# Lugtronic



## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

Has anyone purchased an ECU and/or harness from Kevin at Lugtronic recently? I have sent many messages to them and only had one reply. I was all set to purchase a full setup but I can't even get a reply from Lugtronic. I've heard of similar experiences from others on hear. I'm about to give up on Lugtronic from the lack of communication. If I can't even get an email to confirm what I would like to purchase then how could I even count on them for tuning support. That is some poor business practices. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a standalone setup..


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## WakusPakus (Feb 13, 2012)

CSB/never purchased anything from there.

have you tried overnighting parts from Germany or Japan?


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## rstolz (Jun 16, 2009)

I have to agree, it's been like that for years. Like he just cherry picks who he wants as a customer. Those people get great support, everyone else can stick it.


I don't know what your project is, but I got my ECU, a harness, base tune and tuning software, and awesome support from Quantum Performance Engineering in the UK. reasonably priced too.


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## wolfcastle (Jul 28, 2006)

Same with Gonzo or UM Jeff Atwood. They make great stuff but take forever to get back to you. I needed software for my ABA and emailed UM and got no reply, just went with C2

What is your setup?


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## freedomgli (Mar 26, 2002)

With aftermarket ECUs you've basically got two choices: go with a propriety setup and be at the mercy of the person providing the hardware, software and tuning support; or go with an open source setup and be at the mercy of yourself.


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm done trying to chase down Lugtronic. Ive been looking at the 034 units but im still on the fence.

My setup is a 3.1L VR6 NA with about 11.2 compression, 85mm Ross pistons, 268 cams, PP head with plus sized valves and some other performance parts I can't recall offhand. I was going standalone to allow for the option of ITB down the road. 

What are some other suggestions for standalone Ecu units? I would also love to get a custom harness but that has been difficult to find someone to produce. I'd assume some would recommend MS standalone for the fact it's open source (so far as I know). Maybe i should look at the TEC or Emerald units.


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## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

freedomgli said:


> With aftermarket ECUs you've basically got two choices: go with a propriety setup and be at the mercy of the person providing the hardware, software and tuning support; or go with an open source setup and be at the mercy of yourself.



yup, this :laugh:


MS is probably the way to go if youre handy and interested in learning how it all works.
the hardest part (as with anything open source) is that theres 5 different ways to get to the same end point, and understanding how/why some of the decisions are being made to get you to that final ecu config/install.


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## rstolz (Jun 16, 2009)

ValveCoverGasket said:


> yup, this :laugh:
> 
> 
> MS is probably the way to go if youre handy and interested in learning how it all works.
> the hardest part (as with anything open source) is that theres 5 different ways to get to the same end point, and understanding how/why some of the decisions are being made to get you to that final ecu config/install.


There are a couple good companies out their that will build you a custom ECU using MS. DIYAutotune is one of them. I talked to them a couple times when I was researching my setup.
http://www.diyautotune.com/

A wire harness for one of these setups really isn't terribly difficult either, even for a first time. There aren't a lot of controls.


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

Thank you for the input. I may go for the MS setup, especially since I'm a programmer by trade. The wiring harness situation is a bit more difficult. I would do this myself but my hand don't work we'll with small things like wiring. I have MS so I'm not so good with working on small objects or wiring. I tried to work on some wiring already and it didn't go so well. I'd be willing to pay someone to do a harness if anyone is interested.


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## rstolz (Jun 16, 2009)

jocel66 said:


> Thank you for the input. I may go for the MS setup, especially since I'm a programmer by trade. The wiring harness situation is a bit more difficult. I would do this myself but my hand don't work we'll with small things like wiring. I have MS so I'm not so good with working on small objects or wiring. I tried to work on some wiring already and it didn't go so well. I'd be willing to pay someone to do a harness if anyone is interested.


Especially being physically unable, you should be able to find a shop that would do it for you. If you work with someone like DIYAutotune, I'd be surprised if they weren't able to hook you up with someone.

Or you can go to some of the technical forums here, there are some very good folks working with 1.8T's and VR6's. Mike Paucilio, VegetaGTI, Prof315, and a few others from those forums may have connections or suggestions on getting a wire harness made.


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## Cole Orlling (Mar 18, 2015)

What's your price range? A lot of people swear by Holley Dominator for a lower end/cheaper EFI solution. It has some nice features for the price. There's always MoTeC, but you'll likely spend as much on it as your entire car is worth.


