Cleaned MAF, and car is slow again :(

[Fhrx]

Ok i got my stereo installed by FHRX studios, and fortunately they photo the whole process of the installation, and it proves that they removed it from it's mounting position, and left it to dangle down below. so the two things i just brought up were done by the stereo installers

Proves it? I didn't think it was a secret.

We quite often move items like this around to make way for the brackets that hold fuse holders in place. See one thing which we try to avoid at all costs is damaging your car by drilling holes in it or jamming self tapping screws into it. Therefore when we manufacter the alloy brackets to hold various bits and pieces we sometimes need to move things around to make room (remember there are only a select number of holes in the engine bay to attach things too).

[Fhrx]

another thing i noticed, i got my stereo installed 9 months ago by one of the main guys in the business... i have to say this looks very suspicious, the positive wire to the amps is very loosely running up against what looks to be a mechanical part in the engine bay... not sure what it is but doesn't look like a good idea... what is this moving arm?
i'm starting to wonder why i bothered getting it done by professionals when i installed all the gear fine in my last car...

I could be off the mark a little here but are you sure no one has moved that cable around since it was last here? We usually cable tie all cable runs to something to avoid these sorts of issues. In any case we don't shy away from such responsibilities - I don't suppose you considered bringing the car here to have this cable situation rectified before going online with it perchance?

[Manaz]

I've gotta say, I've dealt with FHRX a few times, and out of all the stereo installers I've dealt with, they've been by FAR the best - the most professional, the most caring of a
customer's car, and have cut no corners when installing. Chalk and cheese when compared to some others I've used or seen the results of (Strathfield, JB HiFi, etc). Marty in particular (who is the owner I believe, and probably the "main guy" you mentioned) was excellent, making sure everything was done to my requirements.

Giving them a call and have a chat rather than naming them here would probably achieve more for you in getting things rectified.

[McDub]

I could be off the mark a little here but are you sure no one has moved that cable around since it was last here? We usually cable tie all cable runs to something to avoid these sorts of issues. In any case we don't shy away from such responsibilities - I don't suppose you considered bringing the car here to have this cable situation rectified before going online with it perchance?

hey marty...

yeah sorry wasn't meant to mention you, that's weak of me, i think i was just a little annoyed in general! Sorry dude.
I noticed the cable there a long time ago and it hasn't proved a problem (i do have to say i'm concerned about all the un-fused length with some of it running past moving parts), but yeah sorry made a bigger deal out of this than i needed to.
and the altitude sensor, i'm sure you were supposed to just put it back and forgot, understandable don't worry.
For the record, you guys did a good job, and when my tweeters didn't work, you installed my new ones for no extra charge...

FHRX = good
McDub = bad

[Fhrx]

Thanks for clearing that up champ.

As I say; we’re certainly not conceited enough to believe we can do no wrong - we’re human just like everybody else. However if there is a drama with one of our cable runs then we need to rectify it as soon as possible.

This is why we offer a life time warranty on any and all of our work. If there is ever a drama with any part of the install - just let us know and we'll address it right away.

[dubbed]

We need you guys in Melbourne...

[McDub]

Not a chance!
Oh and wanted to add, Marty was kind enough to give me a lift in his (very quick) car when i dropped my car off for the install, and as manaz said, they really do their best to look after your car. Very good guy, i feel like a goose for that comment before, was just posting on a whim i guess!

anways back on topic, i purchased a new MAF from Chatswood Classic cars (VW dealer). Really helpfull there, the guy let me test out the new MAF before i paid! If only they offered to reset the ecu for free... ha. So sat around for 40 odd minutes with the neg terminal of the battery off, hoping the poor mans reset would work. was quite funny doing all this in the VW service building.

anyway the jury is still out. before the engine felt slow and heavy... just really not a pleasure to drive. then with the new MAF, it's back to the "light" feel, and it feels much nicer, though i'm not convinced i have the same power as before (seems to be missing that surge of boost between 2000-3000rpm i would notice distincly in second gear). it didn't help me that its raining in syd and the roads are wet, wheel hop city. so hard to tell!
The easiest way to tell is i should be getting around 7 seconds for the 0-100 as i did this test shortly after i got it chipped, although once again it's wet, and not many legal places to do this!

will post back when i get that done.

