MAF Sensor mods and aftermarket mass air flow sensors

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:52 am

Split topic-HJ

OK, the guy put it in and it didn't come with a high performance mass airflow sensor, which I thought it did. Gee for the price, I figured it did, silly, aren't I? Ugh. Well now, is the high performance mass airflow sensor worth it?

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ ... rmenbr=361

http://www.lildevilmotorsports.com/prod ... ts_id=3031

gocntry · Post by **gocntry** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 8:15 am

I'm Trying To Get Close To The Granetelli I Have Removed The Screen And I'm Polishing The Bore Of A MAF From A 1996 S-10 I Got On Ebay For $20.00 I Dont Know How The Granetelli Electronics Compare To Stock But Pricewise This Is Cheeper And Being My Engine Is Stock Might Help A Little. It Looks Like This:

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:42 pm

Hum. I don't see how that's gonna sense anything?

gocntry · Post by **gocntry** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 9:47 am

DOH!

Ok Quickbiker I Fixed The Above Pic......Sorry Bout That.....The Stock Is On The Left. I Broke On The The Bolts Holding It Together That's Why The One Is Missing, I Just Grabbed One Of The Bolts From The Other MAF.

top_sgt · Post by **top_sgt** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 5:34 pm

"silly" question here: how does removing the screen help????

RocK · Post by **RocK** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 8:07 pm

increases the airflow through the MAF by reducing the turbulence that the screen generates. Hold your hand over a carb and it will still run but not as efficiently. Although there is a buzz about this little guy. I am considering gunea pigging.

http://www.tornado-fuelsaver.tv/?source ... el%20saver

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 8:27 pm

Yea, kinda like taking the honeycomb junk outa the catalytic converter, not that I've ever done that!

But, I am also thinking that the electronics is different in the GMS unit. I'd like to know if that makes a difference. If not, yea, just remove the screen, big deal. lol

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 8:29 pm

I don't know about that tornado thing, ugh.

Let us know if it works!

top_sgt · Post by **top_sgt** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 3:01 am

heard mixed reviews regarding the tornado thingy!!!

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 4:05 am

MAF sensor screen: This is what I have heard. It is there to straighten the airflow and evenly distribute it across the sensors. The stock airbox design offers a poor angle for airflow, and has quite a bit of turbulence. This is the reason that the "screen" is in there. It also helps to prevent damage to the small sensor wires from items that might enter from the filter side. This is a pretty weak excuse since the filter does all that.
Can you run trouble free without it? Yes. I am. Does it's removal offer benefit? Not much. Maybe a little, but nothing to write home about.

Tornado "thingy": I too have heard that "they really do work", BUT...on wet manifolds.
I am skeptical, but not to the point that I am interested in trying one myself. I just can not imagine how something like that adding restriction in the intake tube would be of any benefit.
Will it make a difference? Absolutely. Will it be a positive difference? I doubt it.
On a wet manifold (fuel vapor) I could see the benefits of creating turbulence to keep the fuel suspended and atomized, especially on some of the poorer intake designs. For us the spin effect is created in the combustion chamber where the fuel is introduced. This is done through cylinder head design, hence the name "Vortec".

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:29 am

quickbiker wrote:Well now, is the high performance mass airflow sensor worth it?

No, Those things are a waste of money. They claim 10-15 hp, which is true if you dyno it imediately after installing it, but after a little bit of driving your computer will correct the air-fuel ratio that the new sensor was giving. After this has happened your new MAF is pretty much like stock only bored out a little more which will do nothing on a stock 4.3 V-6. A descreened stock MAF is more than sufficient for our engines.

Steve

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 6:17 am

Roger that. Gonna take a gander at it one day.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:35 am

HenryJ wrote:MAF sensor screen..............Can you run trouble free without it? Yes. I am. Does it's removal offer benefit? Not much. Maybe a little, but nothing to write home about..........................

Brule,

Did you remove your cross pieces? I picked up a used MAF and have already removed the screen. Did you remove the cross pieces? I read a little about it and many people have removed their's. It appears that they are there for strength and possibly to direct the air flow to the wire elements. Common sense would tell you that more air flow the better but, I am back in the age of pre-electronics

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:39 am

f9k9 wrote:Did you remove your cross pieces?

No.
I'm not quite sure how that would effect things. I'd probably just polish things up and put it back together.

Let us know how it works. I might grab a used one too

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:49 am

Thanx for the quick response, Brule

I had already took my hacksaw blade loose and reassembled it through one of the MAF aluminum pieces in anticipation of your answer.

