[TitaniumTT]

Originally Posted by RotaryProphet

Regarding the first point: Definitely don't do 20b if price is an issue. Even $22k is twenty two freaking thousand dollars for an engine swap. You best have a hell of a budget.

As for the Megasquirt, with a few mods on board and doing all the soldering myself, I can have a seriously high powered EFI system for a hair over $300 - the price of the kit and wiring harness. So yes, a thousand dollar savings right there is good enough justification for me, and since I understand how to do it, it's worth it to me. That's just an example of what I'm talking about, not everyone can wield a soldering iron like i can, so not everyone is in a position to spend $300 for something people often spend $1300 on.

Sooooooooooo my Lambda sensor is more expensive than your entire ECU? I really don't understand mega-squirt at all. I've heard half the people say it's great, mainly becuase of the price tag, and the other 1/2 say they hated it becuase it's cheap, not flexible, and who in thier right mind wants to solder stuff to expand thier ecu? I'd rather pay for a code and plug it into my laptop.

As for you're budget fo $15,000 for parts............ I'd like to see an itemized list becuase I spent near that on electronics and fuel for my 13B-RE swap.

Originally Posted by gmonsen

Most people who know what's what will tell you that you should either have it done by a reputable shop that has done it many times and you pay through the nose or you know enough to do it yourself.

Gordon

Truer words have never been spoken.

BTW Gordon, still waiting to bump into you @ KDR. Last month we were supposed to be there on the same day but you canceled becuase of the rain. I drove from CT, what's your excuse

Originally Posted by War Eagle

Yes, but the customer is then left with an EMS that can only be supported by you and that's not a very enviable position to be in. At least with an off the shelf solution (read Microtech, Haltech, etc.) the customer can take the car to other mechanics that can work on/tune the car. Saving money is good, but sometimes going with a tried and true solution that costs more is better. I'm all for saving money but I wouldn't scrimp on the EMS that's for sure.

Completely agreed. I went for the ECU that could do what I wanted and had the service that I expected. I actually just sent off two maps to Motec West. Said, this one is closed loop boost control looking for 12 psi & boost spikes to 20psi. This one is open loop, should be around 40% but logs 100% duty cycle. Why? Please fix, explain it to me, and don't be surprised when I call you on Wednesday from the Dyno. By the way, is getting an 8 hour turn around time too short?

The answers were, I'll check it out and let you know, I'll check it out and let you know. I'll correct the parameters in the PID and give brief explainations why you were wrong, 8 hours is plenty, we're here to help, call whenever. Motec is far and away the BEST service and the BEST product. I'm not saying everyone should go out and grab one, but for me and my limited ECU working knowledge, it seemed the obvious choice from a service point of view. Can MS give you that?

Originally Posted by Bryan@BNR

well lets put things into perspective here.

20B engine $4000
management $1700 (that is a bare harness not already loomed out)
building engine with BT sleeves ported with new seals dowel pins ect. $5000 minimum
fuel system (pump, injectors, regulator) $650
good clutch $750
subframe, $1000-1500
turbo kit with manifold turbo and external gate (name brand) $3000
full exhaust with custom down pipe $1000
LS1 Coil/ignitor packs $500

Alright that is around 19K in parts and that doesn't include labor. Shops that work on cars have to have mechanic insurance which is pretty expensive. This doesn't include all the labor for fitment and customized brackets, alignment, tuning bla bla bla. Totally huge undertaking for someone on a budget.

You can do it cheap with carbs and na w/o rebuilding the engine. But you don't know the condition of the engine unless you tear it down.

Bryan@BNR

Tearing down a used engine is something that everyone should do. My first used engine made good compression so I left it alone. 5 hours later a carbon locked side seal got fragged and wiped out a front rotor and housing. Had I broke it down and cleaned it, that motor would have lasted. So, factor in a minumum rebuild of what............ $2,000 in parts plus labor - $4k+ plus the cost. The engine alone is at $8,000 before it has a turbo, fuel system, clutch, etc etc etc.