A recent post mentioned removing the screen from the MAF and seeing a marginal gain. Has anyone done this or know if this is worthwhile to attempt?

 

I used to own an highly mod Audi TT...over on the Audi TT forum we were trying loads of stuff to get increased power...one was the removal of the MAF screen which acts like an 'air flow stabilizer' prior to air hitting the MAF sensor....the theory was any thing within the air stream such as a screen would reduce air flow...so that become the mod of the month (removal of screen)... result lots of 'seat of the pants dynos' claiming gains... reality>>> ECU began throwing codes. I know a turbo'd TT and a NA Vette are very different cars but I think if you do this mod be prepared to get codes thrown at you.
Just a thought
Michael

 

Thanks for the feedback. Seems like its probably not worth it.

 

I did it on my 2002 camaro SS and did not see any improvement in performance so in my opinion not worth it. Also the screen is there to keep large particles from entering so I regretted descreening after I did it.

 

I removed the screens on my 88 Vette and didn't notice any SOTP difference. I wouldn't try it on such a highly computerized car though, that's why I didn't do it on any of my later Vette's. You would probably get error codes out the wazoo.

 

I removed the MAF screens from my '94 Camaro and '02 Vette and gained 7 HP each time! No...wait...yeah, nothing, yeah, I gained nothing, now I remember. I wouldn't do it again.

 

awww, c'mon, you know the assdyno never lies !!!

 

Do not do it.

 

I've removed the screen on my C6, but I'm not sure it did anything. I have the Vortex intake which I think smooths out the airflow so I'm not sure the screen is needed if you have an intake that promotes smooth flow, but I can't say removing it did anything. No codes or problems though. Now that I've removed it, I'd say leave it in. You have to destroy it to remove it so if there isn't any noticeable gain, you might as well leave it in there.

Mike

 

We have always removed the screens on C4/C5/C6's. On the dyno they always pick up horsepower from 3-7rwhp . We never have any problems setting codes, but usually always do a custom tune with the descreen and an airbox (Donaldson etc...)

Turbo

 

True, but so is that huge (hopefully properly intalled and sealed) air filter that comes before it.

2001 Z06s had MAF screens, 2002+ Z06s didn't, yes there were possibly some light tuning changes made to compensate for the change but if it was ok for the Z06 then it's ok for me. :burnout:

 

The screen is there to streighten out the air flow so it will measure flow and temp properly. Leave it alone. It flows more than the engin can ever inhail any way.

 

I know the c6 MAF flows more then for instance an ol L98 MAF on a c4 like mine. And the stock MAFs on these will flow (with screens) enough air for 400hp once you start swapping heads and all that business. Just leave it on. Like a kitchen faucet has a screen, so does your MAF. For a reason - and I'd bet $10 that it's not even close to being a choke point, even on a well breathing motor like the LSx..

 

I can't imagine it would be worthwhile as a stand alone mod. Now if it were part of a MAF end replacement (like the nylon ends that came with the Haltech TRIC for C5), then I would not be afraid to try it.

 

You may be right, but it is worth pondering. The screen actually is very fine and it does amount to an obstruction in the airflow. It might not look like much but if you add up the number of mesh cross-sections in the screen and you multiply out the amount of surface area taken up by the mesh itself, it actually effectively makes the opening quite a bit smaller. I saw a calculation on another site years ago (I think it was f-body) that said if you add up all the mesh it actually amounts to the equivalent of about a 25% reduction in opening size. It reduced a 52mm opening (in that case) to something like a 40mm opening.

Technically anything that reduces airflow will impact HP a little bit, even if it "flows" more than the engine can inhale. Any intake will have resistance, even if it is much larger than it has to be.

Now, removing it with the stock intake in place might be more trouble than it is worth. Replace your intake with something like the Vortex or maybe even the Honker where airflow should be smoother to begin with, and removing the screen might make sense.

Mike

 

It provides even airflow over sensors, what you think you pick up you may give back by that factor. I've removed mine in both my C5's, waste of time providing go change.

 

But if you are running an intake that delivers smooth flow prior to the MAF anyway, you might be able to get by with it and get some improvement. How any of us will ever be able to confirm that a particular intake has smooth flow, I don't know, but it sounds good in theory.

Mike

 

I don't think that is where the problem is. The screen will insure the proper angle of air and maintain a stable flow across the wires. I don't think it's a gross turbulance factor like swirling air. Also, if one looks at let say 4 ajoining openings in the screen the crossed support frame is such a low proportion of that area. One other thing to think of is that the turbulance caused my the piston/intake valve is far greater than an intake shape problem at the filter side.

 

Would be interesting to talk to some of the engineers about it. They'd be able to answer some questions that I have in my own mind like why they removed the screen for a couple of years in the Z and then put it back. I think I remember a claim at the time stating that the reason they removed it is because they felt that the intake flowed smooth enough to allow proper readings without it. But then... they put it back in, so who knows.

Mike

 

apparently the early Z06 MAF was taken from a truck and used probably for it's size at that time. Something about that former user wasn't that concerned about turbulance.