Megasquirting the e28 ?s

[Rowleym]

And ls1 coils have built in ignitors, so You don't need the drivers. They are Logic level or something if i remember.

[RamRod E28]

So snap did you just buy a MSPNP2 and did plug and play or did you make your own board?

[B C]

I bought one from whodwho on r3vlimited pre-built in a 173 DME case (e30 325i).

[RamRod E28]

How much did that run you and can you tune a n/a base tune and do a turbo tie after the fact?

[B C]

650 and worth every penny, I already had a wideband (strongly recommended but not a necessity)

 but to be realistic,  a wideband, GM intake temp sensor, bung, misc air intake mods, and M50 TPS + adapter would probably get the total price  around a grand.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=202653

I still have the NA tune on the ECU but it would take a whole 5 minutes to make it work for my new bigger injectors and a turbo (fine tuning required of course). I will probably do that tonight. 

the cost shouldnt freak you out, but one way to look at it is, if your car rusts out, canadians stab it with popsicle sticks, or if earl polishes every bolt on it, you can take the ecu and use it in any other car (monte carlos, bitchin camaros, integras, vw cabriolets etc) as long as you make the appropriate changes in the tune (change number of cylinders  and injector size for example) and adapt the wiring harness to work.

[RamRod E28]

could they build one up of the dme in my e28???

[B C]

If I had someone to learn megasquirt from in the first place I could have saved a little money and bought the DIYPNP  assembled ecu from diyautotune.com but I had to figure it out by myself with the internet and whatever infrequent emails or PMs I could receive from others.

The only thing youd be missing by getting a DIYPNP vs one built into a e30 ecu is that whodwho incorporates a circuit in the ecu that allows you to use the stock e30 TPS, but this is not desirable, a variable TPS like what an M50 has is far superior for tuning and running the car. 

You could get the DIYPNP setup with the bosch 55pin harness (stock e30 325i ) so you would just need a 55 pin harness on your car to connect into it, then get aluminum plate, drill some holes in it, mount the ecu to the plate, and the plate to the stock ecu location.

[Rowleym]

I actually bought the DIYPNP setup and built it, and then realized I wanted something more universal and have more features. Don't be scared at the wiring and stuff. I would be more scared to build the board! I say you should buy a ms3 and gut an old e28 ecu case if you want it plug and play, and wire the necessary connections to it. I say buy something Pre-assembled.

[Bassboy3313]

If the e21 came with an ecu and someone made a PNP megasquirt for it like they do for the e30, I would of spent the extra money in a heartbeat. But since I had no choice, I went the used route and bought a board already assembled and will be having the joy if wiring everything up to my engine sensors soon.

[RamRod E28]

So if I were to swap on an i head on the m20 i have in the e28 can i just run a piggyback to the ecu and control the spark and fuel and not have to swap over all the shit from the i head vehicle?

[jc43089]

By piggyback do you mean a WAR chip?

[B C]

I think he means an adapter wiring harness for the ECU.

The harness is really pretty easy to remove and replace. You would need to run high impedence injectors from 325i, The only thing I can think of being different at the moment is the trigger wheel. I am not sure if MS supports the triggerwheel setup that the 'e' motors have. 

BUT 

you could install an 'i' trigger wheel on the crank and just make sure it gets wired into the stock harness correctly

[RamRod E28]

I'm thinking I'm run greddy e-manage for the spark and fuel and double up head gaskets and have my e head milled out more to lower compression

[wasnt m3]

Doubled up gasket then milled head will put you right where you started...

[B C]

you would be the first to run Greddy e-manage on an older BMW that I have ever heard of. 

I would imagine there is not a way to convert the AFM signal to MAP or MAF with that and you would be limited to using an M30 AFM

If you go that route, let me know, I want to see it in person and touch it and mess it up and all that jazz.

[Rowleym]

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40833

lots of people do that kind of thing

[Rowleym]

also, cant lowr compresssion by milling head haha.

[Bassboy3313]

standalone kicks piggyback ass any day!! I put piggyback on my turbo tiburon waaaaaaay back in the day and it was a pain in the ass. Putting megasquirt into the beem now will be so much smoother and nicer I reckon. The SAFC has been used in a multitude of vehicles tho.

[Rowleym]

I agree. Honestly not that hard to wire up a standalone. only so many sensor eh? and Chances are you are modifying stock stuff anyways when doinga  turbo build.

[Bassboy3313]

Right. The only thing that gets tedious is making the harness look nice/clean within the engine bay.