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Topic: Mass air flow...Dumb question (Read 1326 times) previous topic - next topic

Mass air flow...Dumb question

ok heres the dumb question....  Exactly what is a mass air flow conversion and what does it consist of as far as parts? How does it help the motor? I know on my old 94 cougar it had a mass air flow sensor, but nver really understood what it was or why it was there. Could someone help me out?  :makefun:
FOXLESS!!

1994 Lincoln Mark VIII

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #1 –
For the swap,you'll need the Mass Air meter and sensor,conversion harness (best is on Ebay for about $30.00....worth it),air intake ducting,and a computer for Mass Air.When you swap cams and heads,the Mass Air is good to have,if you are just doing a basic H.O upgrade,you can run Speed Density just fine (with the H.O computer for speed density).
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #2 –
Well im not really looking to do it right now i was just wondering what it was and what good it did thanks for the info though i was really dumbfounded on the whole subject...
FOXLESS!!

1994 Lincoln Mark VIII

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #3 –
I added an E303 cam,and at that point,I knew I was going to need the Mass Air.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #4 –
Why would you need it? What does it do?
FOXLESS!!

1994 Lincoln Mark VIII

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #5 –
The mass airflow sensor (MAF) measures the mass of air entering the engine. The old speed density setups estimated the amount of aircharge based on throttle position & MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor & a couple of other inputs. Since the MAF measures the actual airflow, the engine can adjust to modifications fairly easily. With the speed density setup, there was a lookup table in the ECU - once you modify the engine beyond a certain amount, the lookups are way off. Since a big cam messes up the expected manifold pressure (low vacuum), it can really screw up a speed density setup. Small cams with decent vacuum are supposed to work OK with speed density.
11.96 @ 118 MPH old 306 KB; 428W coming soon.

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #6 –
Oh and don't switch to MAF unless you do the HO conversion ;)
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Mass air flow...Dumb question

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Cougar5.0;244603
The mass airflow sensor (MAF) measures the mass of air entering the engine. The old speed density setups estimated the amount of aircharge based on throttle position & MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor & a couple of other inputs. Since the MAF measures the actual airflow, the engine can adjust to modifications fairly easily. With the speed density setup, there was a lookup table in the ECU - once you modify the engine beyond a certain amount, the lookups are way off. Since a big cam messes up the expected manifold pressure (low vacuum), it can really screw up a speed density setup. Small cams with low vacuum are supposed to work OK with speed density.

That is a great answer!! and the truth.
Old Grey Cat to this.88 Cat, 5.0 HO, CW mounts, mass air, CI custom cam, afr165's, Tmoss worked cobra intake, BBK shorty's,off road h pipe, magnaflow ex. T-5,spec stage 2 clutch, 8.8 373 TC trac loc, che ajustables with bullits on the rear. 11" brakes up front. +