Unasked MAF question

[j.fro]

At least, I think this question is unasked on this forum...

Does the proximity of the MAF to the throttle body have an effect on throttle response? Provided that incoming air is the same temp throughout the intake tract, it would seem that having the MAF closer to the TB would make for quicker throttle response because of less lag between opening the TB and air moving past the MAF.

Thoughts?

[blue2000s]

At the flow rates of an engine intake, air is considered incompressible. Meaning that there is negligable lag between the dynamic events between the front and rear of the tube.

[landrovered]

Yes as Blue said, the air cannot pass the TB without moving through the MAF as long as there is no leaking of air from outside the system.

[thstone]

Like most things in life, its a trade-off...

Yes, the ideal place for the MAF would be right in front of the throttle body to reduce any possible difference in air flow characteristics between what the MAF measures and what actually goes through the throttle body.

However, placing the MAF right next to the throttle body would subject it to a lot of turbulent flow as the throttle opens/closes and that would create havoc with the flow measurement values.

Hence, the MAF is placed as close to the throttle body as possible while ensuring that it is far enough away to be (relatively) unaffected by the flow characteristics of the throttle opening/closing (and of course, within the space constaints of the engine bay, maintanence constraints of being repairable, and cost constraints of being affordable).