280ZX Performance / Technical Discussions related to Turbo charging, Supercharging, Engine, ECU, exhaust, and etc. performance enhancements.
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MegaSquirt real world 280ZX NA 1983

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Old May 3, 2013 | 08:11 AM
  #1  
omniserv's Avatar
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MegaSquirt real world 280ZX NA 1983

Hello, I have a like new 280ZX with 64000 miles on it. Been stored all it's life. When I bought it the owner said it had all kinds of electrical problems. Although no one ever mess with it.

I fixed the fuel pump relay and found the only way to get all 6 injectors to fire was to supply my own ground to the ECU. That worked for a few weeks. Until last night the transistors in the ECU that fire the injectors went up in smoke. This is the 3rd ECU.

I'm done with trying to fix the 30 year old electronics in this car. I figure there's a bunch of bad wires in the harness that were probably screwed up when it was built.

My question is has anyone actually used a system like MegaSquirt in a daily driver car. A car you'd drive 300 miles from home with your family. Not just a weekend fun to play with car.

I have read many post on a few forums about MegaSquirt but have yet to see any long term reports.

Most post I find are concerning the use of MegaSquirt in a turbo car also. Money is not a problem given a new car cost $20-30K. So spending some cash on a classic to drive all summer is worth it.

Any feedback from ppl who have actually converted a 280 NA?
Old May 12, 2013 | 11:45 AM
  #2  
SHADY280's Avatar
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Mission, British Columbia
pm fricfrac he has a setup that allows you to just plug and play megasquirt then just gotta do some tuning. i would daily megasquirt without thinking. the fuel mileage is better too. i was doing to mine but i was doing some funky stuff and now i have to get it working. mine is also an n/a
Old May 13, 2013 | 09:33 AM
  #3  
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Mr Z++ Wiki
 
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,195
From: Victoria, BC
I installed and ran MS3 in my turbo car but there is no reason you can't run it in an NA. I would recomend getting the turbo dizzy and oil pump spindle so you can use the optical encoder wheel in the dizzy for your CAS. Everything else is pretty straight forward it can seem daunting at first. I ran mine as a daily driver and it pulled hard - much improved over the stock system. I'll be running MS on all my older cars with EFI...

This is my current project - converting an originally carbed from the factory engine to EFI and turbo charged

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/other...i-build-36313/
Old May 15, 2013 | 09:06 PM
  #4  
omniserv's Avatar
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Originally Posted by SHADY280
pm fricfrac he has a setup that allows you to just plug and play megasquirt then just gotta do some tuning. i would daily megasquirt without thinking. the fuel mileage is better too. i was doing to mine but i was doing some funky stuff and now i have to get it working. mine is also an n/a
So you re running MS on a NA already? can you send me the setup you are using. At least the settings you use in Tunerstudio? I have build the MS and I'm waiting for longer harnesses. So i won't be long before i try to get it running.

BTW for now I'm just going to do fuel only. At least until I get it all figured out.

Thanks
Old May 17, 2013 | 07:57 PM
  #5  
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Mission, British Columbia
its not running it currently, i decided to use a mallory dizzy and for some lovely reason i cant rpm to the ecu. wish it was cause i could sure use the extra power and improved mileage.
Old Oct 9, 2013 | 04:22 PM
  #6  
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MSnS

Have run my 1979 280ZXR (n/a) on MSnS for about two years. If I had thought it out before purchase, I would have bought one of the modified stock brains that are available. That would have been a much easier install and a whole lot less modifications to the car!! And the performance for a daily driver would have been about the same as the MS.

The upgrade to a turbo dizzy is an absolute! The wideband O2 sensor seems to die on a regular basis which causes tuning problems because of the difference in characteristics. (aside: a heat shield for the O2 sensor is an absolute!) Flow rates of your injectors is another sticky point. Also beware of after market fuel pressure regulators...n/a's need one that increases with vacuum, turbo's have one that increases with pressure.

Attaching a copy of my tune
Old Oct 11, 2013 | 10:27 AM
  #7  
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Mr Z++ Wiki
 
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,195
From: Victoria, BC
Originally Posted by SHADY280
its not running it currently, i decided to use a mallory dizzy and for some lovely reason i cant rpm to the ecu. wish it was cause i could sure use the extra power and improved mileage.
Any luck tracking down a turbo dizzy? Lets get that beast upgraded!
Old Oct 11, 2013 | 10:45 AM
  #8  
NismoPick's Avatar
The Good Twin
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,639
From: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Originally Posted by ZXR616
I would have bought one of the modified stock brains that are available.
I'm unaware of modified stock 280zx n/a ecu's. Where are these available?
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