Thread: MAF vs MAP vs TPS/ALPHA

I'm sure many people are wondering is there any gains to be had in any one tune? (resolution/ max power)
I am NOT talking about the slight gain from running NO MAF either.
Now, I know using a MAP sensor when running a TURBO can have lots of usfullness but just the strait up basic tune is what im talking about here.


Like for NA motors, wouldn't TPS/ALPHA be the best??? LESS PARTS no maf or map, less clutter etc.. etc.. is TPS/ALPHA easier to tune?

How the heck does TPS/ALPHA make this much power?

+1 for this.

now i have the new nismotronic software (yet to be put it ) and toying with the idea of aftermarket intake manifolds for my ve , i was thinking that a map sensor would be far easier and cheaper than a maf should i need one in a hurry, and the idea of simply running a pipe from the throttle body to the air cleaner without the maf is appealing.

alot of aussie's have gone down the map route with chevy v8's over here, it allows a pretty direct route for cold air to get into the motor, from a front mounted air ram intake.

would the tps/alpha be better again? i thought it was mainly for itb's. is their a dyno comparison out there?

Not in my experience.

This is a pretty good comparison:
Load Control - Methods of calculating, measuring and determining Load: Speed-Density, MAF and Alpha-N

Any method should technically lead you same amount of power, it's more of how easy it is to tune it or how precise your tuning is with that option.

The alphaN/TPS is by far the hardest to tune and should really ONLY be used to tune an ITB car.

Speed density allows for a lot more options as far as intake pipe placement and diameter and can be a little easier to setup and tune than a MAF car.

The new software just gives you the choice to use whatever you would like to use, some like MAF because they are use to it and others like MAP or speed density because it is easier to setup and tune.

I did overlook the basic's and all you need to make power is the proper timing and fuel mix DUH lol. How you got that doesn't matter I guess.



Could you elaborate more? If you don't have a IAT sensor, maf sensor (VQ table) or map sensor etc... That's a lot less tables to worry about. Even the map sensor conversion seems quite hard with all those other tables that need to be setup. Maf or TPS seems the way to go. Less adjustment tables sounds easier to tune to me.

I understand TPS/Alpha is not recommended because I guess your a/f will always be changing because of air temp/ and pressure difference, from sea level change. Is this a big change? What if you only drove your car in the summer ?

Trust me on this, alpha N tuning is a lot more difficult than you might think, this is why almost NONE of the factory ECU strategies use alpha N EXCEPT for a limp home map.

Speed density tuning is actually easier to comprehend than a MAF based system.. all you do for SD is setup your MAP sensor calibration and your IAT compensation table and you are good to go.

The fueling is then all tuned in the fuel table because it doesn't use a Kvalue OR VQ table to do any adjustment to the final fuel value. It overall is actually more simplistic than tuning a MAF setup.



It isn't because your AFR will be changing because of air temp/density but more of how your TPS relates to manifold pressure.

Take a look at the alpha N B13 map in the SA start up calibrations, you will see the fuel table is greatly different then the SD and MAF tables.

But again, if you want to try it .. go ahead. Just a fair warning that it will be unlike anything you have tried to tune in the past and can definitely be a pain to get dialed in correctly.

John, Thanks for the clarification AGAIN hahaha.

and no im not going to try the TPS/Alpha method

Tell me about what is best to tune for Pulsar GTIR ITB-s setup ?
Z32 maf or map/iat with alpha/n ?
How i can use map/iat and alpha/n together ? switching between alternate and primary maps ?