MAF Porting??? Opinions please.....

[Jason97T/A]

Hey guys, what do you think about the porting of the mass air flow sensor. I have a 97 T/A with flowmaster catback and no catalytic converters. I already took the screen out. I plan on getting a cold air induction kit in a few months or so. I was wondering what the effects could be, both good and bad, of porting the mass air flow sensor. I know a few people have done it. By the way, which is the best Cold Air kit and the easiest to install one? Thanks

[hotwhip9]

I ported and polished mine and i noticed a difference. Chewed through a couple bits with the dremel trying to find the right one, but it came out really good. From what i hear, some cars you notice a difference, some you don't. Mine was fortunate and it did. It's not hard, just time consuming. Just be careful of the wires and don't damage them and you'll have yourself a cheap and easy mod.

[Joe 1320]

There are going to be many opinions, some positive, some negative. If you choose to do it, my advice is to pick up another virgin MAF. That way if the car is one of the ones that doesn't respond well to the mod, you still have a stocker. I ported mine and I was one of the lucky ones who saw a gain. By porting the MAF, you are altering the airflow though the sensor wires and ultimately, you are "uncalibrating" the MAF. LT1s run rich at WOT by design in order to protect the catalyst in the converters from overheating and destroying their effectiveness. In most cases porting the MAF fools the computer into thinking that "XX.XX" amount of air is passing though the sensor and in reality there is more. This can lean out the mixture and do one of a couple of things. It may lean out the mixture and provide a power increase, or it can lean out the mixture and cause detonation and/or drivability problems. It is a crapshoot as to what you get. Some cars respond well, others don't.

As far as the cold air kit, my favorite is the SLP. I picked one up used just for the purpose of testing it compared to the WS6 setup. What I noticed is that the SLP ran equally as well as the factory ram air except at high road speeds. From 3rd gear and up, the factory ram air seems superior, but not by much. Ironically, WS6 setup gave me a hair better mileage. Ultimately, I boxed up the cold air intake and put it away in case I ever needed it. Why, I'm still not sure why I kept it, as I even have parts left over even from vehicles I don't own anymore. It is a quality unit. GM performance parts sells a chrome version of the same unit, it is made by SLP for GMMP. It is rather pricey, though. The unit that is sold by SLP is black instead of chrome.

Maybe it is time for a serious garage sale.

[Kevin V 2002 SS]

If replacing the MAF, so that you still have the stock one, which MAF sensor is tyhe best. Pros and cons of the different ones available would be appreciated. I presume after-market ones are already polished, yes, no????

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Is this MAF sensor discrepancy unique to the LT1? Or do some LS1s respond poorly to a ported MAF too? I put on the TByrne MAF ends last year.

[4THGEN Z]

A brief summary of what I have heard:

- on a stock motor (not going inside), you may see gains due to as what Joe said that the larger body will pass more air thus leaning out the mixture somewhat...

- On a modded engine (cam, heads, etc.), This can hurt more than help since the PCM must be reprogrammed anyway, you really need to see the true flow rate to set the tables right......a person in our club here just went through this with his 96 SS with LT4 hot cam kit and could not get the drivability right with his ported MAF using LT1 edit, he went back to the stock ends and noticed an huge difference, everything came back in line and is running great now......

[Joe 1320]

Just to clear up a few misconceptions..... Porting a stock MAF, installing MAF ends and aftermarket MAFs are all seperate issues. Porting a stock MAF is not really very scientific, you run the risk of really messing things up. MAF ends are typically aluminum or plastic and are very smooth, much like being ported. Aftermarket MAFs are made with a little more science. They often have a different calibration than stock which is where the extra performance comes from. Often times, non stock MAFs wreak havoc on aftermarket programs. Many times the results are less than stellar and require the stock MAF to be reinstalled for the program to really do it's thing. You see, there is a cause an effect in each of the instances and it does depend on your combination as to which, if any will be beneficial.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Again, Joe... is this for both LT1's and LS1's alike? I ask because any time I have ever seen this discussed it always involves an LT1 car -- so I am wondering if similar things are experienced when tinkerng with an LS1 MAF.

[Joe 1320]

Originally posted by Jay 02 TA ws6
Again, Joe... is this for both LT1's and LS1's alike? I ask because any time I have ever seen this discussed it always involves an LT1 car -- so I am wondering if similar things are experienced when tinkerng with an LS1 MAF.

oops, sorry. In reality this is for any MAF equipped car including LS1s. The basic principle of a rich mixture at WOT is a built in protector from the factory to prevent parts carnage. Ideally, a different target air/fuel mixture in the computer is the best way to get extra power. This way the fuel and spark tables can be altered at different rpms rather than the "one modified MAF fits all."

[Jason97T/A]

So Joe, would YOU recommend me port the MAF sensor or not? I already took the screen out of it. Although it's not the prettiest screen anymore I could put it back in. But like I said I plan on the SLP or K&N cold air kit, and I have aftermarket exhaust. By the way, would you be interested in selling the SLP Cold air kit? How easy is it to install it? Does it bolt up to factory? Thanks

[Joe 1320]

As far as whether to port or not, it is going to depend on your mods. If you are not running a modified PCM with a custom program, I think you would be OK. I still run a hypertech HPP+ and no problems with the port job. I still think it would be a good idea to pick up a used, unmolested MAF just in case something doesn't work out. I ported mine and have a spare (cost me $50), just in case. The porting on mine gave me a a little more power in the upper RPMs, nothing to write home about, but ever one of the 15 little things that you may do add up. I wouldn't put the screen back in once it has been removed.

The SLP cold air will give you more of an improvement than the MAF porting will. They are pretty darned easy to install too. Because mine is a WS6, I also had to pick up a factory elbow to replace the WS6 bellows. As long as you have a regular issue elbow, the SLP is a direct bolt in. (probably about 45 minutes to remove the factory stuff and swap the parts.) You would simply replace everything before the MAF with the new parts. Before I stick my foot in my mouth and say I'll sell mine, I need to start digging to find it. I have perhaps 12 unmarked boxes of parts mixed in with another 12 marked boxes of parts. Everything should be perfect including instructions, so if you aren't in a hurry I'll start looking. I'm reasonably sure that I'll never use it again.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by Joe 1320
oops, sorry. In reality this is for any MAF equipped car including LS1s. The basic principle of a rich mixture at WOT is a built in protector from the factory to prevent parts carnage. Ideally, a different target air/fuel mixture in the computer is the best way to get extra power. This way the fuel and spark tables can be altered at different rpms rather than the "one modified MAF fits all."

Thanks.

[Jason97T/A]

Where would be a good place to find a used unmolested MAF sensor? I don't want to spend a lot of money, and I want someone reliable and don't wanna be ripped off. Yeah, I'm in no hurry with the Cold Air kit. Just let me know. By the way, is the SLP filters as high flow as k&n? Thanks

[Jeff_in_Atl]

http://www.billygrahamsfirebird.com/

[Joe 1320]

Originally posted by Jason97T/A
Where would be a good place to find a used unmolested MAF sensor? I don't want to spend a lot of money, and I want someone reliable and don't wanna be ripped off. Yeah, I'm in no hurry with the Cold Air kit. Just let me know. By the way, is the SLP filters as high flow as k&n? Thanks

here is another site: http://www.tacreationsusa.com

I'll let you know when I dig up the SLP cold air.....It has dual cone filter that flow like mad.