Apex8

iTrader: (1)

As for autos the shifting should be based off engine load and rpm right? Idk lol

But for why not to descreen the maf. There has been extensive testing on DSMs that it makes the air reading less accurate. You want the air going straight over the sensor. The sensor can not read accurate if the air is not flowing evenly and straight over it
The honey combs are decent size it's not like it's as dense as a cat or something lol.

Just my opnion

RedVertTA

iTrader: (9)

The FRA mod is only **** if you halfass it and don't plumb air up to the new opening. Fabbing a scoop setup like the SLP cold air induction kit will provide gains but those won't show on the dyno, only on the track where air is actually flowing underneath the car.

There is nothing wrong with porting the MAF, if you've de-screened it you've already invoked any potential problems that may arise, might as well finish the job.

The TB bypass mod will be beneficial to any motor. It shouldn't take my background as a physics student to determine that the presence 210 degree coolant in any kind of intake inlet is never a good thing (Unless you drive your car in extremely cold temperatures and need to keep your throttle body from freezing as GM originally intended). Will you see massive horsepower gains or massive drops in track times from this mod? No, but it helps.

In regards to the AIR mod people on this thread are looking at it in the most backwards way imaginable and completely missing the point of the mod. Its not about power its about weight reduction. Anyone here who bashes that mod in the name of lacking horsepower gains obviously has no concept of how heavy the AIR pump is, which can free upwards of 20 pounds from your front end. Keep in mind that you may decrease the life of your CATs by doing this mod. If you are running a cat-less exhaust or have aftermarket cats which don't require an AIR system like Magnaflow bullets don't worry about this.

As far as the EGR mod goes it is true that its gains are not significant for NA applications but regardless there are gains to be had. Don't be so stupid as to spend all your time and hard earned money porting and polishing your TB, buying a lid, smooth bellow and a performance filter all in the name of higher intake flow and at the end leaving this huge *** obstruction in the middle of your intake manifold. Stop being lazy, get your *** off the couch and finish the job. I would also like to point out that the EGR mod will see far more gains in boosted applications where intake flow is much more critical. In this case it would be best to eliminate the EGR altogether since it creates the possibility of a boost leak.

As far as my rating goes I say AIR is best, MAF de-screen and port is least not because of gains but rather because of the possible complications involved.

NSSANE02

iTrader: (14)

99% of the people that talk about the fra mod will only cut out the tray and be done with it. If you run ducts it is absolutely a worth while mod and a great bang for the buck.

Porting the MAF will throw off the calibration and can be difficult to tune in some cases. De-screening it will not affect it enough to notice, or require a re-tune.

The rest of your post is spot on, not much more to say there.

SIC LSX

iTrader: (10)

i forgot it didnt not only de screen my maff i cut the center bar out and ported it! Wasn't even enought to notice on the wide band but went faster at the track

RedVertTA

iTrader: (9)

To clarify my comment regarding free air mod plumbing this is what the ideal setup should look like.

JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

That may be optimal for FRA, but if it's anything like the FTRA, it blocks the A/C condenser. With the FTRA installed, running the A/C here in the Florida summers runs my water temp in the 230's during stop and go traffic and the A/C cooling efficiency appears to be seriously hampered. Others have witnessed the same symptoms. If you don't have a '98, then the dummy ECT gauge doesn't tell you squat. For me, the benefits of a properly cooled engine/cabin outweigh the couple of kPa I'll gain with a FTRA/SSRA/etc. I took the FTRA back out for the proper cooling but unfortunately now I've got a stock mangled airbox taking in air from both below and in front of the box.

Back in '99-'00, a local fella who had or was working on his engineering degree convinced me to modify/remove my upper and lower radiator baffles 'because any extra air into the filter can't be bad'. I still have both, but one is damaged and I don't see an easy method to re-install both. Another stupid idea along with the MAF translator and his IAT tricker (i.e., resistor which altered the reported IAT to the PCM).

Descreening the MAF changes the frequency reading for the same airflow, and airflow is used to determine engine load, and automatic tranny's use engine load to determine their shift patterns. I do not know if the shifting problem can be tuned around the missing screen. There are actually people adding honeycomb filters in front of the big aftermarket MAF's to correct tuning problems caused by the big MAF's. If you modify/change your induction (including the MAF) equipment, then you should consider recalibrating your MAF & VE tables to keep your fueling inline.

Cheatin' Chad

iTrader: (3)

Say what?! Air injection is used to help light the converters off. There is no feeding from the manifolds TO the AIR system...

If you remove the EGR you'll actually lose power unless the vehicle is retuned to account for the higher cylinder temps in the range where the EGR would normally function .There are tables within the ECM that need to be modified to properly accommodate the removal of the EGR system.
The exhaust gases being recirculated lowers combustion chamber temps and helps prevent detonation/knock.

