I Did The Intake Screen Removal... My Thoughts...
 

Well, I did the intake screen removal, and I did notice a few things:

1) I can't seem to find ANY power increase whatsoever.
2) The intake whistle as soon as you tap the gas (on my CAI) is ALOT more pronounced.
3) The CAI overall is alot louder. It's not an annoying loud, but in fact is quite nice.
4) It only took about 30 seconds, and enough will to attempt removing it from the MAF.
5) Overall, it's worth it. I don't think it's really there for a reason. I've had it off for a week now, and haven't thrown CEL yet. The sound is to cool to give up now that I'm used to it!
6) Since it IS occupying space in the intake, removing it WILL give the engine more air, hence more power. (Unless the rules of physics have changed overnight?) Although not enough to be noticed by my trusty ASS2000 Dynometer.

So, all in all, I'm happy with the mod. It only pops in and out, so if I forsee (sp?) any problems, all I have to do is slide it back in and voila! The sound has to be heard to be understood. It's alot louder. :D

waffle?
 

Are we talking about the round plastic thing just before the airflow sensor that looks like a little black waffle?

Mine was glued in; I had to really whack it from the backside with a long tool.

I, too, observed a minor increase in throttle sound, but little or no power increase. Didn't stop me from telling people I upped my power output by 5hp when they asked me what the black plastic thingy on my desk was.

:p

okay, more impressions.

There's not much of a power increase, but throttle response seems to be improved. Which in turns makes lowspeed 1st gear bucking a little worse. If you have a hard time driving the car without bucking, you definitely don't want to do this...

I saw absolutely no increase in throttle sound when I did mine...

But I may be going deaf from my wastegate dump on the mirage. :D

White stickers give 20hp, yellow=fast so it gives at least an extra 50hp. Now, if you get a yellow sticker that says "Racing" then youll probably get a 70hp increase, yellow+racing=very fast :D .

Glad to see everyone has the same observations!

Hey Dewey, read the last line in my sig... Hope you don't mind? Thought it was funny as hell!

the sound difference is really only noticed with a aftermarket intake setup

hey i did that my self... and everyone is right.. not power change but sounds great!!!

mine came off with a quickness.... wasnt hard at all.

Pictures??

I have a pretty good idea of what you guys are talking about. To tell whether there was a real change or not would have been to measure how much "negative boost" was in the intake before and after the removal.

I believe there was a pretty good story about how to measure that on autospeed.com...

However, based on that story, I would venture to guess that removing anything such as the "black waffle" would improve intake air flow.

its all about the sound.... no improvement in power.

You're right and you're not. There is an improvement in power, because the engine is getting more air. (Physics.) BUT it's WAY too small for anyone to notice.

By the way, checked out your site! Nice ride! :D

thanks maxx mazda, i should have some new pics comming in... did some other work, injen cal, and some more painting.
ill post them soon.

tuan

I did it, didnt notice anything. So i put it back in. ;peace;

pics please:(

Further Information on MAF Sensor Screen Removal
 

I strongly suggest you go to www.autospeed.com and click on Technical Features and then look for Eliminating Negative Boost. This is a five part article on improving a stock air intake system with airbox.

For purposes of this thread, I want to focus on Part 4, The Airflow Meter. The car in question is an Audi S4 2.2 liter 5 cyl. Turbo but the FI aspect can be ignored because the following information pertains only to work done on the intake system only on the atmosphere side of the turbo. The intake system is similar to the Protege with an air inlet over the radiator leading to an airbox.

The MAF is 75 mm (3") in diameter with a woven mesh wire screen on each side. Using a Dwyer Magnehelic Differential Pressure Gauge (an instrument that measures very small increments of positive or negative pressure - read about it in the article), the author was able to take a pressure differential reading before and after removal of the screens. Starting at 4000 rpm, an improvement was noticed after removal of the screens. At 6000 rpm, the maximum effect was recorded where the peak pressure DROP was reduced from 32 inches of water with the screens to 26 inches of water without them. This represents a 19% reduction. Look at the article to see % reductions at other rpm's.

The author feels that the, "Closely woven mesh causes a major flow restriction. This is not just because of the blockage factor of the wire itself, but because of turbulence which is generated as the air squeezes through the small openings." He also believes that the function of the screen on the intake side is to protect the hot wire from damage if the air filter element fails.

This article seems to provide hard evidence that removing the screen has a beneficial effect on performance. Beyond that, it is a great tutorial on improving the air intake system in general based on measured results rather than guess-work. The Dwyer gauge seems to be a really useful tool in this area.

I hope some of you will read the cited article and comment on it.

02 DX Millenium Red
MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit
AEM Short Ram intake