Ok...... Lets 1st just do a 'Quick' & 'Fast' Sanity Check !
In the world of 'Megasquirt', Well, in the world generally - there are 'All Sorts' of 'Experts'.....
There are the 'Arm Chair Experts’, the 'Idiot Experts', the over 'Technical Types', Peeps on ‘Forums’ & ‘Groups’ all of whom can take a simple
question & make answers totally bewildering & confusing to a point you wished you'd just never ever asked.
And you are no wiser, just more confused.
They can leave you feeling absolutely drained & worse off than before you started by getting completely opposing information & ending up even more
confused, they might be technically correct in many ways - just not helpful to you and probably not relevent.
Sadly, 'Megasquirt' is an area where you can find all of these types, & experience these exact issues.
Ok, So, Lets just have a quick 'Sanity' check 1st please.
Do you want Launch Control ?, Nitrous Injection ?, Full Automatic Gearbox Integration ?, Semi Sequential Injection ?, or even Fully Sequential
Injection on every cylinder ?, Water Injection ?, Multi Cam & Valve set up control ?, CANBUS Integration ?, Multi Turbo Control ?.
Would you prefer a 8-bit, 8 MHz processor with 32 kB of flash memory, or a 16-bit, 24 MHz processor with 128 kB of flash memory - has your brain just nicely now gone and melted
just a little bit ?
And there you have it.
Megasquirt in one way or another can tick those boxes if your really want or need them -
BUT - and its a big
BUT..... you are only looking
at Megasquirting a Rover V8 Engine of some version or another.
And, lets be absolutely brutal here for a moment - lovely as they are that’s basically a 1950s ‘Wedge Head’ designed V8 - not exactly 'complex', even when you get up to the massively
modified and super tuned top end versions of any Rover V8, underneath it all it's still a Rover V8.
So, Lets be more basic - even simple, and sensible about this.
Here we will explain in
SIMPLE terms, why you might 'Lean' towards maybe an MS1X Kit, or, Maybe 'Lean' more towards an MS2X Kit.
Many of these 'Experts' will say 'Ah well, Yes but..' & just argue about the system vs X Y or Z and so on - It's just not really very helpful.
The basic facts are the basic facts, so lets just keep things 'sane' and 'simple' & explain each ....How does that sound ?.
Megasquirt MS1X V8 Kits - Overview.
The MS1X Kit is in simple terms an entry level kit.
It does everything pretty much an NS2X Kit will do, just maybe it doesn't do it quite as well.
Lets put this in computer speak
You need to type letters, maybe do the odd simple spreadsheet, internet not really an issue, & when you do it's nothing dramatic, so no Gaming
or heavy Video Editing, Film Streaming etc.
Your friend however is a 'CAD CAM' Solidworks Designer, building complex items in 3D, then running through complex modelling simulators & stress
analysis programs on the designs he has created in the powerful software.
You can do everything you want quite easily on a Windows XP or Windows 7 PC with 4 GB RAM, your friend
could but it would be
horrendously slow, and he would be way better with a Windows 11 PC with Powerful Grahics card and upgraded to say 64GB RAM SSD & Huge Hard Drive.
And that’s pretty much MS1X vs MS2X.
MS1X is fine for a standard ish engine - Maybe a 'Cam Upgrade' and Exhaust, maybe ported heads, but, and this is a Key Identifier being
of an age or usage that it doesn't need to have 'Cats' and 'Lambdas' on the engine.
'Catalytic Convertors' + 'Lambda Controllers'
do soak up take up Computing Power, so MS1X Kits tend to be bought by Customers with fairly 'Simple'
Rover V8 Variants, No Cats, No Lambdas, often either bias to 'Off Road' use in a Land Rover, a Trialer, even Racers, or often a road car with the more 'favourable'
age for emissions where Cats and Lambdas are just not needed - and if you can do without them do - they absolutely sap BHP !.
But - if you do need 'Cats & Lambdas' for your MOT Emissions - that’s a pointer to an MS2X straight away !
Bear in mind that even if you purchase an MS1X Kit, the system can be upgraded on your ECU by having a MS2X Daughterboard and Chipset fitted and then reprogrammed, the rest
is pretty much the same with a few minor differences. And if someone says that MS1 is just basic and not worth buying - point out it makes a Lucas Hotwire 14CUX look like it was
designed by a Neanderthal Committee - don't underestimate what this MS1X system - basic or not - can do when it's all set up and tuned in properly.
Megasquirt MS2X V8 Kits - Overview.
Now, the MS2X Kit ECU does have a 16-bit, 24 MHz processor with 128 kB of flash memory,
allowing for more complex calculations and faster processing.
There you go, the words above says it all - More powerful processor, but do you actually need it ?
That’s the $1,000,000 question, and in all things automotive there are the 'Willy-Wavers' where bigger
and more money is better and makes what you have bought a waste of money, and you should have etc etc ...
Now, MS2X kits are more powerful, & I would say if your engine set up requires 'Cats' & 'Lambas' that’s 101% MS2X territory....Maybe even MS3X, but not MS1X good as it is.
Ok, So what else would 'Lean' you towards you having MS2X vs MS1X ?
