Do you clean your MAS?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,673
Likes: 9
From: Upstate New York
Do you clean your MAF?
With a lot of people running a CAI with aftermarket air filters (the kind that you oil), is it a good idea to clean the MAF just in case it gets some residue on it? What do you use and how often?
edit: I meant MAF not MAS...
edit: I meant MAF not MAS...
Last edited by LMB-C6; Jun 28, 2008 at 01:35 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 7,158
Likes: 152
From: Chicago IL
I just clean and recharge(oil) the filters in my CAI. Hadn't thought of doing that?
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 18,725
Likes: 709
From: Bergen County, NJ
You should not put so much oil on the air filter that it would reach the MAF. That's how MAFs get ruined, by oil splattering on them. The MAF's filiment should always be kept dry.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 222
Likes: 25
From: Pittsburgh, PA
The MAF sensor will get a bit dirty eventually even if you are NOT using an oiled air filter. Sometimes you don't even realize that it is affecting performance until you clean it (since a dirty MAF won't trigger a Check Engine light unless it is really bad). I have had personal experience with this on both my 2002 Camaro SS and my dad's 2003 Escalade, and in both cases, cleaning the MAF made a slightly noticable difference in performance.
A company named CRC makes a spray-can of cleaner specifically designed for cleaning MAFs. This is the ONLY thing that should be used (using carb cleaner or something like that can ruin your MAF):
http://www.crcindustries.com/catalog...sers/05110.jpg
By the way, doing this every time you change your air filter like it recommends on the can is maybe a bit excessive. I would say doing this once every year or two should be fine.
A company named CRC makes a spray-can of cleaner specifically designed for cleaning MAFs. This is the ONLY thing that should be used (using carb cleaner or something like that can ruin your MAF):
http://www.crcindustries.com/catalog...sers/05110.jpg
By the way, doing this every time you change your air filter like it recommends on the can is maybe a bit excessive. I would say doing this once every year or two should be fine.
Last edited by 9192champs; Jun 23, 2008 at 02:25 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
From: Gilbert Arizona
Most MAFs have a self cleaning cycle. They have a burn cycle that allows them to burn off most foreign matter. However, the clean cycle will not be able to keep it clean forever. I just did my DD at 105K miles with the CRC MAF cleaner and it works great. I have a K&N filter on my DD and the MAF had a wod of dust lint on it. I did not notice any change in performance and my gas mileage calculations are negligible considering my driving conditions vary widely over a tank. I may have picked up a little fuel savings in the realm of +1MPG in a ~30MPG vehicle (It probably would have helped if I had my Scangauge II before cleaing the MAF to visualize any difference).
I personally wouldn't do it too often.
I personally wouldn't do it too often.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski