I'm having a lot of fun with this Miata. I'm tinkering, learning about Miatas, learning how to drive a RWD car, and it's fun focusing on a car that's all about response rather than enormous walls of power. Messing around with an n/a build direction on the car simply because it's not something i've done (successfully) in awhile and i got burned out on turbo Miatas.
Car is running well overall, but there's some slight quirks running the Japanese ECU i have on the car right now, and a standalone was in the plans anyways.
Due to an unfortunate accident that one of my good friends has had (he's fine) i have the opportunity to score an MS Labs MS3 Basic on the cheap. This presents a dilemma, since i had previously decided on selling the MS2 Enhanced i had already sourced and moving to a Haltech Elite ecu in order to use my Racepak IQ3 easily that nobody seems interested in.
MS3 Basic has all the features i need, and DIY Autotune sells the module i'd need to interface with the Racepak if i take that route.
This car has no budget and no timeline, but building a million dollar miata isn't something i'm interested in.
That said, let's get some input from the peanut gallery! I'm not going to put real dollars out there, but rather the deltas. The options, listed cheapest to most expensive, with pros and cons:
1) MS3, Innovate MTX-L, and Accutech SMi gauges. Pros: Cheapest, forum support in the event i need help, does what i need. Cons: utilizes factory engine harness, something i'm not a fan of. Mounting gauges is a pain in the butt in a Miata, and these accutechs are large. More things = more complication and weight. (Not that i'm super worried about the extra wiring weight, but less is always more.)
2) MS3, Racepak IQ3, DIYAT module, MTX-L. Pros: Don't have to mess with mounting gauges in a Miata (besides MTX-L), forum support if i tune myself. Racepak is winsauce. Cons: Still uses factory harness (not a huge deal, but i'm neurotic), the idea of using another module between the MS3 and Racepak isn't something i'm super jazzed about. Most local-ish tuners won't do Megasquirt if i decide to have a pro look at it. $595 more than Option 1.
3) Haltech Elite, Racepak, and Haltech CAN wideband. Pros: The most elegant solution. The Racepak doesn't need anything additional to run with this stuff, i don't need ANY additional gauges at all, factory harness gets taken out, so that is simplified (less weight, y0!). Racecar stuff. My Haltech dealer lives 1.5 hours from me so face to face professional support is a reality. I prefer the Haltech ECU Manager software to Tunerstudio. Cons: Lose forum support if i want to tune myself (however, i find i can tune Haltech just as badly as i can tune megasquirt anyways), most expensive. $410 more than Option 2 (Maybe slightly less, bet i can cut a deal on some of it)
What i think this comes down to is Racepak vs the cheaper option of mounting a bunch of gauges in a Miata. I don't really see the point of Option 2 over Option 3. It's more complicated, less elegant, and dislike having to deal with more modules than necessary. For $410 more, i'd gladly have the most streamlined solution.
I dunno. Thoughts and input are welcome. I know this is a serious first world problem, but i'm having a hard time making a decision wrestling with my cheap side vs. the "do whatever you want" side. I can't guarantee i'll take the advice of anyone, but other viewpoints are nice.
