** Possible Group Buy ** (standalone ecu) - Saxperience

manc · 17th July 2008, 13:37

Having stumbled across another standalone ecu which is compatible with a Saxo VTS (singleplug ecu) I wanted to get an idea of how much intrest there is for it, here the details that I have gathered so far, these will be expanded upon as time goes by: -

Based on the acclaimed Megasquirt solution.

1. Replaces your current ecu, so it's not a piggyback solution
2. Self mappable (megatune)

3. Support for a O2 Wideband (Allowing for more accurate mapping & squeezing more BHP out)
4. No cutting into existing wiring loom (plug&play)

Just to confirm: THIS IS NOT A GROUP but a tester to see what intrest there is.

Saved the best till last, is far cheaper than any other standalone solution currently available.

ManC

frankie · 17th July 2008, 13:39

depending on cost id be interested.....

AdamH · 17th July 2008, 13:45

as above.. no one will enter unless they know more about it and the price

manc · 17th July 2008, 13:47

Hi,

Good stuff, cost wise you have to put into perspective how much other standalone costs, this is'nt a ebay chip were talking about here, this is for the people who are serious about modding there cars, and realise how much money you'll potentially be saving by being able to map yourself and adjust the map as you add mods, as the details get a bit clearer so will the cost.

ManC

pjm300 · 17th July 2008, 13:48

chances are the amount you save with this standalone, you will more than pay for with the increase in mapping cost.

manc · 17th July 2008, 13:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjm300

chances are the amount you save with this standalone, you will more than pay for with the increase in mapping cost.

Correct, hence why I think it will benefit everyone to be aware of this very BIG selling/saving point, dont get me wrong, its going to be a learning curve but this solution 'could' be provided with a easy to use mapping software, but again time will tell as the details become a bit more apprant.

ManC

luthor1 · 17th July 2008, 14:05

This all sounds very familiar. It's in a standard case with a vacuum tube coming out the side of it right?

Andy

manc · 17th July 2008, 14:11

Hi Andy,

Not actually layed my hands on this unit yet, so cant really confirm physical attributes.

ManC

luthor1 · 17th July 2008, 14:21

If it's from M-Tech, it's the system we ultimately turned down from them after 5 months of headache. I'd rather not go any further in public, but buyer beware, do your own research, all that stuff.

Andy

don55 · 17th July 2008, 15:20

hmmm i was on the phone to M-tech yesterday

why do you say there unit is bad ?

AdamH · 17th July 2008, 15:30

i was actually going to say this sounds alot like the rcd performance previous version..

what are these super costs then with wideband? can you beat 950 for the unit mapping and fitting.. eh

luthor1 · 17th July 2008, 15:31

You spoke to an extremely enthusiastic and positive individual who sounded like the perfect chap who had all the right answers, and generally instilled confidence and trust?

Don't believe it.

Andy

don55 · 17th July 2008, 15:39

yer, a young lad, knew alot, very helpful and uber enthusiastic ?

weird, i guess you have spoken to him also.

anyway, i asked how it was shit, not how the guy on the phone was lol

luthor1 · 17th July 2008, 15:52

I've dealt with him for over 5 months. We had problem after problem with the development as the guys who followed our other threads will know. Eventually it kept being sent back and returned so many times and it was getting worse not better. Finally we realised that it was never going to be completed and moved on. Now we have developed our own system and it's completed.

The issues we had were internal case shorts blowing components, no tach signal, no MAP signal, and on and on. The turnaround for problems was unbelievable, taking a month at a time to change out a single component. The prototype case was glued down so heavily it would take a heat gun to have a look inside - so we never got to see what we were developing (since that would have apparently voided the warranty) which did not fill us with confidence if the developer doesn't want us to see our product.

After 5 months of no working product we simply had to move on.

It transpires that M-Tech are black-listed with the actual Megasquirt vendors for producing poor systems and giving even more poor service. See this thread on the official Megasquirt website...

http://www.msextra.com/viewforum.php?f=108

Phil Ringwood runs www.extraefi.co.uk and is an official developer - he wrote the code that runs on the actual CPU so knows a bit about it!!

Andy

don55 · 17th July 2008, 16:04

bloodyhell, thanks for the heads up mate.

thats shocking, but good to know.

does that phil dude, do saxo specific ones or is it a "make your won loom"

manc · 17th July 2008, 16:19

Just like to step in and say that the one conversation I had with Mtech with an individual who is very enthusiastic about his product , but is'nt any salesman aim to be enthusiastic over the phone...

I'm going to reserve judgement until I see one in action.

ManC

PS:I'd also like to add that I am in no way associated or funded my mtech, the above posts are my own personal opinion and my intention is to provide a alternate standalone ecu solution for the Saxo scene.

don55 · 17th July 2008, 16:24

well mabe it was just a one off problem, if so why have MS them selfs even blacklisted them ?

JamesMTech · 17th July 2008, 16:34

Hi guys,

As a representative of M-Tech, would like to point out that yes we did take 5 months to develop the ECU, yet we did it right. It did go forwards and backwards, as they were using the VTS which we were developing remotely for, and yes, they did have a working prototype right at the beginning.

Their lead time of developing an ECU is only 5 weeks? Well if you steal the majority of the work then that is of course feasbile.

They have broken international patent and copyright law by recreating the MegaSquirt board without consent (it is Open Source, but under GNU you CANNOT do as they have.)

They are currently in arears with us for £4,000. We have also had a run of 10x Direct-To-Head throttle body systems produced for the VTS engine.

Just a sidenote, our system which will be released soon is done so under correct licensing, and once B&G get wind of RCDs antics, they wont be around long to deliver...

We have over 4 years experience in the MS product, and have developed many PnP solutions, Give Scottish Subarus a call to discuss our plug and play Impreza ECUs....

I look forward to any rebuttle, and will let delivery of over 500 ECUs in the last 18 months speak for itself.

Will be updating you guys further when time permits,

Thanks,
James

JamesMTech · 17th July 2008, 17:21

manc,

Just to clarify, ours has the option of INBUILT wideband control, and we are registered OE distributors with Bosch so we can obtain WBO2 5-Wire sensors and retails at under £50ea.

Thanks,
James

luthor1 · 17th July 2008, 17:26

We gave them just under £5,000 in February, a cylinder head, a signed off wiring diagram and a Saxo ECU as a prototype. Now we have nothing, how can we owe them anything???

M-Tech allegedly make ECU's which catch fire! LOL! See this thread by Phil Ringwood. He gets a lot of their work to repair apparently.

http://www.megasquirtmaps.com/board/...?showtopic=272

RCD now know why. Their products do not work I'm afraid.

They are also making ECU's which B&G's attourneys believe contravene American Patent laws. It doesn't appear that B&G hold a UK patent using the Motorola processor used in our ECU's, and since *ALL* the circuits are completely redesigned we are not contravening either, and we are only UK suppliers and not planning to sell in the states. Their patent covers the older MS-I, so we are not infringing at all.

Furthermore, their patent covers their ECU which is described as "...simpler to install because of its generic design and flexible software, allowing it to be used with all models and makes of engines from motorcycles to trucks..."

I'm afraid ours fails on the first line - it only fits Saxo VTS's, it's not in any way generic and would not work on any other vehicle due to it's specific nature.

See here:

http://www.megasquirtmaps.com/board/...?showtopic=257

We also do not sell the mapping software - it is free to download, so no problem there.

Guys - please do your own research.

Andy