BMW E46 M3 - S54 Forced Induction - New to Megasquirt

[Zijkant]

Hello fellow car-enthusiasts!

First post ever on Megasquirt forum and I hope I'm posting in the right section!

Short introduction:
- 26 year old freelance webdesigner/developer from Belgium with a passion for cars

Goals:
- Forced Induction BMW E46 M3 S54 Drift spec build with +/- 800whp

Challenges:
- Selecting the right ECU (aiming for a Megasquirt MS3 based on reviews & user experiences found across the world wide web)
- Building the ECU
- Creating a Plug And Play wire-loom
- Programming the ECU
- Vanos control
- Maintaining some OEM functions like cluster control,....

Plan of attack:
- Gathering some more intel about the MS3, allready read alot of information on the ECU
- Buying the ECU
- Building the ECU
- Setup stand-alone (out of car) ECU for programming purposes
- Building wiring loom
- ...

I was wondering if there were some folks who could help me out with some basics like where to start and if everything I would like to achieve will be possible with the MS3 ECU.
I'm fairly new to the whole EFI building/programming scene but I'm a quite fast learner.

I really like the whole DIY purpose of Megasquirt so I'm willing to learn and share my experiences.

Hoping some of you could guide me in the right starting direction

Thanks in advance!
Hope to hear from you guys soon!

[grom_e30]

have a read here it covers the m54 engine so will have some info that should be of some use: http://m54megasquirt3.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.msextra.com/manuals/ms3manuals/ the current ms3 manuals.

http://www.tunerstudio.com/ you can down load the tuning soft ware here.

http://www.msextra.com/downloads/ you can grab the ms3 firmware here it has example tune files so you can open those in tuner studio and have a look at the features and menu's ect.

[Zijkant]

have a read here it covers the m54 engine so will have some info that should be of some use: http://m54megasquirt3.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.msextra.com/manuals/ms3manuals/ the current ms3 manuals.

http://www.tunerstudio.com/ you can down load the tuning soft ware here.

http://www.msextra.com/downloads/ you can grab the ms3 firmware here it has example tune files so you can open those in tuner studio and have a look at the features and menu's ect.

Thanks grom_e30 for the usefull resources.

- I allready went through half the posts on the m54 blog, seems like the person has some extra measurement equipment at his disposale. Still need to plough through the rest of the blog!
- Going to download the tunerstudio software and try to set it up.
- So in fact if i download the MS3 firmware, that would mean that I could allready read/scan some basic maps that are included in the firmware?

Grtz,
Zijkant!

[grom_e30]

yeah included with the firmware is a generic base map, you can open this in tunerstudio without a ecu and go through the settings that way you will get a feel for the tuning software, again if you can find any msq's that have been posted you can have a peek through those. but blindly loading someone else's tune to an ecu is usually a bad move.

[Zijkant]

yeah included with the firmware is a generic base map, you can open this in tunerstudio without a ecu and go through the settings that way you will get a feel for the tuning software, again if you can find any msq's that have been posted you can have a peek through those. but blindly loading someone else's tune to an ecu is usually a bad move.

Yeah I can imagine...I will go through to check if i got a good starting point to map my own configuration...
But as far as I know is a VANOS setup very tricky...Correct me if i'm wrong but I allready found out that MS3 is capable of handling the solenoids to control the cams...

But first things first, selecting the right parts & sensors and stuff to build myself the MS3 ECU.

Perhaps any guides that are a bit more detailed than the standard information I could find when ordering a DIY kit... like what extra sensors i would need to acuire...

Perhaps its a bit vague, but I want to be informed as mutch as possible before I dive into the building process...

Again thanks for your comment and patience :p

Cheers!

[grom_e30]

i have not done anything with vanos as my m20 is pre historic, but check this http://www.msextra.com/forums/viewtopic ... 25&t=48290 it has been done as far as im aware also on the s62 engine which i believe is quad vanos. may be of some use to you.

http://www.msextra.com/forums/viewtopic ... os#p468576
http://www.msextra.com/forums/viewtopic ... 31&t=56041

few more posts to read

[project46_m3]

Do you still have a copy of your base map? i just installed a ms3 into my turbocharged e46 m3 and i cant get it to start:( found for some reason it isnt getting spark, im assuming its a problem with my tune. thanks!