What does a mass air flow sensor do?? Does it improve horsepower? Does it Affect drivability? Does it increase gas mileage? Am I asking too many questions??

 

In a nutshell it meters the amount and density(i think) of the air entering the engine so the computer knows how much fuel to add. There can be more technical explainations but that's what it does in layman's terms.

 

So the engine will use up more gas???? Oh one more thing, What grade of octane should I be using in my gas>?? I have a 98 z28 convetable. Is it wise to use a sensor with a cold air induction system

 

I'm a little lost by your questions.

You HAVE to use that sensor or your engine won't run.

As far as octane...I run 93 in my Z..I personally won't use anything less, you might be able tog et away with 89 but I'm not sure.

 

using lower octane gas will cause pinging, knock retard, etc, which will affect performance, and could contribute to quicker carbon buildup, as well as a loss of power. Due to the high compression of our engines, it's important to use premium fuel, 91 or 93 octane.

 

Better qualify that comment. If the MAF fails, the car will run in speed density mode. It may not run as smoothly, but it will run.

 

Unhook your's and try it. It will run like crap. Forgot to hook mine back up once.

 

When my car was stock, I had a MAF failure. Didn't prevent me from driving it to the dealership for a replacement.

My car hasn't been stock in over 6 years. My MAF is unhooked, and has been unhooked for weeks and it runs great. However, my car is tuned, perhaps yours is not.

 

So if your car is tuned, you hypothetically don't need a MAF?

 

You can remove the MAF and run speed density tuning (either running open loop full time or regular closed loop). If you want to put the MAF back on afterwards, you may need additional tuning to get your fuel trims back inline.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of folks doing it in the States, but I think that's more a factor of not having the appropriate tools until recently.

 

Sounds like too much work, I'll keep mine on.

 

Yeah, my bad. Should've been more specific.