Who loves Microsquirt ?

[dontz125]

Maybe I'm just in a grumpy mood, but - really? Having to crimp your own wires is almost a deal breaker? Consider that 48 wires, presumably all different colours and 4-5 feet long, crimped and loaded into the the connectors will add significantly to Jean's costs and time, which will in turn add to the price he has to ask. Based on what I'm paying for the wiring I use in my FZR race harnesses, I would probably charge you $200 (18ga automotive wire, shipped, terminals and connectors free issued) for what you're describing as the last 5% for a perfect deal.

[racingmini_mtl]

I saw your product and it is 95% what I was expecting. I would really like to see it as a finished, ready to go product with a high quality harness. I hope it gets to that point.

I don't want to add too much on this thread but Don is correct that this is an unrealistic expectation due to the current volume (and any realistic potential volume). And the product is finished and ready to go but does not include the wiring.

Jean

[JoseMiguel]

I dont know if this is the appropiate thread to discuss this. I completely understand the diy nature of ms products as I do most of the diy work myself and for my clients. But I have yet to find a complete and ready unit in which you have to crimp your wires to the harness. Dont get me wrong please. I understand the hard work behind this but I do expect the complete product to consider it competitive.

I know that costs money, and again, im willing to pay more if that is needed. But the idea is to have something more rugged and ready than a standard ms2 but not as overkill as ms3pro. If the final price for this product is, say, 900 dollars, it wont be competitive against ms3, but 700 will...

As i said before, dont get me wrong with this, im talking from the enthusiast point of view (and the reseller as well). Haltech sells the sprint 500 ecu which is a fairly capable piece of hardware, easy to configure and tune, very small form factor, excellent quality, ready for 4 cyl sequential and it costs around 800. Harness is rugged enough, clearly labeled, very high quality and it comes crimped from the factory...

[Dan_Austin]

I came a heartbeat away from a microsquirt for an inline six project. The
points that appealed to me were the compact size and automotive grade
connector. I was bummed that I would be limited to batch injection
and single coil, but I seriously felt the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

The only think that kept me from going that route was getting my hands
on a sequencer, which fit my needs just perfect, but also explains why
I still use the B&G code, as I have no choice. The features meet my
basic needs and I come here to find wonder in the development, even
if I cannot take advantage if it.

[mr_minnis]

I am a novice user. It took me a while to figure out what everything was. I recently realised what "microsquirt" was.

After doing some research, I am planning on installing one in my 93 ford tempo. The small size and price is what will "force" me to do it. I think it is cool how feature rich the product is.

i need to finish my mustang first.

[wes kiser]

I love them. I do lots of custom and high end installs. I use MS3Pro's if I need sequential fuel, and microsquirts when I don't.

For me, the removal of the internal ignitors was a positive thing. I am of the opinion these have no place inside and ECU. There are many options for external ignitiors, or many "smart" coils.

With current modern injectors options, peak and hold injector drivers really aren't the necessity they once were.

The current v3.0 crank/cam inputs seam to reliably work better for me with less effort.

[piledriver]

I dont know if this is the appropiate thread to discuss this. I completely understand the diy nature of ms products as I do most of the diy work myself and for my clients. But I have yet to find a complete and ready unit in which you have to crimp your wires to the harness. Dont get me wrong please. I understand the hard work behind this but I do expect the complete product to consider it competitive.

I know that costs money, and again, im willing to pay more if that is needed. But the idea is to have something more rugged and ready than a standard ms2 but not as overkill as ms3pro. If the final price for this product is, say, 900 dollars, it wont be competitive against ms3, but 700 will...

As i said before, dont get me wrong with this, im talking from the enthusiast point of view (and the reseller as well). Haltech sells the sprint 500 ecu which is a fairly capable piece of hardware, easy to configure and tune, very small form factor, excellent quality, ready for 4 cyl sequential and it costs around 800. Harness is rugged enough, clearly labeled, very high quality and it comes crimped from the factory...

So Haltech sells a sprint500 with a harness that simply plugs into your car? (I'm pretty sure they do NOT)
In the Megasquirt world that is called a "plug and play" adapter, and it will plug into your existing harness if your car is supported.

The microquirt and MS3-pros come with a automotive grade harness that is crimpled at one end fo you to wire in, and premade precrimped harnesses are on DIYAutotunes (and other vendors) website for all the other types of Megasquirt cables, ready to wire in.

What exactly are you asking for, again?

[Matt Cramer]

It sounds like Jose is asking for something midway between an MS3-Pro and a MicroSquirt, in a similar form factor.

[JoseMiguel]

That is right Matt. Im well aware on the definition of a plug and play product, and that is not what im asking. Im "wishing" on a microsquirt, same form factor, same everything but that comes with 4 injector drivers and 4 spark outputs from the factory, so that 4 cyl guys can have a ready to use sequential ecu with no additional modding.

In the post that piledriver quotes, im not talking about ms or microsq but on a projected megasquirt that jean is working on.

[dontz125]

In the post that piledriver quotes, im not talking about ms or microsq but on a projected megasquirt that jean is working on.

To be more accurate, Jean's product is a Microsquirt module on a custom carrier board in a rugged enclosure, offering an impressive I/O list.

[racingmini_mtl]

It sounds like Jose is asking for something midway between an MS3-Pro and a MicroSquirt, in a similar form factor.

