Electrical MS3 Gold / Microsquirt / Megasquirt / Pimpxs

[79pace]

I am going to order one of these, money is a concern so I am looking at the microsquirt based on price. I dont have a power adder car so I dont need a lot of add on ability but I also dont want to end up wishing I had bought a larger system. Mainly I need to turn out the smog stuff that isnt connected and I want to just have the ability to tweak a little on whatever is allowed. The biggest question is do all of these require I buy a wideband and install it? Or do some use the already present sensors? Is one of these easier to plug in and use or do all require some wiring. I have been mulling this over for a year now and the more I read the more confused I get on this stuff. MS3 does not say it require a wideband but I assume it does? Pimpxs says it does and once you outfit everything with it the price gets pretty high. If Microsquirt will do everthing I need its much cheaper than the others. I understand that the others have microsquirt at their heart basically but with more add on components. Going to buy probably today if someone can tell me for sure it will work.

 

[HemiRick]

Yes you want a wideband, they can't auto tune w/o it.

 

[Steel1]

Pimp XS plugs into stock harness, only need to tap in to harness for 5v wideband reference signal.
Honestly none of them are plug and play , autotune will only get you so far , there is a learning curve if you're not experienced at tuning.
The Pimp system does come with very good instructions to get you up and running.

 

[79pace]

If I need to do a wideband for all of them then what is my major drawback if I go microsquirt and save myself $500. Just having trouble justifying spending well over a grand on the ECU.

 

[a91what]

The PimpXS and the MS3 are not microsquirt.. microsquirt is ms2, trust me when I say the MS3 stuff is far superior to the ms2.

 

[79pace]

I found a really good deal on a megasquirt MSpnp2. Going to pick it up, install a wideband and get to work. Just cant spend the grand for the others. Risky buying used but hopefully it works out.

 

[79pace]

What is a good affordable wideband? Do I need the gauge or just the sensor and controller? And is having one on each side worth the extra money or is one side fine?

 

[a91what]

Spartan2 or aem x series

 

[79pace]

Same two listed on the Stinger sight. With gauge? without? both sides or just one?

 

[Mstng93SSP]

Just one is fine.

 

[HemiRick]

no gauge is needed the laptop you use to tune it can display and log the output.

 

[79pace]

Good deal.. That will make it cheaper.

 

[Steel1]

I ran one on the drivers side with the PimpXS.
Technically you don't " need " the gauge , like HemiRick said your tuning laptop will display. But imo
it is very convenient to have a gauge to look at while driving, looking down at your laptop to see AFR
can be hazardous...lol

 

[2000xp8]

Just to turn off the smog equipment?
Like what? I bet 75% of the forum has no smog equipment.

 

[79pace]

Not "just" for that but somewhat. I have 4 codes pulling and its running a little flat. Dont want to put a bunch of crap on to fool the computer, would rather just turn off the functions and at the same time have more control over the electronics. Runs pig rich right now and just feels a little flat at lower rpm. I have the egr removed, all the vacuum actuated crap on the passenger shock tower is there but no vacuum to it (the plastic lines were in bad shape) and the purge solenoid is missing as well as the charcoal canister. I may put it back as I have been told I should run it even though I cannot smell any gas fumes with the vent line run into the passenger inner fender.

 

[2000xp8]

IMO, fix the car right, then worry about a standalone.
The stock computer can handle nearly anything you can throw at it NA (i'm hoping this is something on the wilder side).
I'd fix the car before i started throwing money at something that is likely going to be expensive and possibly even more complex than just doing repairs.
If the engine light comes on, it's probably the missing the EGR. There is no point in removing it (been there, done that).

 

[79pace]

I get what your saying and your saying and I weighed that option but your point of being expensive is all relative. I dont want to spend a bunch of money putting parts back on and trying to hook things back up only to be back to stock. I can turn off the stuff with the aftermarket computer and not have to worry about it. I cant hook the EGR back up without doing a full 180 on this project. The stuff is gone other than the sensor plug. I dont have a crossover pipe anymore. By the time I buy all that stuff I am going to be near the price of this computer. Am I better off with a 30 year old A9L?

 

[79pace]

IMO, fix the car right, then worry about a standalone.
The stock computer can handle nearly anything you can throw at it NA (i'm hoping this is something on the wilder side).
I'd fix the car before i started throwing money at something that is likely going to be expensive and possibly even more complex than just doing repairs.
If the engine light comes on, it's probably the missing the EGR. There is no point in removing it (been there, done that).

So just for arguments sake. If I spend a a couple hundred bucks or more hooking my EGR back up I will be better off than having the megasquirt which is going to run me about $600? I thought about hooking up the smog stuff but would have to pull the heads to put a crossover pipe back in. For the record I am pulling codes 31, 67, 85 & 96.

 

[Steel1]

Just imo but If your combo is what's in your signature than running an aftermarket ECU is overkill.
I've run multiple supercharged set-ups with the stock computer and supporting mods, only went aftermarket when I built
my fairly radical 393w.
I had no smog besides EGR on my 93GT for years before I went with the Pimpxs, no codes or drivability issues.
Any aftermarket ECU is going to rely on good input from various stock sensors , so straightening out your codes should be
first priority no matter what you do... again just my opinion.

 

[79pace]

A guy locally is going to burn a chip and dyno tune it for a reasonable price. Should solve my issues. So will pass on the megasquirt.