Because that movie is awesome.

Chunkerz, how do you like the kit? Worth the money? Would you buy it again?

The quality/craftsmanship of the kit is very nice. It feels very high quality and like it will last for many years. In my opinion it looks a little out of place in the 944 engine bay, but that's just my opinion... My only complaints are the MAF housing had some scratches and the chip has no visual indent that identifies which way it goes into the socket, but overall I like it.

I'm not sure if it was worth the money because I haven't had a chance to drive my car with the kit yet. After installing it my car would do the classic 944 start, run wonderfully, then stall ritual. I don't know if it's because my car doesn't like it or I screwed up when I installed it (that's most likely the problem. See my thread for the full details). Shortly after all of this I ran into cylinder head issues, so I had to put this on the back burner. I'll report back when everything is sorted out.

Thanks for the review Chunkerz, please do report back when you have some miles on it. SmileWavy

I'll see if I can find a way to mount my camera for a 0-60 video. Everyone likes videos...

As promised, here's a review:

The NA-Tune is very easy to install and made a huge improvement in the drivability of my car. The wiring harness is of very high quality and feels like it will last for years, as does the MAF housing. My only complaint about the MAF housing is there were some scratches on it, but it's no big deal. Installation of the 4* cam key can be a bit tricky if the cam bolt is stuck or strips, so make sure you have a good set of tools when you try to remove it. I'd recommend having two people when you try to remove it (one person to hold the wrench on the cam gear and another to loosen the bolt). After installation my car idles rock steady at about 1000 RPM, unlike stock where it would wonder between 900 and 1000 RPM. I'll post a how to with pictures on lowering the idle when I get around to it.

My car used to stumble, hesitate, and occasionally bog down a little bit when I tried to accelerate, but that is completely gone now. I get instant throttle response with no complaining from the engine. With the AFM, when I pushed in the clutch to stop at a light or something, the idle would dip down to 700ish RPM, shudder, then pick back up to 950RPM. With the NA- Tune the RPM's drop somewhat slowly when I push in the clutch, but the engine always stops at 1000 RPM with no dipping or shuddering.

The car picks up revs much easier/faster and feels like it has about twice as much power everywhere. I can get up slight slopes now without having to downshift and deal with the engine screaming at 3500 RPM. It also starts pulling like hell at about 3000 RPM, whereas with the AFM it wouldn't start pulling until 4000+ RPM. Even then it was still slow as hell and took forever to get up to speed. With the NA-Tune I can feel the G's when it starts pulling and reach 60mph in no time.

Everyone likes videos, so here they are:

In this video I go 0-60ish before having to slow down for a car:
944 NA-Tune Run 1 - YouTube

In this one I'm going 25 or 30mph up to 80 before having to slow down for a light:
944 NA-Tune Run 2 - YouTube

If you get the NA-Tune, be sure to get it with the 4* cam key and if it's legal in your area, delete the cat and install a chambered muffler from Sweet Thunder. They're made for muscle cars, but it made my car sound awesome and felt like it gave me a few more horses. They have different diameters/lengths and also offer it in aluminized steel (not recommended) or stainless steel. I'll see if I can get a video of 0-top speed sometime soon. These videos are with 8 month old gas topped off with about 1/4 of a tank of premium, so with fresh gas it may be a bit faster.

Anyone else install without the cam key (I'm thinking that's an upgrade for the next belt change)?

I'm looking to pull the trigger on this.

Most that have bought the kit first install the MAF, then do the key at a later date...

Like so many great blokes on this board, your DIY pics and write up helps us newbies immensely so thank you.

Your 0-55mph vid looks like about 7.9 secs... ya? (1988 944 right?)
So the MAF solved your inconsistent idle and hesitant acceleration, but really doesn't shave anything off stock 0-60?

Not flaming, just looking for a reference point.

PS: Your 5500rpm to Rev limiter valve note is nirvana..
Thanks again.. Mike

0-55MPH times are very dependent upon launching skill, tires, and willingness to abuse the driveline. A back-to-back 5-55MPH timed test would be a much better indication of improvement.

Yes, good point.
I know the car magazines now include a rolling start accel test in their model benchmarks.
Still interested in any empirical contrasts post-MAF.

Just some rambling thoughts on this.

Adding / changing the cam timing on a 944 does two things.

1. By moving the cam in relationship to the crank you effectively are moving the power band around. It does not by its self add or subtract power it just puts the power in the RPM range that you want for your application. This will improve the performance of a vehicle when it is matched to what a driver wants / needs. For street driving moving the HP and Torque lower in the RPM range will always make a 944 more drivable. Moving it up higher will make it a better track car as there is a fall off above 5700 - 6K. You can reduce this some and thus make the car better / faster. Again you are not adding HP or Torque you are just putting it where it is most wanted / needed.