Matt,

Russ at DIYAutotune has one of my units and got it over 2 years ago for evaluation. Nothing came out of it even if he seemed very pleased with it. So if you want to check it you can ask him if he still has it and uses it.

Jean

[piledriver]

If there was a reasitic way to mod a V3 microsquirt for 4 inj channels it would be a huge win.
...even IMHO if all 4 were logic outputs for use with an external driver box, my first sequential setup was like that and worked great.
The 2 logic spark outs are no issue for most applications.

By the time you buy a uS module and carrier board/rugged enclosure/onesies $ for auto grade connectors etc a MS3-pro is almost getting price competitive.

[jsmcortina]

Seems that it would be better if something like that was based on MS3 technology though.

James

[racingmini_mtl]

Seems that it would be better if something like that was based on MS3 technology though.

James

I would have done that if there was no licensing issues to go through. I have neither the volume nor the cash flow needed to go through this process. That means I used the only option available to me which is/was also not my first choice.

Jean

[JoseMiguel]

If there was a reasitic way to mod a V3 microsquirt for 4 inj channels it would be a huge win.
...even IMHO if all 4 were logic outputs for use with an external driver box, my first sequential setup was like that and worked great.
The 2 logic spark outs are no issue for most applications.

By the time you buy a uS module and carrier board/rugged enclosure/onesies $ for auto grade connectors etc a MS3-pro is almost getting price competitive.

that is exactly what Im asking for

I even think that a MicroSquirt V3 with 4 injector drivers and 2 logic spark outputs would be enough for most of us! and keeping all of the current I/O's

That would be my ideal product and that would sell really well!

[Manu]

Seems that it would be better if something like that was based on MS3 technology though.

James

I would have done that if there was no licensing issues to go through. I have neither the volume nor the cash flow needed to go through this process. That means I used the only option available to me which is/was also not my first choice.

Jean

I am agree with Jean. MS3 is the best choice today, but volume and cash flow is an issue.

[Manu]

It maybe useful to have an MS3 module (not pro) with only µP and basic I/O (CLT, MAP, etc...) for a better price than the pro one. ie. : most people (France) here don't need 2 knock sensors as common engine is 4 cylinders. And this could be a real alternative to all counterfeit MS2 that are designed to fit 4 cylinders motors with sequential setup for cheap !!

[BigBlockMopar]

Not sure if my reply has any merit in this topic and or better should be posted in a new topic, but I'm thinking a 'modular' construction of a 'budget' MicroSquirt kit would be a hot seller.

I myself recently was looking for a simple programmable ignition box to be able to do program simple ignition recurves on the distributor of a '60s car. I already have a MS3 but it's destined for use in a 5.7Hemi project in a different car.
Pretty much anything out there as to programmable timing ignitions is priced at $200 or higher, and still have limited options.
I've looked at AccuSpark, MegaJolt and such, but in the end I went with the BlackBox from CB Performance, mainly because it could handle a VR-ignition and have a vacuumport.

I really would have liked to get a (any) Megasquirt box so I could use and get some experience with TunerStudio, but the current pricings put all of the boxes out of the budget for simple timing control use. Used MS-boxes hardly pop up at all overhere (Netherlands).

Some thinking;
A modular expandable line of Microsquirt-boxes would be a nice way to (re)market the MicroSquirt item/name I would think.
For instance, the availability of MicroSquirt-boxes with various levels of engine control functions, all priced accordingly ofcourse;
Something like;
- MicroSquirt T - for timing control only.
- MicroSquirt F - for fuel control only.
- MicroSquirt TF - Timing/Fuel.
- MicroSquirt TFE - Timing/Fuel/Extras.
where each box could be upgraded to a next level by buying/adding a modular 'unit' to install into the current ECU-box.
I understand this would entale a complete redesign of the hardware and such... so... maybe I'm just daydreaming here...

[dontz125]

Not sure if my reply has any merit in this topic and or better should be posted in a new topic, but I'm thinking a 'modular' construction of a 'budget' MicroSquirt kit would be a hot seller.

The problem is that the cost difference in components between a uS-T and a uS-TFE (which is basically a standard uS) is trivial, compared to the production costs of a separate board, enclosure, engineering time, tooling, separate packaging and handling ...

The current uS does an adequate job for a lot of installs, but a lot of people are looking for 4-channel fuel and ignition. I have a design for an internal expansion module that will upgrade it to sequential 4+4 AND add the PA0 port; I hope to go to prototype within the next few weeks. Installation will entail quite delicate surgery and would probably not be attractive to the average user, so this upgrade will most likely be sold as a finished assembly. Given the degree of modifications to the assembled uS board, this procedure will almost certainly void the B&G warranty, so I would be backing this under my own company name.

[piledriver]

Would you sell it as a kit for folks who have a stereo microscope, pace kit and hot air rework stations on their desk for ultra fine pitch rework ?

Hell, I'd still probably be happy if it only had buffered logic outs, a beefy driver box based on a 4 channel board or lowz 4 channel and seperate ignition is easy to do and keeps all the HD noise out of the ECU. I don't even need 4 channel ignition (but the free I/Os would be handy, as MS2 is sort of low on extra I/O, esp once spoiled using MS3+MS3X.)

My MS3 will eventually move to the big motor under construction and into my 914.
Still trying to figure out how to integrate a Weissach (geometry, at least) rear axle under it.
(It looks archaic, but ~all the "modern" multi link setups emulate it)