Timing Belt / Tuning Questions

[Petrified.Rabbit]

in my opinion, i feel if you go stand alone its best to put the spark control in too. Have everything in one unit.

The system is cheap i have one sitting here i paid $250 for with the harness. Plan on spending another $100-200 on compatible sensors. Unless you want to test all the ones we have and their parameter. But even with an basic idea of where to start with a base line proper dyno tuning is really expensive.

I also have SDS, and a CB stand alone system sitting here. Both set up with preliminary turbo maps.


Something else i keep in mind when posting prices on this forum is only 1/3 of the members do their own work. By the time they pay someone else to do what is posted $1000 is low ball figure. People who can do their own work can always beat any price posted.

[exist3nce]

You dont need the spark, only the fuel tuner, that makes things even more cheap.

If you want the fuel and spark unit, your looking at just over 400 dollars for the megasquirt, but then you need to buy an MSD ignition system with an external coil pack, which can run you 3-500 bux, im telling you that you dont need the spark control for this motor. exist3nce's 254whp turbo optra is tuned with an e-manage blue, that does not allow spark control over the engine, in other words hes running 13 psi of boost with absolutely no spark tuning at all. The spark timing for these engines is quite well suited for taking boost, or any form of tuning you may require. You dont need to play with it.

Installation is quite simple all you need is your ecu pinout then simply splice the megasquirt harness into it.

The problem is getting the car started after that. Because no fuel table has ever been made for this car, your gonna have to play with your laptop and megatune for quite some time, a wideband here comes in very very handy!

It is true, I am running Emanage Blue which is not compatible with my ignition system, so I am running 100% stock ignition and timing. It works OK because the stock ECU is tuned for 87 octane, so the timing is fairly conservative. However, that is not necessarily the ideal setup...

Way back in 2006 when Emanage was chosen for the project, we expected it to work with the ignition, but it didn't. I would say try to achieve ignition timing control, even if you just use it for safety such as over-boost condition. If you are going with a NA setup, then you absolutely need timing control to realize any significant gains in power. Also with a turbo setup, you can increase your off-boost torque and fuel economy by adding timing in the cruising areas of the ignition map and running 91 or 94 octane all the time.

I'm actually considering changing my management simply because of the lack of timing control.... I want better fuel economy and torque in off boost conditions. Right now I'm effectively wasting my expensive 94 octane gas in every situation except WOT and partial throttle boost

[dpawl31]

Thanks for all the info guys!

As said above in other words, I want MSII because I will have the spark control... and I WILL be starting off N/A, then SOMEDAY turbo.

I understand I need a few things here and there, and it's going to be a lot of work getting it started.

I have a friend that owns a tuning shop, and has no worries about helping me do it, aside from paying for the dyno time.

And I know it can be had for cheaper, hell, I saw a MSII setup on CL w/ harness untouched for $300. Didn't have the cash though....



Right now I am just worried about the timing belt, I need to do it myself and all of the different guides miss things here and there...

BTW -- nowhere near western NY lol. But I can mail you a world famous Steak Bomb®

Yes, that's right. We own the term Steak Bomb® so you know it's good

[thehunterooo]

im staying NA too for the next few years at least, im sure the shop i found can be helpful with some kind of tuning device, it looks like the megasquirt is used on a lot of miatas too because of the low cost

[Asuna]

Hey there. I just bought a new water pump and timing belt kit I was wondering how long it takes the average shop to do the install?

[Petrified.Rabbit]

in my opinion, a professional shop mechanic should be able to do it in 3-5 hours.. 3 hours if he has done that exact engine a few times before and "knows" it. 5 hours if he has experience but has not done an aveo belt before..

i have done a timing belt in about an hour on an aba 8v vw.. but ive done them maybe 100 times.

how long it takes does not really reflect cost though, most shops charge flat rate by the mitchells (or some other) manual. So if ittakes the mechanic an hour or 10 you should pay the same price.