lotusmadandy
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 07:03 PM |
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MS self build kits
I have seen a self build kit on the bay for £150 delivered
I am reasonably competent with a soldering iron but dont want to dite off more than i can chew.
Has anyone taken this route and had good results???
Or should i forget it and buy a good second hand one?
Andy
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PSpirine
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 07:11 PM |
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I did it, having never done somthing like that before - just random soldering here and there.
If you do it methodically, don't rush and take care, it's not very difficult, and incredibly satisfying!
I ordered mine from the states back when I got it a few years ago, and it was pretty cheap. Everything was spot on.
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 07:18 PM |
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Yea,
It is very cheap and i feel pretty confident about building it up.
It is from the states,so i am a little worried about import taxes as well though.
Andy
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rf900rush
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 08:01 PM |
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I bought one like this a few years back.
Did get good results. But electronics is my work.
Had to pay VAT and a tax handleing type of charge.
So I guess at least 20% plus charge is likely. I was lucky at the time $1.90 to the £ 
Even with this, it was cheap enough to get my money back several years later when no longer needed.
Don't under estimate how much there is to learn.
If you are usefull with PC's that will help with the setup.
If you do go for one, it may well be work getting to "Stim board" for testing before in goes in the car.
Martin
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 08:07 PM |
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Thanks Martin,
I'm still a little undecided Atm.
He has 20 kits for sale so i have time to have a think about it.
Andy
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omega 24 v6
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 08:08 PM |
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I did it this way too V2.2 and then self build. as well as building the Vr conditioner from scratch and adding it the BIP trannys and an idle valve
control tranny ( which I never used).
I'd say if you feel confident give it a go just be methodica,l the instructions are spot on. You learn so much as well when you come to load the
firmware and software.
If it looks wrong it probably is wrong.
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 08:17 PM |
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Thanks for all the Reply's lads.
It looks like i will go for it and order one
I will no doubt be asking for more advice,in due course.
Andy
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se7en
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 08:22 PM |
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Excuse my ignorance but what are MS self build kits?
If you can get the seller in the states to mark your parcel as a present or gift the tax people do not usually chase you for any taxes. I have used
this method several times before and it has worked.
Tom
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 08:38 PM |
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It's a Megasquirt in kit form.
The seller states in the listing that he will not mark the package as a gift,
so i may or may not get stung.
Andy
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Chippy
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 09:58 PM |
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I have built two MS1 V3's and both worked fine, didn't even use a stim. The only advise I would give is to get the finest, (thin), tip for
your soldering iron that you can find, makes it much easier. HTH Ray
To make a car go faster, just add lightness. Colin Chapman - OR - fit a bigger engine. Chippy
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PSpirine
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 10:11 PM |
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One thing I'd reinforce is follow the instructions all the time, even if they seem to follow a strange order. They are excellent, and if you
don't deviate from it, everything will make a lot more sense in the end.
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rf900rush
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 10:14 PM |
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What ever you do DON'T use the new "Green" unleaded solder.....
Use the old 60/40 tin/lead with a rosin based flux. Then clean of the flux.
Martin
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matt_gsxr
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| posted on 1/6/11 at 11:08 PM |
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I bought mine from the states from
DiyAutoTune
http://www.diyautotune.com/
v2.2 board is listed at $147 but would have to add shipping to that.
Not sure whether they are cheaper than you have quoted, but they have a good reputation and haven't let me down.
Assembly was straight forward and the instructions are brilliant. Worth borrowing a stimulator or buying one at the same time, as without it you
would have to test on the car, and that is difficult if it doesn't work as you will be trying to sort out tuning out at the same time (if you
see what I mean).
V3 board is surface mount isn't it? quite tricky to solder. The earlier boards are easy if you give it some time and patience.
Building the MS isn't that difficult as long as you can follow instructions. Getting you car running with MS and then tuned is much more
interesting and a real education (which I think is a good thing).
The manuals are a bit weak but the support and camaraderie are strong.
Matt
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 08:13 AM |
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Matt,
How much import duty did customs charge you mate?
I'm just trying to work out how much extra wedge to put aside.
It is cheaper to buy one from the diy autotune website,than from ebay.
Andy.
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matt_gsxr
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 09:32 AM |
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Diyautotune ship it with US postal service which use ParcelForce.
Duty is 20% (same as VAT)
ParcelFroce charge an annoying £8 handling fee on top.
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 11:11 AM |
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Thanks for all the reply's and help gent's.
i guess i will email autotune and get started then.
Andy
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BaileyPerformance
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 05:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by lotusmadandy
I have seen a self build kit on the bay for £150 delivered
I am reasonably competent with a soldering iron but dont want to dite off more than i can chew.
Has anyone taken this route and had good results???
Or should i forget it and buy a good second hand one?
Andy
There is no reason why you couldn't build the kit yourself, there is loads of info out there. Dont bother with MS1, always go for MS2, we have
switched over to MS2 and found it much better (bigger VE table, better/finer fuel control)
I would go for V3.0 MS2, mite be some cheap V2.2's out there, that's fine if you are going EDIS. (no ignition drivers in the V2.2 as
standard)
If you need any help when building it give me a shout, all free!
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 07:08 PM |
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Now i'm realy confused
I was on the verge of buying an ms1 with a v3 board.
A bit more research me thinks.
Andy
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BaileyPerformance
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 07:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by lotusmadandy
Now i'm realy confused
I was on the verge of buying an ms1 with a v3 board.
A bit more research me thinks.
Andy
If its a new build (which it is) there is no point in using MS1, and existing MS1 (V2.2 or V3.0 hardware) can be upgraded to MS2 by changing the
processor and alittle soldering. the MS2 processor is £80.
If the one you have found on web is MS1 that would explain why it is cheap! i buy my ECUs from extraefi.co.uk ready built and tested, i could build my
own but it takes too long.
MS2 gives better fuel resolution (MS1 0.1mS, MS2 0.01mS) and bigger tables.
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 07:41 PM |
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Thanks for the info BaileyPerformance.
I have to admit that the cost is a big factor in my decicion to buy a ms1.
Maybe i will have to wait and save up some pennies for a ms2.
Andy
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Lars
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 08:18 PM |
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how much bigger are tables in MS2?
I thought it was MS3 that had larger tables.
But if MS2 has larger tables I may upgrade to that soon, as it will help with mapping
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matt_gsxr
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 08:20 PM |
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I agree with the above.
If you are controlling sparks then MS2 is well worth the extra expense. If its just fuel then MS1 is plenty good enough. IMO.
You can upgrade MS1 to MS2 with a daughtercard at any time.
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lotusmadandy
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| posted on 2/6/11 at 08:49 PM |
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I only want to control fuel with it. I'm very happy to use the edis
to do the sparks.i take it an ms 1 will also do the advance
and retard bit like my megajolt then? Or do i still need
to keep the jolt in place?
Andy
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jeffw
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| posted on 3/6/11 at 05:48 AM |
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I ran a Zetec on ITB with a MS1 V3 with no problem. You don't really need the MS2 for most engines although it is nice to have, especially if
you are using forced induction or more than 4 cylinders.
[Edited on 3/6/11 by jeffw]
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scudderfish
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| posted on 3/6/11 at 06:04 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by lotusmadandy
I only want to control fuel with it. I'm very happy to use the edis
to do the sparks.i take it an ms 1 will also do the advance
and retard bit like my megajolt then? Or do i still need
to keep the jolt in place?
Andy
MS1 will tell the EDIS module the spark timing. It's exactly the setup I have.
Regards,
Dave
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