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I'd like to trade ideas.

fowljesse wrote:I'd like to trade ideas.

you dint install that yet? is it that hard? or are you in the tuning right now? mine is coming in this week :S i hope its not too complicated...

good luck
john

I have it installed and running, and am tuning it. It's not hard, but tedious. I know almost nothing about computers, and software, so I needed help with that part. Even the MegaManual kind of skims over alot of stuff, so it can be a challenge. I learned that you need a wideband O2 sensor to fine tune it, and some other stuff. The car is running well, though, and right now I'm tuning it for mpg. I'm going for 35+, shooting for 38. I've had the car up to 33mpg before the MegaSquirt, and I'm taking about 100lbs. off the car.
I wish you good luck with yours, too

Jesse, there are switchable tables for Megasquirt right? So you can have 1 tune for MPG and have another for max power? Is there any way to change between the two without connecting to a computer?

LOL if you're not good with computer, you might now be the person to ask this of, haha.

Yeah, I'm not the one to ask about anything to do with computers!
However, I do know that there are 2 tables you can switch. I may go that far eventually, but, you can tune your base map for both. It gives you an amount of fuel based on engine load, and rpm, with enrichments according to how fast the load, and rpm increase. So I can set the part of the map with low load, and slow rpm increase to run lean, and the part for all out pedal to the metal ¼ mile runs for max power (air/ fuel ratio to be determined). I'm setting a part of the map so that when I'm at highway cruising speed, it runs really lean. After more research, and developement of my tune, I may go with a cooler heat range for my plugs. I'm going to have a really hot spark with an MSD capacitive Discharge box (up to 12 sparks per event, instead of one). I'm also tuning it for lowest emmissions, so it'll pass as a stock K8.

Instead of going to colder plugs, why not regap them smaller if they are in good shape? For a N/A setup, stronger sparks generally want bigger gaps though.

Switchable tables is what I'd be interested in so I can FORCE myself to get better mileage because I have too much fun hammering on the throttle

It'd be cool to have a "go fast" switch, that would enable one fuel map or another...oohh well, it'll probably all wait until I build my carPC so I can hook MS up to that and maybe write a script to change things on the fly

onlytrueromeo wrote:Jesse, there are switchable tables for Megasquirt right? So you can have 1 tune for MPG and have another for max power? Is there any way to change between the two without connecting to a computer?

LOL if you're not good with computer, you might now be the person to ask this of, haha.

Actually, if you read on MS and the switchable tables, you'll see that they'll mention that specifically, and that a properly tuned MS will do both on 1 table. Normally the switchable tables is if you have a say either an N/A or FI motor, and the second table would be for when you use Nitrous.

I'm not close to starting my MS yet since I don't have a running motor. I've got mine setup for the coil packs, but I'd wondered what would be better, that or the MSD box

You can switch tables on the fly with MS. If you have a touch screen, you'd just poke it, and voila! I like having the power immediately available, and have gotten very used to using light throttle. It frustrates the ricers around and behind me.
I've come to find that a slightly larger gap, and cooler plugs increases mpg on several cars I've had. I haven't done it with the MX-3 yet, since I'm still relatively new to port injection, but will try it soon. The plugs are indexed, though.

On V8s, I would open the gap until the spark started arcing down the outside of the plug, and then close it until it stopped, and then try increasingly cooler plug ranges, until the plug looked right after running it for a while, and shutting the engine off within seconds of being at highway speed. (I won't be doing this to the MX-3 ).

Nd4SpdSe wrote:
I'm not close to starting my MS yet since I don't have a running motor. I've got mine setup for the coil packs, but I'd wondered what would be better, that or the MSD box

I've thought alot about this, and did some research about Coil over plugs. Here's my theory:
I don't know about the coilpacks, but the COPs only have about 35kv-40kv. About the same as our stock coil. The good thing about coil packs, and COP, is that they can send the same voltage per spark event at very high rpm. This is great for racing. With a high voltage coil, and MSD, you get a much stronger spark, up to a certain rpm (I can't determine what that is). They say the MSD goes back to 1 spark per event (from up to 12) at about 3,500rpm, but the spark is still much stronger than stock up to about 9,000rpm. The MSD helps the coil recharge much faster.
In my opinion, The Blaster II coil with MSD Capacitive Discharge box is better for street/ strip cars, unless the MSD CD can work on the coil packs..
I was going to get a 60,000v coil, but they stopped making them.

fowljesse wrote:You can switch tables on the fly with MS. If you have a touch screen, you'd just poke it, and voila! I like having the power immediately available, and have gotten very used to using light throttle. It frustrates the ricers around and behind me.

No no, you didn't understand me. I know about the switchable tables, and when I was getting my MS, I had the EXACT same idea as you about having one for ecnomomy and one for power, but properly setup, you don't do it that way.

Think like the resistor mod you see on eBay, and how that is bogus since we know that dumping in more fuel does not give you more power, but actually running a leaner mixture will yeild more power.

Power and fuel efficiency will both be gained by having MS control the system more efficiently, running a tighter mixture and a better controlled spark for combuston.

When driving around, MS will use it's tune for an efficient mix, theoretically using less fuel since it's making more power from the a/f ratio and making it more efficienty, but if you step on the gas for power, MS will know what to do, and will still control the mixture for the most efficient burn it can, and with that, it'll give you more power.

if you did tune it tune it for power, and manually set a table one up for even more efficiency, you'd be running too lean with the danger for detonation.

The two tables is for 2 totally different setups. Say you have your regualur tuned setup, but you also have NOS for the track, well your NOS tune will be totally different than your N/A tune, that why you'd need 2 tables

Efficiency IS Power

That response was to onlytrueromeo
I know you know about the tables Nd4SpdSe.
What I just thought of is the possibility of setting up one table for 89 octane, and one for 92. That would save me even more $$ at the pump.

the thing with MSD is that the coil is being charged with 480V amplifier module (msd6A). The more you raise in rpm, the more the box will drain amps wich goes into load on the alternator. You can buy a digital box over analog as it drain way less juice.

If you want more volts off a msd box, you can buy a HVC setup from a nascar partout over e-bay, like I did on my familia GT-R...it's rated 51000V

Good luck

Reeeally.... That sounds awesome! I thought the MSD6A was digital
I ordered a 60K volt Pertronix coil, and they stopped making them before I got mine.
Would it be more economical to get a digital box, or the Nascar HVC?

I looked into it, and answered my question. The 2 parts work together.

hey fowljesse i was wondering if you still have the wiring diagram for your ms if you do could you post it up here or email it to me. i am hoping to start my ms install in the next couple weeks. sorry for changing topic on you.