Unichip with maf relocated

[crashkelly]

Is anyone here running a unichip with a relocated maf?

I am curious because I have read posts from 2 very reliable sources that you do not want to do this. The thing is I relocated my maf some time ago and now I have purchased a unichip. If I can get away with running the unichip with the relocated maf than I will probably do it, but if it is going to cause problems than I am going to change the setup back to how it was.

Anybody have any info?

[crashkelly]

Nobody running unichip like this?

I did a lot of searching and have found mostly theory that it wont work correctly, but I am curious to see if anyone is running it. If not then I'll try it and let you guys know how it goes.

[livelyjay]

Why would it not work? It might not be able to work right out of the box, but it should be able to work after a tune is done. Aren't you planning on going down to Altered Atmosphere to have them tune it? Try calling *************. They sell them, so they may know if it works.

[Rush]

My MAF is relocated, and I've had my Unichip sitting around for about a year .. But when I sent it to JDM Sam to have it tuned, he knew about my relocated MAF, and tuned it fine. He didn't mention anything about it being a problem. Of course, I never actually installed it, so I can't say for sure ..

But I think livelyjay is right. I'm pretty sure that it's only an issue for those that don't tune their Unichip ..

Shoot JDM Sam a PM and ask. I'm sure he'll know. And let me know what he says!

[crashkelly]

I am planning on having tuned at AlterAtmosphere at some point in time. According to JDM Sam's post in another thread it can be a problem because when the throttle plate closes there is some blow back that goes through the maf and it might alter the reading which the unichip works off of. There should be a way to tune for it, but I am just curious if it will be a problem right out of the box. It might be a little while before I have the dough to have it dyno tuned. AA is pretty expensive.

[Rush]

^^ Welcome to my world. Eons later, and I'm still sitting here with my Unichip in it's original box because I can't afford to have it tuned. Sigh.

[Matrix]

I ran a Unichip (untuned) on my MSP with the MAF relocated to the pressure side and let me tell you - IT SUCKS. My gas mileage suffered horrifically. With absolutely no exaggeration, I was getting 100 miles less per tank. I didn't have the time or money to have it dyno-tuned at the time, so I sold my Unichip.

If you're going to do this, definitely do not run the Unichip without a tune if you have a relocated MAF.

[crashkelly]

JDM Sam's response to my pm

Re: unichip with MAF relocated

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

it runs better with it in the factory location.

it might or might not the way it is now.

[crashkelly]

I ran a Unichip (untuned) on my MSP with the MAF relocated to the pressure side and let me tell you - IT SUCKS. My gas mileage suffered horrifically. With absolutely no exaggeration, I was getting 100 miles less per tank. I didn't have the time or money to have it dyno-tuned at the time, so I sold my Unichip.

If you're going to do this, definitely do not run the Unichip without a tune if you have a relocated MAF.

See the thing is this...the used unichip I am buying no longer has the stock map. It has a custom tune from JDM Sam on map A and he changed the WOT timing advancement in map B to WOT timing retarded. I am sure that the tune did not anticipate for the relocated maf (the original owner was not running one). So its a crap shoot. When it gets here on Monday I will hook it up and try it out. If it doesnt run well, then i'll take it off and save a few bucks to get a tune.

[25FConv]

Hey Crash, check your PM I sent you, it explains why it would act the way it does. But like Matrix said your gas mileage will be sh!tty, and you may feel some hesitation. lol pm me the address to AlterAtmosphere I been dying ot get it tuned. Lol if its too far, I will be selling this and installing the AFC I ordered and J&S Safeguard. Lol if anyone is looking for a Unichip for cheap send them my way. I will be posting it up soon on the forum.

[crashkelly]

Hey Crash, check your PM I sent you, it explains why it would act the way it does. But like Matrix said your gas mileage will be sh!tty, and you may feel some hesitation. lol pm me the address to AlterAtmosphere I been dying ot get it tuned. Lol if its too far, I will be selling this and installing the AFC I ordered and J&S Safeguard. Lol if anyone is looking for a Unichip for cheap send them my way. I will be posting it up soon on the forum.

Sent you a couple pms. Altered atmosphere is in gaithersburg maryland according to the website.

[25FConv]

LOL replied to your PMs sounds good I am gonna talk to them hopefully in the morning and see what they say. Possibly get it tuned. and have some Unichip fun.

