Really looking at pulling the trigger on one of these two units very soon. I hear EI has the best customer support, but i am just looking at the price difference for two relatively similar units. Both 6 cylinder versions. I am in Canada, bad exchange rate.....

spruce.ca price MVP 50p - $8278 $450 rebate JPI 900p with two tanks $5100 $400 rebate

$3200 Can price difference, What more does the MVP offer over the jpi? That is a very substantial price difference.



Other question CGR 30P Basic $5035 $1000 rebate CGR30P premium $5449 $400 rebate

What is the difference? Am I right in thinking the basic cannot replace any primary instruments? Otherwise relatively the same?

Mark Y. wrote:Really looking at pulling the trigger on one of these two units very soon. I hear EI has the best customer support, but i am just looking at the price difference for two relatively similar units. Both 6 cylinder versions. I am in Canada, bad exchange rate.....

spruce.ca price MVP 50p - $8278 $450 rebate JPI 900p with two tanks $5100 $400 rebate

$3200 Can price difference, What more does the MVP offer over the jpi? That is a very substantial price difference.

I am also interested in this. In real dollars the MVP is $6,000 less $450 so $5,550 versus the 900 at $3,700 less $400 so $3,300. A $2,250 difference. That includes the fuel option on the JP. I keep hoping EI will sweeten the rebate on the MVP...

I ran JPI instruments in several airplanes over a few thousands of hours. Very reliable units, so really didn't have much need for customer service, but once had a fuel flow transducer give up, and JPI replaced it quickly, no drama, no questions.....and it wasn't a new unit.

MTV

FWIW, I've heard less than desirable things about JPI customer service, but never experienced them. I've never bought a new unit, just swapped old ones from one airplane to another. Even without spending the coin on new parts, they were very helpful getting them set up for the new airplane and issuing new paperwork with what I considered reasonable cost.

As far as the original question, one big difference I remember from chatting with them at OSH and Sun n Fun was how many hours they'd store data for. One seemed to be limited to 50-100 hrs and the other didn't have a limit as a I recall. I like the idea of being able to forget one oil change and not losing data. Now that I have a few hours between me and those conversations, I can't remember who was who...ironic.

I was just faced with the same decision and went with the 900 instead of the MVP.

I haven't flown it yet so can't really add to the discussion but I will say don't forget to add 30-40 hours of install time in your budget calculations.

I think my all-in price was around C$10,000 but I'm still waiting for a final bill.

Allan

One thing worth noting is JPI's EDM900 competes more directly with our CGR-30P. Both instruments mount in a 3-1/8" hole and offer primary instrument replacement, engine analysis and fuel management. The EDM900 overlaps the panel where the CGR-30P is flush mounted. If you compare similar packages, you'll find the JPI systems and EI systems within a few hundred dollars of each other.
The EDM930 competes more directly with our MVP-50P. When you compare features and price, the MVP-50P is far more feature rich, has much higher resolution and is less expensive.



Dave Arata
Sales/Support
Electronics International

That makes sense that it is closer to a 930 for comparison. As a consumer I do prefer the larger screen design of the 900 over the cgr 30 premium if prices were relatively equal. If the cgr 30 basic could replace 5 primary gauges, I would be all over that for the current price.

Mark Y. wrote:That makes sense that it is closer to a 930 for comparison. As a consumer I do prefer the larger screen design of the 900 over the cgr 30 premium if prices were relatively equal. If the cgr 30 basic could replace 5 primary gauges, I would be all over that for the current price.

That was precisely my logic. Bigger is better and nice to get rid of some old gauges. I had it mounted at the top of the radio stack so both pilots can easily see it.

