Running MSD81 as a Standalone

barry@3DM

Corporal
Jun 4, 2018
155
264
0
Hello fellow Spoolstreeters... looking to lean on a bit of your knowledge for help with a project. Many thanks again to those who have helped with the cooling/waterpump work in the past.

I'm in the middle of building an E92 335i racecar (build thread coming soon) and looking to keep the MSD81. Since it is a racecar, i'm looking to see what it takes to run the MSD81 as a standalone. To be clear, I know that the Motec, or Bosch Motorsport ECU are better solutions, that is not a path that I want to go down at this stage.

The car no longer has any of the factory wiring. So I need to figure out what the MSD81 needs in order to run the motor. Ultimate goal is to simplify and ditch the CAS, key, etc.

I'm open to any type of discussion with this. Additionally, if anyone knows the details or can point me to someone who has done it before it would be much appreciated!

Thank you,
Barry
 
  • Like
Reactions: doublespaces

fmorelli

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Aug 11, 2017
3,748
3,592
0
57
Virginia
Ride
E89 Z4 35i, F10 535d
I'm surprised, given the group here, that this thread is largely untouched. No input or experience to share here, guys?

I've done some searches on the subject and it seems a bit thin - mostly youtube idiots that think an N54 swap is about fitting engine and other stuff people did 20 years ago.

Thoughts? Pointers?

Filippo
 

Seb335i

Corporal
Jun 14, 2019
113
83
0
Ride
BMW 335i E93 DKG
I would start to change VO/FA to delete all the code related to what you have unpluged
 

aus335iguy

Colonel
Nov 18, 2017
2,251
804
0
Down under
Ride
335i DCT 2009
Having a bare VO will only get you so far I think. Even bare bones e9x VO will still mean you need a CAS for key authentication at a minimum. You could replace the KOMBI with a Can dash logger to display cooling, oil and other idiot lights. You’d need to be able to feed it things like wheel speed and so a DSC possibly...
I dont have an answer for you because Unfortunately it’s fairly complex and intertwined and never been done before as far as I know. Jake Yamona would know as he can see the DME program logic and where it interacts with other modules. You’d likely have to customise it so it doesn’t use all that.
 

Traf

Sergeant
Aug 3, 2017
345
197
0
Ride
135i
As Hydra said, Awron did it long ago.

awron1.jpg

awron2.jpg
 

M18.racing

Specialist
Mar 20, 2017
59
84
0
Ride
E92 335XI & E89 35i z4
Hello fellow Spoolstreeters... looking to lean on a bit of your knowledge for help with a project. Many thanks again to those who have helped with the cooling/waterpump work in the past.

I'm in the middle of building an E92 335i racecar (build thread coming soon) and looking to keep the MSD81. Since it is a racecar, i'm looking to see what it takes to run the MSD81 as a standalone. To be clear, I know that the Motec, or Bosch Motorsport ECU are better solutions, that is not a path that I want to go down at this stage.

The car no longer has any of the factory wiring. So I need to figure out what the MSD81 needs in order to run the motor. Ultimate goal is to simplify and ditch the CAS, key, etc.

I'm open to any type of discussion with this. Additionally, if anyone knows the details or can point me to someone who has done it before it would be much appreciated!

Thank you,
Barry
Been there keep junction box and cas you will be happy later . Awron require to take your car to them .

there is a way to run without cas and junction box ( pm for info)

We kept cas,junction box(gutted), light control modu , transfer case ecu, abs/tcs . Very small amount of wiring left . Deleted evry single wire that it was not in use.

sorry dont have more pictures
 

Attachments

  • 6F4E99AA-B10A-48F0-9AA1-ECD30255E829.jpeg
    6F4E99AA-B10A-48F0-9AA1-ECD30255E829.jpeg
    377.4 KB · Views: 135
  • 5179659A-6512-4A8F-8469-52279D90433A.jpeg
    5179659A-6512-4A8F-8469-52279D90433A.jpeg
    428.5 KB · Views: 140
  • A2A934E8-323E-4322-9A36-A91A024E48EA.jpeg
    A2A934E8-323E-4322-9A36-A91A024E48EA.jpeg
    392.1 KB · Views: 147
  • Like
Reactions: vonhassen