Maf Trouble, Need Opinions

Mattstang04

15 Year Member
Sep 15, 2006
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St. Louis, MO
I'm fairly sure the MAF has bitten the dust. My current set up is blow through with a Lightning 90 MAF and a MAFia to satisfy the voltage needs. My goal is to get the best and most capable MAF, eliminate the need for the MAFia and never peg the sensor again. I want to put a MAF that is far beyond the capability of my vehicle for the sake of never dealing with it again.

If anyone can weigh in on what brands they prefer or would suit my setup, that would be great. As of right now I'm looking at a PMAS HDX slot style blow through with a 3" housing. Saw it on Lethalperformance.

I should have known there was going to be trouble when my car pegged the Lightning MAF during its first dyno pull with the supercharger. That's what led to the MAFia. That setup worked fine until I put on the headers, bigger throttle body and smaller pulley. It just hasn't been quite right since the upgrade. I have to make it right now. Tired of having a finicky supercharged mustang that takes a crap at the drag strip. I am so angry and so disappointed.
 
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I never been a fan of blow thru MAF sensors, I like the draw thru better. Maybe I'm just more used to it. But SCT also makes a good MAF as well as Sniper Bazooka I think it is called. Look into those. Looks like PMAS changed their name or the style of MAF or something. I would recommend that you get a MAF sensor that comes with the housing and the electronics...at least a 95mm.
 
Didn't want to start a fresh thread. But attempted some diagnosis on the ole' MAF.

I got 12 volts from the power, ground and ecm ground. However, with a cold engine the signal wire is running a 14.3ish voltage. I ran the car up to operating temperature then tested the MAF signal wire and its reading 13.8 at idle. If the motor is revved up it maintains the same voltage. Only varies about .03 volts in either direction. The car is running rich as a pig. Can anybody speculate as to whether the sensor is bad, MAFia is bad, or something else is going on?

The connectors and wires appear to be in good shape. No corrosion, no chaffing.

WMBurns, any advice?
 
Somebody school me on the difference between blow and draw thru.
A draw thru MAF draws air in. The first thing the air would come into contact with is the air filter and then the MAF sensor. If you have a stock Mustang GT that is NA with a cai, then that is a draw thru style MAF. A blow thru positions the MAF sensor on the pressurized side of a forced induction engine. So if you had a Mustang GT with a Procharger blower on it, you could set up the blow thru MAF so that the actual sensor is after the blower. The pic I uploaded is a blow thru MAF. Notice how the MAF is on the pressure side of the blower right before the TB.
 

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The new MAF is on and tuned up. The car seems to drive a bit smoother. My tuner said it was easier to get the ole girl dialed in. I even gained 5 rwhp and 8 ft/lbs to the wheels. Need to get some miles on her to make sure it is going to stay happy but so far so good.

I'm thinking that it was not the lightning meter that gave up but the MAFia that bit the dust. However, I won't be recommending anyone use the lightning meter if the MAF is after the blower.
 
The new MAF is on and tuned up. The car seems to drive a bit smoother. My tuner said it was easier to get the ole girl dialed in. I even gained 5 rwhp and 8 ft/lbs to the wheels. Need to get some miles on her to make sure it is going to stay happy but so far so good.

I'm thinking that it was not the lightning meter that gave up but the MAFia that bit the dust. However, I won't be recommending anyone use the lightning meter if the MAF is after the blower.
Good for you. I actually started having MAF troubles myself last night. I pegged my meter at WOT. So I swapped in a SCT BA2400 meter. It is a 90mm MAF and can be calibrated with any size injector through Sniper. I put it on and no more peg. Then I swapped out my plugs to NGK TR6s. Gotta finish fine tuning my set-up!! How is your car running? Hows all that extra power feeling?!
 
The extra power isn't all that noticeable. I used a 3" housing in the location that ProCharger recommends (kept it behind the passenger fender. I read on a couple sites (mainly VMP) that the larger diameter and outward bulge of the larger Lightning meter makes tuning more difficult on a blow thru setup. I have only driven about 150 miles since the retune but the car seems to move through the rpms much more smoothly. No sputtering or spitting. Before, when the old setup was working at its best, it would be kind of boggy until it hit boost. Then take off like someone flipped a switch. The transition into boost feels seamless now, almost factory like. Its still early on but so far it is loads better than the old setup. Slot style MAF ftw!

I use the TR6s too. They work incredibly well. I have never had problems with since my supercharger install. Mine are gap'ed to .030.