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Got Megasquirt running on my 280Z


Guest Boyd

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Hi all...thought I would drop a note on the forum here about what I have done with my Z. First off, I have a '77 280Z that I have rebuilt, turbo'd, cooled, and Megasquirted. The car is feeling strong, but there is quite a bit left to do yet.

 

Here is a quick list of what I have got and what I have done:

 

Stock motor and head, rebuilt top to bottom

ZX turbo and manifold, with the turbo being brand new

Custom fuel rail, courtesy of a friend in mech. engineering

295cc Supra Injectors

Spearco 18x8x3 Intercooler

240SX throttle body

TurboXS type H BOV (noisy as hell)

ZX 5speed tranny

240mm lightened flywheel

Custom clutch, courtesy of a specialty shop

3" straight through exhaust (huh! What did you say?! Can't hear you!)

Walbro 255 (yet to be installed)

SPAL 16" electric fan (1600CFM!)

Custom 2.5" intercooler piping, (all me, my mig, and JC Whitney)

Custom turbo pipe, (again, me, mig, and some schedule 40 pipe)

Some bitchin' Delta Esteem tires (so...I'm cheap!)

...and lastly Megasquirt

 

If you're not running Megasquirt on your turbo'd Z, you should think about it! I screwed around with the stock Bosch/AFM setup for too long! I now have more options for fuel delivery than I know what to do with, literally. The really cool thing about the setup is that I tied directly into the stock ECU harness and only slightly modified the engine harness. Best of all, there is no more AFM to restrict airflow! I have all the tunability along with datalogging of intake air temp, coolant temp, rpm, 02 (NB or WB), TPS, and MAP. For $120 for the Megasquirt kit and $100 in sensors, you really can't beat it!

 

So, I just got the car running with the MegaSquirt and new intercooler. I am only running 8 psi at the moment and it is a thrill! The car runs so much stronger now, but I have to give split the credit between MS, IC, and the cooler weather.

 

If anyone decides to run MS, feel free to drop me an message, preferable on AIM or Y!.

 

Oh, and to add a little enticement, my buddy and I are going to attempt running MegaSquirt'n'Spark that controls fuel as well as ignition timing! Just lock down the dizzy and start tuning!

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We have been looking at the stock dizzy and took me awhile to get answers on it. It is passive and creates basically an AC(not DC) output. The Megasquirt manual covers using the HEI to convert the signal, but I have yet to try it. I really don't want to spend money on another dizzy that will have to be shortened or modified to fit. But, if anyone knows of a junkyard drop in that will work, drop me a line!

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Boyd,

 

i am going off topic here but i noticed that you were from Opelika and every time i hear that only one name comes to my mind Ira. Do you know who i am talking about? I am pretty sure that you do Ira's shop is the sh#t i love that place its Z heaven. I found that place through friend of mine Jonathan Taylor (he is member on site with orange 280z that used to be Walkers). Does any of this make any sense to you?

 

Ivan

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Be truthful...

 

How hard is it to put together for the average schmo?

 

I have never soldered on a PCB (printed circuit board) in my life. I have never had the pleasure of a real FMS, only carburator. So, I say it's pretty easy. But be prepared to spend a little time studying the manual, understanding how it works, and follow the instructions EXPLICITLY when putting it together.

 

To connect this thing up to a car and have it to fire up on the first few tries gives a feeling of accomplishment.

 

...Then to get it tuned and put your foot in it and have your ass-o-meter reset is icing on the cake :shock::lol:

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I was introduced to Ira about a year ago. He is a fine fellow and is VERY knowlegdeable. And yes...I have raided the Z junkyard of his! Actually, Ira put the ZX tranny in for me and is going to also install my new urethane bushing kit.

 

If you are ever in Opelika/Auburn, come by and look me up!

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How do you lock down the dizzy? I need to remove advancing from vacuum and mechanical, the MegaSquirt'n'Spark will allow me to tune all of that in.

 

I am not familiar with how dizzy's are put together and work, so I might be asking a few more questions! :?

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We (Kenny and I) seem to be making progress. We are actually using a 7-ping HEI module instead of the 4-pin one. Kenny's the brains, I just supply the beer, so I will have to wait until it's said and done to detail how it's done.

 

We have signal from the HEI, but MS isn't picking it up yet.

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Boyd, couple of questions:

1. Where are you getting the rpm signal from, and will that change once the spark is successfully installed.

 

2. What impedance injectors (resistors) are you using and what have you got setup for pwm?

 

3. What did you use for the Intake Air Temp? I'm thinking about ripping out the airtemp sensor in one of my spare AFM's. Did you use easytherm at all?

 

That's it for now but I'm sure I'll have more.

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I picked up a tach signal from pin 1 of the original ECU plug. I am running low impedence 295cc Supra injectors with PWM off since the car has resistors already on it. The injector resistor packs are under the left inspection hatch, but I don't remember the spec. I just plumbed in the GM IAT into my intercooler piping, just before the throttle body. I am consistantly within 15 degrees of ambient intake temp, although the average ambient has probably been around 40-70 degrees. We'll see what happens next summer here in Alabama.

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Is the resister pack before the injectors on the voltage feed? I have a resistor pack from a 81 turbo and that's how they were setup. I suppose it doesn't make a difference but I'd like to know just the same. What kind of mods to get those injectors in? I'd like to use some 550cc Supra turbo injectors if they'd fit.

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I bought some billet high flow fuel rail stock from Arizona Speed and Marine. I think it was like $12 a foot. A friend had the hole pattern layout to mill it from and used that. Another friend used the milling machine at the school to do the actual work. It turned out beautiful and works like a champ!

 

I need to take some pics of the mods I have done to the Z. I don't think I have really done anything someone hasn't done before, but pics are always good!

 

Oh yeah, add a Tokico Illumina suspension set and springs to that list! 8)

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Guys, just wanted to post a follow up on the status of MegaSquirt'n'Spark. Kenny and I haven't had any luck with getting Spark working yet. The car is in the shop getting another new clutch put in (too much power :wink: ) and we haven't had a chance to work on it again yet.

 

There is some new information on how to setup the 7-pin HEI floating around on the Y! MegaSquirt'N'Spark forum that will be of benifit.

 

Again, if anything, if you don't have MegaSquirt, get it!!! Spend the time to build the board and set it up in your car, regardless of the make! My Z breathes so well now that the AFM restriction is gone and have only a 12" long tube feeding the turbo intake. Oh yeah, the 3" straight exhaust helps a bit too! :twisted:

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Boyd, I need your help to wire my Megasquirt to the injectors. The installation guide only show 4 injectors for banks 1 and 2.

 

Which injectors on the L28 do you connect to bank 1 and which to bank 2?

Best I can figure is that with the 1,5.3,6,2,4 firing order that 1,2,3 should be on bank 1 and 4,5,6 should be on bank 2.

 

Can you confirn if I have it right?

 

72 240z with an L28 NA motor

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