MAF question...

ratio411

Founding Member
Apr 21, 2002
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Pensacola FL
So I am looking at aftermarket MAFs, and I am seeing 2 of every MAF, one "cold air" and one "stock".

So tell me why there would be a difference?
Obviously the stock MAFs wouldn't work with cold air kits if the difference meant a hill of beans.

I understand that "cold" air is denser than warmer air, but like I said, why would a stock MAF work with a cold air kit (that doesn't really make that much difference anyway), but you need 2 calibrations in the aftermarket?

Just curious as to your thoughts on the contradiction here.

Also, I am interested in a BBK MAF...
There are less expensive MAFs out there, but they are "stock" calibration.
The BBK is the cheapest I have found with the specific "cold air" calibration.
 
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Factory air box and cai are the same the other tune is for a filter slammed.on the end of the maf..
Check lrs. Latemodel restoration supply.
That's not what the notes say on the various sites.
They all pretty much say "stock" cal cannot be used with aftermarket cold air kits with the filter in OR out of the engine bay, or filters directly on the MAF. Read the fine print.

Like I said though, if there was a difference that amounted to anything, stock MAFs wouldn't work with anything but the stock air box...
That is a huge contradiction in my mind.
 
I have called and talked to c&l and pro m both say that the stock box is essentially a CIA. But I suppose it all depends on what manufacturer you talk to I would call and speak to one of there experts that will clear up any confusion.. personally I would just get a pro m setup. Simple easy done reliable accurate.
 
as far as i understand, the "cold-air" mafs are for use with cold air tubes with the filter in the fender, with a bend into the maf. the other is for with the filter on the end of it (and the stock airbox, as both are more of a "straight" shot to the maf). the bend makes the air flow in a different manner, requiring a tweaked calibration in the meter. and its not that they wont work, its just that theyre not optimized.

fwiw, i've had both c&l and pro-flow/pro-m meters, both were for 24's, and the pro-m makes the car run waaaay better than the c&l. i would bet bbk/summit/tfs dont build theyre own meters, as in the pics they look almost exactly like the pro-m stuff, and pro-m does say they will cal those meters, but i dont know if they're simply rebadged units, or just copies.
 
You get what you pay for when it comes to mafs
I'm going with an 80 pro m maf

Meh, you don't have to spend a pile for a good MAF meter. I'm actually running a BBK 76mm unit (along with their fender well CAI) on my car right now and it performs flawlessly. I think you can get the meter new for about $220.

I'm switching over to a PRO-M 80mm unit for this summer simply because I needed one calibrated for the 30lb/hr injectors to feed my Stroker....and it matches up well with my Anderson Power Pipe. That and I got a smoking deal on it.
 
I'm actually running a BBK 76mm unit (along with their fender well CAI) on my car right now and it performs flawlessly. I think you can get the meter new for about $220.

That's the one I am looking at.
They appear to be high quality aluminum housings, and they are a decent price compared others.
Is yours calibrated for the fender CAI or not?

I'll probably end up getting a used unit to save some dough... but from what I hear in this thread and all over the boards is to stay away from C&L.
 
I'm running a Pro M 76mm tuned for a CAI ($230 @ CJ Pony Parts), with a BBK CAI. Runs awesome. After talking to PRO M, Chuckman's explanation is exactly what I was told. The bend in the CAI elbow creates turbulence in the airflow which can confuse a standard meter.
 
Correct its the bend that is the issue....another good quick fact is most meters or the shelves are calibrated for use with the stock air box. If you put a cone filter on one of those meters it basically leans of out 1 injector size!

Ratio411- if you decide to go Pro-M I can give you an awesome deal, lower then what anyone posted.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2
 
A CAI tuned mass air meter will also have a screen attached to it to help straighten out the air flow coming into the meter. The bend in a CAI tube will create a turbulence in the incoming air that will mess with a meter. I purchaced my last Pro M meter from Rick myself, he does have the best deal on them.
 
What if someone was to have a cold air calibrated meter, but actually not have the cold air intake go into the fender?


Here's what I'm running, and I figured I had to order a MAF calibrated for cold air since I wasn't using the stock air box. I used to get an occasional pop out of the exhaust when running and I remedied that by upping the fuel pressure. I had to go to like 43-44 PSI to get the popping to go away, but I get an occasional pop still. Would the filter not being in the fender cause this occasional pop?


598467_4134113989910_148597054_n.jpg
 
What if someone was to have a cold air calibrated meter, but actually not have the cold air intake go into the fender?


Here's what I'm running, and I figured I had to order a MAF calibrated for cold air since I wasn't using the stock air box. I used to get an occasional pop out of the exhaust when running and I remedied that by upping the fuel pressure. I had to go to like 43-44 PSI to get the popping to go away, but I get an occasional pop still. Would the filter not being in the fender cause this occasional pop?


598467_4134113989910_148597054_n.jpg
Here is some info from the Kenne Bell website on cold air kits. Pretty good info. http://kennebell.net/KBWebsite/Common/pdfs/HotAirWARNING.pdf
 
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I'm gonna to ask a question, and it may require its own post, but I'll ask anyway:

I have an '88LX and have been told those did not have a stock MAF.
1.) Is this correct?
2.) If so, what it involved with switching it to a MAF system

I was told I meed the MAF and a CAI of course, along with a new CPU chip, and a new harness.
This was the quick answer my buddy gave. He also offered to sell me everything he has for it, along with a throttle body. He has everything I mentioned except the harness.

Does that sound about right?
 
Yeah, so I did this and it wasn't too bad. There are tons of tutorials on this. 88 did not have MAF system, 88 California editions did, however. When switching over you will need either the stock air filter box and MAF bracket (which I have for sell) or a Cold Air Intake. You will need a MAF meter sensor. You will need either a A9P (automatic transmissions) or A9L (manual transmissions) ECU [note: if you have a manual transmission, you can use a A9P ECU but it has some quirks like a small jump in the RPMs when shifting gears.] You could buy a MAF harness and solder in new wires (like I did) or buy a new ECU harness. If you decided to add your own wires, you will need to switch some pins around on the ECU and tap into some power and ground lines (very easy). The hardest part for me was running the wires from the engine bay to the ECU. The whole processes will take you about an hour. Now I didn't double check if my MAF sensor was actually working so you should do that before you put away your ECU.