whats better mas translator or safc 2

[dustin_8907]

just wondering what your guys opinions were about these af controllers. Wanting to know what would be best on a 16g setup with 550's or a little bigger. thanks

 

[BrokenTsi]

They both pretty much do the same thing. I like the maf translator because I like the gm maf and I like to run it before the throttle body and remove the factory maf from before the turbo.

 

[AshTsi]

With the 16g and 550cc's you would be fine with a SfacII they are usually good to around 660cc's. I would go with a Trans and the larger 3" gm Maf, But with your setup i think you would be fine with a SfacII and a 2gmas i dought you would over run it. If you plan to go bigger i would go for the 3"gm and trans. My .02

 

[Black95awd]

get an AFC, the translator is a PITA to tune with. and you dont need a GM MAS for what you have.

 

[b16_killer]

I run both the translator and afc. I get a very good tune from them both.

 

[MY1GDSM]

Forget them both ....
Well Sort of the MAft is a PINA, but the new MAFT Gen 2 is a huge step forward and has Wideband tracking for not that much more $ then the old MAF-t Check it out Full Throttle Tech .....Or if you have a Eprom get a Keydiver chip KEYDIVER Chips - DSM ECU Tuning ...and any of the above...

 

[DoItOnAll4s]

I've got 550s on a 16g turbo on the same car as you with a SAFC, and it doesn't run all that bad but its not great. You can definitely tell in the idle, especially a cold start, that it's a little rough, like something's not quite right. This thing was professionally tuned too, and it was the best they could do. Honestly, to ensure that it runs as reliably as possible (it is a DSM after all ) go with a DSMlink so it's not simply fooling your ECU, but actually runs properly with the upgrades it has. I'll be getting a DSMlink in about a month when I have the money for it.

 

[MY1GDSM]

The OP was asking Which was better not if he should buy DSMlink ....
I was tring to give him options at a lesser cost... Yes dsm link is a great system but @ $545? for a Car with mild mods?

 

[jakeachy]

get an AFC, the translator is a PITA to tune with. and you dont need a GM MAS for what you have.

an safc is a hack/bandaid, whereas the maft is a proper setup.
the translator has many advantages over the safc, not messing with ecu harnesses is one of them

 

[MY1GDSM]

That Is the old maf-t you did not have to tap the wiring....
Bottom line is if you ever need anymore fuel than what you have now you will have go a dif. route than the SAFC any larger injector and your gonna be to far off the base maps. and get knock from the timing advance.

 

[Black95awd]

an safc is a hack/bandaid, whereas the maft is a proper setup.
the translator has many advantages over the safc, not messing with ecu harnesses is one of them

that "hack/bandaid" has worked well for many cars in the past, I think it will work just fine on this set up.

Maft cars never seem to run as smoothly as the stock MAS. DSMLink is the proper way to go, but I supposed that is a "hack" too because you need to solder a socket into the ECU.


Not that I know anything, its not like I work on and sell parts for DSM's for a living or anything..........

Edit: Im sure this will get me more negative rep points because I have an adamant opinion

 

[rarson]

Uh, yeah, the AFC worked wonders "back in the day" because that's pretty much all we had. Now we have a lot more options so the AFC isn't as useful as it used to be.

Here's my 2 cents: I'd go with an AFC, if you want to go the piggyback route. But since it's such a limited piece of equipment, I wouldn't spend more than $100 on it. I'd pick up a cheap used 5-knob AFC and be done with it, since it'll be easier to tune than any of the blue AFCs anyway (and cheaper).

If you want to go with a more usable tuning solution, then I'd go with a DSMLink or something similar (I know there are other options out there for the 1g guys, but I can't comment on them since I haven't used them). It might seem expensive but it'll save you from having to buy a superior tuning solution down the road.

10 years ago, my car was running great with an AFC and was pretty fast. But DSMLink didn't even exist, and an AFC was the best I could do on a budget. After installing DSMLink, my car got faster and I have datalogging capabilities and other extra features... blah blah blah. My point is, if DSMLink had existed back then, I would've skipped the AFC (and saved a decent chunk of cash in the process). It's an old method of tuning and is becoming more and more outdated as time goes on. It works good for what it does, but you can get the car running a lot better with some of the other options out there (and $600 for an EMS is pretty cheap anyway). And it's far too limited to use on a serious setup.

I only say all this knowing how easy it is to want to progress and make the car faster. And also because, even with a small 16g, I had significant gains with DSMLink over the AFC.