With all the different ECU options available, choosing the right system can be a bit intimidating. Let me try to help you make the right decision.
You may have heard over the years that Megasquirt is not reliable and I am here to crush those rumors. With no less than 15 years of experience with Megasquirt EFI and AMP/EFI product I can assure you that no days, they are just rumors . Sure, in the beginning (circa 2000) Megasquirt it was the cheapest option on the market. You could order and build your own ECU, then run to a junkyard and get all the additional parts you needed to complete your EFI install. This led to numerous failures for a lot of people so tuning shops started turning people away. Starting with a worn out product usually isn't a preferred way to have a great experience. Around 2003 I leaped in head first. Built my own ECU, conjured together a mix of new and used parts and had my first running EFI engine, a 1600 DP. I started with a German EFI center section and the factory EFI end castings keeping a distributor in place to get me feet wet. The tuning software was in it's infancy but so was the ECU. You got a 8x8 fuel table and some basic 2 point enrichment points for startup, warm-up and acceleration enrichment curves. But It was enough to figure out that fuel injection was going to stay in my life for a long time!
Those early day trials and tribulations have made The Dub Shop what it is today. We don't offer junkyard parts, we won't be the cheapest in town and we won't sell you something that isn't going to work. Only quality products that have been proven on our own vehicles or through in house research and development. I'll be the first one to try something new so you don't have to, that is part of staying ahead of the curve. With all the features and functions available, you will never get bored and may just be able to experience a newly released feature before I do and I hope you try!
Now it's time to pick the backbone of your EFI conversion. Which ECU is best for you? Lets look at a few of the options to help you decide what is best for your project.
Microsquirt V3
The Microsquirt V3 is an MS2 variant with a small form factor and weather resistant case originally designed for off-road and Motorsports applications. Having this small footprint, the feature set is also reduced from a standard MS2. They are great for basic installs using high impedance injectors and work best with smart ignition coils do to the lack of internal high current ignition drivers. But if you want to drive 4 LSx ignition coils, no problem! They are is available with a 30" or 8 foot flying lead harness allowing the end user to terminate the wiring harness on site. At a price point of under $400 they are appealing to many and this means the overall package prices based around a Microsquirt will have a significant price reduction. The draw back for some is that you will now have all the responsibility of creating a harness and installing the connectors and relays.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Inexpensive | D.I.Y. flying lead harness |
| Sealed connector | No internal MAP sensor |
| Cam/Crank inputs | Only 2 Injector drivers |
| Sequential ignition ready | Limited feature set |
Megasquirt 2 (MS2)
The Megasquirt 2 is my goto ECU. They are configurable to almost any application and leave have room to grow. Unlike the cased Microsquirt this version is built to expand on. This form factor is the longest running with an extruded Aluminum case and D-Sub connector. Out of the box they are capable of N/A or boosted applications upto 25psi. That of course is upgradable if you are one of the elitists that are capable of such pressures. But in that case you would probably be more interested in an MS3 or MS3-PRO ECU. There are 2 board versions in current production (2018), the v3 board has through hole components and the v3.57 has surface mounted components. So if you see MS2V3 or MS2V3.57 you know know what these stand for. If you want the most configurations possible the v3 is better as it has room for extra circuits like launch control, boost control or table switching. In late 2017 I migrated to the v3.57 for standard applications and progress to a high er ECU model if all the additional features are wanted. They are available with 2 sizes of flying lead harness as well but you can also use a relay board (which I promote for first time installers). I admit it does cost more but allowing me to build the harness and giving you an easy way to connect the wires it has the quickest and highest 1st key on turn success rate.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Easy install | Non sealed connector |
| Fuel and Spark capable | Larger frame size |
| 25psi MAP sensor standard | Only 2 Injector drivers standard |
| Can be used with relay board | To configurable? |
| Upgradable |