I have seen that De-screening the MAF sensor can result in a performance gain. How exactltly does this help and what gain can i expect? I would assume it would not be that much.
Also what about the Intake silencer delete and Throttle Body bypass?

 

De-screening the MAF is a bad idea in my opinion, it can cause weird driveability issues, it makes custom tuning difficult, and without the screen you run the risk of trashing the sensor altogether. The intake silencer delete is another mod that will provide no real power gains. The throttle body bypass however has made dyno proven results and is probably good for around 6-7rwhp.

 

Descreen MAF =

Silencer delete = nothing gained, but some working room underneath.

TB bypass = possible HP gains

 

Some people had mistakenly believed that the screen was restrictive. The purpose of the screen is to remove turbulence so the MAF can accurately determine the amount of air coming in. So conversly, if you remove it, turbulence can decrease it's accuracy and cause idling/running issues.

As far as the T/B bypass, I look at it this way. Even if the TB were warmed up by coolant. With the incoming air rushing over it, how much effect can the warm TB have on RWHP????? As opposed to the TB icing up while you run around in Washington in the winter?

 

Good points there guys, thanks for the input.

 

Crap!! I've already descreend mine and ported it.

 

Mine's been descreened since '97. No issues. But, I'm not the one who's been tuning it either.

 

The HP increase due to a throttle body by-pass is documented: http://www.ws6.com/mod-8.htm

5 to 6 HP for $0 (depending on the year of the car) sounds like a good idea to me.

I run mine that way in Chicago winters easily down to 0°F with no icing problems.

 

Just got bored the other day and descreened mine. Was real easy to do.
The MAF sensor is tuned out anyways so I dont see it as being a huge deal.

 

Then why is it in the car?

 

Good points already made...

One reason is to keep the engine from injesting a chunk of something. The screen would block that.

The other reason is that the screen makes sure the air flow going across the actual sensor element itself has been straightened out so that the sensor gets a truer "read" of the air actually going through. It helps keep the MAF accurate and calibrated.

Also, I think that getting the screen out is easier for some years than others. For the '94, you just pull out that spring/ring and the screen just drops into your hand. On some other years, I don't think it's so easy.

 

I had troubles with finding a rubber grommet piece long enough to fill the gap between my elbow and CAI, so I after I removed the MAF sensor there was still like a 2" gap. Not even the local plumbing store had anything I could make work. So I just descreened it so it felt like I did something.

 

another good reason to get the silencer deleted is when you put an electric water pump on.

 

alot of after market mafs have no screens

 

A lot of aftermarket MAF's don't work very well.