2. By changing the relationship of the cam gear to the crank you are changing the static timing of the motor. Effectively increasing the timing across the entire map in the DME. Having built many race motors over the years and then taking them to the dyno I am always at how my backside dyno always wants more timing than what the chasie dino ultimately tells me I need. We are talking only a couple percentage points here but for racing applications it is important. For the street adding a little more timing tends to make a cares motor feel more crisp. It reeves a little quicker and over all you feel like there is better throttle response. This is a good feeling and will usually tune a car for the street this way. You also have to understand that most stock timing curves are a compromise between emissions and power as well as reliability / durability. After all manufacturers don't want there motors burning pistons or suffering detonation / knock issues on a regular basis (bad for business) so they tend to error a bit on the conservative side. The 944 is not different. Adding a little bit of static timing will make the car feel a lot better and add a little hp. However from the dyno I see that adding to much makes the car feel great ut the actual HP gains are marginal and in many cases start to fall off where the backside dyno tells you that it is the best.

Getting back to the MAF Conversion.

Many of the things you described in your write-up I would attribute to the change in the static timing change. The smoother idle and more stable idle are definitely the result of the MAF. I am sure the MAF is also adding a little hp just by the fact that it allows the motor to breath better.

I would like to see a car that has the MAF installed with out the cam changes made and then driven and dynoed and then make the cam changes and repeat driving it and dynoing it. Or inversely take a stock car and just make the cam changes and take it for a spin and a dyno run.

Since I have a sand alone MAP based EDIS ignition system on my car I can control my timing maps independently of the DME I can simulate what is being done mechanically by changing my map. What I can not simulate is the change in cam advance in relation to the crank but again that should not increase HP it will just move peak HP and torque around in the RPM range. My experience with this on the 944 mimics what has been described above about how the car feels when timing is increased.

So in short I think that the MAF swap is a GREAT IDEA!!!! I am also impressed that it has been integrated into a much more complete package that addresses several other issues that 944's have that when fixed really enhance the driving experience. Good job at putting together a complete package.

While generally adjusting cam-timing does move the powerband around, in our application it also improves peak power. Here is an overlay of advanced 4° vs retarded 4°:

http://www.roguetuning.com/cam_timing_diff.png

While it is clear to see that the advanced cam moves power earlier in the RPM-range, it is also obvious to see that the advanced cam did make more peak power.
Yes, though the retarded cam held power better for the last 750 rpm, the advanced cam made much better power/torque for everywhere else.


Regarding cam timing vs ignition timing: Don't confuse our motors distributors with those of old Chevy/Ford V8s. Adjusting cam timing does not adjust ignition timing. These are two independent adjustments. The only function the distributor plays in our cars is to direct the ignition event to the correct cylinder - the DME is in absolute control of the ignition timing and does not use the distributor for timing adjustment at all!


Finally, MAF vs AFM (this is on my website as well):

http://roguetuning.com/maf_vs_afm.png


After switching to the MAF, there is a need to re-adjust the idle. This is simply due to removing the restriction of the AFM. The AFM, essentially, is acting like a second throttle-plate - which makes the engine work harder to ingest air. Removing this restriction alone does provide an easier airflow path resulting in more power, even without any timing or target AFR changes.

In the 0-55 video I had to turn onto a road, so that added a considerable amount of time. I have elcrapo Kmart tires and my transmission is already on its last legs thanks to the PO, so I don't want to abuse it too much.

The 944 is not a Chevy or Ford. Ignition-timing is all electronic and modifying the camshaft-timing will not affect ignition-timing. The DME gets rotational-position data from the speed/reference-sensors on the flywheel. Doesn't matter how you rotate the cam, the igniton-timing will remain the same. In the early days when the 944 first came out, we'd adjust ignition-timing by drilling extra holes in the flywheel and move the triggers. Nowadays, it's much easier to program the chip or use Rogue's tuners.

There are times when the spark advance is far enough out that you can benefit from re-indexing the distributor cap or rotor. This is to avoid having an excessive gap between the rotor and the cap contacts at full advance or full retard. If there is a lot more advance in a custom chip there could be some benefit to this. A wasted spark or full CoP system would be better still though.

I just wanted to post quickly about my experiences. First off my car is an 84 944 N/A track car. It has been lightened by approx. 150lbs and has a swap from an 87.

The MAF install was super easy, and the car fired right away. It idles better than it ever has but what I am most impressed with is how smooth it pulls. The car was very jerky under acceleration before and that is now gone. Also, the torque at low rpm's is most noticeable. It pulls hard from down low. On the track, the car is magic and I've noticed a definite improvement in fuel economy at the track.

I haven't done the cam key yet, but I will report on it when I do. I'll be removing my cat and installing a long tube header at the same time so I think I'll still have the top end power. Once it's all setup I hope to dyno the car.

Joshua has been very helpful with any questions as well.

Big thumbs up from me for the MAF kit. Please support the people that support our cars.

All very true,my kit is great also.

You are correct I was using it as an example it was not meant that we could do it on our motors. I was typing my thought process and some times it does not come out rite.

The Graphs are fascinating!!!!!! Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to put an adjustable cam gear on my car.

Also Have you thought of making something that would take the signal from a MAP sensor and convert the signal so the DME could use it?

No need to convert the MAP signal... I re-wrote the DME software to properly understand a MAP sensor, and run using Speed Density a couple of years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBQqqfpJG_A


The problem with Speed Density, is that it must be tuned the individual car, and does not handle engine breathing changes well.
Conversely, a MAF setup does handle breathing changes well, and is quite good at adapting to different cars.
So, considering this I never released the MAP conversion. And instead went with a MAF setup.