What maf should I use?

[WannaBe30]

Biggest reason I went with it is because of price and the tube I had available

Check the price of obd1 3" maf and then check the 3.5" you'll see

And if this thread upsets you so much about 3.5 being better stop replying so it will disappear again

I posted this up in November first... The first reply was less than a week ago

[squidmaster]

Eh.
That's about the best answer.
Definitely better for forced induction however

[nando]

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new...artno=54-10471


I think the main draw is that the 3.5" uses a heat foil (HFM) which measures more accurately and has a wider operating range.

For E30s I recommend people just stick with the M20 AFM unless they can get a known working and tested M30 AFM for cheap. As any AFM degrades over time, updating it with new(er) and better working hardware can be worth the price in itself.

perhaps but does it really matter? does the timing and fuel accuracy of the DME increase along with the slightly better HFM accuracy (remember the DME is still ~1993 technology)? does the wider range benefit anything when you're unlikely to clip the stock sensor even with common bolt ons?

[nando]

Also the 3.5 is a lot less expensive usually and most chip tunes are for 21.5 injectors and 3.5 maf but I agree prolly no differ in performance

I don't think you could say "most" of them are tuned that way, but rather they are available, which doesn't even matter. non-3.5" MAF tunes also exist.

[squidmaster]

meh.. the heat shield is obviously for the 540. Maybe I'll call aFe and see if they'll sell me that filter - the build-your-own filters don't appear to have an opening on the "top" like that one does.

Sorry, they have an e36 specific one for the 3.5" maf. I just copied the first google link. Check out their site. I think Turner sells their e36 3.5" maf kit as well.

[butters]

this thread is full of bad information.

Relax, none of the posts in this thread are claiming a performance gain from the 3.5" maf. The discussion is regarding plumbing after OP stated that they went ahead with a 3.5".

[frankie591]

this thread is full of bad information. A 3.5" maf is completely useless. Look at the size of the throttle body and tell me how increasing the size of the tube leading to the throttle body will allow more air into the engine.

[WannaBe30]

Also the 3.5 is a lot less expensive usually and most chip tunes are for 21.5 injectors and 3.5 maf but I agree prolly no differ in performance

[butters]

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new...artno=54-10471

meh.. the heat shield is obviously for the 540. Maybe I'll call aFe and see if they'll sell me that filter - the build-your-own filters don't appear to have an opening on the "top" like that one does.

[butters]

nando I agree, I just happened to find a TRM chip pre-owned that is designed for the 3.5" maf among other things. The maf itself is very cheap nowadays. Also I don't think I'd say that it's "proven," I haven't seen any data on the subject.

[squidmaster]

Squid master

Which one from afe are you taking about

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new.php?partno=54-10471

hasn't it been pretty well proven by now that the 3.5" MAF doesn't really do anything? You get a gain but it's mostly because you have to get a tune with it, and you'd probably gain the same power regardless.

it just seems silly that BMW could have gained an easy 10hp because they undersized the MAF, when we know BMW doesn't usually design stuff like that (and why bolt ons don't do much on BMW motors). It's not really any different than thinking you'll gain a bunch of power from switching from an M20 to M30 AFM which turned out to be basically nil.

I think the main draw is that the 3.5" uses a heat foil (HFM) which measures more accurately and has a wider operating range.

For E30s I recommend people just stick with the M20 AFM unless they can get a known working and tested M30 AFM for cheap. As any AFM degrades over time, updating it with new(er) and better working hardware can be worth the price in itself.

[nando]

hasn't it been pretty well proven by now that the 3.5" MAF doesn't really do anything? You get a gain but it's mostly because you have to get a tune with it, and you'd probably gain the same power regardless.

it just seems silly that BMW could have gained an easy 10hp because they undersized the MAF, when we know BMW doesn't usually design stuff like that (and why bolt ons don't do much on BMW motors). It's not really any different than thinking you'll gain a bunch of power from switching from an M20 to M30 AFM which turned out to be basically nil.

[WannaBe30]

Squid master

Which one from afe are you taking about

[squidmaster]

AFE makes one. Wish KAM would do a 3.5" intake!

[butters]

What did you guys run upstream of the 3.5" maf?

I am putting one in mainly to use a TRM chip, and while a reducer is an easy $15 solution to adapt with my KAMotors intake, I am wondering if there is a 3.5" filter/silencer solution out there.

I'm not willing to slap on a cone filter unless I have some sort of heat shielding.