g'day all.... on a 5 litre .... from a '97 fairlane
what's the limit on cam's, head's, maf's, throttle body's etc ,on the stock ecu before you have to go a aftermarket aid like "capa eliminater" etc ?

As soon as you change the MAF or injector size, you will need tuning unless you have the MAF calibrated to suit.

You normally have to change the MAF when you do heads and cams as well, basically needs to be combined.

The ECU is more powerful than almost anything you can buy. Just very few know how to tune it. Those that do, keep it a secret for themselves. It will adapt to pretty much anything you can do. Too large a cam and it will probably struggle. A "chip" will however give you more power when you have a few mods. All depends on what you're planning.

Do you mean the std tune, or the std ECU?

As mentioned, the std ECU is a pretty powerful thing, and only got better with more recent models.

Because the V8's are MAF-based, they handle most mild changes with the std tune pretty well. Possibly only idle is where they will be a bit messy once you start pushing big cams and so on....

The CAPA Eliminator, Sniper, twEECer, are all just ways to change the tune on the std ECU.

was just wanting to know what mods i can do before i have to get a "capa plug in" already have cai, k&n, pacemaker headers, 2 1/2 inch zorst with hooker aero chamber muffler.
can cam upgrades be done? ...any other mod's you can mention? before going for the "plug in" any idea's well be well met.

thanks for the insite guy's.....what sort of cam can i go for with what i've got ?

A 2030 or 2031 seems to be the go. But they will require roller rockers and generally compliment a set of heads.

A set of AU heads (gt40p's) a good cam and a set of roller rockers, depending on the cam your running will see good results.

Generally all done in the one hit...

thanks schnoods.....
so it's when you get to the air/fuel side of things that you have to tweek the ecu ?
that info has put me on the right track thanks.

"A 2030 or 2031 seems to be the go"

schnoods , what brands are the go for a good cam & roller rockers ?
& rockers- 1.6 or 1.7? thanks.

Thats kind of generalising....if you added spark to to that list, you would be covering pretty much everything the ECU does, lol

The MAF can account for changes in airflow (as long as its within range of the MAF), so that the ECU can maintain the fuel ratios it is targeting.

The problem is, the MAF is not nearly as critical for things like idle, cold start, light cruise....which is where a cam with more duration will also need changes to the tune.

The 2030/2031 was designed by Crane as an upgrade for 5.0L Mustang Cobra's with its GT40 heads, and GT40/Explorer style intake. The 2031 is for 1.72:1 rockers, and the 2030 is for 1.6:1 rockers (the 2030 is very slightly bigger than the 2031).

The 2030/2031 doesn't need roller rockers any more than any other cam. There is a guy on these forums that runs a Crane 2030 with std rockers, and has run into the 13's in his EB. Change to roller rockers for the same reason you would on any engine...

Valvesprings you will definitely need to change, and you will most likely need different length pushrods as well.

It does not idle great with the std AU 5.0L tune, but it is OK (it stalls from time to time). It also surges a little at low speed cruise e.g. 50-60kph in top gear.

The DL ECU struggles with the idle compared to the ED ECU I had in my wagon with the Crane 2040. I'm not sure if it is specific to the later model ECU or what.

thanks for the info xr8ute
that gives me a better insight on things.