The CGR-30P Premium can actually replace 7 primary gauges. RPM, EGT and CHT are always included. RPM and CHT are primary if you have a plane equipped with cowl flaps. From there, 5 more primary functions can be selected as well as 5 non-primary. The difference between primary and non-primary is primary functions are indications with required limits or redlines. The Basic version of the 30P is marketed more as a color engine monitor/fuel computer than a cluster gauge replacement. The reason for the larger rebate is to make it more attractive to those looking only for an engine monitor. I hope that helps clear things up. There are a lot of choices out there.

I am still seeing the EDM900 as a very viable competitor to the MVP. The EDM does flush mount with their optional mount, which inches the price up by $85. I'm sure the MVP and the 930 have better screen resolution which is nice, but $2,250 nicer?

Screen sizes are typically measured on the diagonal, but neither manufacturer provides that info. From what I can glean by looking at the drawings, the EDM900 has a 5.7" screen, the MVP has a 5.9" screen, the EDM930 looks like about 6.3" and the CGR can't possibly be bigger than 3.1".

Don't get me wrong, I am not a JP fan boy. I want the MVP, I'm just struggling to make the leap in price.

I totally understand and appreciate your feedback. I just wanted to offer a little insight. How one determines value is of course a personal matter. If I can answer any questions, please let me know.

I purchased a CGR30P from EI at the end of November and am (im)patiently waiting for delivery for my 180. I'm going to have 8 empty holes in my panel. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

soyAnarchisto wrote:I purchased a CGR30P from EI at the end of November and am (im)patiently waiting for delivery for my 180. I'm going to have 8 empty holes in my panel. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

If you'd like to send us some panel pics when the install is complete, we'd love to include one or two of them on our website!

The MVP-50 is one of my favorite things in there. It gets used as much or more than any other single piece of equipment in the airplane. It's an awesome unit and I'd highly recommend it if it fits in the budget. I had previous experience with JPI 700 and 730 and the EI UBG-16. This new equipment is in another league. Way more intuitive to use and chocked full of pages of information. I know it cost more than some other options, but it is helping me keep an eye on a very expensive power unit. So much information presented to you on the front page is very nice.

Installed the CGR-30P in our 205. Love it Love it. I like that it fits in standard 3-1/8" hole..

I went with the EI CGR-30P Premium on my turbo-normalized Commander 114, replacing every gauge that could legally be replaced, and absolutely loved it. Initially, I had concerns about readability – until I saw the unit in person at OSH, and realized it was extremely legible and highly intuitive to use.

One of the things I really like about EI stuff is that it's just more "intuitive" to use (at least for me). I had a JPI-700 in a previous plane, and while I could do all the 'basic' things with no problem, any time I wanted to do something "unusual" I had to drag out the manual... With the CGR-30P (and with the FP-5L fuel flow in my Citabria), I almost never have to dig out the manual. To me, that's worth a lot.

And finally, one of the great things about the CGR-30P is that it can fit into a standard 3 1/8" panel hole, replacing one of your existing instruments. It can thus sit right in front of you where everything is immediately visible. This means it can fit into an existing panel, usually without requiring any significant re-design of the panel itself. It's a really slick solution.

When the time comes, I will almost certainly install a CGR-30P in my experimental Bearhawk Patrol.

I'll do that - but the most impressive part will be the holes! I can't afford to fill 'em - not that I'd want to. lol

darata wrote:

soyAnarchisto wrote:I purchased a CGR30P from EI at the end of November and am (im)patiently waiting for delivery for my 180. I'm going to have 8 empty holes in my panel. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

If you'd like to send us some panel pics when the install is complete, we'd love to include one or two of them on our website!

You guys have just about convinced me to install a CGR-30P in my little 150!

I've had the MVP-50 in my 185 for maybe 10 years. Bought it at Osh Kosh, because I was impressed with the product, and the EI folks, and unimpressed with the jpi folks, though their products seemed fine.

Love the mvp-50, it's never let me down, is easy to use, intuitive, and solid. EI service is always very personal and responsive.

My 2 cents.

Love my MVP-50. Worth every penny. E.I. customer service is the best.