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Go Back   Madabout Kitcars Forum > Mad Build Area > Marlin Sportster, Cabrio, Berlinetta and Roadster builds

Marlin Sportster, Cabrio, Berlinetta and Roadster builds Enthused or Confused about your vintage Marlin build? Ask away here or show off your build.

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  #21  
Old 15th September 2014, 11:47
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Chris Cussen Chris Cussen is offline
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Hi, I've used this guy http://www.extraefi.co.uk/ to provide me with a megasquirt ready assembled for a Ford DOHC 2.0l EFI engine. I haven't got it running yet due to other pressures but if you don't fancy building one yourself it may be the way to go.
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  #22  
Old 16th September 2014, 09:43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Cussen View Post
Hi, I've used this guy http://www.extraefi.co.uk/ to provide me with a megasquirt ready assembled for a Ford DOHC 2.0l EFI engine. I haven't got it running yet due to other pressures but if you don't fancy building one yourself it may be the way to go.
This looks interesting Chris.
Would you let me know how you find setting it all up, please?
Photos and any comments are useful.

Has yours been loaded with a tuned map for your particular engine?

Mike
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  #23  
Old 16th September 2014, 14:05
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Its come with a default map. There is a USB connection and software that allows you to configure the maps, sensors and other parameters. If you go down this route I would suggest you browse the website and to contact Phil at ExtraEFI if you have any questions, and he can advise you on the configuration you will need.

There is also some logging software that allows you to capture what is going on when the engine is running, so you can re-map it.

As I said, I haven't finished the installation yet. I'll post some more when I get back to engineering rather than sorting out some domestic issues.
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  #24  
Old 22nd September 2014, 22:45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Cussen View Post
Its come with a default map. There is a USB connection and software that allows you to configure the maps, sensors and other parameters. If you go down this route I would suggest you browse the website and to contact Phil at ExtraEFI if you have any questions, and he can advise you on the configuration you will need.

There is also some logging software that allows you to capture what is going on when the engine is running, so you can re-map it.

As I said, I haven't finished the installation yet. I'll post some more when I get back to engineering rather than sorting out some domestic issues.
Hi Chris

This looks interesting, and terrifying in equal measure!

I love the idea of a DIY engine management computer system, with the ability to play with your own tunes and engine upgrades, but given my electronic knowledge (lack of!) it might be a step too far.

My ECU programmer rang today to say he is almost ready to run his BMW M54 engine with my MS43 ECU, and should be able to post a video on Youtube by the end of September - fingers crossed.
If all goes to plan I hope to collect a Plug n Play ECU plus loom after my holidays later in October.

Maybe, just maybe, an M54 powered Marlin is moving a step closer?

Keeping fingers crossed.......!
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  #25  
Old 22nd September 2014, 23:04
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike View Post

My ECU programmer rang today to say he is almost ready to run his BMW M54 engine with my MS43 ECU, and should be able to post a video on Youtube by the end of September - fingers crossed.
If all goes to plan I hope to collect a Plug n Play ECU plus loom after my holidays later in October.

Maybe, just maybe, an M54 powered Marlin is moving a step closer?

Keeping fingers crossed.......!
This I've got to see!

So will this be a 'stand alone' installation with no e46 chassis electronics?
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  #26  
Old 23rd September 2014, 11:16
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My ECU programmer rang today to say he is almost ready to run his BMW M54 engine with my MS43 ECU, and should be able to post a video on Youtube by the end of September - fingers crossed.
If all goes to plan I hope to collect a Plug n Play ECU plus loom after my holidays later in October.

Maybe, just maybe, an M54 powered Marlin is moving a step closer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by peterux View Post




This I've got to see!

So will this be a 'stand alone' installation with no e46 chassis electronics?
That's what I'm being told!!!

The guy is ultra confident and says they have done it before.

I sent my MS43 ECU and engine harness, and he says he will drop his M54B30 into an E30 chassis just to act as a support frame, pipe fuel from a gerry can, and stand a battery along side. He will have to add an EWS, key and antenna, so will use his own matched ECU and will run it with fly by wire, operating on the standard BMW MS43 ECU tune running Dual Variable Vanos and DISA.
IF this works as suggested I will simply collect the complete and matched ECU, EWS, key, antenna and loom as a plug'n'play kit.
He promised to post a video on Youtube to show it running.

