Frustrations with Brenspeed
 

So I was posting on the Saleen forums yesterday/today and Jim of JDM (a Saleen shop) mentioned that I should look for/be careful that I am not maxing out my MAF and bringing in unmetered air into the engine. I sent an email to Brenspeed saying at what point I should be concerned with maxing out the MAF's ability to read air and Chandler said at 100mm I should be good to low-mid 500's at the wheels.

Okay, fair enough. So just to be sure, I ask what the Steeda intake is set up for, as that is what I have. Well, its 90mm and is supposedly good for 490 whp is what Chandler responded. Okay, I get that too but I don't think I am getting the answer I am looking for.

I totally get that the diameter of the intake inlet will control how much air I get, thus how much power I can make, but I want to know at what point will my MAF say "ENOUGH, I cannot read anymore friggin air", and start to lean out the system.

In fairness to Brenspeed, I emailed JDM and got this response to the question "Should I find the MAF is being pegged, what options and prices do you have?"

Response: "We would suggest the Saleen Extreme intake too, its a great piece and can support up to 700 RWHP! Its great for tuning as well so driveability will be awesome along with the power. Ive seen alot of these cars on the dyno and always, around 450 RWHP the meter is pegged. With the 3.0 pulley your spinning the blower pretty good and its gonna draw in alot of air which will make it peg quickly.

We can offer you a custom email tune for $210 and the air kit is $539 which we do have in stock!"

Is there something I am missing here? Does nobody understand that I want to know when the sensor itself will stop reading more air?

/end rant.

when the voltage from the PCM, applied to the MAF, exceeds 5v.


it's a tough question to answer, because there are many interpretations as to what you are really trying to get at.

I get what you're saying. Brenspeed didn't give you the right answer. You asked about apples and they gave you oranges. Maybe ask again or call them?

I'm pretty sure JDM knows what they're talking about here.

Brenspeed is competent too. Maybe ask again?

I want to know, if the 3" pulley on that charger is bring in more air than the stock MAF can effectively read. If 5v = X # of units of air (I think it's measured in meters per second) and my car is pulling X + 20, then there is 20 units coming into the motor that the sensor simply can't account for, and my engine would run lean.

I would think in Brenspeeds experience, they have a number or setup in mind where they can safely say, "yes, you are beyond your stock MAF's ability to read any more air". JDM is telling me I am close if not over the limit. Brenspeed, so far, hasn't responded to anything about the sensor itself, only the intakes limit on how much it can flow. Chandler did say it depends on the stock MAF's range. Well, I figured that, but tell me what that range is and at what point, in their experience, it becomes maxed out. I understand they can't solidly say if I am or am not maxing mine out, but they probably have a pretty solid idea of when it should become a worry.

Bro, all you need is this: DiabloSport MAFiia Mass Air Flow Calibrator http://www.diablosport.com/index.php...=display&pid=4
It will save you a ton of money ;)

Part of the problem is that we live in a text/email society today we forget to use the phone. At this point if you are having this much trouble seeking answer by email, it would be much simpler to pick up the phone and call them.

I would, but where I am at currently it would be a disturbance for me to be on the phone. After dealing with companies that make promises or provide information on the phone and then go back on their word, I like having 'written' documentation. Not to say Brenspeed would ever do that, but two Ford dealerships I've had experience with come to mind hehe.

I'm in a business where I see all to often where issues escalate out of control because of an email chain was misinterpreted. A simple phone call could resolve the issue. I also understand that you want what's discussed in writing. It's another commonly asked for requirement with what I do. So I would ask the person on the phone for a follow up email to confirm what was said on the phone because I would like it in writing OR I would let them know that I would be sending them an email based off of our phone conversation including the specific details and request they reply with confirmation.

However the way your email is going, I can see that you will continue to be frustrated and would try to do whatever it takes to get a phone call out if that question was really that important to you.

Just get the "MAFiia" your dyno tuner will thank you.

I'm going to try to answer this one. This is based on all the tuning done to my car as I increased the power.

The maf signal can be cheated some in the tune but there is a point where it gets to be too much. For me it was 488rwhp. It's a call the tuner makes during tuning. Basically what happens is the resolution just isn't clear enough for the computer anymore. Maf voltage is a measurement of airflow. A smaller cai will show more flow for the same amount of air that would flow through a larger cai, much like water flow through different pipe diameters.

I've tried a mafia and finally settled on a pmas hpx maf. It fits just like stock and it's what my tuner likes to use (very important).

Does your saleen use a stock slot maf or is it something else?