MAF Converter...99% READY TO ROLL!

[bmwman91]

Haha, yeah I know.  I just wanted something definitive to say that spending your hard earned $ on this will net you X benefits as shown from the dyno.  I really cannot trust the butt-dyno too much...but I would see about getting a partner to time how long it takes to go from 2000RPM to 6500RPM in 2nd gear or something.  I want to try and avoid shifts if I do it that way...just for consistency's sake.  Good idea though!

Since I could not dyno it today, I did some other stuff.  I gave it a badly needed waxing, and then began work on the installation manual.  Here is a sample of the main system installation overview diagram.  There will be text and whatnot as well, this is for reference and a real quick "what goes where" look.


The user will have to crimp terminals for the connectors that go on the old VAM harness and ECU harness.  You will either need some crimpers for open-barrel terminals, or some needle-nose pliers & a soldering iron.  I will be supplying all the connectors/butt-splices/taps/fuses & holders.

[AL GReeNeRy]

edge motorsports over in the east bay recently held a couple dyno days with discounted prices.  not sure how much the current price for a run is, but you can check it out on baybimmerz.net.  bmwman, you should also register on baye30.net as well as baybimmerz

[Nathan]

Just a heads up, I think you accidentally switched two numbers in the part number of the maf on the diagram. Should be 461L according to your earlier post.

[bmwman91]

Good catch Nathan.  Fixing........

I will look into Edge motorsports.  I have heard of them, I guess they did not come to mind yesterday.

[jajou318]

man i can't wait !

[bmwman91]

You're telling me lol.  I cannot wait for my bank account and free time availability to recover!  Happy New Year everyone!

[bmwman91]

Dun dun dun.....

Going to Edge Motor Works tomorrow at 1:30pm to do some dyno pulls.  It's judgement time.....

[Nathan]

Cool! ha! Ive been watching this come to life for so long I cant wait to see the dyno! Please post the results as soon as you can cause Ill be hitting the refresh button like a retard on crack.  (add family guy stewy's voice here) Really have you seen a retard on crack, its like an epileptic christmas. mmmmm epileptic christmas yesss... mmm.... kind of has a ring to it.

Then is there any chance you will try it out on your sisters e36? Its what I got. I know Im a loser to this board. But I do love squeezing/driving my m42 and have helped work on my friend Austin on bf e30 (tranny, egr, exhaust, hood strut lol etc etc).

[bmwman91]

Haha no no.  We are all losers on here...cast aside by the M20-driving cream of the E30 crop lol.  It is a hard life we lead, but we manage .

This should more or less be a direct swap right onto the E36.  The E36 MIGHT not have the same resonance issue due to its variable intake manifold, so who knows...maybe you guys will get away with not needing the $20 GM temperature sensor.

I just finished up some prototype drawings for the mounting apparatus.  It is a little ugly, but probably about as cheap as you can get.  Sticking with standard material like angle iron and tubing should help.  Obviously, I will need to put the tube at an angle since the MAF is not perfectly horizontal, but until I actually mock something up I just need an estimate on this hardware kit for you guys.

Now, I am 90% sure you can just get a $6 2.75" rubber/silicone cuopler and use the MAF with the airbox.  With the corrective emasuers I took, you should not go dangerously lean anymore when floored between 2500 - 3000RPM.  Dyno results will let you know for sure the performance difference between an open element setup and the air-box one.

Again,
The motor WILL sorta cut out if floored below ~1800RPM though, and I have been unable to fix this. It has to do with some complicated stuff, and thus far not one person has had an issue with it.  The price on this would go up if I had to deal with that little bit 'O fun.

[nickmpower]

what were the results?

[bmwman91]

Haha, well, let's just say I need to make some heat shielding and work a tiny bit more on the mapping.  Basically, the notion that you will not gain power, but instead better idle, throttle response and overall better behavior is right.  The M42's AFM was well-sized.  I will look into getting some plots up...maybe after I fix the little issue with hot air being sucked in.  I am a little miffed after all this work and a $1500+ personal investment (tools, parts, dyno time, etc).  I need a break from this damn thing.

I will still run the MAF for a couple reasons:
Aside from my AFM being toast and replacements costing as much as the converter & a MAF, I really like the way the car feels with the MAF, so I am keeping it on.  It feels a lot snappier.

I am road-tripping to Santa Barbara to spend the week climbing/BBQing/drinking and doing everything but think about anything resembling work.  Hopefully I will have enough brain cells left to finish this lol.

[m3someday]

"climb"?!!.....as in rock climbing?

kool to know a fellow climber!!!

[bmwman91]

Yeah, some climbing of the rock-nature.

OK, I got some sleep and an willing to talk about the results now lol.  Basically, if you want more power then buy a supercharger/turbo/build your motor.  The MAF will not gain you any.  Again, there are other benefits, but I have a feeling nobody will want to pay $ for them.  Maybe if their AFM is pooped out they would lol, since this ends up costing as much as a rebuilt one.  With the MAF, the car LOST 3 ft-lbs of torque evenly across the whole board.  The fact that it was a consistent loss that followed the all-stock curve shape perfectly tells me it was due to sucking hot air.  The thing did not work very well with the air box...it leaned waaaay out around 3000RPM again even with the corrections in there.  Oddly though, it actually kept up with the stock AFM torque curve most of the time, and dipped where it was a little leaner.  I will see about scaling prettymuch the whole thing, but honestly, I am tired of working on this, and if nobody wants one then I am gonna call it quits.  I have put too much time & $ into this to put more in right now.  Shoulda done it to the M20 lol, I KNOW that needs it.  Stupid well-designed M42........

[Nathan]

First off, thanks for the candidness on the results.

Man dont be discouraged. From your afr results youve just proven your mapping need a little tweaking then I bet your hptq numbers get better. I mean the afr is going to impact the hp/tq numbers especially with spikes that you mentioned. Do you have an afr gauge? You could video that next to your tac real world and adjust your mapping to that.

About the heat shield idea. Was your hood open when you dyno'd? Heat shouldnt make a difference if it was imho.

[bmwman91]

Yeah the hood was cracked.  I am not sure how much hotter the air was with it that way.  The guy at Edge was sorta confused as well.  It was running a little leaner than with the AFM, and he said these motors usually make a little more power when run a tad lean.  Who knows.  I will see about scaling stuff more, but i cannot afford to mess with this much more.

Honestly, from what I am seeing, a MAF will make the exact same numbers as a stock AFM.  Maybe the MAF would be better sold as a replacement for a worn out AFM lol.  I suppose I am just annoyed about the power numbers.  The car is still more fun to drive with the MAF.