He will build an engine loom with an X20 socket on it, wired up to connect to the female X20 I have in my chassis which I added to connect to the X20 on the M50 engine harness.
It should quite literally be a Plug'nplay engine swap electronically - which is perfect for me.

It sounds almost too good to be true - Having trawled the www. for 12 months now I have not found anyone anywhere offering this service who can back up their claims with a working engine, so I have to remain cautious: but he is catagoric in his ability to have it running by the end of this month - so we will not have to wait much longer!

I know Timbo is watching this with interest as this guy is equally confident he can run the M52TUB28 in exactlythe same way.

As you said Peter, this is my engine 'Holy Grail'.

The torque 'curve' is fabulous - almost flat line and close to its maximum of 300Nm (220lbsft) from 1800rpm - 5500rpm: its maximum torque is achieved at only 3500rpm.
Top end power is rated at 228HP at only 5900rpm. For me, this is a much better road engine than the M50TUB25 which lacks quite a lot of torque below 4,000rpm.

I looked longingly at the S50B30, and B32, as their torque and HP are really impressive (286/316BHP and 320/350Nm) , but they make a lot of the power higher up the rpm range, and sell for a lot of money (£2k+ just for the engine, if you can find one), and they are likely to be thrashed (trashed?) engines, requiring money to be spent to refresh them.
They also require a lot of service attention to the heads, and are heavy on fuel (which has to be 5 star, due to their high compression ) so I decided the M54B30 is the best cheap (to buy in good order, and run) engine currently around.......... providing the ECU can be reprogrammed to give standard BMW tune performance????!

The difference between the M52B28, and the M54B30 is not great, (around 40BHP extra, and +20Nm torque at 500rpm less) but since both engines are now commonly available, I would like to go with the M54 for its bigger torque at lower rpm if it is a possibility?
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  #27  
Old 24th September 2014, 21:25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike View Post

I sent my MS43 ECU and engine harness, and he says he will drop his M54B30 into an E30 chassis just to act as a support frame, pipe fuel from a gerry can, and stand a battery along side. He will have to add an EWS, key and antenna, so will use his own matched ECU and will run it with fly by wire, operating on the standard BMW MS43 ECU tune running Dual Variable Vanos and DISA.
IF this works as suggested I will simply collect the complete and matched ECU, EWS, key, antenna and loom as a plug'n'play kit.

I know Timbo is watching this with interest as this guy is equally confident he can run the M52TUB28 in exactlythe same way.
Ah, so not really a 'EWS delete' service, more a transplant of a matched set of DME, EWS and key. Which is what Tim(bo) did in his installation in his Sportster.
Not sure if you were following all the discussion at the time but Tim could run and drive his car fine but after about 50 starts the DME decides to lockout the EWS start function. I came up with a theory that adding an Instrument binnacle would possibly fool the DME it was in a complete car. Tim tried it out but it didn't solve the problem so he had to resort to buying new matched sets of DME, EWS and keys.

I suggest you have a chat your guy about this issue to see if has a way of bypassing this issues. Hopefully he is aware and has a solution.

...peter

But then after a bit of googling I found this company.....
http://www.rmsonlinestore.com/BMW-Un...-Bypass_c7.htm
but check out those prices!!

Last edited by peterux; 24th September 2014 at 22:37.. Reason: extra googling!
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  #28  
Old 24th September 2014, 23:21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peterux View Post
Ah, so not really a 'EWS delete' service, more a transplant of a matched set of DME, EWS and key. Which is what Tim(bo) did in his installation in his Sportster.
Not sure if you were following all the discussion at the time but Tim could run and drive his car fine but after about 50 starts the DME decides to lockout the EWS start function. I came up with a theory that adding an Instrument binnacle would possibly fool the DME it was in a complete car. Tim tried it out but it didn't solve the problem so he had to resort to buying new matched sets of DME, EWS and keys.

