megasquirt for efi and spark control

Has anyone got experience using the programmable spark products related to megasquirt?? or megajolt?

I've been having fun with the megasquirt, but only for fuel control, and only on MGB 4 cyl and on Triumph straight 6 motors. It has convinced me to give up on carbs and go straight to EFI.

The tuning is so easy and readily changeable at a keystroke. I've tuned one car with 3 different manifold setups and it took me longer to assemble and change the manifolds than it did to tune the car.

I cannot imagine anyone ever going back to mechanical spark control. It also makes me think that mechanical adjusting methods for spark advance is a bit obsolete. I dont know which is cheaper, but I can bet the modern approach is more flexible and long term reliable.

I've been tuning fuel and spark for several years now on two vehicles with MS and you are right, there's no going back.

Jim

Scott
Mega-Squirt will work with several ignition systems. Probably the most user friendly one to use, is the FORD EDIS.
EDIS is durable, self contained, with only two wires connected to the Mega-Squirt. Mega_squirt controls timing advance, via a 12x12 advance table that you can set up anyway you desire.

Bill

Jim, I purchased four MS III units. Two DIY and two pre-constructed. I have been building electronic circuits for years and wouldn't you know I flubbed the first hand built one? I haven't had time to do much in the way of trouble shooting it but I'm sure some of the trouble is in the motherboard. It was really fun to build though. A few years ago you encouraged me to give a good look at MegaSquirt. Scot has since been helpful in my decision to try it also. We're hoping that it will be the best ECU for the 3900 V6. The 3900 has 60-2 ignition and the MS has a feature for that.

Dann

I think you'll like it a lot Dann, especially when you start tuning. I take it you are referring to the ver 3.0 board? Did you order the MS-II daughterboard that replaces the standard processor? That would be just the thing to have for that 3900.

Jim

Jim, I did mean the Version 3.0 board. I don't know why I refrered it as a MS III. I did order the upgrade daughter boards after speaking to Jerry Hoffman at DIY. This was the very thing I was looking for to manage the 3900 ignition. Hopefully we can get something moving this winter with the 3900.

Dann

I'm a fan of good engineering. The megasquirt and vems ecu's are well designed
pieces of hardware. The ECU's used in even the highest end cars are a little bit crap in comparison.

Can the Ford EDIS be adapted to non-Ford engines? Say, a Buick 300?

Quote: "The ECU's used in even the highest end cars are a little bit crap in comparison."

I'm just curious... what aspects of Megasquirt do you think are so superior, and why?

jimbb88 Wrote:

jimbb88 Wrote:

I put it on an Olds 215 and an International 392. Same exact system. Two coil packs, one module, one pickup. Welded the trigger wheel to the back of the damper. Pretty easy install really.

What I like most about the MS is the tuning software. It's very user friendly compared to what I've seen and the ability to tune fuel and spark while motoring down the road is a very valuable advantage. I also like the idea that it is continually being developed and improved by what is basically a grass-roots bunch of guys in a true example of open source development gone right.

Jim

BritishV8 Wrote:

There are 2 other things very valuable with the Megasquirt:

1. Information sharing and a real desire from the supplier to make the things work. The big automakers dont have inclination or freedom to be supportive with information sharing and open discussions of product performance. They tend to hide snafu's and keep problems a secret. With megasquirt, there is a whole crowd of enthusiasts who are willing, able and inclined to help each other out. Dealers and big name suppliers just want to help the customers out of their money.
2. With Megasquirt, there is a narrow product offering, so all the work and engineering is being concentrated on these. I wouldn't be surprised if there is more engineering and application engineering done to the Megasquirts than to any single automaker's ecu. There is no such large, skilled, helpful and enthusiastic user base for the OEM guys. Megasquirt wins that one hands down.

I use Megasquirt and it also controls the EDIS ignition on my '73 GT and I would never go back. When I do my 3.9 conversion I will stick with the same Megasquirt and I will get an EDIS for an 8 cylinder. Love it!