Do Not Hack Maf

[93GSX4me]

I bought a 92 GSX about 6 months ago. New to DSM I read up and learned of VFAQ and simple mods.... Hacking your MAF was one of the "simple beginner mods" I could do.
DO NOT DO THIS MOD !!!!!!!
Since I removed the lower honeycomb of the MAF my car "shudders" under heavy acceleration due to the engine getting more air then counted my the MAF...
I know this is posted in old posts, but wanted a clear and recent post for new owners to see. I have to either switch to the 2g conversion or go buy a 1g again......
Dont make the same mistake I did...

 

[JohnCIV_Talon]

IM pretty sure alot of people have done this mod without problems including my friend.
Also if your plans were to do the 2g conversion, that would add even more airflow.

 

[Cs4g63]

Actually it is well known that its not a good idea to hack up the MAF. And if you read the update at the bottom of of the vfaq it states that the guy that posted that had problems and put it back together.

 

[tkelly27]

I have a hacked MAF and I've not had any troubles with it. Those honeycombs are there for a good reason though. I've always kinda felt removing them is a dumb idea. Is there any other nearly free way to get rid of fuel cut? Was there another reason for hacking the MAF?

 

[oldman]

Is there any other nearly free way to get rid of fuel cut?

Yes, BOOST LEAK TEST!!! Not feeling a problem doesn't mean it isn't there, do a log and see what happens.

 

[dareisstupid]

the honey comb realy doesn't do much. it is suppose to align the air but the air gets so mixed up when it goes through the turbo and piping that by the time it gets to the intake its all mixed up. i think you got a boost leak thats more noticable since you have a little more air flow now.

 

[JohnCIV_Talon]

What do you mean by the time it gets to the intake? Thats where it begins.

 

[typhooneclipse]

i think he meant the intake manifold bra. but that is just my guess.
typhooneclipse

 

[oldman]

the honey comb realy doesn't do much. it is suppose to align the air but the air gets so mixed up when it goes through the turbo and piping that by the time it gets to the intake its all mixed up. i think you got a boost leak thats more noticable since you have a little more air flow now.

That doesn't make any sense, mind explaining? BTW, check the shift key on your keyboard, doesn't seem like it's working.

 

[poonman]

MAF arent cheap just do what i did on my 1g go to the junkyard and throw one over the fence

 

[dsm-onster]

Say no to stealing

I bought a 92 GSX about 6 months ago. New to DSM I read up and learned of VFAQ and simple mods.... Hacking your MAF was one of the "simple beginner mods" I could do.
DO NOT DO THIS MOD !!!!!!!
Since I removed the lower honeycomb of the MAF my car "shudders" under heavy acceleration due to the engine getting more air then counted my the MAF...
I know this is posted in old posts, but wanted a clear and recent post for new owners to see. I have to either switch to the 2g conversion or go buy a 1g again......
Dont make the same mistake I did...

Mine hacked maf works great. I'll sell it to you for cheap .

If removing the lower honeycomb (only) on your maf caused a problem then liekly there was a problem there from the beginning and now the maf is magnefying it. . . Such as a boost leak. Which causes a lean condition at idle and light throttle.

I have a hacked MAF and I've not had any troubles with it. Those honeycombs are there for a good reason though. I've always kinda felt removing them is a dumb idea. Is there any other nearly free way to get rid of fuel cut? Was there another reason for hacking the MAF?

not to step on Oldman's toes becasue he's right. . . . But hacking the maf causes more air flow to bypass the volume flow sensor section of the maf. This will cause a lower reading thus fooling the ecu to lean out. Like an SAFC or MAFT. Leaner burn = more hp. My hacked maf causes my fuel trims to run at around 119 across the board on stock 450s and stock fuel pressure.

The fuel cut moment is pushed back because the ecu is programmed to cut off the injectors when the volume flow is at an amount that will yield a 100%+ injector duty cycle. Since the airflow is less than actual, the ecu is fooled in activating fuel cut at a higher ACTUAL flow.

DSMLink has a hacked maf function programmed into the MAF compensation straight from get go. . . There's nothing wrong w/ a hacked maf. Just don't overrun the maf. That is another topic to research. . .

 

[luvmygst]

the honey comb realy doesn't do much. it is suppose to align the air but the air gets so mixed up when it goes through the turbo and piping that by the time it gets to the intake its all mixed up. i think you got a boost leak thats more noticable since you have a little more air flow now.

The honeycombs perform a very important function, they straighten out the air so the meter can read the vortices(sp) that gives you the HZ reading. Thats why it is a Karman Vortex MAF. No honey combs no vortex no reading. This applys to the top honeycombs as I understand it. Thats why the bottom can be taken out but take the top out and it wont work. The turbulant air after the meter doesnt matter.

 

[LordZed]

I read at least three threads on doing it. Performed it myself and had no ill effects. I was lery about doing it, so I simply took my time ans removed the lower honeycomb very carefully. I still have it just incase anything wierd ever rears it's head. That way I can just pop it back in. So far so good though.

