Curious if anyone has played with relocating the MAF sensor at all, in effort to redesign the turbo intake?

* I would love a standard CAI
* I would love to remove the stupid 'loopback' airbox to have more room under the hood and get even better intake temps
* It would be great to not have the sensor 5" from the intake filter for a variety of reasons

Thoughts?

Issues?


*If the MAF were relo'd to the intake hose just before the throttle body.. then all of the readings should be accurate still (probably more accurate for tuning sake vs OEM location) & an aftermarket intake for a RCZ-R would fit and work without kicking a code and dumping performance.

A dremel and epoxy could test this with an extra intake hose I think.. the MAF sensor cables are long enough to reach it looks like..

 

1) There are a few threads on DIY CAIs, check those out.
2) Some members with modified intakes have reported problems that were thought to be caused by inaccurate readings from the MAF due to it being too close to the filter and not getting even flow.
3) On the turbo engines, you won't see any HP increase from changing the intake. So a CAI is for bling and noise.
4) some members claim a reduction in low end torque when changing from the stock intake.
5) endless debates about improved flow vs. increased air temps from the various open CAIs.

I'm skeptical of any claims of HP increase or low end torque loss due to intake changes. The stock intake would have to be really restrictive for there to be a HP increase, which seems to be contradictory with the stock intake having better low end torque.

I do have the ECS carbon intake, which is similar functionally to the JCW N14 intake - air inlet next to the left headlight, closed airbox, cone filter. Why did I buy it? Carbon fiber bling and noise.

But don't let me tell you what will work and what won't - go create something and tell us about it!

 

Thank you for your input. However, all of your points stem from 2 issues.. which I am searching for solutions to address:

*You do see an increase in performance on any turbo application when a proper intake without restriction is used. If someone told you there was nothing to gain... they were wrong. There are reasons the RCZ-R makes more HP other than just the turbo (using same N14 engine).

*Issue with current CAI and MAF error is largely due to the poor design of placing the MAF so close to the actual inlet. Most vehicles have the MAF 12" or better from the MAF location, or have it just before the throttle body (where it actually needs to be). The MAF turbulence and exposure to hot air is why the loss of torque at low end occurs.. which can also be corrected with the right design.

*endless debates are useless: Mini airbox only works better than a CAI because all of the current design intakes are pure *****.



What im after = relocating the MAF from the current position, to the throttle body connection hose, and running a straight pipe intake with filter to the turbo, from just behind the drivers side headlight. This would allow you to:

1. entirely remove ALL of the factory air box and ducting
2. have a true cold air source
3. remove possibility of faulty MAF reading
4. remove the likelyhood of the MAF getting dirty as much (since it would now be at the 'end' of the intake path.. not the front)

Looking at the wires from the MAF now.. they might be long enough to reach to the throttlebody location. I just need to get a spare hose to mock up for testing. End result would be something similar to the F56 or RCZ-R intake.. with a shrouded filter at the end.

 

? i dont think there is even room for the maf before the throttle body. it has two back to back 90s where it comes off the post intercooler charge pipe. in a perfect world "any" flow meter would like several pipe diameters of straight pipe in front of and behind the sensor.

i use a short intake right off the turbo, it throws a MAF sensor out of range code after a couple hundred miles on stock tune.. check engine light stays off with manic tune though. stock S MAF maxes out rather quickly

there is also zero diy tuning options to even just see what happens.

 

* I was not aware that manic tune can fix the MAF code. Thanks for that.

It is good news indeed..also means what i was thinking isnt necessary at all either. I think the short intake and some sort of shroud/box for it is in my future still..just have to get it fab'd before tune.

*I think highest Ive logged for MAF reading is ~1510cfm, not sure where the S MAF can touch, but couldnt you swap to a JCW MAF.. or ECU just go into fits I suppose?

 

From what I've seen swapping the jcw maf on an S isn't plug and play. Should be simple to rescale but no tuning option.
I tracked down a forge piece part fmind-208 for my intake (N18) the fmind207 should be for the n14 and is a lot easier to find

 

I don't know if the MAF can deal with the high pressure side (post turbo.) The ECU looks at the MAF signal (pre-turbo) for total air going into the engine, and the MAP sensor at the intake manifold for the boost level. Theoretically it's the same mass of air pre and post turbo, just different pressure and temperature. But the temperature difference post turbo would probably screw up the MAF reading. That's a guess, I'm scratching my head about this idea.

Randeez is too modest to show off what he already did, so check this out: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4324379

other pics in that thread as well.

 

Many thanks for the information and photo.. I think I have the list of ingredients now to make this work.

 

The MCS model ECU can indeed be re-scaled to use a JCW MAF sensor. I've used JCW sensors and re-scaled both MAP sensor tables on a customers tune for an MCS that wanted the boost limit raised to 1.8 bar. It's not difficult if you know where the data is.

However, replacing the MAF sensor is unnecessary from a performance point of view. The MCS MAF maxes out at around ~23 lbs/min and the JCW at ~27 lbs/min of flow. This equates to approximately 235bhp on the MCS and 275bhp on the JCW. On my JCW my MAF sensor is already maxed out before I get to 5000 RPM. So how does the ECU know how much air is entering the engine? The answer is the air flow at WOT is calculated by the pressure differential between the MAP sensors. That is why there is one sensor before and another after the throttle. It's also why there are tables in the ECU that describe the performance of the turbo installed.

Lou

 

Another reason to NOT move the MAF sensor --- pretty sure you'll lose the ability to sense "unmetered air" getting into the intake --- AKA leaky hoses.