CALLING ALL MAF AND "SD" EXPERTS

[Makdaddymac]

well damn now im lossed....
ive heard so many things.
i have heard of only one success stories of a SD w/blower.
ive heard SD cant be programmed like a MAF.
ive heard SD can be and cannot be programmed at all.
ive concluded that a SD with h,c,i is possible. but isnt as smooth as a MAF with h;c;i.
i know the swap to MAF isn't hard and can be done for pretty cheap(im debating whether to do it). but why do it, if it is not a necessity.
my goals are H/C/I. and then ultimately a blower or turbo....
now both a MAF and SD can handle the h,c,i (if you pick out the right combo).
and a MAF can handle some FI boost stock where as only based from thought/rumor a SD cant, which im not really agreeing or disagreeing with. but either way your MAF should be tuned after running some forced induction. so i guess you could just do the HCI and install a blower and find a custom chip/dyno tune the SD. and be just as good....

and i know no 2 cars are alike. even though they should be....but come on, what is the truth behind this myth.

 

[RsStanG1987]

Mass air convert it and save yourself the head ahes later. Mass air constantly moniters the air goig into the engine while speed density only measures it on initial startup..

 

[brian15]

i did the whole speed density thing with h/c/i and nitrous ..... very sucessful with basic tunning ....... then when it was time for the turbo set up i converted to mass air

 

[Makdaddymac]

keep the opinions coming...but the facts must be revealed!!!!!!! in hopes to stop the debate(at least in my mind)!!!

 

[87foxstang]

if you plan on going h/c/i and blower eventually you might as well spend the money on a MA conversion. But you can get a chip burned for SD is you want to go that route

 

[NIKwoaC]

if you plan on going h/c/i and blower eventually you might as well spend the money on a MA conversion. But you can get a chip burned for SD is you want to go that route

How would you go about getting a chip burned? Can you guy off-the-shelf chips, or would you have to have a tuner modify the chip every time you make a change to the motor?

I have a SD car with full exhaust, headers, and a 70mm throttle body and port matched upper, and it runs fine, if not a little on the rich side (I thought it would run lean with any induction mods). when i finally crack into the h/c/i thing, it will be a MAF car.

 

[87foxstang]

you would have to go to a shop that specializes in things like that and modifying.

 

[408gt91]

[email protected] <-------- Pro-m Racing

 

[troyGT03]

i actually have tested the limits of sd many times. back in the day and currently. currently i did a sd 306 h/i and paxton novi 1000. ran like a raped ape with fuel and timing tweaks. you have to install a check valve to the map sensor for the blower. did it run great...yes. would it run better with a mass air conversion...probally, okay yes. i didnt add a cam to my build because of sd. there are a few sd friendly cams. on a n/a setup with a good sd cam and h/i it will actually be faster than mass air. it takes time with fuel pressure settings and timing.

 

[Makdaddymac]

hmmm....i see, so the SD is not awful just no user friendly.....
which i seem not to like when it comes to anything.....
but i dunno. im gonna pile some MAF parts together looking for the cheapies....
and throw it on one day.....but im gonna do my intake and heads first,gears, first....
then when the boost comes into play have the parts just in case.....(obviously the best choice)
what about chaning the injectors on a SD???

 

[Roland69]

With SD the area you want to watch for is the cam. Once you go over 220* [email protected], then your idle can become unstable and can start surging etc. SD likes High lift, low duration cams, since it relies on vacuum. Most people switch to MAF when going with much larger cams, but if you stay within reasonable limits, SD will run just fine & hard. My 347 runs great with SD although I have pushed the cam limits a bit far with it, but I knew what to expect and with some fine tuning it's not that bad for ME. With SD, heads, intake, gears, blower, N20, all the goodies can be used and have no problems with it. MAF will give a more precise A/F reading to the computer since it reads & adjusts BEFORE entering the motor where SD reads AFTERWARD'S, and thus MAF gives you just a slight better off idle throttle response, a more precise A/F metering, and doesn't rely on vacuum in the way SD does, but I've also seen many MAF cars encounter surging problems (modded or not), unstable cruising modes etc as well, all the things that many claim is an SD problem. If you have done any in depth research you'll find many people still have SD with blowers etc and have absolutely NO problems. SD has a better fuel curve at higher rpm than does MAF (until MAF is tweaked or modified)

Early 87 5.0's had a little more aggressive cam than what was used in the mid 87-89 5.0's which then were changed again in 1990. If the date code on your 87 5.0 HO is before 4/87, then you have this odd cam. It's not widely known about this oddball cam. The difference being it had 276/276* vs. the later 276/266 cams, plus a slightly more aggressive ramp rate. This particular cam works extremely well with 1.72 RR's, giving you a total lift of .475 and [email protected] of 209*, and a 115.5 LCA. It pulls very hard right up to 5800 RPM with good exhaust, intake and reasonable gearing (3.55's or better). I am currently trying to find the Ford Part# for this cam as back in 1992 I read in a Ford Motorsport parts book the different part numbers for each cam. The reason I mention this cam is simply because it came only in early SD 87's.

Don't get me wrong now, there comes a time when MAF IS needed, unless you go DFI (Digital Fuel Injection) and with that, you can tune your motor till your hearts desire. I have discovered that having even a basic off the shelf computer chip (Module) help with minor idle issues. Some off the shelf chips will increase your advance rate in the distributor, alter your fuel curve, richen up the motor at WOT as well as add 4* to your total timing which other than a small boost in HP & TQ also allows you to keep your stock setting of 10*, thus making it easier on your starter motor to turn over the motor. I have heard all the rumors about many aftermarket chips doing nothing and being a complete waste of $$. I'm curious if those people who make these claims have actually dyno'd their cars before and after the chip install for absolute verification. Personally, I highly doubt it. I cannot speak for all of the manufactures out there as I have not tested them. I can only speak for the Hypertech Brand, which I personally used for 4 yrs and had the motor & car tested for what changes occurred. This is where my information comes from as listed above. I was pleased with the overall results of the chip, although I think pricing is a bit high for any off the shelf chips.

One key note here, I always recommend a custom cam AND a custom chip when using SD and a moderately modified motor, but it is not necessary with just basic mod's such as intake, heads, headers, gears, exhaust and roller rocker arms. SD also is more sensitive to fuel pressure settings; TPS settings, idle settings, as well as all your sensors, so make sure they all are in good working condition.