Has anyone done a conversion themselves? Is it really a DIY project? I just re-read the article about doing it to the Miata at the Mitty, and it took the experts"a few hours" on the dyno to finally get it tuned.I don't have any experts at my disposal-nor access to a couple of hours on a dyno-so just how DIY is it? I was thinking of 'squirting my '84 BMW 733, but it seems that it may not be worth the time and expense. Any real world experience?
I always liked this article, it might help give some ideas; http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/megacapable/
And I now see I just linked you to an article you commented on nearly a week ago... perfect.
minimac wrote: Has anyone done a conversion themselves? Is it really a DIY project? I just re-read the article about doing it to the Miata at the Mitty, and it took the experts"a few hours" on the dyno to finally get it tuned.I don't have any experts at my disposal-nor access to a couple of hours on a dyno-so just how DIY is it? I was thinking of 'squirting my '84 BMW 733, but it seems that it may not be worth the time and expense. Any real world experience?
I'm working on my third (hopefully final!) conversion. It's cheap, the trade-off is the initial learning curve is a little steep. If your BMW is anything like the CIS based VWs that I've converted, the big advantage of Megasquirt is trading mechanical sensors (air flow flapper, weird fuel pressure regulators, mechanical injection, points based distributors) for 100% digital, closed loop control. At this point there are plenty of success stories, if this is not your daily driver I'd say go for it!. I'd suggest starting with fuel only (let the existing ECU control spark), then progressing to spark.
I've done 3, including a Sportster. I wouldn't do my only car, as the whole process is time consuming, but my 2 DD's (Rolla and Truck) are squirted.
Is there much documentation on using MS (and spark) for 2 stroke engines?
Bamf, I remember reading somewhere that MS has been used on competitive chainsaws - the kind that they race to cut through a huge log. Dont know if theres documentation or how to etc, but it has been done.
I have only seen one car running megasquirt (at a alfa club event) and it looked to work ok, but it did not run as well as most of the carbed and facroty fuel injected cars there. The guy had other cars, and he had just done it for fun, so he was happy with it though. I dont think id rip out a stock efi system thats working well to replace it with megasquirt on a stock engine though. Bosch l-jet is pretty good when you have good vaccum lines and all the components are working properly.
Megasquirt (and ANY ecu) is only as good as the guy on the keyboard tuning it.
I love it. I don't currently have any MSed vehicles, but hope to eventually turbo the M30 E30 car...if I do, it'll be 'squirted. I've used it on a number of DD's and the only problem was cold start/enrichment. Other than requiring me to wait 5-20 seconds before I could drive "normally" (at -20 to -30 deg C), it was fine. The MS (and it's support group/development) have come a long ways since then, making it easier to find the appropriate settings for an engine.
Nathan
minimac wrote: Has anyone done a conversion themselves? Is it really a DIY project? I just re-read the article about doing it to the Miata at the Mitty, and it took the experts"a few hours" on the dyno to finally get it tuned.I don't have any experts at my disposal-nor access to a couple of hours on a dyno-so just how DIY is it? I was thinking of 'squirting my '84 BMW 733, but it seems that it may not be worth the time and expense. Any real world experience?
I've done it (many have!), it's not rocket science but it isn't a cold air intake either. DIY projects are just that...do it yourself. If you are skilled, it's a fun project. If you aren't very skilled, it's asking for trouble. As far as taking it to a dyno...well...that's up to the person doing it. If you don't think you can DIY but you've got a few hundred bucks for a dyno shop to tune it...go for it. Some people take their cars to "experts" for anything from exhaust to alignments to upholstery. It's really hard to judge what is worth YOUR time and expense from the internet.
My experience: I wanted to do it as a learning tool and for something fun to do. I have learned some real-world knowledge on the ins and outs of EFI, stuff I thought I knew but theory and reality aren't the same thing. I have learned about all sorts of fabrication and modification to do custom EFI on cars that were never intended to have EFI. In the end, it cost a fair bit and took LOTS of time compared to just sticking with a carb. However, it was worth it to me just for the learning side of things. The great startability, fuel economy, and driveability are the perks.
Bryce
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