Maf screen removal
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
You are partially correct, an engineer told me the reason....Its use is not a function of performance. GM doesn't just delete it for faster cars...It is a simple function of the Reynols number of the flow regeim in the intake, nothing else....Depending on the air flow, it may range from laminar to transitional to turbulent. You do not want the air flow at the MAF to be in transitional nor to jump between regimes erratically and uncontrolled. The screen in the C6 is there for low air flows ONLY as they are transitional in this flow range. The screen forces the flow to turbulent allowing the MAF to read the flow correctly.
IT is best to leave it unless you are making changes that change air flow, such as force induction or engine displacement changes...
IT is best to leave it unless you are making changes that change air flow, such as force induction or engine displacement changes...
I calibrated flowmeters for NASA and I have seen first hand out of tolerance flowmeters due to not using a flow straightener. If the air is not straight you are not capable of making a correct measurement. It is also recommended to have 10X the diameter of the pipe as length in front of the flowmeter and 5X after. This is where flow straighteners become more important if you don't have the length. However, if you have a large tolerance for your measurement than the accuracy gained by the straightener may be insignificant. I do not know what accuracy is required for the C6 MAF.
I have mine intact as designed.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 133,592
Likes: 30
St. Jude Donor '11, '16
I removed the Vararam and reinstalled my OEM intake.
I did not purchase this intake, it came on the car. However, this is the 2nd Vararam product that I've had on a vehicle of mine and the quality of both has been trash. Thanks to screened MAF's and their ability to pick up the slack where Vararam left off
I did not purchase this intake, it came on the car. However, this is the 2nd Vararam product that I've had on a vehicle of mine and the quality of both has been trash. Thanks to screened MAF's and their ability to pick up the slack where Vararam left off
An unintended BUT perfectly good use of the screen in your case........I trust it is still there????? (the screen that is, not the debris!!!)
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 27,252
Likes: 131
From: Short Hills, NJ
I calibrated flowmeters for NASA and I have seen first hand out of tolerance flowmeters due to not using a flow straightener. If the air is not straight you are not capable of making a correct measurement. It is also recommended to have 10X the diameter of the pipe as length in front of the flowmeter and 5X after. This is where flow straighteners become more important if you don't have the length.
but this still doesn't fully explain how/why on an LS1 C5 a screen is needed yet on an LS6 C5 it suddenly isn't. 
tolerances and accuracy are critical factors of course but again LS2 C6s came from the factory with a MAF screen and yet the LS7 and LS3 C6s didn't/don't.Yes, the cars have slightly different computers with different tunes/calibrations in them as well but they're not all that different (especially the PCM differences between those older screened LS1 cars and the unscreened LS6 cars).
If one (LS7/LS3) can be tuned for no screen (as it obviously is from the factory) then it's quite likely that the other (LS2s) can be tuned for it as well.
While there is some technical engineering involved here, I really don't believe that actual NASA style rocket science has been applied in these MAF screen cases.
I think the bottom line is, if one chooses to remove the screen then they must tune for it.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
It does seem very odd that a MAF screen is not used in the LS6 though.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,149
Likes: 11
From: Greater Detroit Metro MI, when I'm not travelling.
Exactly! Its even better than that; I drove around with the CAI for almost 10,000 miles, then decided it was time to clean the filter; I took it off and saw dirt in my intake tract; I was FURIOUS and decided to get that crap out; but I had already thrown my stock intake and shroud away... I didn't know what to put in place of the VaraRam, so I yanked it out, and went from this:
To this:
And believe it or not, wanting to get rid of the VaraRam was one of the biggest factors speeding up my decision to get a supercharger!
I must say I like my new "intake" much better
To this:
And believe it or not, wanting to get rid of the VaraRam was one of the biggest factors speeding up my decision to get a supercharger!
I must say I like my new "intake" much better
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
I have no interest in removing the screen
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
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