I just got a 2000 formula and I put an SLP air lid and smooth bellow on it. When i was placing the throttle body on the lid I saw that there is a mesh screen on the TB. Has anyone yanked that out? I pulled it out on my v6 car but the SES light was on before that. I dont want the SES light to come on in my formula. Is it a secondary filter or does it change air flow into the motor. Any help would be thankful. Thanks.

 

Plenty of people have yanked them out. Some will say leave in, its all depends on preference. At a some point it does become a restriction, but at that point most have moved on to removing the MAF and Speed Density tuning the car.

 

SaxonPC screen.

You need something to reduce turbulence for a correct airflow reading. Readings WILL be erratic if you remove the screen.

 

Is this for the Throttle Body or the MAF ?

 

Screen is for the MAF.

Turbulence at best is a minor thing. MAF does not care about readings on WOT, only on part throttle. The tables these cars uses is not concerned about driveability and gas milage. It references SD type tables. Thats why cranky cars do so much better with SD tunes.

The PCM is told what it needs to do, takes the MAF out of the equation.

 

If you don't know the difference between the MAF and TB PLEASE don't go making any changes atall till you are a bit more knowledgeable about the car. Not an insult, we all started somewhere, just don't get in too far over your head.

 

Words to live by..and great advice.

 

Besides breaking up the turbulent air, the screen is the last line of defense at catching debris. When i changed my air lid, I checked the MAF and it had all sorts of dirt grass bugs and even hair. Definitely wouldn't want that going into my engine....

 

If the screen matters depends largely on the intake tract immediately before it, any sudden bends or the like just before the MAF and the screen really does help the MAF read better, if the tract in front of the MAF is fairly straight for a distance then the flow has stabilized. This is part of why you find varying opinions on it because people rarely consider the SYSTEM.

 

That screen on the inlet side of your MAF is to keep large debris that get past the air filter from crashing into the fine wire in your MAF. (see how a MAF works for explanation of the fine wire that runs through the center of it).

On my truck i just yanked it out. Has not created any codes or problems and it has been out for around 6 years now.

If anything I would think mathematically it has to decrease(when screen installed) engine HP potential since the surface area of the screen is substantial even when compared to the pass thru area of the screen for air to flow.

 

lsxformie, welcome to LS1tech!

The search feature will be your best friend.

Yes, you are seeing the screening in the MAF, not the throttle body.

When I ran without it, my car had a part throttle stumble. It went away when I put a screened MAF back in.

 

Hence the SaxonPC screen.

Larger area of flow, longer screen length, with the benefit of less surface area.

 

Yea my bad, on my v6 car the screen is connected to the throttle body. Trust me I know the difference it was a typo. I did notice some debris on the inlet side of the screen too. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

Do you have an air filter on your intake system? Do you have a huge hole in your intake tract?

I say this because there should be no reason to have all that crap flowing through your intake. Either your filter is ripped or you have a hole in your intake bringing in un-filtered air. On a properly setup intake system there's not going to be bugs, grass or hair going through it, so this last line of defense is used for improperly setup intakes.

I would rather fix my intake system and make it work properly than leave it as a crappy one and rely on the MAF screen to filter the air.

 

lsxformie & BlackScreaminMachine, I only asked to clearify the question to make sure we are talking about the MAF and not the Throttle body as he stated in the original post and question. Good information on the Question gets better result on the Answers. !

I would agree with everyone that removing the MAF Screen would not a good idea at this time for all of the above reason.

Some of the later cars have the Screen removed. But the Tune and the configuration will support the descreened MAF. The screen does server a good function for most street and lower HP engines. If you have your MAF in a straight section of your intake (6 in after a straight section). The screen would not be needed as much as if you had short runs and a lot of bends in your intake tubing/path.

So.. for now.. leave the Screen in place.

BC

 

This read has quite a bit of bad information......

First, the screen in the maf isn't a real restriction unless you're making a large amount of power. I still have the screen on my turbo 383 and made 600rwhp and ran 10's.

Second, the Maf IS what is used at WOT. During part throttle and transitions it's a blend between the VE table and Maf. Saying the tables used arent concerned about gas mileage or drivability is simply an ignorant statement. Bad gas mileage and drivability problems are due to a poor tune, not the hardware.removing the screen and changing intake path with a cold air intake will alter the expected airflow and the Maf transfer function should ideally be recalibrated for a simple change like this.

Third, just an FYI, if you have a bend immediately after the Maf and descreen the Maf, that will also cause turbulence.