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Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 1:55 +0000
by fez
I'm thinking about fitting Megasquirt or something similar to my 1.6 mk1.
I'm not thinking of turboing it just yet, can't justify the cost on a second car, but if I do decide to turbo or supercharge in future, it'd be part of the way there already.
I have a few questions.
Will this allow me to remove the afm and do I have to fit some sort of MAF sensor then?
will it worsen fuel economy?
will it increase engine power if coupled with exhaust, cold air intake etc?
Which Megasquirt is the one to go for?
Is it worth my money, or what else should I spend it on?
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 2:58 +0000
by Steve
Yes you can remove the AFM by using a MAP sensor.
It should improve economy and power if you tune it correctly.
Spending money... have you had an alignment?
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 3:16 +0000
by fez
haven't had an alignment yet, it is on the cards though.
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 9:53 +0000
by andrew
Will this allow me to remove the afm and do I have to fit some sort of MAF sensor then?
AFM yes, megasquirt has a MAP sensor
will it worsen fuel economy? No
will it increase engine power if coupled with exhaust, cold air intake etc? Probably if tunes correctly
Which Megasquirt is the one to go for? I'd recommend a reverant built MS2
Is it worth my money, or what else should I spend it on?
Yes, if you go FI in the future, if not no. Tyres and light wheels.
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 2:33 +0000
by fez
what does ms3 have that ms2 doesn't?
I think rather than going fi, a vvt 1.8 would be easier to get past herself financially. Is this a doable transplant with ms?
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 5:39 +0000
by andrew
Its doable but not easy to get the VVC working. Reverant will build you a megasquirt to do it if you give him you car and new engine spec.
For the same money I would go FI or fit throttle bodies if you like the sound. You won't get much performance gain for the money with a VVT transplant.
TB's sound epic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SUuBR7wYlw
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 6:17 +0000
by fez
going from a 115bhp 1.6 to a 140 something 1.8 should give me a decent increase no? ITB's on the 1.6 wouldn't give that no?
next question, who is reverent?
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 10:50 +0000
by sidewaysreilly
vvc not as good as the Jap RS engines. Produced no more power, just better torque curve.
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Fri, 01 Nov 2013 1:20 +0000
by andrew
fez wrote:going from a 115bhp 1.6 to a 140 something 1.8 should give me a decent increase no? ITB's on the 1.6 wouldn't give that no?
next question, who is reverent?
He is the man who knows everything about MX5 ECU's, lives in Greece and builds megasquirts. Customer support is best I have ever seen. You will find him on mx5nutz or miataturbo. send him a pm if your getting a ECU.
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 2:14 +0000
by Fergus
AND keep this in mind - once you get an MS and get more BHP out of the block
YOU WILL WANT MORE POWER 
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 9:43 +0000
by [L'e$kro]
Mine is standard apart of a MSPNP Gen 1 Megasquirt. It's my main car and I switched to Megasquirt in one evening but it wasn't my first attempt. However it was quite easy as it's plug and play, there was more work involved in installing the wideband Air Fuel Ratio than swapping ECUs and loading a base map on it.
The MAP sensor is inside the ECU so you just need to run a vacuum line from the inlet manifold to the cabin.
Don't expect massive power increase with changing the ECU on a naturally aspirated car running crappy unleaded. Taking out the AFM might grab a few HPs and it makes more induction noise but that's about it.
Fuel economy can be about the same but also better or worse depending on how much you bother tuning it.
The good thing is that it's a good step forward for any later mod (forced induction).
However if you are not 100% decided to go turbo or supercharger later and just want to do something on your car, there are other areas that do improve the car greatly even if they seem like details, as said above.
Nico
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 11:07 +0000
by rhysmate
[L'e$kro] wrote:Mine is standard apart of a MSPNP Gen 1 Megasquirt. It's my main car and I switched to Megasquirt in one evening but it wasn't my first attempt. However it was quite easy as it's plug and play, there was more work involved in installing the wideband Air Fuel Ratio than swapping ECUs and loading a base map on it.
The MAP sensor is inside the ECU so you just need to run a vacuum line from the inlet manifold to the cabin.
Don't expect massive power increase with changing the ECU on a naturally aspirated car running crappy unleaded. Taking out the AFM might grab a few HPs and it makes more induction noise but that's about it.
Fuel economy can be about the same but also better or worse depending on how much you bother tuning it.
The good thing is that it's a good step forward for any later mod (forced induction).
However if you are not 100% decided to go turbo or supercharger later and just want to do something on your car, there are other areas that do improve the car greatly even if they seem like details, as said above.
Nico
In fairness, your car is very quick for a standard 1.6
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 11:33 +0000
by [L'e$kro]
I don't really know it feels slow to me anyway. Would be worth trying a pull or 2 against your mates' standard one that was at your shed the other day (black 92D), or just put it on a dyno..
Nico
Re: Megasquirt on an NA engine

Posted:
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 11:55 +0000
by rhysmate
[L'e$kro] wrote:I don't really know it feels slow to me anyway. Would be worth trying a pull or 2 against your mates' standard one that was at your shed the other day (black 92D), or just put it on a dyno..
Nico
I might be able to organise a dyno shoot out?

Posted:
Thu, 14 Nov 2013 8:50 +0000
by AndyJF
If you want it to feel quicker ive read about changing the final drive. Easy way is to swap the diff ring gear with one off a kia sportage front diff.
More acceleration but lower top speed. Seen it somewhere on mx5nutz.
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