i have a 2002 monte carlo ls 3.4 liter...i have a cold air kit along with an aftermarket throttle body, if i were to get a mass air flow sensor that is cold air kit tuned would i be able to just install it? or would i have to take it some place to get it tuned after it was installed?
thanks

 

from what ive heard there are only check engine lights associated with aftermarket maf sensors, not hp's.
i think they are only usefull if you have a highly modded, high output engine. they are not a cheap mod to add quick power.

there is a great tread on Cold Air Intakes by kidspace. your cars PCM allows for a 12% increase in HP W/O a re-program. just unhook your battery for 20 mins for a reboot.

 

Maybe if you posted links to what you were looking to get- that would help us.

However, I don't think buying a MAF that is skewed for anything is a good idea. I personally think you're better off using a MAF sensor that isn't altered to give a different frequency output than stock at the same airflow- and then get the PCM tuned to more closely dial it in if you want your MAF readings to be as spot on as possible.

If you're looking at a bigger MAF for higher airflow- that's one thing, and that does require redoing a table in the PCM- but I doubt your stock MAF is all that big of a restriction.

This is a pretty vague statement- I'm sure you could even go beyond 12% extra HP on a totally stock pcm- assuming your fuel trims can skew enough to cover. That's the problem though, the factory PCM tune is just a general rough tune made to work in thousands of vehicles- so it can be dialed in much more accurately with tuning. The more mods you add- the further and further off the pcm gets, and the more it has to skew your fuel trims to run correctly (and ideally when people tune your pcm, they shoot for fuel trims that stay near 0 which means the PCM isn't compensating much). So even if you unplug the pcm (resetting everything that has been learned in the pcm about past fuel trims)- you're still going to end up with new fuel trims that are usually even further out of whack then stock.

 

what that statment states as in unplug when installing some thing expecially electrical it lets the electrical component not get shorted out. also lets the computer identify the new part so it wont throw anouther code and let it run like it should with a little more spunk

 

If you're using any normal kind of plug there is no chance of a short. It would be like shutting off the main breaker in your house when you go to plug the TV in. Only way it will throw a code is if the new part you put in doesn't operate like the factory part (ie is way out of spec, or you didn't make the pcm changes necessary if you were changing to something out of spec, like bigger injectors).

I understand unplugging the battery to reset the pcm's fuel trims, but for most simple stuff, I wouldn't even bother (say installing a CAI or something)- the pcm will still be readjusting the trims as you drive anyways- its not like it learns the trim for each cell once then never changes again.

 

i was just reposting the most important parts of the artical. i had thought that i learned something reading it, and wanted to pass it along. maybe it can set the trims instantly, instead of over a week or so. im sure the guy wrote it for a reason.

 

I think that it is recommended to unhook the battery any time you're working under the hood just in case the fan kicks on while you're under there.
Of course I always unhook the battery every time I do anything under the hood and I'm sure everyone else does as well .

-Riggs.

 

Yep- and I put on my safety googles, hard hat, gloves, and body splash suit too, lol.

 

bumpin comme on be nice. its comon now that there is power is till being fed to majority of the electrical in a car all of the electricals dont have a on and off switch like a tv has in the house. some of us that has a coil pack on the rear on the engine you half to disingage the battery. when i replaced my coil pack for grins and gigles i threw on a voltmeter there is power going to the conector. even thogh the ignition switch was turned off there was power going to the coil pack wiring. it is a good rule of thumb is to disengage the battery to avoid ruining a new electrical part or removing one to get to anouther part for replacement.

 

Of course there is still power all over the car, but its just 12 volts. I used a bad example in the house- I should've said something like an alarm clock- something you can't shut off. A normal plug isn't going to short out when plugging it in, and if you're afraid of getting zapped, then just keep your hands away from the inside of the plugs.

Just because there is power going to the ICM doesn't mean a coil pack is going to fire. I've replaced coil packs multiple times with the battery still connected- if you're a real man, you replace the coil pack with the engine running (just kidding, please don't anybody try this!)

I agree that if you follow everything by the book, and want to do everything super safe- that you definitely should unhook the battery whenever working under the hood (in case the car gets remote started or the fans kick on)- or whenever working on electrical systems.

But I'll tell you, honestly 99.9% of the people who do work on cars (from modification to repair)- do not unplug the battery. Its a hassle to do on many cars (especially if the battery is under the back seats or in the trunk area)- and then you also tick the customer off- they lose all their presets in the radio, and their car has to relearn the fuel trims and such.