Looking for opinions: Maftpro/GenII or upgrade something else?

[fullahotair]

So I am looking for some advice/opinions here…. My goal is an easy/consistent/safe 11.5 ET with a conservative tune, because after that I’ll be required to put a roll bar/cage in the car. And I don’t wish to do that. So any investment that puts me well under 11.5 is kinda of pointless if you will, as I won’t be able to capitalize on it at the track with out getting kicked out…..
So here is the debacle…I am overly intrigued by the wideband tracking feature of the TransPRO/GenII (and the speed density aspect of the Trans Pro), as I like the idea of not messing around with fueling all the time when the temps change or what have you . I like tweaking and tuning when I add new parts and such, but don’t care to tweak and tune with respect to what the temp is outside or some other anomaly, so I see the wideband tracking as somewhat of a “safety net” or “set it and forget it” so to speak. Soooo, I know the trans + (that’s what I currently have) has been a strong performer and carried people into the 11’s and lower easily, but I was wondering if it would be a good investment to get the TransPro/GenII to help/facilitate tuning to make 11.5 ET easy/safe/consistent, or should I quite my complaining about making some minor tweaks here and there and keep the trans +, and put the money into something that will make the car reach 11.5s easier or more consistently, such as suspension goodies, cam, IC, etc…

Thanks, sorry for the long post
Nate

My current setup is cpt61 stage v , trans +/extender, Full Throttle 4” MAF, 42.5 lb inj., Alky (to be installed this weekend), ported intake, dutt neck IC with custom large mouth shroud, 3” DP, Lc-1 wide band, powerlogger, walbro 307 hot wired, adj fp, and fp. Transducer, bottom end was rebuilt before I bought the engine, but I’ll assume stock.

 

[JayC]

I use a lot of MAF Pro's here at the shop. The wideband tracking works great. I highly recommend the Pro.. in fact, I was talking to Bob yesterday about some ways to improve the featureset a little. The Pro is still being actively improved via software updates. Its a good investment.

 

[fullahotair]

Do you find yourself using speed density on the maf pro if you were tuning to get a 11.5 ET? or would you say speed density comes into play when you are tweaking every little bit you can out of a combo? i.e tenths of a second...again once I hit 11.5 ET the track is going kick me out...

The GenII has the same wideband tracking technology as the MafPro if i understand it correctly, so what I am wondering is, if the trans +, or gen II can realitively easily get me to 11.5 ET with lets say a "decent tune" will I benefit from the speed density option.

Let me ask it this way, will the gen II/maft pro increase my performance greatly over the trans +, or will an investment into something else (cam, IC, etc) yield more results..

At the very least i think I am leaning towards the Gen II, possibly the Maft pro, realistically speaking though if i hook up the Gen II with wideband tracking, and hit 11.5 ET consistently/easily...i don't know that i'll mess with speed density unless it offers me a "safer" tune...

Thanks for your time,
Nate

 

[slow305]

I see that you have an LC-1. How is that working out for you? I got one and it never worked right from the start, so I sent it back to have them repair it. I have it located in the engine bay and was wondering if the under hood temps are negatively affecting the performance. Where is yours located?

 

[TurboDave]

Do you find yourself using speed density on the maf pro if you were tuning to get a 11.5 ET? or would you say speed density comes into play when you are tweaking every little bit you can out of a combo? i.e tenths of a second...again once I hit 11.5 ET the track is going kick me out...

The GenII has the same wideband tracking technology as the MafPro if i understand it correctly, so what I am wondering is, if the trans +, or gen II can realitively easily get me to 11.5 ET with lets say a "decent tune" will I benefit from the speed density option.

Not completely. The two are a little different in their WB tracking. The TPro has the ability to not only track WOT, but also can do WB tracking in idle mode and cruise mode.
With the GENII you'll still need to run a MAF, no speed density.

Let me ask it this way, will the gen II/maft pro increase my performance greatly over the trans +, or will an investment into something else (cam, IC, etc) yield more results..

Will they increase your performance, No of course not, HOWEVER they will allow you to tune to a finer detail, and depending on your abilities and understanding of tuning THEN your performance may increase.

At the very least i think I am leaning towards the Gen II, possibly the Maft pro, realistically speaking though if i hook up the Gen II with wideband tracking, and hit 11.5 ET consistently/easily...i don't know that i'll mess with speed density unless it offers me a "safer" tune...