Will cut it as close to the inside wall as I can and polish it up with a dremel tool.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 1:01 pm

You're the "Guinea pig"

Be prepared for a precat plugging if it bumps you rich. Not that it would , but the experimentation has it's consequences sometimes...I know all too well

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 7:35 pm

Sounds like you know a little more than you are sharing but, I figure it is my turn to dive in

The cross pieces are removed and was slowly working with the dremel tool when I had to quit due to darkness falling and Mrs Hoff needing the charcoal fired

If you know something please share, Brule

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:56 pm

Cutting out the cross piece on the MAF will do nothing for power on a stock V-6. You would have to be pushing at least 360 hp before the stock MAF starts becoming a restriction, and those are the specs for a V-8. On a V-6 it would be more like 400 hp. I doubt anyone here is near that level, even with a supercharger.

The only thing that will happen from removing this cross piece will be the engine running a little lean which will be corrected by the computer within 50 miles or so. The stock MAF is also programmed to run within a certain airflow parameter and could run on the edge of it's tuning which might cause air/fuel ratio problems. I also believe that the material is in the wrong place to fully port it to the same diameter as the entry and exit. You do not want any kind of air leak at this point because your truck will run really bad if there is.

If you really want to do this mod there are plenty of companies that make ported MAF's that work with the stock electronics, and I don't mean the ones from Granatelli or Jet. The stock MAF electronics can also be custom programmed to prevent the possible air/fuel ratio problem that I mentioned above.

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 3:50 pm

Well, I cut the partition out and polished it versus watching any more news

It kept me busy and I believe you about it being a worthless mod. It kept me busy most of the afternoon and helped me justify buying additional tools in the future.

I was also able to glance up occasionally and wave at mrs hoff cutting the grass

gocntry · Post by **gocntry** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:58 am

F9K9 wrote:Well, I cut the partition out and polished it versus watching any more news

Got A Pic Of The Maf After You Did The Cutting?

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 9:12 am

f9k9 wrote:It kept me busy most of the afternoon and helped me justify buying additional tools in the future.

I was also able to glance up occasionally and wave at mrs hoff cutting the grass

Why does this scenario seem so familiar to me?

Steve

snowsurfer · Post by **snowsurfer** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:12 pm

Question if anyone can answer??? Does it matter if the MAF is turned in any way? In other words the maf is rotated 10-20 degrees in either direction??

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:41 pm

gocntry wrote:
F9K9 wrote:Well, I cut the partition out and polished it versus watching any more news
Got A Pic Of The Maf After You Did The Cutting?

Sorry, but, I can this weekend if, you want

I went out today with the strike force but, really couldn't tell you for certain if there was a diffrence because I was running with Tahoes and hummers but, I can tell you with certainty that a stock trailer towing packaged tahoe has nothing on me in acceleration on an incline on the parkway.

I was just glad I had my speed limiter set higher than stock.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:58 pm

snowsurfer wrote:Does it matter if the MAF is turned in any way? In other words the maf is rotated 10-20 degrees in either direction??

With a stock airbox I would keep it in the factory position because of the turbulence it creates. With a FIPK or similar set up with a smooth airflow path and conical style filter it wouldn't matter which way the MAF is rotated since the airflow over the sensors is more balanced.

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:18 pm

snowsurfer wrote:Question if anyone can answer??? Does it matter if the MAF is turned in any way? In other words the maf is rotated 10-20 degrees in either direction??

Stock.... they are both horozontal. As I said before......probably a worthless mod but, it kept me busy all day and for 20 bucks, I would have done worse at our local cinema

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:24 pm

Well, I have about 200 miles on the mod and none of the miles has been "normal". It is way to early to judge the results.

I was off road about 20 miles at low speeds, chasing Tahoes at 80-95mph and a lot of aggressive city driving during the 200 miles. In the past, I never was able to achieve 200 miles on a tank without the low fuel light coming on in mixed driving conditions. The light would come on and after I filled up I would see that I had just under 3 gallons of fuel remaining.

I am at 200 mi now and no light. I had cleaned the air filter and changed the fuel filter at the same time I did this mod so, there is no way to isolate the results.

If I had to make a preliminary judgement on the mod with such limited results to work with.........I would say that it had no detrimental affects and I "think" it is an improvement.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:43 pm

gocntry wrote:
F9K9 wrote:Well, I cut the partition out and polished it versus watching any more news
Got A Pic Of The Maf After You Did The Cutting?

Might be a little late but, here it is