Why Do Some Air Intakes Need A Tune And Others Do Not?
07-17-2014, 11:38 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Why Do Some Air Intakes Need A Tune And Others Do Not?
Maybe this has been talked about, and i've searched... But I just purchased a volant air intake and it says it doesnt require a tune... knowing me i still tuned with my diablo sport to CAI Universal 100mm. As soon as i fired her up she almost shut off and when i went for a drive well.... It studdered and ran so horrible. Finally i went back to my normal performance tune and it worked fine. Question is why does this enclosed system not work with a CAI tune?? I assume its pulling just as much if not more air then other systems.. But on the other tunes it was running rich ( I looked at the error codes ). If anyone has some answers to help me out how i can maximize with what I have. I just hope my air intake doesnt perform as much as open systems...
07-18-2014, 12:36 AM
#2
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,396
Some CAIs require tunes because the inlet tube is larger than stock which will throw off the MAF reading if no tune is applied. Intakes that don't require tunes are usually the same diameter of the stock tube if not a hair larger.
Here is a link to further describe:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/why-ch...uired-cai.html
I'm not familiar with Diablo tuners, but from what I've heard... they are garbage.. compared to other tuners such as SCT or MRT.
Here is a link to further describe:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/why-ch...uired-cai.html
I'm not familiar with Diablo tuners, but from what I've heard... they are garbage.. compared to other tuners such as SCT or MRT.
07-18-2014, 12:37 AM
#3
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New Bern, NC
Posts: 701
I have a Granatelli Intake that i purchased back in '05 maybe '06. It sounded good, I've been happy with it. It came with a "chip" that resides in the engine compartment in the harness that connected the original intake to the engine. They told me that it informed the car that there was a different intake with different requirements. The car has been operating quite strongly and reliably for 69k miles now, and I think at least, or near, 60k of the miles are with that intake.
07-18-2014, 12:52 AM
#4
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: CA
Posts: 2,073
Yeah, it's the diater of the section where the MAF sensor is.
The MAF sensor measures how fast the air is going through the pipe, so say it's going through the stock pipe at 5mph, now consider you have a larger pipe and the air is also going through at 5mph, you are going to get more air from the larger pipe even though it is going through at the same speed. The MAF sensor does not know how big the pipe is, it just knows how fast it's going. The stock tune calculates how much air is flowing based on the stock pipe size, and adds the appropriate amount of fuel. The tunes tell the computer the pipe size is different, and it changes how much fuel is added.
In your case, you programmed the computer to think the pipe size was larger than it is, it then thought more air was being provided and so it added more fuel, however more air wasn't being added because the pipe size is essentially stock, so the extra fuel means the car is running rich. On the other hand, if you had installed a 100mm pipe CAI and did not change the tune, the computer would have thought that less air was getting to the engine and cut the amount of fuel making it run lean.
The MAF sensor measures how fast the air is going through the pipe, so say it's going through the stock pipe at 5mph, now consider you have a larger pipe and the air is also going through at 5mph, you are going to get more air from the larger pipe even though it is going through at the same speed. The MAF sensor does not know how big the pipe is, it just knows how fast it's going. The stock tune calculates how much air is flowing based on the stock pipe size, and adds the appropriate amount of fuel. The tunes tell the computer the pipe size is different, and it changes how much fuel is added.
In your case, you programmed the computer to think the pipe size was larger than it is, it then thought more air was being provided and so it added more fuel, however more air wasn't being added because the pipe size is essentially stock, so the extra fuel means the car is running rich. On the other hand, if you had installed a 100mm pipe CAI and did not change the tune, the computer would have thought that less air was getting to the engine and cut the amount of fuel making it run lean.
07-18-2014, 03:22 AM
#5
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 887
I was going to put my 2 cents in. But everyone else has pretty much nailed it. In simple terms, you need a tune to adjust to the extra air the maf Is reading. Besides... It will add a lot of extra hp tq and throttle response.