[MSP2003.5_Nick]

Hopefully you will be able to get a good tune on it. Regardless of anything though a relocated MAF is the best thing you could ever do on that car. The closer you get to the throtle body the more acurate the readings will be. This will stop most stalling issues and give it a lot more pull. Not to mention you can run a VTA BOV with no problems that way. I have loved every second since moving that damn maf.

[25FConv]

Yeh don't get me wrong I love the fact the my MAF is reloacted my gas mileage was so much better, no stalling when venting to the atmosphere and hesitation is less until the Unichip went on and well the 626 mani plays a big roll in the stalling as well.

[crashkelly]

Hopefully you will be able to get a good tune on it. Regardless of anything though a relocated MAF is the best thing you could ever do on that car. The closer you get to the throtle body the more acurate the readings will be. This will stop most stalling issues and give it a lot more pull. Not to mention you can run a VTA BOV with no problems that way. I have loved every second since moving that damn maf.

I am hoping that I wont have to get it tuned right away and tht it will perform well out of the box...unfortunately if the maf causes problems then it was pointless to move it in the first place.

[crashkelly]

just a thought...Anyone have a broken maf they wouldnt mind parting with or selling? It would be an easy way for me to fill the relocation space if I have to move the maf back to the stock position for the unichip to work.

I was also thinking about something else...this may just be wishful thinking...but I wonder if having the maf farther from the TB would give me better odds of the unichip working properly. My setup is not as close to TB as some peoples. I have seen guys with their maf like 2 inches from the TB...mines like halfway down the cold pipe...eh we'll see what happens. I will post up the results monday or tuesday when it is hooked up.

[mspHtown]

Hopefully you will be able to get a good tune on it. Regardless of anything though a relocated MAF is the best thing you could ever do on that car. The closer you get to the throtle body the more acurate the readings will be. This will stop most stalling issues and give it a lot more pull. Not to mention you can run a VTA BOV with no problems that way. I have loved every second since moving that damn maf.


i thoroughly disagree. that is incorrect saying the closer you get to the throttle body, the more accurate the readings will be. where did you get that information from. mazda put it before the turbo for a reason. it reads the unpressurized air most accurately. think about it, the faster the air is moving, the harder it is for the MAF to measure. Just because it stops the stalling issue with the BOV, doesnt mean it is more accurate this way. One reason why the car most liekly feels better (with minor bolt ons and no ems) when the MAF is relocated, is because the maf "misses" some of the air passing through it (becuase it is moving so much quicker) thus leaning out the a/r ratio. everyone knows how rich the car runs stock, so leaning it out alittle bit definitely makes it run better.



crashkelly, what makes you want the unichip so much? have you seen the new a/f plus timing controller? it seems like a very nice option.


edit- sorry thought i read that you were looking at the unichip and not that you purchased it already.

[crashkelly]

i thoroughly disagree. that is incorrect saying the closer you get to the throttle body, the more accurate the readings will be. where did you get that information from. mazda put it before the turbo for a reason. it reads the unpressurized air most accurately. think about it, the faster the air is moving, the harder it is for the MAF to measure. Just because it stops the stalling issue with the BOV, doesnt mean it is more accurate this way. One reason why the car most liekly feels better (with minor bolt ons and no ems) when the MAF is relocated, is because the maf "misses" some of the air passing through it (becuase it is moving so much quicker) thus leaning out the a/r ratio. everyone knows how rich the car runs stock, so leaning it out alittle bit definitely makes it run better.



crashkelly, what makes you want the unichip so much? have you seen the new a/f plus timing controller? it seems like a very nice option.


edit- sorry thought i read that you were looking at the unichip and not that you purchased it already.


Haha yeah i looked at both options, but the price i got on this unichip made it too good to pass up. Plus unlinke a lot of other members, I have the option to get it tuned. There are a couple places in this area (philly) that have the capability to tune them. And while I am generally not one of those guys that likes to pay to have work done on my car, I am far from a tuning guru and id rather put my trust in buying a unichip and having a professional dyno tune put on it, than trying myself and killing my car!

[crashkelly]

The good thing is that even if it doesnt work out of the box because of the maf it can be tuned to accomodate it. This was kind hard to wrap my brain around at first but after a lot of reading the basics are like this...the tune that is on the used unichip (even though it has a custom JDM Sam tune and not the stock) is tuned for the stock maf location. And unichip runs off the maf signal so the fact that i moved mine means i proably have changed the signal so the current map on there is going to be slightly off.