Other than Cats & Lambdas it would be a highly tuned engine, or an engine you want to squeeze every BHP you can get
and as such being a Highly tuned engine you need more computing power to control' 'Spark and Fuelling'
MS2X Kits will do this as the processor is more powerful, the Fuelling 'Table' is bigger giving finer tuning possibilities and the entire Processor is on steroids vs
MS1X Processor, but on a standard engine - you wouldn't notice any difference.
To benefit from spending more on MS2X Kits you need to have a reason - Engine Spec - i.e. any TVR engine, any Eales Engine, any engine with really serious tuning modifications
& 101% (if you need engine tune and spec aside) if 'Cats' & amp 'Lambdas are required'
The other small detail that is worth a small note vs MS1X to MS2X is on MS2X the more powerful processor allows the Kits to run the Hotwire 'Stepper' Motor
(Auto Cold Start Choke & Tick Over Stabilisation)
where as the MS1X Kit can't and uses a different system which is a Bosch PWM Controller. There's not in the real world a vast difference, they both do the same job, arguably
the Stepper if set up well maybe slightly better ?.
And that brings us to the last (blindingly obvious point) ....but very very worth making none the less ...
A well set up MS1X will out perform in every sense a poorly set up MS2X Kit, and MS2X is harder to get to grips with than MS1X, so for DIYers an MS1X is near
bullet proof, simple to learn, simple to tweak and set up vs MS2X, but for either talk to us about a colleague who can visit you and tune whatever system you have.
Worth every penny and way less than you would image the costs to be !.
Megasquirt MS3X V8 Kits - Overview.
Erm.... "Wow" sort of sums this sort of kit up
I will say this and then translate in 2 ways .......
'This ECU has a MC9S12X 16-bit, 50 MHz asymmetrical dual-core processor rolled into an onboard 8GB SD card used exclusively for high-speed engine data logging.'
Ok - Translation 1.
It's
BONKERS Powerful, Meaning it can control 'Semi Sequential' on a V8s beautifully.
As an example modern CAD CAM Computer design work and PCs used for the work are normally done on a Modern high end super powerful PC. Yes, OK, you COULD do it all on a windows XP machine,
even an older PC like say maybe Windows 2000 - but speed and the end results would be chalk and cheese.
So it is with this. (Read the 'MS3X Section' for more information.)
But
and OK - Translation 2.
I ran our MS2X on my John Eales 5.2 Triple Plenum 'Full Race' Rover V8 (see pic opposite !) - and - Whilst MS1X ran it 'ok', MS2X ran it a lot better.
When I fitted the MS3X Kit - it was like someone had snuck into my workshop and changed the engine !
UNBELIVABLY Smmoth, more power everywhere just tames the coughs & sputters from the wild cam with daft Valve over lap, and, it was just soooo good.
It was actually so good we decided then and there that we had to do kits for all V8s ! - Honesty - we were not expecting the massive difference !!
So, now its the $2,000,000 question, and absolutely definately in all things automotive there are the 'Willy-Wavers' where bigger
and more money is better and makes what you have bought a waste of money, and you should have etc etc ...but this is special .....But MS3X ??....Read on.
Now, MS3X kits are more powerful, & I would say if your engine set up requires 'Cats' & 'Lambas' that’s 101% MS2X territory, if tuned with aggressive cam, ported heads
and other tweaks and you really want to have super dooper smooth engine with more power - everywhere - and a huge grin - and just the best - then this is it.
On mine, even with all this computing power the MS3X the Engine tuner I know said you I could improve even more if I used an Innovate MTX-L Wide Band Lambda Sensor,
just the one, with a Lovely Digital Guage 8ft Lead and plug into your harness it via the Power of the processor gives real time Fuelling fine tuning, and boy does it.
We don't sell these but we do recomend them !.......
And because of this, on all our MS3X Kits - The looms allow these as an easy customer 'add on', the wires are all built in and ready to add an Innovate !
Overall Summary
We have said that a well set up MS1X will out perform in every sense a poorly set up MS2X Kit, and MS2X is harder to get to grips with than MS1X.
For DIYers an MS1X is near bullet proof, simple to learn, simple to tweak and set up vs MS2X. Also you can upgrade your MS1 ECU to a MS2 ECU for not a huge amount - everything else is the same !
MS3X is a different ball game all together - for these MS3X kits whilst we will have it running for you with a Basic MSQ (ECU Programme) frankly you would be absolutely mad
not to have it mapped properly to suit YOUR engine, for less than you might think. And truly - Add the Innovate MTX-L Wide Band Controller - amazing !
We don't do tuning ourselves (The Guru Tuner we will point you to will forget more minor detail than I know about tuning in its entirety !).
Talk to us about this he can visit you as he goes all over the UK and sometimes abroad too ! - Worth every penny and way less than you would imagine the costs to be !.
So ..... The 'Bottom line' ?.
Study the above 3 x neutral views for 'MS1X' vs 'MS2X' and 'MS3X' and think through which way you are 'leaning', then maybe ring for a proper chat.
Whichever you choose you will as I did (and still do) and just revel in the fact that whenever you turn the key it just bursts into life and is a million miles away from the
Absolute 'Sheer Joy' that only a 'Flapper', 'Hotwire' 'GEMS' or dare I say 'THOR' system can 'Bring into your life' !
