larger MAF?

needlessthing

Registered User
ok i am pretty new at all this and just trying to learn what I can. I hear alot of people talking about having larger MAF. Now what exactly is larger about it and what needs to be done to the car before one can be put in. I have a cold air intake setup and was wondering if I would need to get larger intake pipes for a larger MAF or anything else I would need to do. Sorry for what might seem like a dumb question just trying to gain some info on the subject. Any other bits of info you guys might be able to share would be great. Thanks :)
 
needlessthing said:
ok i am pretty new at all this and just trying to learn what I can. I hear alot of people talking about having larger MAF. Now what exactly is larger about it and what needs to be done to the car before one can be put in. I have a cold air intake setup and was wondering if I would need to get larger intake pipes for a larger MAF or anything else I would need to do. Sorry for what might seem like a dumb question just trying to gain some info on the subject. Any other bits of info you guys might be able to share would be great. Thanks :)

lol....not everyone reply all at once now. Thought it was a simple question.
 
Maf

A larger MAF is a good mod,made a real SOP increase on my car.Mine is a Pro-M 77 which is no longer available but C&L makes several for the SC.
 
one more thing

But you really should do xhaust,180 thermo and lower your fan setting before you do anything else including MAF.Gotta protect those HG's before you start shoveling more coal into the fire box.
 
Well here is my .02

First some questions. How many miles are on the car? What year is it? How often was the oil changed and upkeep done? Is the engine in good shape or does it sound like someone through a bunch of sand into it and you have woody the woodpecker living in it?

If you iffy about any of those questions excluding the woodpecker one then i'd say just do your head gaskets and get some ARP studs. Then while you at it change you plugs and wires cuz thats when it will be easiest. Since you got the heads off port away! better exhaust flow is your friend. Ported heads, headers, and free flowing exhaust will make your car happy and help those HG's last longer. Once thats done the door is open for alot of improvements/mods. Since you made a name and at least asked a question it means you want to learn so thats good.

want to learn more?

http://www.mn12performance.com/mn12how-to/mn12how-to.htm

lotsa stuff to read and pretty pictures.





oh and sorry if that was a wierd post just got off working graveyard. little tired... and i have to drive from WI to MN... and DAMN those minnisotan drivers SUCK.
 
:confused:
Uh.....errrrrrr, yeah...........

What burge said.....save the 150 on a MAF and spend 4000 on your engine........


That makes sense.
:rolleyes:
 
V8Supercoupe said:
:confused:
Uh.....errrrrrr, yeah...........

What burge said.....save the 150 on a MAF and spend 4000 on your engine........


That makes sense.
:rolleyes:


going fast costs money and doing it half assed breaks stuff
 
going fast costs money and doing it half assed breaks stuff

I understand that, as do most people, however we're not talking about running a 125 shot of nitrous where we could use a built motor.


Needless, the MAF is just going to allow more air to the engine. I wouldn't go gigantic cause chances are you'll never use it. Besides if you don't get a larger TB to accomodate it, you'll never use it to it's potentiel.

Also, depending on the brand you use, you would most likely be required to buy the correct sampling tube or have a chip burned. Check the search function as well on this site. You'll find more info then you care to read on the subject.
Also, if you want to rebuild your motor, go for it, but you probably won't need it for the 5hp gain you might get.

good luck. sorry for the sidetracked sarcasm in your thread.
 
i bought the car from a very good friend of mine that took very good care of it. It is a 89 with 160K on it. But was only driven in the summer time. THe head gasket was changed at 120K he said. The car had one other owner before him and the guy said he treated it like it was his best friend. Nothing but moblie 1 and Premium fuel went into the car. Today I own it. Car still runs very strong. Matter of fact the car sat for 2 years. Put a new battery in it and she started right up like she hadnt sat for that long.

as for what I have done to the car.
B&M Short shifter
switched out the 4.10 for 3.55 (was alittle to much for me)
Cold Air Intake
Placing and order for one of Mikes Rads this week.
New Exhaust and headers on the way.

Once exhaust shows up and I go to put that in I will replace all the spark plugs and wires.

So the next step for me would be
Bigger Throttle body and MAF.
Then Double IC
I have a 10% OD pully waiting to go on but I want to give her more breathing room frist.
and finally maybe stepping up to bigger Fuel Injectors. I dont want to go to big because she is a daily driver and I want to watch the gas a bit.

so my question is still.....what extact is a bigger MAF....I am more just looking for an explination as to what is bigger about it. And do I need to get a new cold air intake if I do.

