Apexi AFC Neo vs MAF CAL – MAF Tuner Comparison
November 27, 2024We have extensive experience with the Apexi AFC Neo. Great product but a few things count against it.
Apexi AFC NEO Negatives
The first is that it looks like the AFC Neo has been discontinued by Apexi. Quite a big problem but they can be picked up used.
The second thing is the price. RRP was over 500 USD according the link above. That is getting on to stand-alone ECU money.
And perhaps the most relevant issue is how it’s controlled. The control unit and display are combined into one unit which uses proprietary software. This can make the tuning process a bit involved.
When MoviChip originally started offering the MAF Manager series of MAF manipulators/calibrators our goal was to offer the functionality of the Apexi AFC Neo but at lower price and with a less cumbersome install process.
Functionality Differences
With regards to functionality we used Android devices to program the unit. This made the product easier to use. It also allowed us make installation easier.
The Apexi AFC Neo control unit was mounted inside the car and it was designed to tap into the wires as they went into the engine ECU. If you didn’t want to use a patch harness this meant cutting into the factory wiring at the ECU. Not an ideal situation for a variety of reasons.
The MAF Manager series, where the current product is the MAF CAL, the device is programmed via Bluetooth which means the control unit can be mounted in the engine bay. No more cutting of wires at the engine ECU. Instead we can tap into the wires at the sensor or even use a patch harness. A patch harness for a sensor is considerably cheaper than a patch harness for an engine ECU.
With regards to tuning MoviChip took a different tack to Apexi. The Apexi AFC Neo alters the MAF sensor according to RPM and load. This is fine for cars which use a narrowband lambda sensor but a non starter for modern cars which use a wideband lambda. for narrowband cars the AFC Neo has the benefit of allowing the fuelling to be tuned, the idea being bigger cams can be accommodated and perhaps even bolt on turbo kits. This is fine for fuelling but not so much for ignition timing. And only for narrowband cars as wideband engines will re-tune themselves to the AFRs they want to see.
Because of the modern wideband sensors and because of ignition timing, the MAF Manager series and MAF CAL has focused more on MAF calibration than actually tuning an engine. MAF CAL can be used in a similar way to an AFC NEO but the MAF CAL is primarily focused towards newer cars which use a wideband sensor.
MAF Tuning Process
I touched on the fact that tuning with an AFC NEO can be a bit time consuming (due to logging, log analysis, re-tuning, re-logging and so on), especially if tuning is done on the track or road.
MAF CAL, because it is Android based and with the recent addition of the Tune function, allows tuning to be done in real time. This video demonstrated the process.
For all these reasons the MoviChip MAF CAL is a genuine alternative to the AFC NEO, especially for newer cars with wideband lambda sensors, although you’d expect us to say that ;-).
Key Differences AFC NEO vs MAF CAL
| AFC NEO | MAF CAL |
| Tune according to RPM and load | Tune according MAF signal |
| Targeted at narrowband engines | Targeted at wideband engines |
| Mounted inside car | Mounted in engine bay |
| Cam control (on/off) | No cam control |
| 6 Wire Install | 4 Wire Install |
| Own controller | Control with any Android device |
| Designed to tune fuel on modified narrowband cars throughout rev range | Designed to optimise MAF signal on wideband cars with custom/aftermarket intakes/MAF housings |
