Mass Airflow Sensor Upgrade

[flyguy]

I bought one of these for my '94 that worked great. It appears they make them for the newer Explorers as well. I sent an email out to be sure.

Dead Link Removed

 

[shaker1]

By itself, a mass air sensor will not increase the performance of a vehicle without other substantial changes to your engines volumetric efficiency. The MAS function is to accurately determine the amount of air going into the engine so that the EMU can deliver the appropriate amount of fuel.

If you change your MAS and the reading it sends to the computer causes the engine to be fed a lean A/F mixture, then you might see a few HP increase. Eventually the EMU figures this out via the O2 sensor readings and adjusts the A/F to proper levels. But, do you really want your engine running lean in order to gain a few HP over the short term?

The stock EMU is more than adequate for any power level you may achieve with your motor, even if you were to open up the exhaust and intake or even change your cams.

At best, it will be a waste of money. At worst, should you melt a piston, expect Ford to deny warranty coverage.

 

[flyguy]

Ah, this is something I was curious about. The Granatelli unit actually repalces the sensor and body, so would this cause to motor to still run lean? I would think something like the KKM, that uses the stock sensor with a larger body would cause more problems.

 

[shaker1]

In my opinion, it comes down to maintaining a predetermined A/F at a given load & rpm. Changing the size of the intake tube, MAF housing or MAS position can "mislead" the engine management unit into running leaner or richer. The O2 feedback should allow the EMU to compensate. While it is lean you can generate more power, but it may not be safe or properly distributed across your rpm range. The only way to tell would be a dyno and datalogging.

The exception is when you have built the motor to handle more air and your intake is now too restrictive to handle the motors requirements. I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to changing the intake characteristics without a proper dyno tune. The stock computer tune will try and maintain a preset A/F and effectively cancel the power gain from running leaner. But, if the MAS is unable to provide accurate info to the computer (at any/all rpm) it will be difficult for the computer to maintain proper/safe levels.

Likely the biggest restriction on the Explorer 4.6L is the exhaust. This is probably why it is rated 292 vs. 300 for the Mustang GT. Simply offering more air to the engine is not likely to overcome this restriction. Plus, the reading may be affected by the MAS positioning and air tube turbulence characteristics. Some cars have experienced stalling/drivability issues simply by moving the MAS positioning. Either way, it would be difficult to tell what is happening without checking A/F on a dyno with wideband O2.

I'm no expert, just my opinion.

 

[Crizz]

Last information i got was that KKM works on a big MAF and ExplorerExpress works on new tunes for a big MAF. Guess would be best to have the tune that fits the MAF to get best results.

 

[flyguy]

Well, now that I actually have my KKM, I realize that the size was not increased.

 

[jah81592]

The Granatelli meter is designed by nature to lean out your combo. If at any possible way you can keep the factory electronics then I would. As far as a MAF I offer the C&L which would be perfect for you application and I also offer custom tuning to "tie" everything together.