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## B4S (Apr 16, 2003)

If you're willing to drop coin on Lugtronic, then MS3Pro is the way to go. There are NO mods needed to anything electronic, to make it work. Just wire it in .
It's a DIYAutotune product, and worth every penny.


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## Dimmu (May 25, 2014)

jocel66 said:


> Has anyone purchased an ECU and/or harness from Kevin at Lugtronic recently? I have sent many messages to them and only had one reply. I was all set to purchase a full setup but I can't even get a reply from Lugtronic. I've heard of similar experiences from others on hear. I'm about to give up on Lugtronic from the lack of communication. If I can't even get an email to confirm what I would like to purchase then how could I even count on them for tuning support. That is some poor business practices. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a standalone setup..


bump an email to him, let him know youre not wasting his time... aka paypal ready

that goes a long way in this world of big talkers. not to mention HE IS A ONE MAN SHOW. from emailing him and ordering i had to wait a month exactly. which isnt bad at all.



rstolz said:


> I have to agree, it's been like that for years. Like he just cherry picks who he wants as a customer. Those people get great support, everyone else can stick it.
> 
> I don't know what your project is, but I got my ECU, a harness, base tune and tuning software, and awesome support from Quantum Performance Engineering in the UK. reasonably priced too.


thats not true.. read my first post. and with kevin you get lifetime tuning, he will hold your hand the whole way if needed, you just have to let him know youre not full of BS



B4S said:


> If you're willing to drop coin on Lugtronic, then MS3Pro is the way to go. There are NO mods needed to anything electronic, to make it work. Just wire it in .
> It's a DIYAutotune product, and worth every penny.


oranges to apples. both do the same thing. but not many people invest in the time to actually study engine dynamics and can tune a setup properly. and all of his stuff is tested and true. oh ya, and its PLUG AND PLAY. a true FULL p-n-p setup.




ive had great insight and communication from him. ive spenmt a lot of money with him and i cant complain at all. ive had better communication with him than anyone. you just have to be patient.. like i said, one man show.


B


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

rstolz said:


> Especially being physically unable, you should be able to find a shop that would do it for you. If you work with someone like DIYAutotune, I'd be surprised if they weren't able to hook you up with someone.
> 
> Or you can go to some of the technical forums here, there are some very good folks working with 1.8T's and VR6's. Mike Paucilio, VegetaGTI, Prof315, and a few others from those forums may have connections or suggestions on getting a wire harness made.


Thanks for the tip. I'll see who I can get in touch with. I'm looking into SDS, DTA and MoTeC. Maybe those brands have what I need but I'm going to look at DIYAutotune first.


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

Cole Orlling said:


> What's your price range? A lot of people swear by Holley Dominator for a lower end/cheaper EFI solution. It has some nice features for the price. There's always MoTeC, but you'll likely spend as much on it as your entire car is worth.


 I was looking at 1-2k for price range of the standalone.


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

B4S said:


> If you're willing to drop coin on Lugtronic, then MS3Pro is the way to go. There are NO mods needed to anything electronic, to make it work. Just wire it in .
> It's a DIYAutotune product, and worth every penny.


:thumbup: good deal. I'll be looking into MS3Pro further.


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

I'll be dropping Kevin one more email to let him know I'm serious about the purchase but if I don't get word back within a week I'll be looking at MS3Pro, SDS, DTA or MoTeC. It's probably best to go with a product that has the most local support to be tuned directly on a dyno. What do you all think?


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## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

jocel66 said:


> :thumbup: good deal. I'll be looking into MS3Pro further.


 do this




jocel66 said:


> Thanks for the tip. I'll see who I can get in touch with. I'm looking into SDS


dont do this

i havent seen their setups in a few years but wow... interacting with it via that little touch pad thing is frustrating.

DTA ive played with a bit, nice stuff but certainly not as configurable as some of the other options on your list.


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## B4S (Apr 16, 2003)

Dimmu said:


> oranges to apples. both do the same thing. but not many people invest in the time to actually study engine dynamics and can tune a setup properly. and all of his stuff is tested and true. oh ya, and its PLUG AND PLAY. a true FULL p-n-p setup.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Meh. I'm not ragging on anyone, and Lugtronic is just PnP VEMS, so it's nothing special. If he's willing to put the effort into a fulltime job of email tuning support, then more power to him. If he can't be reached though, what good is lifetime tuning support? .

