I'm the original owner of my 88 5.0 5spd. Mustang. I have started some mods, like a cold air kit and exhaust work (performance mufflers & no cats). I'm planning on changing the camshaft and doing some port work on the heads and going to 3.55 gears. I found a chart posted on this forum showing which cams will work with the speed density system. The ones shown in red print may require more tuning. Can someone share their experiences with me on a couple of different competition cams camshafts? I'm looking at three different grinds here: 35-349-8 XE264HR, 35-310-8 270H-R14, and the 35-351-8 XE270HR. The second cam listed, my concercns would be if there are any valve to piston clearance issues. Also I would like to hear a little bit of a rumpity rump at idle. Thanks in advance for any help.

W. Smith

 

Are you considering doing a mass-air conversion? Speed density isn't nearly as flexible, and you might already reaching the limits of it's "flexibility"

 

sorry its so long i could probly go on all day trying to explain cams i tryed to make it as simple as possible (the best people to help you will be comp or crane cams)

as grey said the speed density system is not very flexible changing anything to do with your air delivery such as heads cam intake cam seriously mess up its readings, how ever they can be tuned to work with it but the more simple solution is get a Mass Air conversion kit, as for the cams im not sure what company those grinds are coming from but if u want a really rough idle it is all in the valve overlap, so it depends on lift and duration combination. i know for my 95 piston to valve clearance wasnt an issue untill after a .500 lift at 224 duration but your car may be a little diffrent, back to the idle, if u want a rough idle and u dont tune your car for it, then more then likely your car wont idle right, and there is a chance that the knock sensor will detect a knock because of the cam,putting the computer in limp mode(once again im not sure if the 88 will go into limp mode) at 228 duration and .552 lift my car has a little bit of a rough idle but its really not noticeable, with over 300 duration it would be more then likely what your looking for

 

actually it has been brought to the attention of the 5.0 forum that sd is just as easy to mod as maf

just ask addermk2

 

I dunno about that. My understanding is that "speed density" use a basic calcuation to determine approximate airflow rates. (engine RPM x air density = how much air the engine is breathing in). A stock engine (or slightly modified)is fine with that. But if you port the heads and/or swap in a performance cam and/or open up the exhaust then the engine will be inhalinga lot more are than that calculation is suggesting.. this can result in a lean running air/fuelmixture, not a good thing

Mass air measures actual airflow irregardless of RPM or air density. That's why a mass air system is more receptive to mods,, it just automatically compensates for increased airflow

 

MAF will respond to modifications without necessarily needing the computer reprogrammed. Speed Density will need the computer reprogrammed for something even as simple as a port job.

Your best bet would be convert over to the MAF setup. It's pricey, but lays a much better foundation for upgrades.

 

Thanks for all the input. I'm in the process now of checking on parts to assemble a mass-air system. So far advance auto has a reman. EEC for $99. A local junk yard wants $35 for the meter. I understand that the stock Mustang MAF meter is on the small side say 58-60mm, is that right? Are there any other Ford vehicles that would have a bigger MAF?

Any other MAF info here would be appreciated. By the way this forum is top notch with alot of good info on these cars.