I got a Mark VIII 80mm MAF. Works great!

The_Ghost

Registered User
So I went to the yard the other day after hearing about the usability of the 80mm MAF, and found a conveniently intact Mark VIII to pull an 80mm MAF off of.

Being bored and since I wanted something to tie me over till I get my 73mm C&L and matched 36lb/hr injectors, and since I had some free time, I mounted up the 80mm MAF to the stock air filter housing using a couple of screws to tap neatly into the housing and hold it very tightly to the very close diameter opening on filter housing. I used a piece of piping (not PVC) about 3.5" in diameter or so and 1" long (I am estimating) and used the piece of rubber that is used to mount the normal MAF to the filter housing to attach the 80mm to the factory intake tube.

So, it looks pretty much stock how I have it set up, and I tried driving it. I must've done something right since my vac/boost gauge is reading exactly normal under all conditions, normal 23-26 in/hg of vac as well as 13psi of boost, however the car doesnt feel so 'starved' and doesn't sound so angry and short of breath. It's a huge improvement, even though it's only temporary.

I understand that people suggest using this with a tune, but as a temporary solution it sure seems to me that it can be used plug-and-play on otherwise unmodified SC's.

-Ghost
 
it sounds choked and angry, like it is NOT happy to be revving.. you know, angry, pissed off.

Basically it made the car relatively happy to rev and not so angry about it. It will rev to 5k without complaint now (as in the engine note is more pleasant and sounds more controlled and not so pissed off to be revving, overall happier)

It is somewhat difficult to define, I guess you'd have to hear it.
Your SC doesn't sound pissed off when you rev it up to 4800-5150, like it's angry and short of breath and as such, hits a wall and doesnt really want to rev any higher, right? Well, the 80mm makes it much happier to rev and keep generating power, and even low down generates more power. Overall, it's a whole lot more responsive, and now instead of some very slight bog accelerating from 80mph in 5th I can now just tap the throttle a little and there is no bog, it is ready to go and will immediately yank me up to 90-95.

-Ghost
 
Um so a 80MM MAF has made your car super? Dude be realistic here, chances are it did nothing. Recalibrate your butt dyno. :)
 
ehhhh... here we go...
i dont think he said it made his car go super. he only said it made it sound better...

Only a driver can notice its cars performance change and sound.
 
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What I said and what I am saying is...

I didnt say it made it uber, super or eenveenceebull, I simply said it woke it up a good bit in terms of how willing the motor was to rev, and the overall tone of the engine noise is more calm and less angry (when motors are not getting as much air as they want proportional to rpm, they sound all unhappy and angry). It also smoothed out the torque curve in terms of having torque come in on a curve as opposed to it just exploding in a fit of instantaneous torque delivery, and throttle response is significantly improved. For example, now there is a smooth lead-in to the torque that comes in at 2000 or so. Take a look at a stock maf as opposed to a MK VIII maf, the MKVIII maf remains the same diameter the length of the entire unit-- a straight line. ]=======[, the only obstruction being the I-beam for the sample tube. The stock SC MAF actually tapers down to only about 2/3 of the original diameter or so at the point where the sample tube resides ]==>-<==[, so this is a signifcant obstruction and major bottleneck in airflow that simply does not need to be there. Removing the air silencer frees up 1-2 hp, and changing out the maf probably freed up maybe 5 crank hp at best, but there is definitely an increase present, with or without a tune.

Though there is no increase in idle speed, the engine will lose revs at a slower rate than it did with the stock intake despite vac readings remaining same as stock.
We all know as you remove obstructions from the path that the air must travel (intake and exhaust side) the more HP the engine is free to generate.

