I just read that on LSX engines the MAF Airflow Sensor Screen Should Be Removed for Optimum Performance.Starting in 02' GM didn't put them on any Longer.
Question: Will it benefit a C4 to Remove it?

Thanx

 

The screens are there to create a laminer flow, which helps the MAF get the most accurate reading.
Unless your motor is starving for air, I would leave them in.

 

I agree.I did some further reading and it's Not advised on a LT1

Thanx

 

At least one Q&A Tech Article editor in a mag stated the screen(s) aren't there to effect airflow but only as a debris barrier.

There are substantial differences in airflow through the MAF when the screen(s) are installed Vs when they're removed. Right off the top of my head, the two I know of are tests done by TPIS and a University in Ohio. There may be others as well.

This question comes up repeatedly and it seems to always end the same way, no consensus. Some say remove 'em, others say don't. Personally, I've done it both ways. On my 86, I removed both screens AND the heat sinks.

In an article about many FI engines competing in a shoot-out almost all of the top finishing engines had removed MAF screens.

I can track down the magazine articles with the dyno results if you REALLY need me to. I didn't make note of which mags they were in so I'll have to search through the ones I have one by one.

Jake

 

Your MAF is turned around, My screen was facing the filter. I removed it and had all sorts of issues until I disconnected the battery and reset the ecm. Every time it got warm the motor would die.

 

I`d leave them in also

 

keep the screen.

 

For 02 GM might of redesigned the MAF so it didn't need screens which wouldn't apply to the C4. But from what I get, it's best to leave the screens in.

 

No Shxt ?!?

Well, I removed the rear screen years ago. Left the front in to keep debris from damaging the wire.

 

Yep, more specifically there are 4 (at least on an LT1) MAF "calibration" tables in your tune. They are calibrated for a specific intake tract, if you remove the screens ideally you should update those tables by checking our your block learns.

That being said, go check out a 100K mile car and see how much crap is on that screen . . .

 

Both Vettes, both screens removed and never had an issue.

Go for it

 

Just curious, since the MAF is behind an air filter.. how exactly would you get any debris big enough to be caught by the wire screen (since those are pretty large holes in the screen) ? Particulates and impurities do build up on the wire hence the Burn off module. but thats microscopic crap the gets thru the filter.


Everything I have read states that its there for reducing turbulence and smoothing the airflow at the sensor.

 

As soon as my son returns to TX after his graduation from West Point next month, one of the first things we plan to do is swap to a 58 mm TB and remove the MAF screen from his 96 LT1.

How's that for going against what many have written. I'll keep all up-dated.

Jake

 

Yep, you're right, at least partially.

What I do is if I post something that's challenged, before I engage in a back to back exchange, defending my position, I go back and verify my position. So I did that and here's what I found:

My MAF is installed correctly AND the screen IS at the air filter side of the MAF just as you wrote yours is.

So that got my puzzler puzzling. What I came up with is when I was building engine in 2007, I was holding the MAF in my hand to see which end the screen was attached to. Because of the way I was holding the MAF and because the airflow directional sticker is missing from my MAF, I looked at the MAF in the WRONG direction.

The end that I thought was the rear most end of the MAF was, in fact, the FOREMOST end. So I mistakenly concluded the screen was at the back of the MAF.

NICE CATCH!! Glad you prompted me to check so I won't ever give such incorrect information again. I'll edit my previous post so others won't become confused or rely on the incorrect information I posted.

Thanks! for that.

Jake

 

The alignment of the factory ducting is not perfect.

After 5 years of operation I found some grass blades laying across the front screen. Big deal? Not really. Nice to have a safety net non-the-less.

 

When I bought my 86 six years ago,one of the first things I did was clean the MAF and the throttle body. When I pulled the MAF I found a couple of pieces of small debris stuck to my front screen. One of which was a piece of paper about the size of a cherio in diameter. What would have happened to the wire if I had no screen when that was sucked in to the MAF and intake? I can imagine!

 

Removing screens changes the response and flow capability, years ago before it was possible to tune the ECU changing the response of the MAF compensated for other engine mods.
On a stock motor with no mods removing the screens could hurt performance because of the change in the MAF output, even though it improves air flow more than putting in a low restriction airfilter.
As far as the screen protecting the engine, it will, but if you find debris on the screen find and fix the problem. A leak big enough to allow cheerio size pieces in will allow enough dust or gravel to seriously damage a motor.

 

I don't doubt for optimum performance, removing a restriction from the intake such as a MAF screen is the right way to go if the MAF can still do it's job. For optimum performance, a car should also be dyno tuned . . . to the point it is probably no longer emissions compliant. And it should be really loud (louder than legal) due to removing restrictions from the exhaust. This list goes on for a while.

Engineers don't always do things for the reasons the users would like to hear. And they change their minds. If Chevy starts having to pay to replace MAFs under warranty on their LSx engines, the screens will be back.

Could the screen protect the MAF from damage due to debris sneaking into the intake tract? Evidence says . . . maybe. We have seen stuff stuck to screens. However, I have yet to hear any believable statistics on the average lifespan of a screened MAF vs. a descreened one.

Does removing MAF screens improve engine performance on most LTx or LSx engines . . . maybe. Some have reported problems, while others have seen gains. To make this information more complicated (or more useless) all of these reports are coming from cars in different states of repair, health, and modification.

We probably mess with our cars more than is advisable, but that is what gearheads do. I would vote for leave well enough alone, and rest easy knowing you won't be stranded and stuck with a bill for a new MAF due to your own actions of questionable effectiveness. Or head to the dyno and see what the effect is on your car in its current state. Or do a bunch of mods at the same time that make a dyno tune worth it. Of course, I am trying to sound reasonable in a public forum, and may do something completely different on my own car due to a lapse in reason at the time.

Now if you were going to replace the ends with aftermarket versions of larger diameter . . .

 

Yes i agree , removed mine today and not one issue at all

 

I remember 2010. I was 30 and still filled with optimism about life.