PIR4TE
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Air mass calculations are more accurate at higher revs in the MAF model, and in a blend tune you still need to cater for the SD model - so unless your tuner can tune the SD model to be reporting the same airflow as the MAF (problematic to get right needs the dyno as every setup is different). Unfortunately in most budget tune cases one or the other is used.
When tuning to account for performance mods you are altering what the MAF is actually measuring, and here's the rub: The stock MAF on a VE 6.0 becomes unreliable for air mass modeling at around 300g/s (280rwkw), at which point it requires frequency scaling to suit the actual airflow bias. This skilled hack is fine and simple to do, up to the point where the MAF and housing itself becomes a physical restriction to the CFM required to increase engine kw, operating outside design parameters when the honey cells become restrictive, laminar flow gives way to turbulent RE, and technically the sender lacks the resolution (15khz) required for fine tuning drivability which the MAF on GM's larger engines have as stock.
To circumvent needless time and expense performance tuners typically disregard the MAF model to avoid these obstacles.
The car will run as expected, and in fact run better at part throttle having at least the MAF model tuned out, than when the Stock SD settings are estimating airflow to be a different value than the MAF reading values are reporting, which would translate in poor throttle response.
The MAFless difference is not that SD airflow modeling is more basic or that you are losing some crucial technological element to your car, just that for most it is easier and often cheaper to get better results in less time above 280rwkw tuning the airflow using SD and wideband rather than also scaling the air mass reading in a blend tune.
Lately tuners are using MAF only modeling to some success with 100mm+ housing and card style MAF from either an LS3 or an LS7, customizing their own air straighteners and plumbing pre-throttle body.
So yes, in 2013 swapping a known cam, headers and OTR will get good cheap results by retaining and scaling the stock MAF on a dyno (and possibly remain street legal?). However in a comparison between the two tuning models on a motor approaching 300rwkw, less tuners offer MAF only on the VE 6.0 for reasons above, making it problematic to source a skilled tuner, which means more expensive with less predictable results.
When tuning to account for performance mods you are altering what the MAF is actually measuring, and here's the rub: The stock MAF on a VE 6.0 becomes unreliable for air mass modeling at around 300g/s (280rwkw), at which point it requires frequency scaling to suit the actual airflow bias. This skilled hack is fine and simple to do, up to the point where the MAF and housing itself becomes a physical restriction to the CFM required to increase engine kw, operating outside design parameters when the honey cells become restrictive, laminar flow gives way to turbulent RE, and technically the sender lacks the resolution (15khz) required for fine tuning drivability which the MAF on GM's larger engines have as stock.
To circumvent needless time and expense performance tuners typically disregard the MAF model to avoid these obstacles.
The car will run as expected, and in fact run better at part throttle having at least the MAF model tuned out, than when the Stock SD settings are estimating airflow to be a different value than the MAF reading values are reporting, which would translate in poor throttle response.
The MAFless difference is not that SD airflow modeling is more basic or that you are losing some crucial technological element to your car, just that for most it is easier and often cheaper to get better results in less time above 280rwkw tuning the airflow using SD and wideband rather than also scaling the air mass reading in a blend tune.
Lately tuners are using MAF only modeling to some success with 100mm+ housing and card style MAF from either an LS3 or an LS7, customizing their own air straighteners and plumbing pre-throttle body.
So yes, in 2013 swapping a known cam, headers and OTR will get good cheap results by retaining and scaling the stock MAF on a dyno (and possibly remain street legal?). However in a comparison between the two tuning models on a motor approaching 300rwkw, less tuners offer MAF only on the VE 6.0 for reasons above, making it problematic to source a skilled tuner, which means more expensive with less predictable results.
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