Descreen or don't descreen
Def don't descreen! It is there for a reason. I knew I would never take mine out when I found grass on mine. It is peace of mind for me. Don't descreen it and than you will feel comfortable taking out your filter at the track
well as they said this thread has been started 100 times...anyway for those who found grass and bugs i was one of them! BUT am 100% sure my lid wasnt fit correctly and theres noway a gras or bug would be sucked if everything was fitted fine..but i still wouldnt do it anyway haha
my advice to you would be to ask your tuner if you have one. some prefer screened, descreened, ported or 85mm ones. but i did find it interesting that in the "How to build an LS1/LS6 book" it says that because LS1s have straight intake tracts rather than curved like most LT1s that the screen is not needed
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Alexandria, VA
A couple of weeks ago my car started randomly stalling...I only have 70k mi on the car. I couldn't go to 2.5k RPM's without the car almost shutting off. Got scared because I hate having random problems! No codes on the ECM...checked fuel pressure and it was where it was supposed to be....decided to look in the Airbox saw nothing...reached in all the way to the MAF and there it was....at the screen blocking the Airflow..the damn gasket that came with the K&N!!!!!! The engine sucked the gasket out and was trying to eat it! If it wasn't for the screen it would have eaten it!
For all of you nay sayers saying the screen is saving your engines because it is stopping all the bugs, twigs, rocks, grass, leafs, sticks...ect... Can you imagine how much dirt your engine is inhaling if you are finding that garbage in your maf screen? If your lid is fitting that poorly that all that garbage is finding it's way to your screen, all this time your engine has been guzzling everything else that is getting through your lid and can fit through the holes in the screen. I guess we can make a new rule of thumb that if it can fit through the holes in the maf screen than it's a ok for the engine. 
If you disassemble the MAF and put the screened part
face down in a dish of paint stripper overnight, it will
pop right out. Then you can epoxy it back in later if
you want. Or do it to the front of a junk one and swap.
face down in a dish of paint stripper overnight, it will
pop right out. Then you can epoxy it back in later if
you want. Or do it to the front of a junk one and swap.
For all you guys finding **** on your MAF screen... something is very wrong with your filter... i would look into that and get a different filter and maybe even a different lid. Screen or not **** should NOT be going past ur filter!
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0
Brett Foote
10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever
Verdad Gallardo
If you're speed density then obviously that's a different story, but seriously, read that thread I posted... a bolt from the guy's aftermarket air intake came out and got sucked through the MAF and into his engine. Thanks but I'll keep my screen in!
My car's my daily driver, and I am not rich enough to replace a blown motor because something stupid like that happens. I'm just sayin. Why would cost-cutting GM spend the money to put a screen in the MAFs if all it did was obstruct airflow?
My car's my daily driver, and I am not rich enough to replace a blown motor because something stupid like that happens. I'm just sayin. Why would cost-cutting GM spend the money to put a screen in the MAFs if all it did was obstruct airflow?
the screen isnt designed to save you from human error. I daily drove my car for over 4 years and had no screen and drove it to the track and back numerous times and did'nt have a single issue. Or i guess some people are just luckier than others?
+1 for the guys not counting on the MAF screen to save their engine. Make sure everything is "tight and right" before you drive the thing.
BTW: I descreen and modify the tune to account for it or just get rid of the MAF entirely.
BTW: I descreen and modify the tune to account for it or just get rid of the MAF entirely.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 292
Likes: 1
From: Arkansas
Thanks for the reply's fellas.
I still haven't gotten an answer as to why cheap *** GM would have spent the extra money to put screens in the MAFs if they don't serve any purpose.
That's because the screen does serve a purpose. It's there to straighten the airflow for more accurate MAF readings. Lots of cars, not just LS1s, have screens in the MAF. Some cars don't have screens. If the engineers decided that a screen is necessary on our cars to reduce turbulence then I'm not going to argue with them.
Look, I'm all for doing free mods for extra HP but let's not get carried away. Remember, we're not Honda owners, we don't think that a K&N intake is good for 50 HP, or that a "chip" on an otherwise stock car will let you blow the doors off a Lambo.
In a lot of cases the lids just have **** poor fitment. You would be hard pressed to find a single LS1 owner who hasn't at some point bought something for their car that has bad fitment, whether it's a lid, headers, catback, etc.
I still haven't gotten an answer as to why cheap *** GM would have spent the extra money to put screens in the MAFs if they don't serve any purpose.
That's because the screen does serve a purpose. It's there to straighten the airflow for more accurate MAF readings. Lots of cars, not just LS1s, have screens in the MAF. Some cars don't have screens. If the engineers decided that a screen is necessary on our cars to reduce turbulence then I'm not going to argue with them.
Look, I'm all for doing free mods for extra HP but let's not get carried away. Remember, we're not Honda owners, we don't think that a K&N intake is good for 50 HP, or that a "chip" on an otherwise stock car will let you blow the doors off a Lambo.
I still haven't gotten an answer as to why cheap *** GM would have spent the extra money to put screens in the MAFs if they don't serve any purpose.
That's because the screen does serve a purpose. It's there to straighten the airflow for more accurate MAF readings. Lots of cars, not just LS1s, have screens in the MAF. Some cars don't have screens. If the engineers decided that a screen is necessary on our cars to reduce turbulence then I'm not going to argue with them.
Look, I'm all for doing free mods for extra HP but let's not get carried away. Remember, we're not Honda owners, we don't think that a K&N intake is good for 50 HP, or that a "chip" on an otherwise stock car will let you blow the doors off a Lambo.
On a side note, it's beyond me as to why seemingly none of these companies can make a damned plastic lid to fit an f-body correctly. It's not exactly a complex part...
The problem is, no one seems to be willing to check readings from the MAF and to do a couple dyno runs with the screen in place, and then pull it off and take the same readings and do a couple dyno runs to see if there's any difference. I don't think there'd be enough of a power difference that you could point at it being the MAF changes, rather than inherent variance between dyno runs.
It really is awful that we pay $100+ for a piece of plastic that's designed to fit our cars, but we still end up with a poorly fitting lid... unfortunantly that's the nature of the beast when everything gets made in China using the cheapest methods possible.
Thank you latch for making since. Stupid people on here saying you shouldn't have to worry about twigs and all and everything should fit right and we shouldn't be modding if we have had a bad fitting lid. WOW. Things happend sometimes its hard to tell if your lid is seated perfectly. Some of us just don't descreen as a precaution. **** happends... What if your in a hurry and you dont clamp your lid correctly after doing something and you suck something up and blow the motor. IMO I would not do it because it will save your motor in case something is not fitting properly or if you make a mistake. Just saying I would rather have the extra protection.
my stock air box did not seal right......i found out when i saw all the crap on the MAF screen......the rubber seal was permantly distorted by a lazy mechanic who did not put it on right.......got a KN kit and de screened......good times
I'd be less worried about screen or no screen and more worried about sealing the airbox properly
if **** that large is getting in you have much larger problems and might as well not be using a filter
if **** that large is getting in you have much larger problems and might as well not be using a filter
My lid fit poorly (which in my opinion the design is crap) so with some tweaking and thick weather stripping I got it sealed up good. As far as the screen goes, I left mine alone just for piece of mind. I'm always one to say every little thing adds up but in this case the fraction of a fraction of a difference isn't worth it IMO. I do however think it's hilarious that this same thread has been covered a million times over and yet it is almost 3 pages deep..lol