MS but they do offer a MS for trans controller.
What's you budget and are you a DIY guy?
MS is affordable but it's hard to beat a GM PCM for ability to set check engine codes, real time tuneability (additional cost) and automatic trans control. MS does have an AutoTune feature to update the fuel tables every 2-3 seconds to make tuning very easy. Also it can control boosted situations very easily without custom operating system and additional Tune credits ($) with aftermarket software. MS software is all free and Mfg and forum support is excellent.
I have done several MS installs and it worked well.
Lastly,aftermarket EFI software is a business (proffit); MS is not proffit based and businesses do not like other organizations that take away from their bottom line.
What's you budget and are you a DIY guy?
MS is affordable but it's hard to beat a GM PCM for ability to set check engine codes, real time tuneability (additional cost) and automatic trans control. MS does have an AutoTune feature to update the fuel tables every 2-3 seconds to make tuning very easy. Also it can control boosted situations very easily without custom operating system and additional Tune credits ($) with aftermarket software. MS software is all free and Mfg and forum support is excellent.
I have done several MS installs and it worked well.
Lastly,aftermarket EFI software is a business (proffit); MS is not proffit based and businesses do not like other organizations that take away from their bottom line.
10-11-2010, 10:04 AM
#4
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right now i have it operational with the stock gm dbw stuff. i am looking inot megasquirt as a cheaper alternative to efilive so i can tune this thing myself. i am planning mods a little at a time, headers, maybe a cam after that, etc. efilive is gonna be 800, plus about 170 for a wideband, you're up to a grand pretty fast. with the ms, if i cen gat the hardware for 5-600, and i would then be able to sell the stuff i have for probably over half of that, then its looking at 3-400 for megasquirt vs 1000 for efilive. if i can get to most of the same performance for that much less cash, then i want to learn megasquirt. if i'm gonna give up 10 mpg, maybe i'll just go with efilive and what i have. i'd guess that the hp and tq would be equal either way. and as far as emissions, and all the other stuff in the ecm i'm not too concerned. i need gauges, but it sounds like that can be workable without too much trouble. plus i have a guy who would like me to do a little efi stuff for him as a side job, which with megasquirt means i can efi any engine, not just gm stuff.
10-11-2010, 12:46 PM
#6
I really don't think you're going to save any money going Megasquirt. You'll still need a wideband, and the "not too much trouble" stuff like gauges and any senders for them, etc. adds up quick.
I like Megasquirt, but from a purely budget standpoint, I think you'll spend more to get it going.
I like Megasquirt, but from a purely budget standpoint, I think you'll spend more to get it going.
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10-11-2010, 09:39 PM
#8
There is not extra harness or sensors to purchase comparing MS to EFI live or HPT. You need the same hardware (harness, sensors, and relays) with either software package. Better yet, MS does not need a MAF (it's optional). If you have a MAf you can sell it and buy a MS relay board.
10-11-2010, 10:53 PM
#9
I have heard Megasquirt is great stuff and appears to work well - especially for an engine combo that isn't tuner friendly or popular. Unless you have found a limitation on the factory Gen III / IV PCM I would stick with it and HPT or EFI Live unless you like the challenge. I am very impressed with their support - especially for a product that is open source / nearly free (minus the hardware).
I always wanted to build a Megasquirt powered vehicle but haven't found the right project... I have a 300 HP Northstar engine laying around and I may use it for that.
Being a builder / tinkerer, the concept of building everything is absolutely fascinating. Maybe I need another hobby that is less challenging instead of this car stuff. 
I am very impressed with their support - especially for a product that is open source / nearly free (minus the hardware).I always wanted to build a Megasquirt powered vehicle but haven't found the right project... I have a 300 HP Northstar engine laying around and I may use it for that.
Being a builder / tinkerer, the concept of building everything is absolutely fascinating. Maybe I need another hobby that is less challenging instead of this car stuff.
10-12-2010, 09:21 AM
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theres a way to do the multiple coil setup on the newer boards. if i felt comfortable with building the board, i think i oculd do the megasquirt setup cheaper than i can get into efilive. my real concern here is if i will lose any tunability or economy going to that instead of gm efi. i wont have any evap or anything on it, so the only real thing affecting that should be the injctor pulses i guess, so that kinda answers the question i think. if i can sell my harness/ecm that i have, i think i can come out with a megasquirt setup reasonably cheap. it uses gm sensors as far as i have found (correct me if i'm wrong), and about the only gauge i need to figure out then would be the tach(megasquirt output) and the speedo(off the t56 vss signal directly? or a box?)
10-12-2010, 09:46 AM
#12
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if i buy the megasquirt ecm, and a wideband, and build a harness, i figure that'll all be under the cost of efilive alone, not counting the sale of my swap harness and ecm. am i missing something major there? i can tinker with gauges, that no deal. but is there major hardware missing?
10-12-2010, 09:08 PM
#13
I don't get it.
Why sell a perfectly good harness and re-purchase connectors and sensors if you already have them?
You actually dont need the relay board as it's just convenience for connecting your existing harness.
MS3 supports coil on plug systems.
Why sell a perfectly good harness and re-purchase connectors and sensors if you already have them?
You actually dont need the relay board as it's just convenience for connecting your existing harness.
MS3 supports coil on plug systems.
10-13-2010, 08:45 AM
#14
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mostly the cost of efilive. and if its cheaper, plus i get to learn that system well enough to apply it to other non gm applications, seems like a win-win to me. i've seen swap harnesses for third gen f bodies sold for more than i would have into wiring, because i have most of the connectors already anyway. just have to lay it all out again. i think at this point my real questions are:
will buying the megasquirt ecm, a wideband, and then everything to build a harness get me up and running and tunable?
is there any loss in economy or performance using megasquirt 3 instead of gm efi?
will buying the megasquirt ecm, a wideband, and then everything to build a harness get me up and running and tunable?
is there any loss in economy or performance using megasquirt 3 instead of gm efi?