Take Kevin away from lugtronic, and you've got a standalone at the same price point as MS3Pro, that does the exact same thing and has the exact same options. That's all I'm referring to.

Personally, I prefer the MS-based products, simply because the community is HUGE, and the support software (megalogviewer, MSDroid, ShadowDash, etc) is fantastic. I've never played with any Lugtronic/VEMS products though, so I can't speak for that side.


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## leebro61 (Nov 7, 2001)

ValveCoverGasket said:


> do this
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Lol, had SDS, went MS-Pro... would NEVER go back to SDS. :thumbup:

Megasquirt is awesome, I can't say enough good things about it. I run Pro on my Corrado and regular MS3 on my wife's car and both cars fired right up and run great. :wave:

Diyautotune and Paul K (need_a_vr6 on here) are also good people and either would be able to help you out.


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## jocel66 (Oct 22, 2010)

B4S said:


> Take Kevin away from lugtronic, and you've got a standalone at the same price point as MS3Pro, that does the exact same thing and has the exact same options. That's all I'm referring to.
> 
> Personally, I prefer the MS-based products, simply because the community is HUGE, and the support software (megalogviewer, MSDroid, ShadowDash, etc) is fantastic. I've never played with any Lugtronic/VEMS products though, so I can't speak for that side.


Before i go down the MS3Pro path. i'd like to know if anyone has experience with the 034 units?


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## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

jocel66 said:


> Before i go down the MS3Pro path. i'd like to know if anyone has experience with the 034 units?


I know of people that tried to get questions answered by them about their products and they don't respond or have no answers. Never heard or seen any good reviews of them.


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## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

jocel66 said:


> Before i go down the MS3Pro path. i'd like to know if anyone has experience with the 034 units?


ive tuned some of their stuff*
the software is really clunky, and the basic fuel metering math is really un-intuitive. i think the audi guys really like it because theyve got some decent base maps. but nothing that cant be recreated with another system within a few hours :beer:

*probably about 4-5 years ago, maybe its all fundamentally changed since then.


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## jeepxj52 (Jul 16, 2011)

Same problem here with lugtronics, got one email back, then never heard from him again. emailed him a few times after. One man operation or not, thats bad business. It would take just seconds to mail me back and say " hey im extra busy this month, ill message you when i get time"

Im in the process now of purchasing a Standalone unit and im leaning towards VEMS but I emailed them two weeks ago with a few questions and never heard back either

Its like i have to force people to take my money

No one makes a PnP for my setup but Lugtronics so im probably going to wire it all myself


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## B4S (Apr 16, 2003)

Shades of Patatron!


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## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

B4S said:


> Shades of Patatron!


negative
hes not taking peoples money and disappearing :laugh:


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## B4S (Apr 16, 2003)

I never realized how lucky I was when I bought my first MS1 2.2 from him. I only had to pester him a few times, and it actually showed up. Dodged a major bullet on that.


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## need_a_VR6 (May 19, 1999)

Kevin is no Patatron for sure. He takes awhile but will take care of you. I have known him for years and although we are "competitors" I would consider him a friend beyond all this car bs.

That being said, I do sell and support Megasquirt systems including the new DIY products MS3-Pro and Microsquirt, in addition to building all the self-assembled systems over the years. The new "Pro" type units are the wave of the future and I'm moving my business to further support these and drop the assembled ones in the near future (other then existing support).

I can do anything from std ECU and harness with a base configuration all the way to complete plug and play and in the near future getting back to doing more installs for the locals. All depends what the customer wants and needs and finding the right setup at the right price point.

In general I am not a fan of PnP as you are relying on some aging hardware (especially the engine side plug which loves to die). Doing a complete rewire makes sense for older cars and swaps and is the way to go if you want a long term trouble free setup.


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## Das.Rado (Dec 29, 2008)

Does anyone have Kevin's phone number or the ability to relay a message?? I have been trying to get ahold of him for ages, but nothing.


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## lugnuts (Jul 26, 2001)

Hi Stephen, I replied to your other post, and I will PM you my number. Thanks, Kevin


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