bianski Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 i have researched and ive been looking at megasquirt and haltech ECU's and ive been wondering how hard is it not to tune but to install a megasquirt compared to a Haltech ECU. I want to buy a megasquirt ecu but ive been reading some stuff about people wiring up boards and just a bunch of crazy stuff. I know you have to assemble it but i dont know the first thing about that stuff so how hard would it be for me. And also ive looked but havent been able to find where you buy complete Megasquirt ECU's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffer949 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 www.diyautotune.com They can handle all your megasquirt needs. They have unassembled kits a long with assembled kits in the 2.2 and 3.0 and the new surface mounted 3.57 boards in ms1 and ms2 variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letitsnow Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I believe that the features are similar, the big difference is time spent, but you could buy a pre-assembled MS to save yourself 8-9 hours. I found the megasquirt pretty easy to tune on a TBI chevy, it still has a minor light throttle stumble that I'm working on, but otherwise it's great. I have no experience with any of the haltechs though. Here's a MS feature table to compare to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemicalblue Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Haltech all the way I don't think you can compare the two fairly unless you take away 3/4 of the haltech options, then you are left with a quality or budget decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Haltech all the way I don't think you can compare the two fairly unless you take away 3/4 of the haltech options, then you are left with a quality or budget decision. Come again? MS has time and again proven itself in both performance and reliability. 90% of the problems with MS are user error and even then instead of being stuck with a muddled heap of electronics you can't do anything with, the MS is completely rebuildable with full schematics online and great support sites. If you're buying pre-assembled then yes, you knock out 6-8 hours of time spent. The rest of the "difficulty" depends on how you want to install it. it took me 3-4 hours to install my MS-II using the universal harness from the site. I think the end result here is going to depend completely on personal preference. The two products are equally reliable and capable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I've not kept up with the MS recently but I've had a great daily driver with Haltech E6K before. The Haltech injector drivers about the most stout one in the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WizardBlack Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Come again? MS has time and again proven itself in both performance and reliability. 90% of the problems with MS are user error and even then instead of being stuck with a muddled heap of electronics you can't do anything with, the MS is completely rebuildable with full schematics online and great support sites. If you're buying pre-assembled then yes, you knock out 6-8 hours of time spent. The rest of the "difficulty" depends on how you want to install it. it took me 3-4 hours to install my MS-II using the universal harness from the site. I think the end result here is going to depend completely on personal preference. The two products are equally reliable and capable. I have an MS2 v3.0. I built it myself. I will say, however, that Haltech/MoTeC/AEM/Wolf3D have more features. That's the bottom line. It's a fact and you can't argue with it. Does MS work? Heck yeah. It's really a difference of bells and whistles. To the OP, if you are concerned about installing a standalone, you sure as heck don't wanna try to MAKE one. Buy a Megasquirt from diyautotune. Either MS2 or Haltech are gonna be about the same difficulty to install. The simplified interface of the MS2 will make it a tad easier to tune when you first jump into the software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mafiaz Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 i was just browsing on the haltech website and i cant find any features that it does that ms doesnt do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cramer Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 i was just browsing on the haltech website and i cant find any features that it does that ms doesnt do Sequential injection would be the big one. There are a couple other features Megasquirt does not currently have that some of the other aftermarket systems offer, but whether this is an issue depends on what your car is going to need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WizardBlack Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 i was just browsing on the haltech website and i cant find any features that it does that ms doesnt do I wouldn't ignore the Wolf3D as well, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I think this might have been the wrong forum to post this thread in. I had looked at Haltech a few years ago, almost bought a couple times, either new, because I could get a good deal, or used, because it was an even better deal, but decided against it. It was just too much money for what I needed it for at the time. Now, it might be worth it, but I have since learned to use and adapt an OEM EMS that I quite like. I have also looked at MS, and while the features it has for the price is good, again, I use an OEM EMS for my retrofits to EFI. For someone just starting into the EFI scene and just want something to run, the MS would likely be my recomendation. If you want something a little different, with more emmisions controls built in, then you might want to look at another EMS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big-phil Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Sequential injection would be the big one. There are a couple other features Megasquirt does not currently have that some of the other aftermarket systems offer, but whether this is an issue depends on what your car is going to need. thats what I was going to say for the big one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 This is really not an easy question to answer. It's like asking... besides cost and speed is it better to buy a porsche or a corrolla. Well... ugh... they are both cars and fit people? In other words you need to look at what the MS is going to be used for and how you are going to set it up. Then compare that to haltech. If your going to run this on a Z, Haltech would be overkill in my opinion. But like I said, it depends on how you set it up and what you want it to do. I'm megasquirt all the way. It's open source code, regularly updated and full of people around the world willing to help you and come up with new ideas and solutions for the standalone system. I'm into programming and electronics so this was a clear choice for me, plus I loved putting it together! As mentioned though, Matt @ DIYautotune can definatley help you in that area, he can sell you a fully assembled tested kit setup for your car and all you have to do is install the harness and plug it in essentially. As far as installing, installing any aftermarket standalone system is going to be about the same. Using different sensors, or programming the system to use existing ones, running the harness or splicing into the existing harness, etc. Installing any standalone engine managment system is going to take some time if your new to wiring etc. Haltech is a solid standalone system however it is pricey, hard to find help with on alot of vehicles and harder to tune in my opinion. But I have friends that swear by it, then again, they suck with electronics and always call me for help. So ultimatley, it's how much you want to spend, how much time you want to spend installing, and what you want it to perform. -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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