Quite possibly stupidest question ever asked!!!

Dsav101 · Jul 28th, 2003, 06:17 PM

Ok here goes. Looked it up and all but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. What exactly is a MAF? How can a CAI hurt it, and most important, I am trying to order my AEM CAI, but I need to know what size bypass valve to get, 2.5 2.75 or 3. And is there any performance differences between them? Thanks alot guys and gals.

Dsav101 · Jul 28th, 2003, 06:41 PM

K, had to edit this one. Come on peeps, especially those that are married. My fiance is the one that says she will buy me this CAI, but I gott order it fast before the notorious girl mind change happens. Thanks.

niky · Jul 28th, 2003, 11:01 PM

MAF= Mass Air Flow sensor... it's a little sensor that's plugged into your airflow that tells the ECU to either give you more gas or less gas depending on the speed of the air passing by it (measured by the change in temp caused by passing air... blah blah blah...).... search on the forums, some guys have issues with CAI bypass valves killing MAFs on Spec Vs... but it works fine for the rest of us... best bet is to PM or E-mail any guy you find who has posted about problems with this to find out the details.

Dsav101 · Jul 29th, 2003, 05:53 AM

I have searched alot on these forums for it, but mostly it is just people saying watch out or arguing over aem or injun having more problems, etc. I would just like to know how it is hurting, and what size bypass valve I need to get, as I would like to order the unit today. Either comes in 2.5, 2.75, or 3 inch. Thanks.

tekmode · Jul 29th, 2003, 06:38 AM

everyone here usually gets 3" from what I hear. What is hurting the MAF's is either they are very weak or you over oil you filter for the intake. I doubt you need a bypass valve, but get it if you want.

BlackoutSpecV · Jul 29th, 2003, 07:50 AM

the baypass has to be the size of the piping of the CAI. For that answer you'll have to ask AEM. Also the bybass does NOT fit the AEM or the Injen without you doing some cutting. I do belive that this has been discussed here before.

tekmode · Jul 29th, 2003, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BlackoutSpecV
the baypass has to be the size of the piping of the CAI. For that answer you'll have to ask AEM. Also the bybass does NOT fit the AEM or the Injen without you doing some cutting. I do belive that this has been discussed here before.

which is a another reason i would not get a bypass valve.

olsaltybastard · Jul 29th, 2003, 11:40 AM

Not even close to the stupidest question ever asked. Over 12K miles on the AEM, and no problems to report. When you remove your MAF, be really careful with it. There is an arrow which will point towards the engine, if installed properly. Other than that, when it's time to clean your filter, don't over-oil it. The sound this thing makes is awesome!!

mkeelin · Jul 29th, 2003, 08:02 PM

also make sure it bolter down to the car real good. my maf went because of a poor setup an alot of vibration. the aem will not hurt the maf because of the way it bolts in. however one of my brakets just broke because of a bad rut in the road. i have been told that the injen is better quality and same sound and performance. its your call on that and this is just my 2cents worth or maybe 3cents!

7SPEED · Jul 29th, 2003, 08:56 PM

just get the Nismo(comes w/ bypass valve)

Dsav101 · Jul 29th, 2003, 09:32 PM

But does it add as much? I do not know much about the Nismo one, but if it is same quality and performance, I will get that instead.

7SPEED · Jul 29th, 2003, 10:00 PM

According to Import tuner dyno aem gain 9hp
According to Nissan nismo claims 8hp 10tq
Injen I think is right there. With those makes its to close to call one is not gonna have any advantage over the other. Nismo comes w/ bypass, to get bypass on injen or aem u have to do a custom job.
Some people swear by one brand or another. Only reason I went Nismo is because bypass valve.
Hotshot cai dyno in Import tuner showed 5hp
Jwt pop charger showed 4 .

When I dynoed w/ Jwt pop I had 6hp over Stock Specs there.

tekmode · Jul 30th, 2003, 07:05 AM

but actually you will not gain 8-10hp with CAI. I have yet to see a true spec dyno and gain that much.

Dsav101 · Jul 30th, 2003, 02:03 PM

WOW, I guess they are all right at about the same point. So I guess it comes down to price ans install. IT is going to cost me 228.00 for the AEM CAI with the bypass valve. Another 100 dollars to install it due to the cutting of the pipe. What does the Nismo CAI go for? Would I be able to do it myself? Keep in mind that I am not the nmost tool oriented person around. Thanks guys and gals.

MNspecV11 · Jul 31st, 2003, 05:22 PM

Hotshot makes the "nismo" CIA. I do not think there is that big of a performance difference. A CIA alone does not make a large HP increase, but get the headers and exhaust done and you will feel it. The CIA does sound cool, something I did not realize until I installed it