FoundSoul

The Spectre unit is definitely a nice piece, though probably aimed at a little different market as Matt mentioned-- we've had alot of interest in an ECU that has every feature available-- out of the box, no mods needed. Others demand a high quality automotive grade (read $$) connector. Others want USB out of the box. Spectre basically made all of that happen, and added a couple bonuses in the process and came up with a really nice unit here. They initiated this themselves though we were involved early on helping them with some of the feature lists and early discussions. Up until now we've traditionally only reached out to the hardcore DIY market-- and I expect that to continue to be huge for us and we'll never stray from our roots... we are DIYAutoTune after all . But with a different type of customer asking for a different type of product... we're going to be there for them too. Lastly we've got another range of products coming out soon, for a slightly different market-- I can't say too much about that just yet, hold tight for a few more weeks. Bottom line is this will allow us to offer alot of new and cool things, for people with all kinds of tuning needs and skillsets-- The hardcore DIYer, the DIYer or Pro that wants a full featured system out-of-the-box, or the other guy that I can't talk about just yet . Oh yeah-- our prices on much of the DIY stuff have gotten better lately, the only reason they would ever climb is if materials did too much for us to absorb... and keep your eyes out for the new shopping cart portion of our site that we'll be going live with in 2-3 weeks.

You are definitely correct that Spark Output MUST be inverted when using the VB921 or you will cook it. When DAT240Z sent his cooked unit in the the first time around I found this setting set to NO and the VB921 was therefore cooked, we fixed it and returned it and the second time he sent it in it tested out just fine and the setting was still correct from when we had sent it back, I suspect something else in the install or settings just wasn't right so he hadn't gotten it to pop off for some reason yet (I've seen loaded up plugs make you think the ECU is installed wrong, change the plugs and it fires right off). Carl if you stll need help with the install (not sure where it stands now) maybe I can point you in the direction of someone who can help with it. What area are you in again? I've got connections on both coasts that can help, and possibly in MO as well, if I recall you weren't coastal, don't remember off hand exactly where you were though and I'm not in the office to check at the moment (home with a 4 day old baby girl!). As for everyone else, SPARK OUTPUT MUST BE INVERTED when using a VB921, and Dwell Control must be enabled. Check out the MegaManual (www.megamanual.com) or the MSnS-E manual (http://www.msextra.com/manuals/MS_Extra_Manual_Index.htm) for full info on tuning the dwell, both repeat the need for these settings with the VB921's MANY times for exactly these reasons. People just try to plug them in without reading the manual, burn them up, and then blame the vb921. Granted I know there is alot of reading but the things are rock solid when treated properly and the documentation does show you how to do that. I've also summed up the ignition pieces of 'squirting 82-83 280zxt at http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/how_to_megasquirt_your_280zx_turbo.htm which also mentions this again in the config section since I know alot of people won't read the entire manual. BUT-- that said... please read the whole manual. I know it's long, but this is your baby you're talking about here... this stuff should be fun to read!

I think there were some maps posted in Moby's original thread, or in a thread linked from there, I forget now. Look around though and you'll find them. You'll just want to export the .VEX VE Table to import it into your VE Table rather than the whole MSQ file probably-- and you'll need to make sure your REQ_FUEL, Crank Pulsewidths, and Accel Enrichments are tuned for your injector size. You'll still have at least some VE tuning to do regardless, but this may get you close...

So you're still getting fuel too all but one cylinder and you're sure of that? Being it's batch injection it's not the ECU then, possibly the wiring to that injector though or the injector itself. I'd check that out... Then once that's sorted it sounds like you're about ready to fire it up and tune the idle in and start tuning the rest of your ignition and fuel tables... then your AE and EGO correction. Along the way from day one you'll be working to dial in your cranking pulsewidths and warmup enrichments. The best way to learn the ins and outs is to go through the learning curve and do it all yourself... the fast way is to find an identical setup and copy their settings to get close, then dial it in to perfection.

He's talking about the REQ_FUEL setting, which is under SETTINGS>GENERAL (or Constants) This is one of the most critical settings on the fueling side of things so you definitely want to get it right-- otherwise you'll be trying to compensate in your fuel table later and it's better to get it right here. If you haven't already I'd recommend reading the MegaManual at www.megasquirt.info until your eyes hurt . It covers this and all of the other fuel related settings, and Moby's article covers how to get the ignition settings dialed in pretty good. Is there anyone else here that has a v3 running on there 280zxt that can share a map? You'll need to make sure it's for the same firmware, or transfer the settings over into your config with your firmware, and then you'll still need to set REQ_FUEL for your engine/injector size as it's likely different than any map you'll 'borrow'.

That was the verdict, due to the endplates which I was machining through a 3rd party, though we're now using the same supplier for the CNC machined endplates so it's a non-issue, and they still ship the same day you order up until 2pm EST.

Good Job 1seymour--- I've actually been working to document this process at the request of a customer. I ran it past Moby as I may borrow some info from his original (and excellent) article for the v2.2 install and he was glad to hear it would be updated for the v3.0 and welcomed my borrowing from his article if I needed to. I just updated my article earlier this week and posted it-- I've got more work to do but it's a great start. The temp sensor readings will be handy and I can add those to the article as well if that's cool with you. I'll also update the article for the MS-II, which is VERY similar, just doesn't require the internal mod to grab the ignition signal from the LED and route it through the IGBT circuit to pin37. Otherwise it's pretty much identical. Here's a link to what I've got so far-- more to come including pics of the mods and such: http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/how_to_megasquirt_your_280zx_turbo.htm

This is a copy of my post in Mario's zcar.com thread that's identical to this one: Hey all- this is Jerry Hoffmann from DIYAutoTune.com. I just saw this and wanted to thank Mario for his time and review of mine and Glen's kit and make a couple comments. I thoroughly apologize for the missing diodes, that is EXTREMELY rare and I would have been (and still would be) glad to send them out to you immediately if you let me know what was missing. Glen and I use the same boards from the same source, you're right some do fit tightly and occasionally even need a bit of filing due to manufacturing tolerances. This should improve in the near future as B&G is using a new board house that is pricier but should provide even higher quality boards. As for the antistatic bags I do use these on all static sensitive components just as Glen does, mine are pink poly antistatic bags so they are a type of plastic, they are every bit as effective at protecting your components. I do keep kits in stock and ship next day, usually even on Saturdays. If you want it fast I'll get it to you. This was an interesting review as I've not had any negative feedback at all yet so this gives me an idea of where I can improve. I'll update my packaging slips to point out that the pink bags are indeed antistatic. I'll settle for nothing less than being the best at this- and I do appreciate your feedback. BTW-- I've got some extra stock so I'm running a special on the MS ECU kits right now.... $130 through the end of June. Jerry Hoffmann DIYAutoTune.com