MansiSpeed EFI kit is a hit!

[DORIGTT]

If you're on the fence, or questioning the validity, benefit, or whatever about going the Mansi Speed EFI conversion route to solve ALL your running problems due to aging wiring, connectors or components...get off the fence!

I took Gossamer (our 1991 Vanagon Carat w/ 176,000 miles on the clock and running poorly) to The Dub Shop on Thursday of last week to get the swap done by the 2 wizards of EFI & WBX tuning Marco Mansi of Mansi Speed, and Mario Velotta Jr. of The Dub Shop. Boy was it worth it.

I drove the 260 miles at or below the speed limit - primarily because that's all I could get it to do except on downhill grades - and constantly monitored the coolant temp because of how hot it was, and how hard Gossamer was working. I legitimately doubted my sanity in doing so, and kept feeling my pocket for my AAA card. I kept thinking..."Please break down within the 100 mile radius of The Dub Shop, or my home!"

Early Thursday morning, I met the alchemists The Dub Shop, and Marco met me with a grin and asked for the keys to go evaluate how it was running. It was weird seeing someone else drive off in it, but I knew it was in good hands.

Marco got back from the drive and told me it was a strong motor, and I would love how well it drove afterwards. It kinda reminded me of when my wife and I got to the hospital for our first child's birth. The doctor was cool and confident as he was a veteran of this kind of thing, and I was the newbie...wondering what the hell was gonna come out of this experience.

So...they got to work. Marco dismantled the engine bay's wiring and components that would be removed...never to grace Gossamer's engine bay again...while I periodically looked on. He and Mario made the installation look easy, which actually speaks volumes of the quality of the components which where going back in and were laid out for me to drool over.

I pitched in to do my part and replaced the fuel filter and fuel line from the tank to the engine bay with the Gowesty fuel line kit to ensure no leaks, and prevent the dreaded engine bay fires that happen to these things with age. I also replaced the fan resistor behind the headlight which also was due for a replacement.

Several hours after they began the drama-less installation, they had me come out and cycle the ignition several times to build up fuel pressure before the start. The suspense was killing me, but when they said fire it up...it did! It fired up, stumbled a couple seconds, then smoothed out immediately. It was like hearing Q cry for the first time...just a lot less expensive.

Anyway, after some checks to make sure we were good, and a slight tweak of the settings based on my AC system, we went for a drive with Marco driving, Mario out back monitoring things on the laptop, and me riding shotgun. I burst out laughing at how powerful it felt, how quickly we got up to speed in the industrial complex, and on the road. I was literally stunned at the transformation...then we ran out of gas about a mile away!

In my attempt to record as much data for a comparison of before and after, I didn't fill the tank right before I got there...and we paid the price. Laughing our butts off. A cool neighbor gave me a King's Ransom worth of dead dinosaurs and that got us to a gas station to properly fill-up. Me grinning like hell the whole time because it was literally mind-blowing how much power it had to accelerate and how smooth it idled from the beginning to the end of the drive.

After staying another couple days to help out around the shop for Dan's installation, I drove home at a rather silly speed. I drove 10 mph+ all the way which was 70-84 mph because...well because it did it effortlessly. I literally had never been in the left lane on the highway before in Gossamer, and I was doing it, getting thumbs up and people smiling at the ridiculous sight I must've made. Loaded up with a lot of gear inside, my Yakima SkyBox up top, with 17" wheels with 200 tread wear 215 & 245 width rubber - not great for economy - and windows down, driving like a madman netted me 18.6mpg!

In case you missed my saying it earlier...DO IT!

To Marco of Mansi Speed, and Mario of The Dub Shop, thank you immensely. The upgrade has me smiling again. I even went and ordered new headlights and a driver-side window regulator so I can drive it more!

Do it. DO IT. DOOOOO IIIITTTT!!!!!!!!!!

Now, to modify the sliding door hinge to clear those big-@$$ rear tires.

https://mansispeed.com/
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To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

At the hotel the night before

I was hoping I wouldn't eat these words on the drive up!

Goodbye stock nightmarish EFI

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To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

Here's the kit in its entirety - minus the injectors compared to the original harness Marco pulled out.

Out with the old, and in with the new...

_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

Nasty old, and slick and shiny new intake plenum with the MAP sensor.

Old fuel pressure regulator vs. the sexy billet piece from the kit.

_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

The maestro himself...get it? Italian...

Factory ECU vs the pre-programmed for my application Microsquirt ECU.

Old coil vs. the new coil-on-plug setup and ignitor. Almost feels modern just saying it.

_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

Old nasty throttle body vs the rebuilt one from Marco.

Factory box that gets modded to house relays in such a neat fashion.

_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

Cool prototype intake tube to eliminate the AFM flapper restriction. I said I wanted to be the test dummy for it.

Then I complained that it would stand out in my engine bay, so they made me one in black.

I'm super impressed with the new wireless distributor that uses bluetooth to feed the spark plugs.

I even got in on some of the fun by crawling under Gossamer to install the fuel line kit I got from GoWesty! No fuel related fires in my Vanagon!

_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[DORIGTT]

Why do we look happy? Because the installation was a success, and running smoothly.

The test drive was so damned flawless...minus the running out of gas part...that Gossamer accelerated so hard, it peeled paint off the roof!!!!

I recorded my max speed before I hit traffic...

And here we are at home. My son...Gossamer will be his when he starts driving, according to him... was really impressed with the newfound performance and smoothness from Gossamer.

One last look around the engine bay after running an errand in 105 degree heat.

_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[MsTaboo]

Looks good.
If you don't mind revealing, what was the bottom line $?
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Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[remraf]

I'm leaning towards getting this kit, I think Marco quoted me $2400.

That's for the kit, no installation.

[kamzcab86]

[DORIGTT]

[remraf]

DORIGTT

Noticed y'all left the distributor in, is that to avoid pulling the drive gear?

[DanHoug]

this is very cool. congrats to Marco and his team for the extensive development, and you of course for buying!

everything looks great... but i'm unfamilair with wireless distributors. the thought of it communicating via Bluetooth wierds me out! Marco doesn't do things haphazard so i'm sure it's solid but as a former broadcast engineer, i would worry about all sorts of interference. more details??
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[DORIGTT]

[DanHoug]

looking at the harness, there's a new loom plug going to the distributor... must be using a Hall signal for something and the Bluetooth wireless aspect might pertain to interfacing with the ECU system for curve adjustments and observational data without relying on it for crucial engine running data. just a guess.
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[DORIGTT]

Anyone looking for this on the West Coast, go where I went... Mario Velotta Jr. @ www.thedubshop.com for the install if you want it done vs. doing it yourself.
_________________
To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil does you're a major screw-up.

[djkeev]

I wonder, how proprietary is this setup?

I know that GoWesty made a replacement fuel injection system and eventually abandoned it.

If I need a MAF 10 years from now...... where do I get one?
Is the one used in the kit from a standard production car?
Other parts, the computer, injectors, temperature sensors, throttle switches.......
If they are off the shelf pieces, will you let me know about spare parts availability upon purchase of the kit?
Or must I completely depend upon mansi for any replacement parts way into the future?
And what happens if Mansi decides "I'm not doing this any more"?

Not unlike what GoWesty did, what 10c did with rebuilding engines,..... as so many other niche product producers have done over the years.
Even the simple Window and vent screens.
Stuff just vanishes..........

Calm my fears please..........

Dave
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[remraf]

[remraf]