07-18-2014, 07:04 AM
#6
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Yeah, it's the diater of the section where the MAF sensor is.
The MAF sensor measures how fast the air is going through the pipe, so say it's going through the stock pipe at 5mph, now consider you have a larger pipe and the air is also going through at 5mph, you are going to get more air from the larger pipe even though it is going through at the same speed. The MAF sensor does not know how big the pipe is, it just knows how fast it's going. The stock tune calculates how much air is flowing based on the stock pipe size, and adds the appropriate amount of fuel. The tunes tell the computer the pipe size is different, and it changes how much fuel is added.
In your case, you programmed the computer to think the pipe size was larger than it is, it then thought more air was being provided and so it added more fuel, however more air wasn't being added because the pipe size is essentially stock, so the extra fuel means the car is running rich. On the other hand, if you had installed a 100mm pipe CAI and did not change the tune, the computer would have thought that less air was getting to the engine and cut the amount of fuel making it run lean.
The MAF sensor measures how fast the air is going through the pipe, so say it's going through the stock pipe at 5mph, now consider you have a larger pipe and the air is also going through at 5mph, you are going to get more air from the larger pipe even though it is going through at the same speed. The MAF sensor does not know how big the pipe is, it just knows how fast it's going. The stock tune calculates how much air is flowing based on the stock pipe size, and adds the appropriate amount of fuel. The tunes tell the computer the pipe size is different, and it changes how much fuel is added.
In your case, you programmed the computer to think the pipe size was larger than it is, it then thought more air was being provided and so it added more fuel, however more air wasn't being added because the pipe size is essentially stock, so the extra fuel means the car is running rich. On the other hand, if you had installed a 100mm pipe CAI and did not change the tune, the computer would have thought that less air was getting to the engine and cut the amount of fuel making it run lean.
I just hope i didnt spend 300$ for nothing.
Look at the CAI here
http://volant.com/edetail.asp?ID=1316
the box isint supped to restrct anything it is supped to be getting more air, as advertised..
07-18-2014, 07:08 AM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
AM said:
What if my Mustang already has a no tune required intake?
Many no tune required intakes can be converted to a larger, tune required intake by taking out an inlet restrictor. If you have one of these inserts, it will take you 5 minutes to convert your set up to take full advantage of a custom tune. Even if you don’t have a removable insert, getting a tuner will allow you to get the maximum gain from your application.
Tune Required Intake Benefits:
• Lower cost than intakes with removable inserts
• Much more power when combined with a tuner
• Louder intake sound
So from my understanding is that there is an inlet tube restricting its size.. Well i did my research and my inlet tube has no restrictor and is the same size as a air raid.. just wondering why im having trouble?
What if my Mustang already has a no tune required intake?
Many no tune required intakes can be converted to a larger, tune required intake by taking out an inlet restrictor. If you have one of these inserts, it will take you 5 minutes to convert your set up to take full advantage of a custom tune. Even if you don’t have a removable insert, getting a tuner will allow you to get the maximum gain from your application.
Tune Required Intake Benefits:
• Lower cost than intakes with removable inserts
• Much more power when combined with a tuner
• Louder intake sound
So from my understanding is that there is an inlet tube restricting its size.. Well i did my research and my inlet tube has no restrictor and is the same size as a air raid.. just wondering why im having trouble?
07-18-2014, 08:15 AM
#8
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Ok its 3.5" on the MAF. So... now i am looking on getting an Air Raid tube, whats the largest we can safely put on our mustangs? They have kits to build it your own.. so I am going to get the same size as what i have just larger diameter..
07-18-2014, 10:46 AM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Ok, what if i threw this on instead of my current setup??
Its just the tube for the intake, am i going to see any real gains??
https://www.airaid.com/ProductDetail...ductID=450-946
Also this is how my current set up looks like
Its just the tube for the intake, am i going to see any real gains??
https://www.airaid.com/ProductDetail...ductID=450-946
Also this is how my current set up looks like