[fuzion]

Not a chance!
Oh and wanted to add, Marty was kind enough to give me a lift in his (very quick) car when i dropped my car off for the install, and as manaz said, they really do their best to look after your car. Very good guy, i feel like a goose for that comment before, was just posting on a whim i guess!

anways back on topic, i purchased a new MAF from Chatswood Classic cars (VW dealer). Really helpfull there, the guy let me test out the new MAF before i paid! If only they offered to reset the ecu for free... ha. So sat around for 40 odd minutes with the neg terminal of the battery off, hoping the poor mans reset would work. was quite funny doing all this in the VW service building.

anyway the jury is still out. before the engine felt slow and heavy... just really not a pleasure to drive. then with the new MAF, it's back to the "light" feel, and it feels much nicer, though i'm not convinced i have the same power as before (seems to be missing that surge of boost between 2000-3000rpm i would notice distincly in second gear). it didn't help me that its raining in syd and the roads are wet, wheel hop city. so hard to tell!
The easiest way to tell is i should be getting around 7 seconds for the 0-100 as i did this test shortly after i got it chipped, although once again it's wet, and not many legal places to do this!

will post back when i get that done.

i dont even want to ask how much you paid for it .. ouch! lol.. dealers are too expensive for mafs!!

[McDub]

i dont even want to ask how much you paid for it .. ouch! lol.. dealers are too expensive for mafs!!

nah actually not too bad, they wanted $297 list, but i got it for $265.
don't think you're gonna save much importing your own, unless you're not buying OEM, though i could be wrong. btw this was a trade in part. plus having warranty on a part like this is a good thing (even though it can be hard to tell if the thing is faulty!)
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/037906461c/ not much saving there, and that's before shipping

[dubbed]

That's a very, very good price from a Stealer! Damn.

[McDub]

OK guys, doesn't look good. i need some help here!

Finnally got around to doing 0-100 sprint times.

pre-chip: 8.7 sec
post-chip: 7.3 sec
post-maf replacement: 8.0 sec

So it's sitting somewhere in the middle.

i'm at a loss to think what the problem is.
only thing i can think of, is the plate/sensor in the new MAF isn't exactly centered in the housing like the old one was, so perhaps not reading correctly.
or otherwise, my MAF was never damaged, and it's something else.
boost leak? turbo is dying? rag stuck in the air box???

as i said, the only thing i recall touching was the air filter as i took it out, gave it a hit around because i had the top of the air box off to help get the MAF out when i initially tried to clean it.
so I can't think of anything else i could have interfered with...

thanks for any help.

[McDub]

^^^ anyone?

[h100vw]

How are you measuring the sprint mate? How do you know that is accurate???

I don't believe it to be a very repeatable test.

Gavin

[Manaz]

How are you measuring the sprint mate? How do you know that is accurate???

I don't believe it to be a very repeatable test.

Gavin

I'm with Gavin - there are too many variables (measuring process, ambient temperature, road surface, wind, clutch take-up for a particular run, fuel quality and load (load in general), tyre pressure, driver variations, etc) in a public road 0-100km run or anything done without highly accurate timing gear (like the car mags use). A before-and-after dyno on the same gear with the same operator is probably the best, properly timed (ie at a track, not on public roads) quarter miles give a more realistic measure (trap speed in particular).

[McDub]

How are you measuring the sprint mate? How do you know that is accurate???

I don't believe it to be a very repeatable test.

Gavin

i know it's not very accurate, and i won't tell you exactly how i did it, but i used the exact bit of road on each of the three seperate occassions, and for each time i wrote down in the last post, i was able to repeat that number within 0.1 seconds. the road had a slight incline, but that's irrelevant as i am using the figures for comparison purposes only.
I kept as much constant as i could, including the amount of petrol in the tank. i even did it just on fridays
The car FEELS much slower, and the crude 0.7 seconds slower speed i am getting now just proves to ME that it's not just all in my head

i ordered the 14lbs flywheel/clutch from ecs tonight so when that arrives, i'll be sending my car out (hopefully to seb) for some work!

anyway i'm not arguing the validity of my sprint times. my car is underperforming and i'm wondering why!
plus i can't exactly go back in time to when my car was working well and dyno it for comparison... i've got to run with the only test i had done prior to me stuffing around with the car!!!