..... So although the purchase of a Megasquirt system makes sense, even without the fuel injection, the question is how to have active gauges indicating AFR and Cylinder Head or Exhaust Temperature along with the controller/data logging function?.... Tom
MegaSquirt can't read AFR directly it needs to receive it from a wide band O2 sensor controller. So what I'd recommend is using something like Innovate's MTX-L .......
http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/innovate-mtxl-gauge-sensor-controller-3844-p-467.html
..... that you mentioned as it has the sensor, controller and the gauge and can send the AFR to the MS. We use 2 on Hooley's Stude and I'll probably use one on my car with the MS. The gauge is pretty easy to read even under the light levels on the salt.
I'm not aware of an EGT gauge that you can view and that can also send data onto a recording device, but they might be out there. We have had a gauge in the Stude in the past, but at high speed it is something that can't really be looked at very easily as the gauge is small. Will you have time to view them on a run? You can easily pass thermocouple data from a sensor onto the MS.
DIYAutoTune.com's MS3-Pro, their version of MS, does now have Wideband AFR target tables so that possibly could work to your advantage with the limited time to get the fuel mapping correct. I'm not sure how fast it learns. I think it is still going to be hard to develope fuel maps without dyno time or street time like your friend although we had lunch the other day with a friend and his wife in Colorado that builds circle track and other high HP motors for a living and he has been using some of the new 'self learning' fuel injections systems and is quite impressed with how fast you can tune them on the dyno,
Sum
Sum,
It seems that the Innovate systems gauges are compatible with the Megasquirt controllers, which is good news if I decide to use 2014 as just a learning phase about logging, using the Innovate MTX-L along with the MXT-D gauges, one of which can measure EGT or CHT and connect to their PL-1 Pocket Logger. I agree that reading gauges is almost impossible at full speed, but the MST-D gauges also have led lights around the perimeter which can be programmed like "idiot" lights which might catch my eye if they are bright enough. Otherwise, it's nice to have a look at AFR and CHT before the start of each run as well as the end to get a sense of where things are. The logging feature with an SD card which can be plugged into a laptop, read, and recorded are what I'm after for now. Later EFI would of course require the use of a controller, and I'm convinced that the M.S. system with its infinitely variable programming could be a real asset.
The Bazazz bike EFI systems have the ability to be self mapping during a dyno run, according to what people tell me. They say it dramatically reduces the hours on the dyno that normally go into mapping.
Bo,
The M.S. pro systems also have the ability to tune themselves. I haven't checked out the Bazazz bike EFIs yet.
Tom,
With a blown bike motor it is worth putting some fuel thru' the blower, as this will cool the blower lobes/screw and also will keep the charge temp down. It doesnt need to be much, maybe as little as 10-15%
Good luck
Neil
Queezyryder,
I presume you are talking about adding methanol to gasoline in a draw thru system. In fact straight methanol of even water alcohol injection would help cool the intake charge. I haven't run across many successful draw thru systems, especially not on single cylinder bikes. At least, the record books don't show any Blown records in excess of N.A. records for pushrod records up to 1000cc. In fact, at AMA/BUB the only Blown pushrod records in excess of N.A. are for turbocharged Honda CX-500 and CX-650 watercooled, 8 valve twins, and even those records are within reach of our N.A. bikes.
I had to chuckle while reading the build diary from Thumper Talk's MXRob when a reader posted that he had the chance to see how a carburetor works. "Man those things are complicated! Fuel injection is so much simpler!" That is, after you have learned about terms like EMS, ECU, IAC, TB, PCB, SMD, CKP, VR, COP, FET, TPS, MAP, MAF, IAT, STIM, CLT, PWM, IRQ, ADC, baro, aircor, lambda, speed density, and Alpha-N, and of course transistors, diodes, resistors, thermistors, hall sensors, VR sensors, etc., not to mention computer and geek-speak. Don't know if I'll be able to learn all that in the next few years.
Tom