Thread: Crazy MAF readings after installing ZZP/EasyPerformance Wizaired.

Hey all, 3800Pro is just about dead so I joined up to get ya'lls experience and advice on my vehicle.

I have a 2009 Buick Lacrosse with the L26 engine. Back in February I spent some of my tax return on parts. I ended up Intalling the HV3 Insert and ER Ratio Rocker Arms. I've been logging KR and AFR/Fuel Trims using Torque Pro for about 3 months now and I'm glad I did. Ended up with timing being pulled up to 5 degrees using 87 Octane so I upgraded to 93. Solved the KR issue.

Last week I decided to grab the Wiziared Intake. It arrived in the mail yesterday. I was initially giddy and couldn't wait to have it installed. I had issues getting everything lined up correctly but eventually got it taken care of. I took her out and played with her a bit and was thrilled by the new engine roar but I noticed it seemed to run a bit more sluggish. It definitely seemed my 70-110 time was slower than I remember. And yes I had the battery disconnected during install just to make sure I didn't damage the PCM connecting and re-connecting it.

Tonight I decided to take a look at my MAF rates. Torque Measures in CFM. After driving home from work I'm a bit worried.

At idle (800-900 rpm) which seems to be bit higher than it was before installing the intake, I was reading around 55CFM. Slight increase in throttle it jumped up to 125cfm. That seemed a bit high to me, I was hoping it was part of the re-learn procedure following the installation.

Now here comes the worrisome part.. At WOT on the interstate the MAF rate was 1400CFM!! Convereted to lbs per minute that's in the range of 128LPM.

I took it all apart and looked inside at the MAF and noticed what seemed to be a burnt carbon type smell. I've read carbon soot is normal with cold air intakes but the MAF seemed rather warm to the touch which didn't sit well by me.

Anyone ran this intake system before and can you tell me what your experiences were/what my issue may be.

I very well may need a tune but at this point I'm worried my MAF Sensor may go POOF as I'm riding along.

Here's before video (no CAI)

And last night:


Roads were wet so I got a bit more wheelspin and it was slightly downhill.

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

I dislike phone apps for this reason, the data is never super correct or in an langauge that a tuner would care about. Nobody reads the MAF in CFM.

I prefer to read the HZ or g/sec, lb/min but my HP Tuners does all 3 at once and makes my life easy.

I other question is the placement of the MAF sensor, is it too close the filter or right at a bend??

Choppy air flow over the MAF can skew readings and making sure the MAF screen is still there is a must. It's hard for a phone app to show a real time graph of the MAF reading but it would easy to tell on a scanner if the MAF was showing a choppy reading.

You could also clean the MAF with maf cleaner if you havent yet.

Everything else with the APP seems to be spot on. It reads directly from the PCM using GM specific PID's. The car pulls harder with 91 and 93 octane which is consistant with timing being pulled. Air intake has dropped from over 100 degrees down to the 60's-70's which is about 10 degrees above the outside temp. The coolant temps also coincide with the gauge reading. Max is about 210-215 after the thermostat opens at 195 degrees, with heater or defrost on full blast it's reading about 180-185.

I'm thinking the heat being reflected back off the box itself may be heating up the MAF sensor. Despite the weird readings my AFR is 14.77 at idle and varies between 12.5-13.15 at WOT which is normal. I'm not logging any KR either.

From what I've read the series III adds timing at highway passing speeds compared to the series II which is why some guys run 91 or 93 year round. Most of my timing being pulled was around 2.5-4k rpms under medium throttle.

I'm assuming that the MAF readings are garbage though. The Wizaired opens the area above the fenderwell and quarter panel up to airflow as well as the space behind the headlight.

I gotta get some sleep, I'll see what folks have to say in the AM.

Thanks for the help.

And no there's no obstructions leading up the MAF. Stiff metal with a bit of thermally insulated tubing.

http://s18.postimg.org/8l26mc8rt/CAM00158.jpg

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

I dislike phone apps for this reason, the data is never super correct or in an langauge that a tuner would care about. Nobody reads the MAF in CFM.

I prefer to read the HZ or g/sec, lb/min but my HP Tuners does all 3 at once and makes my life easy.

I other question is the placement of the MAF sensor, is it too close the filter or right at a bend??

Choppy air flow over the MAF can skew readings and making sure the MAF screen is still there is a must. It's hard for a phone app to show a real time graph of the MAF reading but it would easy to tell on a scanner if the MAF was showing a choppy reading.

You could also clean the MAF with maf cleaner if you havent yet.

I used a conversion table and my MAF is reading 854 grams per second at WOT and high RPM. 33 GPS @ idle and 366 GPS under light throttle. Don't know how that compares to stock.

I just sprayed the MAF down with some electric cleaner so we'll see if that helps.

Figure out the issue. It is the cold air intake.

After poking around online, it seems with much better airflow comes more air turbulence which isn't good for the MAF, it messes the readings up.

I'll keep an eye on my Torque Readings to ensure I don't run lean.

I contacted ZZP and they said clean the MAF. I've emailed them back and told them the issue is persisting. Well see what they say.

Yeah I'm surprised my damn self. It's the first time they've emailed me back in the 8 months I've been a customer of theirs. Probably has something to do with me posting the question on their Q&A for the Wizaired Intake.

The CFM may be correct. The conversion tables I was using apparently uses water density for conversion purposes. I found a widget on torque which reads in grams per second. 7-8 gps at idle at 112 gps at WOT/High RPM. Sounds more like the numbers I'm looking for.