Mongo

I've been eye-balling Mr. Wilk's site recently as well as the Pelican 944 forums and have recently discovered his work on a MAF conversion for the 944 at a more affordable price. The conversion appears to be straight forward with almost no-wire cutting and splicing. I know this is probably old news but I was wondering if anyone has had updates on this or not?

The idea of an MAF would definitely spell a performance gain. How much may be an issue to others, respiration is mine. Our air flow meters aren't exactly built to suck half the environment's air molecules into the motor, however this would be a new innovation that could very well possibly introduce a whole new era of modifications for the car

I look forward to seeing this new MAF as soon as there's more info on it and would most likely be one of his first customers


http://frwilk.com/944dme/hfm5.htm

Campeck

i know damn well it doesnt take $600 to make one of those. I mean come on ppl.
why cant you an AFFORDABLE price on something that sure as hell doesnt cost 600$>
WHY do ppl put cost on performance instead of the item itself.

thats dumb and wrong on so many levels. and he could get so much more interest with less.

aeronautica86

Here's a DIY maf a 'lister made not too long ago using a mustang maf:

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/217641-working-diy-maf.html

Rock

i have no problem paying 650 as long as it proves worth it. His chip was badass, id imagine this would be

tifosiman

I don't think $600 is a bad price. Ashton, you have to consider the time spent on research and development. Plus, with the limited market that there is for such a product, he has to price this accordingly to make it worthwhile for his efforts. You can't look at something in terms of the pieces and parts that go into it as being the retail value. R&D, effort, time, and demand all must go into the equation.

Mongo

Campeck, can you remap an MAF from a completely different car that isn't even European? I sure as hell can't. The guy's a genius. Hell I have any respect for someone who has the skill, let alone just the idea to do that!

That's how you learn about a car's limits, it's fuel system, engine and the optimized air and fuel ratios.

he's done his research well, he serves a business purpose, hence he can retail it for anything he wants to. I know I would.

AlexE

Ditto

.........as I recall the last retail MAF conversion (no longer around) for the NA was ~1000. So I think he has done just fine with his price point.

Campeck

well. this "demand" that you speak of. lol

dont you think ALOT more ppl would be willing to buy it if it was say only $300?
IMHO i think he would make a buttload more...help more ppl....and just be more sensible if the price was lowered. "norma"l 944 owners wont shell out 600 for one. the hardcore guys like us will.
if he puts it at 300 or less. geuss who will come running? everyone. I know his talents are appreciated and he has done alot. i couldnt do it. but if he sells 4 of the things. thats 2k already. he WILL sell more than 4. but what if he could sell....500 with a price of 300.

eh. its his decision to make and my opinions dont matter

Mongo

sure you can buy it for that price Ashton, but would you want to put the effort into calibration and making your own harness so it's compatible with Bosch LH series fuel injection? Mr. Willk's does his cost accounting well

iloveporsches

The entire aftermarket for 944 NA's just isn't very big. Throw on top of that that not every 944 owner knows about Mr. Wilk, and you're looking at a very small market.

The biggest cost, I would think, is his time spent on R&D. He has to price his items to sell a reasonable amount and still make it worthwhile for his effort.

Campeck

I really just dont see the justification. hundreds of cars today use MAF sensors. basically he had to put in a table. so wehen the MAF made a signal. it converts it to something the ecu can read.

I doubt for MRwilk this was any grand feat!
and the reason the market is so small......i would think prces have something to do with it. 6k for a supercharger? $600 for an MAF? i dont mean to be rude. hes a great contribtor to the 944 scene. but i think hes pricing the performance..not the product and his R&D.

Mongo

600 is 10% of $6,000 Ashton. That's a big difference in price to compare for tuning. Keep in mind that an MAF kit would improve the efficiency of induction with the supercharger too.

Techno Duck

His chip was fairly expensive compared to the others. And its almost a handsdown argument to say he has the best one available.

I would say more than 3/4's of the 944 aftermarket parts 'demand' comes from Rennlist and Pelican. With the occasional passer-by or friend who hears about these products by luck. So your talking at most, maybe 100 people at most on Rennlist alone that would be interested in a product like this.

Seeing as to the sucess FRWilk was able to peform with his PowerProm chip, i hope he is as successful (or even more) with this new product. I admit, $650 is alot, but like Rock said...if this offers reasonable gains or good changes to the feel of the car...id think i would end up spending the money on it.

Manning

Ashton, price out a new MAF for some hunk of 'mercan iron from some place like Summit. It is going to run you $250.00 minimum for a hot wire MAF. Now factor in the other junk that FR add to the mix.

Maybe if you want to try an cobble something out of junkyard parts you can get around $300.00. Maybe not.

JustinL

That really is the question isn't it... If he halves the price of the unit as you suggest he would need twice the orders to maintain the same revenue. But revenue is only half of the equation. If he sells twice as many units at the same marginal cost he could nearly double his variable costs.

If my shaky grasp of microeconomics doesn't let me down here, the downward sloping demand curve creates a parabolic shaped revenue curve and likely a somewhat linear cost curve over the relevant range (only 100ish units). Revenue less expenses gives profit.

Anyway... my point is, from FRwilk's perspective there is an optimum price and it's unlikely that halving the price is in HIS best interests.

Justin