S-AFC vs Maf Translator

1slowdsm · 03-11-2005

From what I know (and thats not very much) the AFC and the Maf Translator work about the same, right? They can both tune your fuel and stuff. So which one is the better one? I've personally never used either of those, so I dont know which one is better than the other. I'm looking to get an AFC soon or the Maf Translator depending on which one is best. Any opinions?

DeAdGnRaTiOn · 03-11-2005

Well to my knowlegde, the MAF-T is only if you are translating your ECU to work with the GM MAFs I could be wrong but that seems to only make sense to me. S-AFC may be better because you can actually get a reading. MAF-Ts have little dials and it is trial and error when adjusting. I say look at your prices and see which one makes more sense for you.

Khadgar · 03-11-2005

The maft has fuel adjustments like an AFC but they are pretty simple in comparison, I guess you could use it for tuning but I wouldn't recommend it. If you are converting to GM MAF I would recommend getting both or getting DSM link.

Alpine TSi · 03-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeAdGnRaTiOn

Well to my knowlegde, the MAF-T is only if you are translating your ECU to work with the GM MAFs I could be wrong but that seems to only make sense to me. S-AFC may be better because you can actually get a reading. MAF-Ts have little dials and it is trial and error when adjusting. I say look at your prices and see which one makes more sense for you.

Sheesh... The MAF-T has a quite comprehensive manual that explains the process of tuning with it. It has all the adjustment increments in the manual that correspond to the characters on the dials. So it is just as trial and error as a S-AFC. The nice thing about the MAF-T is that is has a base adjustment for larger injectors, so can actuall use all of the adjustment range on the Hi-Mid-Lo knobs. Whereas if you are using an AFC to compensate for larger injectors, you loose that same amount off of your tuning adjustment. Now don't get me wrong, I would take an AFC over the MAF-T for tuning purposes every day of the week, but a lot can be had by using them together, or as Khad sad using the MAF-T with DSMLink. The guys that make the link have said that it is a strong possibility that they will be adding the ability to just plug in a GM MAS directly with no MAF-T to their DSMLink. There are also very cool things in a AFC such as the ability to run two maps(I used one for race fuel and one for pump), actual load reference for fuel adjustments(TPS, but some have changed to a MAP style so it compensates based on boost which is awesome), and a knock gauge(which doesn't really work in DSM's.

TheBlizzard · 03-11-2005

There are various views on this subject. If you ask the people that make the MAFT they will tell you that you do not need a SAFC or anything else to tune with. And I have heard of people just using the MAFT by itself. I think it would be a little more crude than a SAFC because you really don't have as many adjusting points (RPM). But I suppose if you really messed with it and knew what all the dip switches do, I am sure you could get a decent tune out of it. It has been proven when you use them both in conjuction with each other you can be successful. Basically you use the MAFT to compensate for larger injectors as well as get rid of the the stock MAF which will increase air flow and let you vent your BOV if you chose to go that route.

If you were to just buy one of the two I would go with the AFC.

CRAIG

Jakey · 03-11-2005

Personally I think I'm going to end up having Lightning burn me a chip and then use an AFC for fine tuning. I haven't done a great deal of reading into it but it seems like a reasonable setup since the AFC, as you mentioned Matt, does not have the ability to directly compensate for larger injectors.

TheBlizzard · 03-11-2005

Ahhh sorry Alpine we posted at the same time with almost the same info. Opps.

CRAIG

Alpine TSi · 03-11-2005

It's okay Craig, I am just really fast at typing with one hand.

Jakey, I used a chip burnt by lightning that compensated for my injectors, used the GM setup because of the better flow, and used the AFC to fine tune. Before I had the eprom, I used the GM setup to compensate for bigger injectors, and used the AFC for fine tuning. Now keep in mind you are still fooling the ECU into thinking that there is less air entering the motor, so if you pull out a lot due to much bigger injectors you will have timing map problems. I ran 650's on an auto non eprom ecu(that was set for 390's) and then pulling out x amount of air to correct my AF ratio, and didn't have any timing problems. I think the highest you want to go without getting an EPROM or such to directly compensate for bigger injectors is about 750's(correct me if I am wrong).

DeAdGnRaTiOn · 03-11-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alpine TSi

Sheesh... The MAF-T has a quite comprehensive manual that explains the process of tuning with it. It has all the adjustment increments in the manual that correspond to the characters on the dials. So it is just as trial and error as a S-AFC.

Once again, to my knowledge! I haven't played with it yet, still waiting on the intake piping.

1slowdsm · 03-11-2005

Wow...you guys know alot about these tuning thingies (haha). After reading all the info, I think I'm going to go the AFC route. I'm a beginner and is sounds like the AFC would be much easier and if I decide to get bigger injectors I'll add on the Maf T and use both. But thanks for the help guys. Keep the info coming. I still need to learn as much as I can about both.

**Kracka** · 03-13-2005

I used both together and it worked out great. Using the MAF-T alone would get you by, but it would just be a rough tune. I used the AFC to make the small(er) fine-tuning adjustments.

MustGoFaster · 03-13-2005

The biggest injectors I would suggest with out a chip would be 650's/680's. With 720’s and 2G mas John's galant was at -46% or so (before the AEM) which, as you mentioned leaves you with very little tuning range, and was getting him on the wrong timing maps.

That being said, either one can take you a longway. John made 500+whp on a maf-t, AFC combo. He made more with the EMS though.