After talking to the master SHO tech Doug Lewis,
I decided to go with the 70mm MAF, which he recommends. His reasoning
was that the size of the hole where the air enters the intake manifold
is only 65mm and anything larger than a 70mm MAF would not make much of
a difference. This may be true and if you want to start upgrading
your car, making the Yamaha engine breath better is a good start.
The other aftermarket MAFs that I know of are the Vortech 73mm, Pro-M 77mm,
and the SHO shop 80mm. All of them are simple bolt-ons from what
I hear. The 77mm MAF and the 80mm MAF use cone filters instead of
the stock air box. You will need to buy the LPM chip along with the
80mm MAF for it to work properly. The Pro-M will cost you around
$500 and the LPM and the 80mm MAF will cost you about $625 (Don’t quote
me on these prices). The 70mm MAF and 73mm MAF will cost you around
$190. Big difference in price wouldn’t you say? That’s why
I took Doug’s advice and went for the 70mm MAF. Actually, I bought
it from Doug at FPS Automotive (maybe that’s why he recommends it).
The 70mm MAF is also a genuine Ford part from a Cobra I believe.
The 73mm MAF may flow a little bit better, and it’s the same price!
Ok, I don’t want to bore you any longer with all
of this MAF stuff. I installed the 70mm MAF and it took me about
15 minutes at the max. This is a very simple bolt on (for most people).
Don’t blame me for any injuries!! Just kidding, I doubt you can get
injured, but hey…anything could happen.
What you need:
What to do:
This is a procedure for a 70mm or a 73mm MAF. I never installed anything bigger. It may be similar though.
1.) Open your hood.
(duh)
2.) On the right while
facing the car, you will see the airbox with a tube coming out. The
metal thing connecting the box with the tube is the MAF.
3.) Unhook the two latches
in front of the airbox.
4.) Lift the airbox
lid. You can leave your air filter where it is or you can take it
out.
5.) On top of the air
box lid are three rings that hold the MAF on the lid and the tube.
Unscrew them until they are loose.
6.) Look under the airbox
lid. Unscrew the three bolts holding the MAF to the lid.
7.) Ok, first you want
to take out the side connecting the tube. It might be a little stuck
with some grime.
8.) After you take it
out, unhook the wiring to the MAF. There is a little hook under the
connector. Lift it to remove it. Now all you have is the MAF
connected to the airbox lid.
9.) If you can just
slide the MAF out, you’re doing great. If not, like me, you’ll have
to use some elbow grease. You can try to wedge the Flathead screwdriver
in between the MAF and the rings. Be careful not to tear the rubber
between the MAF and the ring. There will probably be grime which
is making the MAF stick.
10.) After you get it
out, use the paper towel and clean off the area around the holes.
11.) If you look at
the stock MAF and the aftermarket MAF, you can see the big difference.
The aftermarket MAF uses the whole opening while the stock uses a wimpy
downsized opening. The little hole in the MAF is the sample tube.
This is where the MAF measures how much air is going into the engine, thus
allowing the right amount of fuel to be injected. The stock MAF has
a screen on the opening while the aftermarket MAF does not. You can
probably stick another screen on your new MAF but that’s another procedure
in itself.
12.) Stick in the new
MAF and screw the two rings holding the MAF to the lid. Screw in
the three bolts under the lid. Connect it to the tube and screw in
the ring holding it to the tube. Connect the wiring to the new MAF.
Stick the lid back on the airbox and latch that baby down. You’re
all done!
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This procedure took
you through step by step. You’re probably thinking, “Hey, I could
have done this with out this stupid procedure.” You’re probably right
but I just wanted to get SHO owners who probably have no clue under the
hood, to get into the groove of modifying their babies.
I have noticed maybe
a 7 hp increase. It won’t make you’re SHO burn your tires into second
gear but believe me, it will make your engine breath a lot better.
You will notice that it picks up better. You should also get a K&N
filter. It’ll cost you about $45 bucks and you’ll never have to buy another
air filter again. This is a very highflowing air filter. It’ll
probably give you about 4-5 hp. You should have no problem installing
that. Another thing Doug Lewis recommends is to remove the air box
silencer cone in the inner fender. This will give you a couple more
horses and your SHO will sound mean. You can find this procedure
in the SHOtimes FAQ. Doug quotes, “If you do these three things,
it’ll make your car pick up like crazy.” I have an automatic and
believe me, anything is better than stock.
If you are starting
to modify your SHO, you should start with the intake. The better
the engine breathes the better performance you will get. The 70mm
and the 73mm MAFs are good upgrades that are fairly cheap. I do not
know how much better the 77mm and the 80mm MAFs are but if you have the
money, go for it. If you want to know why the 80mm MAF needs the
LPM chip, check out the SHO shop’s webpage (link available at SHOtimes.com).
It’ll explain everything.
The next mod you might
want to is to get yourself a superchip like I did. Installing that
baby was a little bit tricky so I’ll type up a procedure to help you guys
out. I, like many people out there with SHOs, am just starting to
modify my SHO. I’m doing a lot of research along with it. I
want the best for my car like most of you. If you want any tips and/or
problems that you are facing that I have any knowledge about, let me know
and I’ll do my best to help you out.
Well, I hope this helped
you out in some way. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail
me.