 

[Talesin]

I've run mine hacked for a while now, with no problems. Plug read that I'm running just a little lean, bumped up the fuel pressure a little to help compensate and get better atomization in the process. Not the best option, but the un-hacked MAS I keep on my shelf causes more problems than it's worth.. pretty sure it's defective.

 

[90TTalonAWD]

i removed the honeycomb from my maf and blew up my engine.

true story.

don't do it

 

[LordZed]

It's probably the backing out of the screw and not the honeycomb that does anything noticeable anyways.

 

[Thomas91169]

more like

DO NOT HACK MAF without PROPER COMPENSATION! simple as that. at least on a 2g. i wont even touch my 1g mas, even hacked itll flow less than a 2g unhacked.

 

[pooker]

Hmmmm... I bought my car over a year ago with and the guy removed all the honey combs in it, it ran fine for 6 months till I switched to a 2g, it just had bad idle surge.

 

[JohnCIV_Talon]

Im pretty sure the people with trouble are doing something wrong

 

[tkelly27]

Say no to stealing

not to step on Oldman's toes becasue he's right. . . . But hacking the maf causes more air flow to bypass the volume flow sensor section of the maf. This will cause a lower reading thus fooling the ecu to lean out. Like an SAFC or MAFT. Leaner burn = more hp. My hacked maf causes my fuel trims to run at around 119 across the board on stock 450s and stock fuel pressure.

The fuel cut moment is pushed back because the ecu is programmed to cut off the injectors when the volume flow is at an amount that will yield a 100%+ injector duty cycle. Since the airflow is less than actual, the ecu is fooled in activating fuel cut at a higher ACTUAL flow.

DSMLink has a hacked maf function programmed into the MAF compensation straight from get go. . . There's nothing wrong w/ a hacked maf. Just don't overrun the maf. That is another topic to research. . .

If you steal from junkyards they won't be able to stay in business and then you'll be screwed!

So you really wouldn't want to hack the MAF anyways if you are already pushing 100% duty cycle. I really need to get an extra ECU to play with

So fuel cut occurs at a certain hz from the MAF no matter what, interesting.

Please don't think I endorse the following, I'm only putting it out there for the purpose of discussion. I.E. trying to do the $2007 challenge with a car that has $1950 in it already.

A "tuning" concept that is cheap and silly to attempt, what about adding cold start injectors. Is there a way to remove fuel cut fully for free? The way I'm understanding it, even removing the honeycombs, you're going to get fuel cut eventually. You could probably have a boost/vac actuated bypass from the MAF calibrated to be about what one cold start injector could handle. Is there a diode, circuit or something you could put somewhere to keep cut from occurring? There is fuel cut defender, but if we're hacking up our MAF's we should stick on the cheap bastard train.

 

[Talesin]

Fuel cut is the ECU's last resort to keep the engine from exploding, when you just plain start flowing too much air for what the ECU thinks the car can handle. It doesn't take into account boost leaks, so it's up to you to make sure there aren't any. If you modify the car to exceed stock performance, you tend to go with a tuning solution that modifies the airflow value.. whether it's internal, like DSMLink (among the other changes it makes), or a piggyback hacked into the harness, like an SAFC.

You really want to leave that fuel cut in place though. It's there for a reason. Which is to prevent you from completely bollixing your engine, and joining the rankings for piston height/distance. It's not there as an inconvenience, it's there to save your ass.
Fix it right, keep it in good repair, tune the car to run at the level to which it's modified, and you won't get fuel cut. Simple as that.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

I had a hacked MAS on a stock 90 GSX with only free mods and had no problems as a daily driver. 1G MAS is restrictive. That was 9 years ago before I was in this hobby.

I had a hacked MAS on my 2G with side honeycombs removed with a T28 setup and had zero problems. BUT when I switched to a 50 trim my car idled like utter garbage and was annoying as hell to drive because it would want to sputter and stall at lights. Switched to an unhacked MAS and problem solved.

 

[dsm-onster]

i removed the honeycomb from my maf and blew up my engine.

true story.

don't do it

I'll bet that you ran out of fuel and that is why you blew your engine . Not because you haked your maf. You know? Knock sensors work for a reason. So do loggers.

Don't run a hacked maf to push back fuel cut. . . w/ out a a/f meter. The purpose in hacking the maf is to lean out the fuel the ecu delivers since the ecu runs richer than neccesary for peak performance on a fmic and premium fuel. The first 2 mods most of us do. . .

Hack a maf when you've reched a point intuning where you wan to lean out fuel for cheap. Where you'll be able to control knock. Just before knock is where peak hp occures.

Always run a logger when modifying a DSM. Otherwise there's no point since loggers did not come from the factory as a stock option . If you're not stock, then you'll need such a option. It's a requirement.

2 words: Al Blaha

Do a little research and you'll see where hacking is a tool and the capablilties of this tool in competent hands.

 

[surgeon_general]

hacked maf/mas = lean. yay

 

[typhooneclipse]

my opinion was, is, and always will be "dont mess with the upper honeycomb". i have never seen one work, and i have seen 14 dsm'rs try it. dont know for sure if they did other stuff with it. most of them were left stock, like 9 or 10.
typhoon