Vee_Que;36049 wrote
Ashes opinion is wrong on the megasquirt factor now. Ms3 pro is bought built the same way haltechs etc are. Has better software than using older second hand ecus and there are tuners out there for them now. The thinking it's a hobby ecu puts all the aftermarket ecus with volvos into the hobby section now because they just aren't common to tune on dynos by people.
The MS3 Pro feature set is actually quite impressive and a vast improvement over previous iterations. In reality though, regardless of how wrong my opinion may be or how I may or may not be entitled to an opinion, the pre-assembled MS ECUs are in no way manufactured in the same way, under the same conditions that something along the lines of the current generation Motec hardware is.
I notice DIYAutoTune didnt put a submission together for Megasquirt to be the control ECU for the current gen COTF V8supercar. I'm looking forward to reading about what they're putting together when the category moves to the next generation Gen2 rule-set in 2017.
- Of course, that was very tongue in cheek, but the argument Alex is making is a little like telling us that a Banana is a better Apple than an Apple.
Having someone work through your tuning on an Autronic, Haltech or Motec who knows the ECUs well and has the skill to do it is a real asset when extracting the most performance you can. To them, it is entirely irrelevant whether they're tuning an SR20DET for a drift car or your B230 turbo.
Beninca Automotive are Autotronic gurus. They're just as happy to tune a Volvo as they are working on their passion which is Alfas (no idea why Alfas would be anyones passion!)
We all have different definitions of what we believe is acceptable or even a 'success'.
If, for you, this is remove the standard LH2.2, LH2.4 or K-Jet or whatever you may have, bolt a bigger turbo on the thing with some bigger injectors and get it to run followed by using your arse-dyno (some arse-dynos are pretty accurate!) to measure how much better it is than it was before, perhaps megasquirt is the best solution.
There's no doubt it is significantly cheaper than the alternatives.
If your definition of acceptable or a success is that you have something ultra reliable, that is very unlikely to let you down and you've just spent a metric arse-ton on decent pistons, rods, lots of machining time, some smart headwork, decent valvetrain, decent camshaft, etc, etc and you want to make repeatable, reliable, high levels of power and spend some time tuning it properly, then perhaps, for you, a 'real' (in quotation marks, with tongue in cheek) ECU is probably more along the lines of what you're looking for.
I've spent a bit of time with an Evo improved production racecar, running a Motec M800 - in this case, there is a kit/option for it to simply be a plug-in. Support and advice to get that up and running was easily attainable. Engine management is not my forte, but with this type of hardware it doesn't need to be.
If you are interested in all things Tuning-related - and it is fascinating stuff - Check out the
High Performance Academy on Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/HPAcademy
Best of luck with your build.
A 240 is a brilliant RWD platform to work from. What you lose out on with no factory turbo models here, you get back with good balance, easy suspension tuning, good brakes (out of the box), lots of aftermarket parts options and a simple-to-work on platform that responds well to changes.
An 850 or x70 is arguably one of the best performance per dollar Volvo starting points now.
High Pressure Turbo models make good power at stock levels.
They're under-braked, but there are several options to resolve that, with lots of aftermarket support,
There are quite a few pathways for suspension upgrades and while they're not as easy to work on as a 240 or 7/9 series car, they're not hard.
The big question here is whether you're ok with living with a FWD 'performance' car - that's merely a mental or personal preference hurdle to get over.
If you're keen on a RWD car, it isnt the car for you. Simple.