Race MAF Worth it for Turbo Upgrade?

[DadBodMod17]

Just another example of this forum being such a good place to learn more about this platform (and in this specific case, MAF driven cars).

Sponsored

 

[Zedaine]

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the Si have a digital maf sensor that measures in hertz while the non-si is analog which measures in voltage? So by default the Si should have more resolution and would have less of a need to go to a larger maf housing than a civic with the analog maf sensor?

 

[madchiller]

Understood and I see how that makes sense for just fbo and my current power level. My concern is that now that I’m going big turbo there’s a lot more “going on” in the system and wonder if it would be more beneficial. Are you big turbo as well?

i've had the prl big turbo kit with the garrett 2860gen2 turbo for the last 4 years.

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the Si have a digital maf sensor that measures in hertz while the non-si is analog which measures in voltage? So by default the Si should have more resolution and would have less of a need to go to a larger maf housing than a civic with the analog maf sensor?

i've heard of ppl saying with the race maf they've had idle issues (and ppl put it on the lack of resolution) but nobody in the dfw civic group has had the issue personally with the race maf.

 

[Austin@Wunderladen Racing]

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the Si have a digital maf sensor that measures in hertz while the non-si is analog which measures in voltage? So by default the Si should have more resolution and would have less of a need to go to a larger maf housing than a civic with the analog maf sensor?

You're correct that the MAF type is different on the Si. The operation of the sensor is still fairly similar, the air charge cools a heated element, but you're right that the sensor is frequency based instead of a constant voltage.

The resolution with a frequency based signal is better but higher resolution does not inherently mean more headroom. Digital MAFs increase the heat of the heated element by increasing the frequency of the signal sent to the sensor, there is a limit on how high that frequency can go. How that limit compares to the voltage limit of the analog MAF in the base 1.5T I honestly have no idea, but based on my experience with other MAF cars I see it mostly as a six in one, half dozen in the other kind of situation. Most hot wire MAFs require a larger housing around the same power levels.

What we really need is for someone to implement speed density tuning on the stock ECU, that would make things way easier and more robust.

 

[Zedaine]

i've had the prl big turbo kit with the garrett 2860gen2 turbo for the last 4 years.



i've heard of ppl saying with the race maf they've had idle issues (and ppl put it on the lack of resolution) but nobody in the dfw civic group has had the issue personally with the race maf.

I have the 27won race maf housing and I haven't noticed any issues when idle. However, I am custom tuned so I am sure that helps even with the toggle on the tuning devices to correct for the MAF housing type.

You're correct that the MAF type is different on the Si. The operation of the sensor is still fairly similar, the air charge cools a heated element, but you're right that the sensor is frequency based instead of a constant voltage.

The resolution with a frequency based signal is better but higher resolution does not inherently mean more headroom. Digital MAFs increase the heat of the heated element by increasing the frequency of the signal sent to the sensor, there is a limit on how high that frequency can go. How that limit compares to the voltage limit of the analog MAF in the base 1.5T I honestly have no idea, but based on my experience with other MAF cars I see it mostly as a six in one, half dozen in the other kind of situation. Most hot wire MAFs require a larger housing around the same power levels.

What we really need is for someone to implement speed density tuning on the stock ECU, that would make things way easier and more robust.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I guess we would just have to ask a tuner how much difference there is on tuning a digital maf vs an analog one for our platform.

 

[Builtfc1]

Whatever you decide, once you purchase that inlet pipe you can’t go back on your maf size decision.

 

[Old F@rt]

I will say my PRL Race MAF hates sitting at idle, I just think it doesn't pull enough air & so LTFTs climb. The harder I drive, the better the LTFTs become, which makes sense as better flow. ( TSP Stage II tune running E30-35 max & other than turbo, I'm FBO ). Hope this helps

Edit: Maybe I should've said the tune/Race MAF doesn't like to idle as the tune really dictates parameters.

Sponsored