I suggest you have a chat your guy about this issue to see if has a way of bypassing this issues. Hopefully he is aware and has a solution.

...peter

But then after a bit of googling I found this company.....
http://www.rmsonlinestore.com/BMW-Un...-Bypass_c7.htm
but check out those prices!!
RMS are only offering a "Virginised ECU" - its not really unlocking the ECU, but allows it to be resynced with the EWS.
I have found no one else offering to alter the software to allow it to run totally normally outside the mother chassis, and prepared to show a running engine demonstration, so I will only be convinced when I see it working.

This guy reckons EWS delete is a bit of a myth.
It is the CAN communication to the binnacle and the rest of the car loom, the ABS, and a few other issues which cause the need to re-programme the ECU.
He says the EWS can readily be retained, which strikes me as a positive.


From what this guy also says Tim's set up was doomed to fail because the ECU has not had the right parts of the software removed. But I'm only repeating what I've been told. But if he can run an M54 I'm sure he will be able to run an M52TU.

The proof will be when we see the video - or not!

Only 3 working days to wait............
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  #29  
Old 26th September 2014, 19:36
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Mike, sounds like your guy knows what he is doing so good news!

....peter
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  #30  
Old 30th September 2014, 20:13
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Default M54 Running on stand alone MS43 ECU

Quote:
Originally Posted by peterux View Post
This I've got to see!

So will this be a 'stand alone' installation with no e46 chassis electronics?
As promised Adem Ergen has posted a video of him starting up his M54B30 using a re-programmed MS43 ECU in a stand alone E30 shell, proving that it is at least possible to start it..................

http://youtu.be/Kzn-_JtlnIY



I know Tim had problems with his M52Tu after a number of starts, so this is not conclusive, but it is a big step in the right direction.

Quite exciting........!
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  #31  
Old 3rd October 2014, 18:10
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It has also raised a concern that I need an ABS delete for my MS41 ECU to stop it running in 'safe mode'?

Is there anyone on here that is running an MS41 ECU without an ABS delete?


....peter
A quick update to share here a few things I have learnt from the guy on ebay that is offering EWS delete on MS41.0 DME's (single VANOS M52 engines).

Some versions of MS41.0 are what he calls OTP (one time programmable) and these cannot be reprogrammed with the EWS deleted and/or ABS limiter delete fixed. This is what was fitted to my donor car. He also tells me that not all of these DME's had the ABS 'safe mode' limit so other builders who transplanted their EWS and key may not have experienced any issue with the missing ABS signal. I can run my engine with the ABS disconnected without any effect on the max. rpm.
I sourced another MS41.0 DME that can be re-programmed and he has confirmed that the one I bought does have the ABS signal requirement.
This DME is currently with him for a EWS delete and ABS signal fix.
I plan to test this in my car before I remove the engine so that I am sure it will run when re-installed in the Sabre.

The 'proof of the pudding' will be to run the car without the EWS module installed or the ABS connected.
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  #32  
Old 24th October 2014, 15:15
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Smile Running My M54 : Looking Good

Just a quick follow up:

Tim Brierley and I went down to see Ergen Motorsport to see the M54B30 running on a standard MS43 ECU, but modified to run outside the normal E46 chassis. We had a very useful discussion about what Adem does, how he achieves it, and how he could help with Tim's M52TUB28?

Adem is clearly very knowledgable about BMW ECU programming and wiring, where he has obviously found a niche. He had several very sporty BMWs with engine transplants in his workshop, and clearly knew what he was doing.

As agreed, he had modified my M54 wiring loom and ECU, to make it literally 'plug and play' in my Cabrio. Interestingly he had retained the EWS for added security, removing only the CAN bus requirement to communicate with items such as instrument binnacle, ABS and a few other items that do not appear in my Cabrio: everything else remains totally standard.


This is the business end:

With modified MS43 ECU (to run the M54 without CAN bus, instrument binacle, ABS and various other items not on my Marlin chassis), but includes syncronised EWS, Key/Antenna, Drive by wire throttle and X20 connection to match my existing M50 X20 connector.




The X20 connector grafted onto the M54 wiring loom to make it Plug and Play.