Thanks for your time,
Nate

Safer tune? Depends on how much "tinkering" you like doing.

I sure like my Translator Pro, but keep in mind there are those that have given up on it in the past because they became a bit overwhelmed by the complexity of hookup and tuning. There's a reason it's called a "PRO".

You might think SD is a safer tune, but in the wrong hands, well let's just say it isn't.

I found/find the Pro to be fun. The GENII (or even your T+) can easilly get you to your target performance level and do it safely, as can the Pro.

 

[TurboBob]

with higher hp turbo cars, Speed Density is the proper engine management scheme.

Is 11.50 in this group? Its near the edge.

Speed Density is a more complex control scheme, as its an indirect measurement of airflow into the engine. Many guys are very successful with the pro. However, its not like plugging in a chip and standing on the throttle.

If you like to tinker some, and be in control of the tune, the Pro is excellent. For an 11.50 car, you could run the Pro with a MAF and use all of its advanced features. (spark control, boost control, wideband tracking, logging, etc) Then you can step up to speed density as your desired performance gets more ambitious. (happens to all of us)

Bob

 

[fullahotair]

I see that you have an LC-1. How is that working out for you? I got one and it never worked right from the start, so I sent it back to have them repair it. I have it located in the engine bay and was wondering if the under hood temps are negatively affecting the performance. Where is yours located?

LC-1 is working quite well i suppose. No issues. Install went pretty smooth. I have the sensor in the test pipe, ran the cable through a hole i drilled tranny tunnel, and stuffed the box under center console. Installed it last year, and it seems to doing its job. I also have it tied into my powerlogger to read out on the scanmaster which is pretty slick...


Nate

 

[JayC]

The O2 sensor on the LC1 needs to be at least 2 feet away from the turbo or they will fail QUICK. Ive been putting them under the car as well.

 

[Sweet6]

The TurboTweak SD chip is a nice set up too. Times in sig are with the SD chip with minimal tweaking. The WB tracking works well on it too.

 

[fullahotair]

Will they increase your performance, No of course not, HOWEVER they will allow you to tune to a finer detail, and depending on your abilities and understanding of tuning THEN your performance may increase.

Hey dave how is it going? Right, these devices won't increase my performance directly, they will only provide the "oppurtunity" to maximize or unlock the power your combo has...

i realize it is impossible to definitively say "that with maft pro i was able to get another X horsepower out of my combo than i could with the gen II, trans +, etc.." but that is essentially what i am asking i suppose...:biggrin: :biggrin:


I also really enjoy getting neck deep into tuning, theory, and tinkering around so that is also what attracts me to Maftpro. Like Bob said in his post...Then you can step up to speed density as your desired performance gets more ambitious. (happens to all of us)

Thank as always Dave for weighing in...

Nate

 

[fullahotair]

with higher hp turbo cars, Speed Density is the proper engine management scheme.

Is 11.50 in this group? Its near the edge.

Speed Density is a more complex control scheme, as its an indirect measurement of airflow into the engine. Many guys are very successful with the pro. However, its not like plugging in a chip and standing on the throttle.

If you like to tinker some, and be in control of the tune, the Pro is excellent. For an 11.50 car, you could run the Pro with a MAF and use all of its advanced features. (spark control, boost control, wideband tracking, logging, etc) Then you can step up to speed density as your desired performance gets more ambitious. (happens to all of us)

Bob

Thanks for the reply! You guys are easily twisting my arm into upgrading to the MaftPro...damn you guys!!! :biggrin: :biggrin: Now if i could only convince my other half that I NEED the Maftpro...

On a side note, I posted up on the fullthrottleboard about the casper's full pressure tranducer and it reading roughly 1/2 of the actual pressure on p'logger. This weekend i'll fiddle around, get the latest version p'logger and post up some results. Do you know, or is there, a table for Casper's transducer that tells me voltage to psi? I was thinking i could trouble shoot if knew what a voltage correlated to in psi...

Thanks for your time to reply,

Nate

 

[fullahotair]

The TurboTweak SD chip is a nice set up too. Times in sig are with the SD chip with minimal tweaking. The WB tracking works well on it too.

Thanks Sweet6,

I'll check out the TT chip info tonight after work! It looks like it performed quite well for you!


Nate