While upgrading to a larger MAF or adding a CAI on a naturally aspirated car will produce a marginal gain at best, since the intake system sees so much more pressure and is so much more dependent on it in a forced-induction car, it is only natural to figure that by removing a significant bottleneck in the air intake and making the diameter of the air's pathway the same diameter for the entire length of the intake tube, a forced induction car will see a marked increase in power/throttle response, as opposed to a marginal increase, if any, that a NA car will see.
I know this because we upgraded to a PRO-M 73mm MAF/MAC CAI on our 2000 Mustang 3.8 split port, and the larger maf hardly makes any difference. In fact, I had to re-tune the car's WOT fuel commands and spark timing so that it would sample fuel at the correct rate and fire at the correct times so as not to ping on 87 octane.
On my car, however, since my MAF was smaller than hers was to begin with, it only makes sense that installing a large MAF will make additional power on a forced induction car like mine (see above).

While it may be slightly too large and create a little bit of intake turbulence, it is more beneficial than having a lot of restriction, as stated by an engineer on cal poly pomona's formula SAE project.

In regards to revability: the new maf allows the engine to keep generating power into the 5000s, the SC does not run out of juice and act all angry around 5k as it did with the stock intake, it doesn't hit that RPM wall at 5k that a major intake obstruction will cause, because the restriction is gone.
Logical? Yes.

Anyways, this is just a temporary setup to tinker with till I get my ZR intake, 73mm C&L and 36lbhr injectors next friday.

Since I already had the 80mm MAF before I made arrangements for my new MAF and intake, I figured why not give it a shot for a little bit before I upgrade to the ZR intake?

I am simply passing along that using this MAF works as a plug-and-play device, and works quite well, even without a tune, for those among us who are actually on a budget or looking for junkyardable upgrades.

Maybe you should take that idiot-logic of yours to the bank and buy that Civic SI with VTEC you want so badly.

-Ghost
 
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You would think so, but I'm not seeing glowing headers or higher engine temps typically associated with running lean. It may be running just slightly lean, which would make sense. It doesn't ping as bad, either. I heard just a teeny hint of ping on the freeway at low rpms under load at WOT, but such is to be expected in those conditons.

What have I described specifically that sounds like leaning out? I'd like to think it out and determine whether or not the car is actually leaning out and make some more observations so that more can be determined, since a datalogger is not quite accessible to me at the moment (it will be in a few weeks, though)

in any case, I'm pleased it worked and the car still runs and drives fine with it.
It seems to be an improvement, though.
I'll try running the car hard after dark, and then I'll check the exhaust manifolds.
If they're glowing, I'm leaning out.

I think after I upgrade the intake I'm going to buy a LM-01 and datalogging tools so that I can get a better idea as to exactly what is going on.
 
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thats it, works from 93 and later models. just swap out ur maf sensor onto the mark viii housing... works!
 
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Well lets see how long it takes before the motor goes boom cause its running so lean.....

If your solution was so easy, then why do the "pro's" around here keep telling folks to get a tune........

Glad its your motor and not mine.
 
The sensors are calibrated for the housings. I see broken pistons in your future if you continue to run that lean.
Alan
 
actually i left the MKVIII's MAF sensor alone, though in about 5 minutes i could swap it over, the size is the same. Only reason I haven't is because the MKVIII's MAF is held together using those damn torx bits with the little dot in the middle. I hate those!
Anyways, I could get it off in a couple of minutes.

It seems to be running fine using the MKVIII's maf, or I could simply use the housing.
I believe I'm supposed to swap over the internals, but I thought I'd see if using the MKVIII's maf internals would be any different.

What would you suggest?

-Ghost
 
Couple of questions. What did a used 80 mm maf cost you. did the wires plug righr in or did you use the stock setup. I have a 76 now and 80 is bigger.:D
 
I paid $45 for it at pick your part in Anaheim, CA. There were at least 2 other marks, but this one had the MAF and intake system intact.
the Wilmington, CA yard had at least 4 mk VIIIs.

No, I didn't modify anything, I just plugged it in (plugs right in, same harness and everything) and mounted it.
 
What would you suggest?

-Ghost
Put your old maf back on and clean the original sensor, at least till you get a wideband on the car.
The Maf housing isn't the flow limitation, the electronics capability to read flow rates are in a stock SC. If you exceed (peg) the stock setup, you also need injectors.

Paul
 
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