» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | 1999 M3 Swap 09-07-2023 10:10 PM 05-02-2024 08:18 PM 6 Replies, 330,000 Views | | | | | | | 02-26-2007, 11:11 PM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 136 | Let's talk about MegaSquirt on M44 S/Ced! How it works? specs, wirings... Hi, this evening I was bored and I've started to search about piggyback, but then I've see the megasquirt... I've read something about it, but because I'm in Europe and here isn't know as there I never searched infos. So I know nothing about Megasquirt. I have now a Innovate LC-1 wideband ready to fit, and I've read that with Megasquirt it can "autotune" when warm. How MS works? It's like a piggyback? I know that there are two version: spark or spark and timing. For the price it will be a deal, or not? It use MAP, MAF or what? There is MS-one and MS-two. What we need? Maybe is this the solution to lean DASC giving more power too! The E30 superchargeds with eatons use MS very often It is a datalogger too! I need to learn about MS, so put links here regarding bmw's or that can help to see if it can works with M44 superchargeds. If we reach a good number of info I will re-wrote this thread as Sticky manual I'm starting to read the FAQ: http://www.megasquirt.info/ write your .02$... I think I love MS before know it... bye | | | 02-27-2007, 12:40 AM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 2,525 | MS looks like a great system. And it seems that it is pretty stable. But there are some major issues. The main one being tuning. There are a few people on the site m42club that are using MS. However, I don't think any of them are completely satisfied with their tuning. Autotune just keeps the car to a specific A/F curve. To really get good performance a flat A/F curve may not be the best way to tune the car. For the M44, you will probably want to get the MS2- PCB3. It has full support for knock sensor, multiple O2 sensors, plugs right into the LM1 wideband, has the most feature support.. Also the most expensive one, but still cheap when compared to other stand alones. Full price for a fully built MS2-PCB3, lm1, installation kit, the connection kit you can buy, etc.. basically everything you need is like 1,300 assembled. You could build everything yourself for much less. You can run it as a piggy back, or you can use it as a full stand alone ECU. That is the difference about fuel, or fuel and spark. You can use megasquirt to completely run the engine, but leave the rest of the ECU to handle everything else in the car. There are wiring issues, but anybody who is competent in automotive wiring should be able to handle it. I think the hardest is wiring into the spark plugs, the RPM sensor, and fuel injectors. It can run with the m42 AFM, or the m44 MAF, or you can use an aftermarket MAP sensor to get a virtually restriction free intake. If you plan to have it installed right, and then pay for some dyno time to tune it properly, by a professional you should not have any problems with it. And future tuning of engine parameters are basically endless. You could have a tune for short auto-x courses, or a tune for high rpm road courses, a tune for cruising on the highway... You get the point. | | | 02-27-2007, 01:46 AM | #3 | doesn't care about you. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,925 | I agree with everything above. If you need the flexibility to run multiple tunes (AutoX, Drag, Street, etc...) then MS is a good choice. Like every standalone ECU, you'll need to find a competent tuner to get it running correctly, this means lots of time on a dyno, which isn't cheap (at least $100/hr.). NickG's software is going to be (by far) the cheapest option for tuning a FI m44. Unfortunately you need to run a linear power adder (m62/m90 blower) to use it. We need to push the m44 tuning limits. Everyone sees the DASC as the upper limits of the m44. DASC + NickG's S3 is the uber upper limit right now. The problem is that nobody (that I know of) has lowered compression on an m44 and run huge boost. Maybe it's time for one of us to do it? I say go for it, post everything you can find about it and let us know how it goes. The m44 runs dual low voltage (very low voltage) knock sensors, they are similar to the ones run by Subaru (if that helps with the drivers). You shouldn't have a problem with anything else in the system. It would be nice to set it up so the factory traction control could still be used, but that could be an after thought. __________________ '99 Dinan M3 | | | 02-27-2007, 12:29 PM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 136 | I'm sorry, Megasquirt it's very complicate and long and I've not the time for do a similar project or for talking of a thing that I never will use... It will be more time for tuning it that for driving and enjoy the car There are too much problems (idle and even more), too DIY... and is too hard for a daily driven OBDII car. So please DustenT (or other moderators) remove all this discussion, for me it doesn't have any sense. If others want to talk about it please do it... I will start another thread soon to confront most know piggybacks in the market and find best for use with eaton S/C and M4x engines. thanks | | | 02-27-2007, 01:52 PM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Port St. Johns, Florida Posts: 2,242 | I know a 2002Ti that uses megasquirt with it's M20 Turbo. don't know much on the whole with MS, but it