Which megajolt kit for thor & gems

mateyboy67 · Post by **mateyboy67** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:19 pm

Hi would any one know which kit, and any advice on fitting? Looking at thor and gems engines
Cheers
Martyn

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:27 pm

I must admit to not seeing the point of Megajolt as for very little more you can have a Megasquirt and use it ignition only - with the option of going injection later.

mateyboy67 · Post by **mateyboy67** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:30 am

Hi Dave,
Do you mean use carbs at first or can the range rover ecu be used? Does the Thor or gems make any difference? This is new territory for me so I'm still sussing out what The squirt seems a lot more expensive than the jolt ?? Or maybe I'm looking at the wrong things in comparison .
Cheers Martyn

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:42 pm

Squirt is more expensive. But it means you have the easy option of switching to fuel injection at a later date.

Jolt only does ignition, nothing else.

It would be just adding a little future proof, for not a lot of initial outlay.

Another ignition only system recently appeared is Nodiz. Same idea as Megajolt, but you can use pretty much any coil pack, you arent forced to use an EDIS based system.

http://www.nodiz.co.uk/nodizpro-features.html

mateyboy67 · Post by **mateyboy67** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:11 pm

Cheers for that, it's nice to have a basic summary. Ive been on the mega squirt website and i find it had work. It seems to assume everyone knows the lingo, I do like the look of the nodiz though I think that is the way forward.
I may as well go injection from the outset as I would have to buy carbs anyway so it's a no brainer.

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 3:06 pm

MegaSquirt is basically a DIY system - so does tend to assume the buyer will learn about it. But at least everything you need to know (and much more) is freely available. Commercial only systems may keep their information secret for obvious reasons. Which may not matter if you are having it professionally installed. But for that you'll need deep pockets.

Other thing about MS is all parts are standard components which can be bought near anywhere. So it is easy and economical to repair if needed, by any half competent electronics type.

Before you buy any aftermarket system, ask if the full schematic and all spares are available retail.

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:06 pm

DaveEFI wrote: Commercial only systems may keep their information secret for obvious reasons..

There is very little with the typical brands that is secret. If anything, the likes of Motec probably provide more free tech info than anyone.
No info, no customers.

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:11 pm

stevieturbo wrote:
DaveEFI wrote: Commercial only systems may keep their information secret for obvious reasons..
There is very little with the typical brands that is secret. If anything, the likes of Motec probably provide more free tech info than anyone.
No info, no customers.

Do they provide a schematic of their actual ECU? A brief look at their site didn't find one. Only connection diagrams.

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:19 pm

DaveEFI wrote:
stevieturbo wrote:
DaveEFI wrote: Commercial only systems may keep their information secret for obvious reasons..
There is very little with the typical brands that is secret. If anything, the likes of Motec probably provide more free tech info than anyone.
No info, no customers.
Do they provide a schematic of their actual ECU? A brief look at their site didn't find one. Only connection diagrams.

Why on earth would any normal person ever need that ? Ive been fitting ecu's to cars for about 12 years now, and Ive never needed to know that ( Although in the case of some awkward pnp units, they do need to because you have to make some jumper setting changes. But that's through bad design more than anything )

Your computer supplier doesnt provide you with schematics of the computer you are using now either, nor your TV manufacturer etc.

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:53 pm

As I said earlier, MS can be repaired by any competent tech if it should fail using readily available components. This may not matter to you, but does to me.

Motec don't quote any prices on their site. Is it anywhere near the same price as MS?

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 12:17 am

DaveEFI wrote:As I said earlier, MS can be repaired by any competent tech if it should fail using readily available components. This may not matter to you, but does to me.

Motec don't quote any prices on their site. Is it anywhere near the same price as MS?

Do MS fail often and need parts replaced ?

It doesnt matter....because Ive never needed to replace any parts ! lol Much the same as Ive never had to replace any parts in my television, or laptop

Motec prices are readily available around the world from local suppliers. And it is nowhere near the price, and MS is nowhere near the same product. So to even attempt that comparison is just silly.

mateyboy67 · Post by **mateyboy67** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 7:43 am

Mega squirt seems very expensive especially as I've discovered 3or 4 alternatives in the last couple of days.

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:40 am

Just to get this straight - Motec never fails? Has it got a lifetime warranty, then?
All electronics fail at some point. You can't have been around much if you've never known a computer or TV etc fail.

However, I didn't mean to imply MS is unreliable - just that it can be fixed cheaply in the unlikely event it gives problems.

I've no knowledge about Motec - it's so expensive I'd guess it's restricted to top end use. MS is priced as a viable alternative to carbs for the average hobby user.

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 10:03 am

DaveEFI wrote:Just to get this straight - Motec never fails? Has it got a lifetime warranty, then?
All electronics fail at some point. You can't have been around much if you've never known a computer or TV etc fail.

However, I didn't mean to imply MS is unreliable - just that it can be fixed cheaply in the unlikely event it gives problems.

I've no knowledge about Motec - it's so expensive I'd guess it's restricted to top end use. MS is priced as a viable alternative to carbs for the average hobby user.

Any electrical component can fail or be damaged. I personally have never had a motec fail, despite even short circuiting an injector driver after an injector went faulty. Their built in protection is excellent.

I have had a couple of very old link ecu's experience small problems, both were repaired free of charge, and well outside any warranty period.
Ive had a couple of Alcatek ecu's with idle control problems, and again both were repaired free of charge. One was in warranty, the other outside.

So really...in much the same way I dont want to open my TV up to try and repair it, I have no interest in opening up an ecu to repair it, especially when support from the manufacturers is so good.

MS is at a very different price level so is a good entry unit. But with the many many queries about how it works, or problems on this forum alone, does suggest to me that there are still lots of issues that make a successful installation far from easy.

Although would be very interested to hear what systems mateyboy has found that are much cheaper than MS.

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 11:00 am

As I said, MS is basically a DIY system - although many sell it as a turnkey unit too.

If you go down the DIY route, there is a lot to learn. Which some may not want to - in which case they'll have to dig deeper to pay for the expertise of a pro. But at least they have that choice - unlike commercial only units.

The V3 board - my favourite for DIY - has fully protected injector drivers.