The top part of the loom is standard with all the necessary connections to the engine sensors etc.



The whole loom does not look too bad when laid out like this - the top section all goes to engine connectors - just a case working out which is which! - and the bottom half requires the X20 connection, the BMW key to be close to the Antenna, plus a live and Earth, so even I can manage that!




My plan is to test my M54 engine alongside my Cabrio before installing it, by plugging the new X20 into my Cabrio's socket, then add a few strategic Earths and a mains supply to the starter motor, and divert the fuel hose across from my Cabrio chassis, and should then be able to start the M54 from the ignition in my Cabrio!

It sounds almost too simple to be true, but provided I get my wiring connections right, it should work.

Tim had a good chat with Adem about his M52TU, and it appears that the same wiring loom for mine will provide Tim with a loom which works.
Tim left with arrangements to take his Sportster along to Adem to make a proper assessment.

A very worthwhile day out - quite exciting for both of us
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  #33  
Old 26th October 2014, 20:50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike View Post

My plan is to test my M54 engine alongside my Cabrio before installing it, by plugging the new X20 into my Cabrio's socket, then add a few strategic Earths and a mains supply to the starter motor, and divert the fuel hose across from my Cabrio chassis, and should then be able to start the M54 from the ignition in my Cabrio!
This is going to be the most amazing Marlin Cabrio! The Holy Grail is within reach!

You'll be able to do doughnuts with that amount of power and torque

Good luck with the 'bench' testing.....
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  #34  
Old 31st October 2014, 17:20
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Well my Sportster was safely delivered to Adem at Ergen Motorsports today. He has had a look at it, including the rather rough hacking at the wiring by myself and a previous 'expert' and seems very confident he can get it going.

As Mike said, he seems very knowledgeable and I am optimistic that after 5 years being off the road, perhaps next year will see its return, including a paint job.

Tim
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  #35  
Old 2nd November 2014, 18:05
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Well my Sportster was safely delivered to Adem at Ergen Motorsports today. He has had a look at it, including the rather rough hacking at the wiring by myself and a previous 'expert' and seems very confident he can get it going.

As Mike said, he seems very knowledgeable and I am optimistic that after 5 years being off the road, perhaps next year will see its return, including a paint job.

Tim
Excellent news. Your car deserves a new beginning
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  #36  
Old 22nd March 2015, 18:26
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Hi Mike,

what do you intend doing about the great big exhaust air pump unit on the M54? I know it's to do with emissions control by pushing exhaust gases back to the intake for a second burn but I've never really looked into how necessary it is as my M50B25 engine doesn't have one for some reason (2001 reg). The M54B30 I've just pulled does have one but it's a big lump of kit to try and find a home for in the sportster/cabrio engine bay.

Do you know if the system can just be removed and blanked off without either the DME getting upset or the emissions failing at MOT?
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Old 22nd March 2015, 22:36
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Hi Mike,

what do you intend doing about the great big exhaust air pump unit on the M54? I know it's to do with emissions control by pushing exhaust gases back to the intake for a second burn but I've never really looked into how necessary it is as my M50B25 engine doesn't have one for some reason (2001 reg). The M54B30 I've just pulled does have one but it's a big lump of kit to try and find a home for in the sportster/cabrio engine bay.

Do you know if the system can just be removed and blanked off without either the DME getting upset or the emissions failing at MOT?
Hi Ian

I intend to just blank the airway off. Adem at Ergen has dealt with this in the MS43 ECU he has reprogrammed.
Good question about the emission and MOT though - don't know the answer, so I'll chase Adem to see what he knows.

Mike
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  #38  
Old 28th April 2015, 23:37
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Quick update:

Adem at Ergen motorsport sent me a video today of him starting my M52 engine. He is a genius.

Yippee

Tim
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  #39  
Old 29th April 2015, 00:02
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Originally Posted by timbo View Post
Quick update:

Adem at Ergen motorsport sent me a video today of him starting my M52 engine. He is a genius.

Yippee

Tim
Good news Tim. Adem certainly seems to know his BMW ECUs.
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  #40  
Old 30th April 2015, 21:48
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Excellent news Tim, major milestone reached, well done!
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