EFI and megasquirt questions

Old Catman · Jun 7, 2020

I am an old school mechanic, I know very little about computer controled engines. I'm currently building a 93 5.0, pretty much stock, to put in my 66 coupe. I have the computer, wiring harness and all the sensors from the 93. I hear a lot of good things about megasquirt, but I don't know much about it. Is it used to replace the stock ECM or add to it? Will it connect to the stock sensors? What is the real advantage the megasquirt ( or other after market systems) over the stock ECM? This is going to be a daily driver, not a racer. been there, done that.

CarMichael Angelo · Jun 7, 2020

I'll be the first.
A stock-ish 5.0 engine runs well enough to justify using the stock ecu that the engine relies on. The ecu will tolerate a fair amount of N/A upgrades, ( heads cam, exhaust, intake) and still remain pretty much plug-and-play.
The only reason to consider an aftermarket ecu is when your plans for the engine radically exceed the limitations of the factory ecu ( usually when forced induction enters the picture). A mega squirt ecu will require a steep learning curve, with very little tech support from that company, unless you are willing to wait days between for your questions to be answered ( if answered completely) via email.

Do yourself a favor, and make sure you source a factory ecu along with the engine when you attempt this swap.

Sparky714 · Jun 7, 2020

I run Megasquirt in mine.Yes, it replaces the stock ECM. It's a great system. But if you're going to stay normally aspirated and just some mild upgrades, I would stay with the stock ECU.

90sickfox · Jun 7, 2020

I also run megasquirt on a turbo car. I would advise sending the stock ECU to Ecu Exchange to have it refreshed. It'll keep you from chasing your tail over an old computer. These things weren't meant to last over 20 years.

The megasquirt does have a big learning curve and theres no benefit to going megasquirt without heavy mods under the hood.

With that said, I still wouldn't trust an old computer to run anything. That's like attempting to turn on one of those old early 90s Tandy or Apple computers and attempting to file your taxes with it.

CarMichael Angelo · Jun 8, 2020

90sickfox said:
I also run megasquirt on a turbo car. I would advise sending the stock ECU to Ecu Exchange to have it refreshed. It'll keep you from chasing your tail over an old computer. These things weren't meant to last over 20 years.

The megasquirt does have a big learning curve and theres no benefit to going megasquirt without heavy mods under the hood.

With that said, I still wouldn't trust an old computer to run anything. That's like attempting to turn on one of those old early 90s Tandy or Apple computers and attempting to file your taxes with it.

Isn’t that just like the one you use to tune your car with?

Old Catman · Jun 8, 2020

That's what I needed to know, I'll stick with the stock ECU. Do you have a website or phone number for Ecu Exchange? This one came from a wreck that was hit hard. It doesn't look damaged, but I would like to make sure.

90sickfox · Jun 8, 2020

Old Catman said:
That's what I needed to know, I'll stick with the stock ECU. Do you have a website or phone number for Ecu Exchange? This one came from a wreck that was hit hard. It doesn't look damaged, but I would like to make sure.

Their service is found on ebay. If you Google ECU exchange you'll see it. Here's a screen shot I took.

90sickfox · Jun 8, 2020

CarMichael Angelo said:
Isn’t that just like the one you use to tune your car with?

My Lenovo lap top is a slow archaic POS.

Monkeybutt2000 · Jun 8, 2020

90sickfox said:
My Lenovo lap top is a slow archaic POS.

I use a Commodore 64

General karthief · Jun 8, 2020

I have a Compac with a floppy disc
My LG4 phone has more power.

nickyb · Jun 8, 2020

General karthief said:
I have a Compac with a floppy disc
My LG4 phone has more power.

You can now get meds to cure your floppy dics

7991LXnSHO · Jun 12, 2020

I think I used them to repair a hypochondriac, psychotic A9l that was spitting out different codes each time it was scanned. The problem was a couple of old capacitors. They replaced them all and did something else like upgrade the ground trace and it was quick.

90sickfox said:
Their service is found on ebay. If you Google ECU exchange you'll see it. Here's a screen shot I took.

Blown88GT · Jun 12, 2020

Capacitor Repair: Ford A9L ECM « Moates Support

96pushrod · Jun 13, 2020

CarMichael Angelo said:
I'll be the first.
A stock-ish 5.0 engine runs well enough to justify using the stock ecu that the engine relies on. The ecu will tolerate a fair amount of N/A upgrades, ( heads cam, exhaust, intake) and still remain pretty much plug-and-play.
The only reason to consider an aftermarket ecu is when your plans for the engine radically exceed the limitations of the factory ecu ( usually when forced induction enters the picture). A mega squirt ecu will require a steep learning curve, with very little tech support from that company, unless you are willing to wait days between for your questions to be answered ( if answered completely) via email.

Do yourself a favor, and make sure you source a factory ecu along with the engine when you attempt this swap.

I’ve had a different experience with the customer service side of megasquirt sellers. Dealing with efisource has always been a good experience. I’ve had to email them with questions or clarification and they always get back within an hr or so.

Dealing with stinger has been awesome as well. Wes and Shannon over there have top notch support, and have their own forum setup for PIMP users which they respond extremely quickly to.

For a guy looking for a megasquirt setup that’s easy to get going I’d recommend a PIMPxs from stinger. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

marcelo · Jun 13, 2020

for Megasquirt is tons of Info in the net ..i was same ..no clue how to tune an MS .. needed to learn how to tune ... I m doing all by myself and car is running just great !! best of all are the Datalogs and all the corrections you can make ..or autotune etc.. to make your engine run close to perfect.. .. but for a Stock 5.0 you really dont need a MS ..stock ECU is perfect ... but MS is a nice toy to play around with...

EFI and megasquirt questions

Old Catman

Member

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

Sparky714

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

Old Catman

Member

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

Monkeybutt2000

Mustang Master

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

nickyb

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

7991LXnSHO

wanna catch the space herp

Blown88GT

96pushrod

I think they're a little easier to get off

marcelo

Active Member

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EFI and megasquirt questions

Member

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

Member

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

Mustang Master

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

wanna catch the space herp

I think they're a little easier to get off

Active Member

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