I have read alot on the forums and know to do exhaust first. So that is what I am doing. But I am just trying to get some info on things so I feel that I am more well informed about what I want to do to my car. I dont want to just throw crap on the engine not know what it does and how.
 
MAF is an acronym for Mass Air Flow sensor. Your engine management system, the Electronic Engine Computer version 4 (EEC-IV) needs to know how much air is being drawn in so that it can dispense the proper amount of fuel for proper running. The MAF is the senso that takes the measurement and sends it back to the computer. The sensor is basicly just a peice of curly wire. Electricity is passed through the wire until it heats up. The wire is located directly in the airstream of your intake. Air passing the wire cools it down. The more air that passes by the lower the temperature of the wire. As the wire changes temperature the electrical resistence fluctuates. That ever changing resistence is what the computer measures in order to determine just how much air is being drawn into the engine.

When people refer to installing a larger MAF it can be a bit misleading. Generally what people do is buy a larger diameter housing tube then swap the OEM (original ford) unit into the larger tube. The thinking is that you will open up the air intake pathway to allow more air into your engine. More air passing through the engine generally means more HP.

Unfortunately nothing is that simple. Unless your OEM MAF was a serious restriction in the intake opening it up won't buy you anything today. If you seriously plan to build up the motor you will eventually want to replace it. Through years of trial and error the big HP guys have shown that the OEM MAF is just fine for most people.

The EEC-IV's fuel tables were specifically designed around the OEM unit. Changing the MAF shape, size or sensor element throws off the accuracy of the detection process. Aftermarket manufacturers have different size "sampling tubes" that are meant to meter the amount of air passing over the element when you change to a new MAF housing. That's a step in the right direction but the only thing you can do to really compensate is to buy a tuning device and spend time on a dyno.

Some people report a noticable increase in HP or Torque after changing the MAF housing on an otherwise fairly stock engine. IF (and I stress if) there was a gain it is because the new housing is causing the engine to misread a bit. The misread airflow results in slightly lean or rich running when compared to the factory A/F ratio.

So in my opinion you are not going receive a good bang-for-the-buck value by replacing the MAF or MAF housing at this time. Get the exhaust replaced and make sure you use some good free-flowing converters. Then throw the 10% and intercooler on. I suspect you will still be well within the limits of the existing TB and MAF setup.

You asked if you would have to replace the CAI you installed. It all depends on what you installed and what you choose for a MAF housing. Most units can be made to adapt through the use of some large diameter silicon tubing. Anything can be done if you are mechanically inclined. Look around here on the site for photos of cars with aftermarket MAF housings installed and you'll get an idea of what you'd be dealing with.

One thing you didn't tell us is what your goals for the car are. I know you want it to go faster and make more power but how far do you want to go with the build up? That alone will help people answer your questions better.

Last item to note in this exceptionally long post is that you won't gain anything but headaches by upgrading your injectors at this time. As with the MAF you will have to reprogram the EEC-IV to understand that you have changed the flow capabilites of the injectors. Depening on your goals for the car the injectors may be something you never have to fool with.

Adam

PS. First post in well over a year. See ya again in late 2007.
 
sorry to post off track but does your 95 really have less then 50k on it Snadam? i got a 95 5 spd with 110k =/
 
burge said:
going fast costs money and doing it half assed breaks stuff

Burge,

I'm sure Skip is well aware of what it cost to properly mod an SC. I think he has owned at least 6 of them and some were heavily modded.

Needlessthing,

I agree with the others who posted here, that upgrading the MAF with an otherwise stock intake system (tb, inlet plenum, blower, IC ect..) won't give you any noticeable power gains. IMO, the money would be better spent on an upgraded supercharger (late model, S port, MPII, MPIII ect) and an MP inlet plenum. Even when heavily ported the stock inlet plenum (casting the TB attaches to) is only 68mm so going with an oversized MAF and TB don't eliminate the bottlekneck.

When it's time to upgrade injectors, then get the larger MAF and TB.

David
 
i would like to hit a 350HP mark. I use this car as a daily driver to work and college but both are close so there isnt much driving. Other then traveling some the car isnt driven to hard. I just want something that I can get around with and romp on alittle during the weekends. I like the SC very much and would just like to have some fun moding it out. I dont want to go to big or to fast like I said I think a few mods to push the 350 HP would make me happy. Or as close as I can get to it.
 
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