A

ir/fuel ratio control is the

primary function of any en-
gine management system.
Note that this statement of
fact starts with air. The
mass airflow (MAF) sensor is
a direct measure of the air entering the en-
gine, compared to the speed-density sys-
tem, which uses manifold absolute pres-
sure (MAP) to calculate air delivery.
I n this months column, I ll concentrate
on understanding the relationships among
airflow, load, fuel delivery and MAF sys-
tems, and what effect those interrelation-
ships have on driveability. The test vehicle
was a properly running 1.8L 2004 Toyota
Corolla.
The following idle airflow calculation
closely matches the actual idle airflow in
Fig. 1 below:
750 rpm 2 (for 4-stroke cycle) 60 sec-
onds i n a mi nute = 6.25 power cycl es
per second x 1.8L x 1.184 grams per liter
15% Volumetric Efficiency = 2.0 grams
of air per second (gm./sec.)
I n the pair of graphs in Fig. 1, the idle
airflow is 2.07 gm./sec. at idle, no load, in
Neutral. Shifting into Drive increased the
airflow to 2.4 gm./sec., a load increase of
about 20%. I turned on the Corollas air
conditioning and the airflow rose to 3.7
gm./sec. to compensate for the load. The
a/c load increase of 1.3 gm./sec. is a nearly
65% increase over the base idle load of 2.0
gm./sec.
The general rule for airflow at idle is
that it should match the engine liter dis-
placement 20%. You can see that addi-
tional loads can change this number con-
Mark
Warren
A better understanding of the interrelationships among fuel delivery,
airflow and relative load will help your diagnostic abilities. It begins by
recognizing that fuel delivery calculations are all about the airflow.
smwarren@motor.com
Driveability Corner
S
c
r
e
e
n

c
a
p
t
u
r
e
s

&

c
h
a
r
t
:

M
a
r
k

W
a
r
r
e
n
Fig. 1
1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 0
continued on page 18
siderably. Be sure to test idle air-
flow with all loads off.
Fig. 2 shown above is a trio of
graphs that were created during a
test drive on the freeway, with a
wide-open throttle (WOT) in the
center, a deceleration and idle at
the end. While the load/airflow at
speed was uneven due to the vol-
ume of traffic, the typical airflow at
75 mph was 23 to 25 gm./sec. The
airflow at 5000 rpm WOT was
about 70 gm./sec., or 39 times 1.8L.
Typically, wide-open throttle at
5000 rpm is 37 to 40 times the en-
gine displacement in liters.
The fol l owi ng equati ons wi l l
help you better understand the re-
lationship between airflow and fuel
consumption:
70 mph 35 mpg = 2 gal s./hr.
2840 gm./gal . x 2 gal s. = 5680
gm./hr.
5680 gm./hr. 3600 sec. = 1.58
gm./sec. (gasol i ne)
23.3 gm./sec. ai r 14.7 ai r/fuel
rati o = 1.58 gm./sec. fuel
The top set of equations provide
the amount of fuel consumed, in
gm./hr., at 70 mph and 35 mpg:
5680. The middle equation is the
amount of fuel consumed in
gm./sec.: 1.58. The lower equation
Driveability Corner


















r
a
d
e
m
a
r
k

o
f

t
h
e

C
o
n
t
i
n
e
n
t
a
l

C
o
r
p
o
r
a
t
i
o
n
engineers have the expertise to guarantee OE
team apart fr
OE engineering experience. It



engineers have the expertise to guarantee OE
om the competition. Our design team apart fr
s what sets our OE engineering experience. It


Get the OE engineering advantage.
of the competition.
service and coverage to keep you ahead
engineers have the expertise to guarantee OE
om the competition. Our design
s what sets our



.vdo.com/usa www
Get the OE engineering advantage.
of the competition.
service and coverage to keep you ahead






r
a
d
e
m
a
r
k

o
f

t
h
e

C
o
n
t
i
n
e
n
t
a
l

C
V
D
O
-
a
TT
r
delivers best-in-the-business quality
s why you need VDO the brand that That
t, form and function. First time. Every time.
engineers have the expertise to guarantee OE



, delivers best-in-the-business quality
s why you need VDO the brand that
t, form and function. First time. Every time.
engineers have the expertise to guarantee OE
otors & Fan Assemblies | Door Syste



salessupport-us@vdo.com
For additional information, contact:
Go with VDO.
Get the OE engineering advantage.
s why you need VDO the brand that
t, form and function. First time. Every time.
Electric Motors & Fan Assemblies | Door Systems | Engine Management | Instrumentation



salessupport-us@vdo.com
For additional information, contact:
Get the OE engineering advantage.
Electric Motors & Fan Assemblies | Door Systems | Engine Management | Instrumentation



Circle #11
1 8 A u g u st 2 0 1 0
Fig. 2
is a reverse calcu-
lation of airflow,
multiplying 1.58
gm./sec. of fuel
by 14.7:1 air/fuel
ratio. The reverse
calculation of air-
flow closely
matches the actu-
al measured air-
flow.
The chart in
F ig. 3 at right
shows the mea-
sured airflow un-
der different load
conditions (first
column). The
second column is the measured air-
flow in gm./sec.; the third column
is calculated fuel consumption in
gm./sec. at 14.7:1 air/fuel ratio (ex-
cept for the last row, WOT, calcu-
lated at 12.5:1 air/fuel ratio); the
fourth column is fuel consumption
in gals./hr.; the fifth column is the
percent of load measured against
5000 rpm WOT; the sixth column is
mpg achieved.
Gaining a better understanding
of fuel delivery, airflow and relative
load will help improve your diag-
nostic abilities when it comes to
driveability problems. Remember,
fuel delivery base calculations are
all about the airflow.
1 9 A u g u st 2 0 1 0
Circle #12
Fig. 3