01/02 Cars no longer required EGR due to tuning and camshaft changes.

SIC LSX

iTrader: (10)

mine gets way more air then that everything is out of the way on mine even ac condenser that opens up a hell of a lot of room! in stead of less the half you filter getting air 100% of it gets it

RedVertTA

iTrader: (9)

That is very interesting and the first time I've ever heard of issues with the FRA supplemental upgrades. Did your FTRA plumb the air all the way down to the bumper or just halfway as with the SLP variant? Would you happen to have any pics which could demonstrate the A/C condenser obstruction?

BTW I hear you on the Florida summers, I'm actually in process of researching the feasibility of installing a cooler in my seat to keep my *** from burning.

Cheatin' Chad

iTrader: (3)

MAF,MAP,throttle position,etc. are all used to determine load.

Speed,RPM,etc. are used to determine shifting.

To put it simply: de-screening a MAF is not a problem that requires black magic to solve for. It takes time,tuning software,some knowledge and a wideband to correct.

Red Orange 96

iTrader: (2)

Ok, so I installed the ssra set up in sping of 09. Never thought to track my water temps before the install and found it strange that i needed to remove 2radiator shrouds to get the sucker in there. The assembly looks exactly like the 2 piece set up a few posts prior &it blocks most of the condensor.
Searched around here and didnt find anything about cars running hotter so i said F' it, put it in. Throttle response was killer. but........

Picked up a scanguage and found the car to run pretty hot at 40mph, w/AC on or off, after a highway drive. Usually about 210-218ish. It would begin to go down the longer i stayed moving but not very quickly.

Then comes this year and it's been hot & humid all summer. On my commute home in 90 degree weather w/ac on, i finally pay attention to ect's and holy hell it got all the way to 229 on the highway!!! shut ac off & slowly it cooled...got home that nite & ripped the entire assembly outta there, big ole hole in my airbox.....

Next day's commute home was identical weather& temps. and sure enough the temp never got above 209 and stayed just about 206 w/ac on. shut the ac off & cooled right down to 195 steady. It does block cooling air from reaching condensor/radiator imo & is not worth the extra few hp and throttle response.

I'm in the same boat about putting the 2 shrouds back in and figuring a way to direct cold air up from underneath while maintaining peak cooling.....

btw my IAT's get crazy high just sitting in traffic but i'll take that for now over hot hot coolant

Red Orange 96

iTrader: (2)

to answer red bird, my assembly went all the way down to the bumper, close to 18-22 inches total length i would assume

JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

FTRA plumbs the air all the way down to the air deflector; it doesn't have a scoop like photos though... it depends upon the air guided in by the deflector and up the rectangular metal shaft. I don't have any pictures of the FTRA installed, but it basically is centered horizontally against the condenser and has a lip which gets bolted behind the deflector using the deflector bolts.

Sometimes my IAT's are getting near 110 just from a cold start idle and sitting in the shade with the hood open. My tuner would like for me to relocate my IAT to possibly the bumper, but I'm curious how that temp compares to right before the manifold. If it's traveling fast enough where it's still accurate for fueling, then I'm OK with it.

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

what about removing the ac belt??? i know when i did it during the winter my car had alot better throttle response from the lesser about of resistance on the engine itself

NeedaV8foundation

iTrader: (4)

cutting or eliminating the EGR tube is one of the best as well as porting and polishing the tb. i say the EGR because the tube sticking down into the intake disrupts the air flow going into the intake. if you dont believe me drive down the road at 45 mph and hold a fat highlighter marker out the window and feel the resistance that builds up on it.

the free mods have been proven time and time again, GM high tech did a article on it where the proved that these mods worked with a before and after dyno.

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

I wouldn't do that. First of all, the compressor is commanded on in the defrost mode.

Secondly, it's good to circulate the oil and keep the system lubed.

1Bad97WS-6

iTrader: (3)

When I did the P&P TB and bump stop mod and TB bypass I pickup .11 and 1mph at the track..

88gtman

I saw that article. I just wish that they would have ran the dyno test after each mod was done to find out which of the free mods made the biggest difference and which ones did bumpkiss. This only shows that done together you can get a 10rwhp increase, but it doesn't mean that just doing 3 out of the 5 would have yielded the same result.

NeedaV8foundation

iTrader: (4)

i think a majority would be from the tb and EGR. i dont expect the free ram air to do anything until its under speed and i think the coolant bypass is maybe good for 1 hp if that. i dont think the others really do much.

AnnivSS

I think the ported tb and the coolant bypass would be the biggest factors. Any drop in intake air temperature will yield a gain, look at how much difference ambient outdoor temps make. And any gain in airflow into the engine will yield a gain.