works with the '02 | | | 02-27-2007, 02:18 PM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 136 | Quote: Originally Posted by Panzer_M I know a 2002Ti that uses megasquirt with it's M20 Turbo. don't know much on the whole with MS, but it works with the '02 | I know that is used on 2002, E30, old 6 series and similars, but nothing about our M4x engines... | | | 02-27-2007, 02:23 PM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 382 | Quote: Originally Posted by DustenT The problem is that nobody (that I know of) has lowered compression on an m44 and run huge boost. Maybe it's time for one of us to do it? | i am ready to do this dusten... but the ONLY problem is getting a "cooled" supercharger kit for a m44... if a company pops up in the next 3 months with a s/c with an aftercooler i will be ready to buy... and run as much boost as i can without blowing the engine..... if not i will buy a dasc __________________ ............................. ..........1999 318iS Coupe.......... Finally Supercharged ......................................................................... | | | 02-27-2007, 02:44 PM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 136 | Quote: Originally Posted by 318iS if a company pops up in the next 3 months with a s/c with an aftercooler i will be ready to buy... | If I had more free-time... do you think that is difficult to build? Me not The only way is custom build. We can build more powerful system than dasc WITH intercooler and better fuel management. I should start a thread for let you know all ways possibles for a serious intercooled eaton build? Tell me if I should, I love these things... I'm thinking about it many days and nights too | | | 02-27-2007, 02:46 PM | #9 | doesn't care about you. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,925 | Quote: Originally Posted by 318iS i am ready to do this dusten... but the ONLY problem is getting a "cooled" supercharger kit for a m44... if a company pops up in the next 3 months with a s/c with an aftercooler i will be ready to buy... and run as much boost as i can without blowing the engine..... if not i will buy a dasc | I'm pretty sure nobody is developing a cooled supercharger setup, the market just isn't there for it. Contact ZeroG and buy his air to water intercooler setup. I think he was asking around $1500 for the setup and it's very nice. __________________ '99 Dinan M3 | | | 02-27-2007, 04:35 PM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 382 | Quote: Originally Posted by nuvolarossa If I had more free-time... do you think that is difficult to build? Me not The only way is custom build. We can build more powerful system than dasc WITH intercooler and better fuel management. I should start a thread for let you know all ways possibles for a serious intercooled eaton build? Tell me if I should, I love these things... I'm thinking about it many days and nights too | do a write if you want i would be interested to see whats involved..... Quote: Originally Posted by dustent Contact ZeroG and buy his air to water intercooler setup. I think he was asking around $1500 for the setup and it's very nice. | is it made to fit the dasc ? __________________ ............................. ..........1999 318iS Coupe.......... Finally Supercharged ......................................................................... | | | 02-27-2007, 04:38 PM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 2,525 | There are people out there running MS2 on M42 engines. I talked to a few different guys on the megasquirt forums and they offered me their maps as a starting baseline. I've not heard of it being done on an E36 m42 with knock sensors. You really have to look at what the gains are. Most people that want to get serious power are going to swap an engine and run a full blown racing standalone. If that car is a DIY type of car people will use megasquirt. If you want a ready to rock plug-n-play type of setup I'd get with somebody like evosport about their AEM standalone ECU packages for 3200$. Not really sure if they can tailor their kit for an M42. | | | 02-27-2007, 04:46 PM | #12 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Portland Or Posts: 2,666 | Piggyback, standalone, doesn't matter, if you want power you and the dyno need to get acquainted. You can do a lot on the road if you have a wide band but there are no shortcuts, you have to know what your doing if you want a real benefit, Glad I live in Portland, our dyno rates run closer to 45 or 60 an hour not 100.. Mega squirt has 2 problems in my opinion, 1. Lack of professional experience on many cars (Tuning) and 2. Refinement It takes a lot of engineering to make a EFI system thats streetable. SDS is another option, for tack only cars especially. and its similar pricing... Dave __________________ Dave - PDX 1995 318ti - Active Black and Tan. 2005 330xi - Mtech 1 - 6spd - Orient Blue/Black | | | 02-27-2007, 05:08 PM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 136 | Quote: Originally Posted by 318iS do a write if you want i would be interested to see whats involved..... | Now I must go out for work. I'll post it wesnday. bye | | | 02-27-2007, 05:14 PM | #14 | doesn't care about you. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,925 | Quote: Originally Posted by 318iS is it made to fit the dasc ? | Yes, it's made for the DASC. __________________ '99 Dinan M3 | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |