To Carburate or Megasquirt that is the question 78 280z

[Six_Shooter]

Happy New Year Everyone!

First. Six_Shooter

Just WoW! (Are you a writer? Cause your writing skills are top notch - I felt like you were right here talking to me lol).
Thank you so much for your in-depth knowledge and expertise. I never expected answers like that lol.
I have never dabbled in engine management from scratch so your replies are exactly what I want to read. That being said... I want reliable in terms of engine and I was being torn between fancy Instagram pictures of beautiful set-ups and real life driving in Canada.

You have convinced me that MS is the best option for me to go in terms of price, reliability, flexibility and somewhat simplicity in my case. I have a clearer idea of my goal now its just to find the pathway there lol. I had toyed with the idea to put a Stage 1 or 2 cam to help liven it up but now the MS will be perfect to tune it in. First, I have alot of research to do on how this MS thing works for me and when I can install it. I am actually really interested in learning the details of timing, pulse width ect as we move to a more digital type system.

I believe we met at the Toronto Zcon a few yrs ago... I cant picture your face BUT I remember you said Six_Shooter.... haha

Thank you for the kind words. I do take pride in my writing, and appreciate when someone else takes notice. A teacher that I had when I went back to finish high school instilled a desire in being able to write well and be understood, and that has stuck with me. The problem is I often put too much information in a reply and sometimes can get a bit muddy and have had to learn how to try and keep focused and convey what I mean as best as I can, sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't. Anyway, thanks again for mentioning that.

From my experience and what other's have shared of their experiences, you can read until you're blue in the face about how to tune EFI, but it won't make much sense until you actually hit the keys on a keyboard and see the results in real time. I'm not saying not to read up on tuning, what I am saying is don't worry if you don't seem to be grasping the concepts, because they are, for the most part very abstract, until you put them into practice. When I first got into tuning I put off actually touching a car for probably two years, re-reading material and reading new material, because I felt that I needed to understand the concepts better, but then I decided to just try it and then almost like a switch much of what I read made sense. That being said, close to 20 years later, I'm still learning new techniques, and ideas, as technology and understanding (including my own) advances.

As an update, I started the car I mentioned previously a couple days ago, after a month of not starting, with a starting temp of 52*F (11*C), it started with no help (no manipulation of the throttle), and while I do need to work on the immediate after start fueling it didn't stall, and ran well, again, this car has ITBs, no IAC (Idle Air control) that would help with cold starting, an aggressive cam. While not impossible with carbs, would be difficult and would require use of chokes and generally rich fueling. I still need to talk with the owner to see if he is ok with me posting a video, or if he wants to wait until he can unveil it properly. Maybe I'll look into some video editing to blur out certain things. lol

It is possible we met at Zcon, I was at the track day at Mosport. I wasn't able to attend any of the other events going on that year unfortunately, due to other commitments I had. I went with Jerry Barvinek in his car since mine was down waiting on some parts and time. He has a yellow '71 with white stripes that we had just finished installing an ECUMasters EMU on a week or so before and had a fairly quickly done street tune.

Also, I really like those Celicas, If I had thought I could find one of those easily back when I bought my 240Z, I might be a Toyota owner not a Datsun owner right now. lol

[cronoz78]

Nono, I'll spend some time an research it a bit, I'm a hands on person so your right until I actually do it, then it makes more sense..

[YZFMax]

From my experience and what other's have shared of their experiences, you can read until you're blue in the face about how to tune EFI, but it won't make much sense until you actually hit the keys on a keyboard and see the results in real time. I'm not saying not to read up on tuning, what I am saying is don't worry if you don't seem to be grasping the concepts, because they are, for the most part very abstract, until you put them into practice. When I first got into tuning I put off actually touching a car for probably two years, re-reading material and reading new material, because I felt that I needed to understand the concepts better, but then I decided to just try it and then almost like a switch much of what I read made sense. That being said, close to 20 years later, I'm still learning new techniques, and ideas, as technology and understanding (including my own) advances.

This is the stage I'm at right now. Been doing a lot of research and reading, even downloaded Tuner Studio and been playing around with the various configurations. Next step is to connect the MS unit on a bench and run through the settings. The information you provided above makes a lot of sense, and I now realize that I will have to start putting the theory into practice to get to the next step.

I also have to commend you on your writing skills, I found your insights and guidance very helpful. Thank you.

[Six_Shooter]

This is the stage I'm at right now. Been doing a lot of research and reading, even downloaded Tuner Studio and been playing around with the various configurations. Next step is to connect the MS unit on a bench and run through the settings. The information you provided above makes a lot of sense, and I now realize that I will have to start putting the theory into practice to get to the next step.

I also have to commend you on your writing skills, I found your insights and guidance very helpful. Thank you.

Thank you, and good luck with your tuning. It can seem daunting and the fear of damaging something by entering an incorrect setting will always be there. Keep in mind that it's very difficult to damage an engine at idle with incorrect timing and/or fuel, save for far too much fuel that puts fuel in the oil. Keep an eye on that, especially if you're running rich, which most base tunes do, just not usually THAT rich. lol Also be prepared to go through a couple sets of spark plugs, again initial tunes are generally rich and can fowl plugs easily.

Also Idle is the most difficult to get right. Starting with a higher idle speed than you want to end up with can help, say between 1000 and 1400 RPM, get that tuned well, and lower the idle RPM by 100 or so, until you get to your desired idle speed.

[YZFMax]

Thank you, and good luck with your tuning. It can seem daunting and the fear of damaging something by entering an incorrect setting will always be there. Keep in mind that it's very difficult to damage an engine at idle with incorrect timing and/or fuel, save for far too much fuel that puts fuel in the oil. Keep an eye on that, especially if you're running rich, which most base tunes do, just not usually THAT rich. lol Also be prepared to go through a couple sets of spark plugs, again initial tunes are generally rich and can fowl plugs easily.

Also Idle is the most difficult to get right. Starting with a higher idle speed than you want to end up with can help, say between 1000 and 1400 RPM, get that tuned well, and lower the idle RPM by 100 or so, until you get to your desired idle speed.

Thank you, this is excellent advice.