MSLabs MS3 Plug and Play ECU review
10-21-2016, 10:01 PM
#1
MSLabs MS3 Plug and Play ECU review
I've been looking to build my S for quite some time now so first thing that was one my list was to get a proper standalone ECU. However, living in California posed a huge problem, with some of the strictest emissions laws in the US passing readiness codes for smog is something that I would have to do. This ruled out a lot of my after market options. The other thing was that I needed to plan ahead and also make sure the ECU could support my build goals of a) being a flex fuel vehicle and b) allow for secondary injectors in a progressive fuel system. This had ruled out every ECU option and prevented me from touching my car for quite a few years.
A few months ago when I stumbled across MS Labs ECU thread and it re-sparked my interest in building my S.
When I first PM'd Dimitris at MS Labs he was very quick to respond and happy to answer all of my questions. Seeing that there might be a good opportunity to test a new product for the community I decided to take the plunge and place my order. Shipping was incredibly fast and showed up at my door about 3 days later. Not knowing what to expect I opened the package and was very pleasantly surprised with the thoroughness and quality of the product.
On one side of the ECU there is the factory harness connection, no need for a jumper harness, and on the opposite side you have a 37 pin connector that allows for quite a few add on's. Its on the 37 pin side that dual injectors can be wired in. The ECU instructions also comes with a full pinout diagram and the test reports for every single connection on the ECU. Another nice feature is that the ECU has an internal vacuum reference that needs to be teed in with the intake manifold.
With very easy to follow instructions pretty much anyone can install this themselves with just basic hand tools.
Here is a side by side with the MS3 and the OEM ECU for reference.
The ECU fits perfectly in the factory location and can be easily secured with zip ties.
When I started my car for the first time I was amazed how much smoother my idle was over the OEM unit. Not sure if this is due to the resolution of the ecu or the speed of the processors but what a huge difference it makes. For now I have a very conservative tune on the car with a little help from TunerStudio's auto tune function. Waiting to make a trip to the dyno before I start getting aggressive with the tune.
Next thing to do is to get the car to pass CA smog. I will post my results as soon as I get a chance.
After smog it's off to the dyno at BlackTrax to see how big the improvements are over the OEM unit.
UPDATE LATEST FIRMWARE:
http://www.mslabs.gr/ms3_s2k_fw.zip
A few months ago when I stumbled across MS Labs ECU thread and it re-sparked my interest in building my S.
When I first PM'd Dimitris at MS Labs he was very quick to respond and happy to answer all of my questions. Seeing that there might be a good opportunity to test a new product for the community I decided to take the plunge and place my order. Shipping was incredibly fast and showed up at my door about 3 days later. Not knowing what to expect I opened the package and was very pleasantly surprised with the thoroughness and quality of the product.
On one side of the ECU there is the factory harness connection, no need for a jumper harness, and on the opposite side you have a 37 pin connector that allows for quite a few add on's. Its on the 37 pin side that dual injectors can be wired in. The ECU instructions also comes with a full pinout diagram and the test reports for every single connection on the ECU. Another nice feature is that the ECU has an internal vacuum reference that needs to be teed in with the intake manifold.
With very easy to follow instructions pretty much anyone can install this themselves with just basic hand tools.
Here is a side by side with the MS3 and the OEM ECU for reference.
The ECU fits perfectly in the factory location and can be easily secured with zip ties.
When I started my car for the first time I was amazed how much smoother my idle was over the OEM unit. Not sure if this is due to the resolution of the ecu or the speed of the processors but what a huge difference it makes. For now I have a very conservative tune on the car with a little help from TunerStudio's auto tune function. Waiting to make a trip to the dyno before I start getting aggressive with the tune.
Next thing to do is to get the car to pass CA smog. I will post my results as soon as I get a chance.
After smog it's off to the dyno at BlackTrax to see how big the improvements are over the OEM unit.
UPDATE LATEST FIRMWARE:
http://www.mslabs.gr/ms3_s2k_fw.zip
Last edited by 8b8bbbb; 09-11-2017 at 10:20 AM. Reason: UPDATE
11-18-2016, 02:08 PM
#4
Just wanted to give a quick update while I'm at work. I meet with Jei from BlackTrax last night to get my car dyno tuned to dial in the new ECU. The car gained ~16whp from the ECU and tune. Bone stock AP1's baseline 180whp on his dyno. My car with 150,000 miles made 196whp and 129wtq. I will post the dyno sheet when I get home tonight. There is a huge difference in the way the car revs, drives and idles compared to stock. 100% improvement. Next is to get the car smogged at a test only station which it should pass with flying colors. I will post those updated results as soon as it's done.
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11-19-2016, 10:45 PM
#8
Registered User
Thank you sir for posting this. As a fellow Californian, this is great info. How is startup and normal driving around town with the ms3? Any issues with ac, etc? Im curious btwn this and a kpro for FI and possible e85 for a street legal / track car.
11-21-2016, 11:14 AM
#10
Startup is great, takes slightly longer to fire than the factory ECU but that is expected with a standalone. Driving around town is excellent, huge improvement over the OEM ECU with improved resolution. I've yet to have any major issues with the system. I was on the fence between the kpro and the MS3 and decided to go with the MS3 due to cost and my future goals of being a flex fuel street car with the possibility to run 8 injectors.