[JDM Sam]

To move the MAF back, get a short piece of 2.75 inch pipe to fill the spot where the MAF was relocated to.

No, you can't tune for air reversion. This MAF is only read in 1 direction. If you want a quick explanation, flip the MAF backwards and see what happens.

I also recommend sending it to me to reload the stock map for now. I am looking at your mod list and it's substantially different. That Perrin SRI is horrible as it pulls in very high intake air temperature and will affect the timing.

[crashkelly]

To move the MAF back, get a short piece of 2.75 inch pipe to fill the spot where the MAF was relocated to.

No, you can't tune for air reversion. This MAF is only read in 1 direction. If you want a quick explanation, flip the MAF backwards and see what happens.

I also recommend sending it to me to reload the stock map for now. I am looking at your mod list and it's substantially different. That Perrin SRI is horrible as it pulls in very high intake air temperature and will affect the timing.

hey Sam, thanks for the input I really appreciate it. Actually right now I am planning on taking it to Altered Atmosphere (as seen in modified mag and on speed channel)on the 30th to get a custom dyno tune. So it looks like I will have to relocate the maf back to stock position...i forgot about the air reversion factor.

Other than that I should be able to get a good daily driving tune and a more aggressive tune after 15-20 pulls on AA's dyno. If I were closer I would take it to you Sam, fortunately these guys have a great reputation and are within 3 hours of where I live. (although the custom tune is going to run me 500-600 bucks)

[JDM Sam]

Even better. Now hope you don't hit fuel cut b/c your MAF is already bad.

[theEZV]

I live like 15mins from Altered Atmosphere....they do some really good work over there

[crashkelly]

Even better. Now hope you don't hit fuel cut b/c your MAF is already bad.

wouldnt there be some sign of it going bad even if it was on the pressure side? I hope it hasnt gone bad...it has only been relocated since like june or july

[crashkelly]

Ok guys so here is the official verdict on whether or not my unichip is going to work with my relocated maf.

I installed it tonight and took it for a drive. Thing is running great. It is too soon to tell whether my mpgs have gone down but there is a definately power increase and the power delivery is much smoother.

I hope i am not speaking too soon, but so far the thing is running just like I hoped it would and after a dyno tune at Altered atmosphere I am sure it will be unleashing its full potential!

[livelyjay]

The address to AA is on the bottom of my dyno graph, enjoy.

http://www.csh.rit.edu/~jasonoff/pictures/dynographs/20051031/dynopic.jpg

[crashkelly]

Thanks man, I have mapquested the directions and have a dyno tune appointment for November 30th at 9:30 am. It should be pretty kickass!

That was the dyno before your Vibrant right? I was just reading in another thread that you gained 23 hp to get it 180-something with it.

[livelyjay]

Thanks man, I have mapquested the directions and have a dyno tune appointment for November 30th at 9:30 am. It should be pretty kickass!

Bring a USB key with you and have them copy the dyno information onto it, that way you can make your own graphs and analyze them against future dyno runs. Kind of like what I did here:

http://www.csh.rit.edu/~jasonoff/pictures/dynographs/20051219/mapcompare.jpg

[livelyjay]

Forgot to include this piece of information. The software for viewing and analyzing dyno results can be found here (http://www.dynojet.com/downloads/software.aspx).

[crashkelly]

Did you just have a dyno done there or did you get your SS tuned there?

[livelyjay]

Only a dyno. I had them do a pull with the SS super map and then another with my custom map that I created from the super map. The best was getting in on a dyno day with the DC Evo club, which ended up being like $35 for three pulls. The regular price is $80 or something for two pulls. You might want to check out their web site and see if they have a dyno day coming up.

[crashkelly]

Only a dyno. I had them do a pull with the SS super map and then another with my custom map that I created from the super map. The best was getting in on a dyno day with the DC Evo club, which ended up being like $35 for three pulls. The regular price is $80 or something for two pulls. You might want to check out their web site and see if they have a dyno day coming up.

I thought about that, but because I have a unichip I have to make an appointment, because they have to tune it. So it was better to set up the appointment and just foot the bill for a quality job.