MAF screen

cockergod · January 27, 2006

Hey guys i was just reading up on some old threads about removing the screen on the MAF, my bro did it on his 99 formula firebird real easy. But anyways i was just wondering if that really helped the performance of the car, because if it does im down to do it. thanks

Crabhart5.3 · January 27, 2006

I wouldn't do it. It's too easy to mess up an MAF that way, and it's already good for ~600hp. That screen is there to keep big things from hitting it, and even with my filter on my LS1, there was still a bunch of grass up against that screen.

If your bro messes his up btw, i have a stock one out of an 02. ;)

trever1t · January 27, 2006

Word.

99Silver6.0 · January 27, 2006

Leave it alone!! Please!!

3500in nc · January 27, 2006

am i the only one who has had great luck with this??

i did it to my maf as soon as i got the truck and saw a nice change in performance

i just figured that the only main difference of the aftermarket ones and a stocker is the screen and maybe a diode

just my 2cents

yukondave · January 27, 2006

I removed my screen and the the maf didn't last much longer. The purpose of the screen is to smooth out the airflow that reaches the sensor. Hardly a performance gain, more of a performance loss.

fmjhp594 · January 27, 2006

I took mine off at the same time as installed my intake. My new air filter is one of the dryflow ones that doesnt use oil. So I'm not worried about oil getting all over the sensors. I cant tell you how much of a difference it made, because there is a difference but, I dont know how much was from just de-screening the MAF.

BlueTahoe · January 27, 2006

I did took the screen out of my tahoe and it worked great until I got a westers tune. The tune pushes the motor to the edge and the de-screening pushed it over the edge and I was getting some pinging. I bought and new one and the pinging went away. You would probably be ok by doing it but in my opinion it isn't worth the possible problems.

CHevyHD4x4 · January 27, 2006

I had mine de-screened for 27,000 miles and not one problem. Better throttle responce I thought.

99Silver6.0 · January 28, 2006

That screen doesnt even become a problem till you push HP numbers most of you will never see in your trucks.

Crabhart5.3 · January 28, 2006

That screen doesnt even become a problem till you push HP numbers most of you will never see in your trucks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

exactly. Stock MAF's are fine until you're using a setup that has no need for one.

dougmac · January 29, 2006

The MAF screen is actually a diffuser. The best analogy I can think of is a kitchen faucet. One that has a diffuser, has a predictable, even column of water that leaves the faucet. A faucet without a diffuser, has a random and uneven flow.

The MAF sensor only samples a small part of the air stream. It makes a calculation of incoming air density based on the small part of the air stream that it is exposed to. Because the rest of the air stream is diffused, the rest of the air stream is consistent with the air that the sensor is sampling.

It is impossible for a non-diffused MAF sensor to accurately calculate the incoming air density because of the inconsistency of the airflow through different areas of the MAF sensor. Because the flow is uneven, the air density that it samples has no correlation with the rest of the air passing through the sensor.

The diffusers are an integral part of the sensor. Without them the sensor’s air density calculations are inaccurate and do not represent the actual density of the air entering the engine.

Doug

cockergod · January 29, 2006

Ok cool thanks for the help, but i was wondering why aftermarket MAFs dont have screens? Are they better tuned for the high airflows or what?

dougmac · January 29, 2006

Ok cool thanks for the help, but i was wondering why aftermarket MAFs dont have screens? Are they better tuned for the high airflows or what?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don’t have any test data to support this, so this is strictly my own opinion…..

I would venture a guess that they don't do an accurate job of measuring he incoming airflow and density. If its not bad enough to cause a significant driveability problem, how would you ever know?

I don’t think the market that they cater to tends to look much beyond the fact that it has red anodized finish and has “High Performance” in bold letters on the box.

Doug