MAF and airbox mods

[stoneyfordNI]

okay gonna smooth the airbox on the car as soon as i can source a dremel and am interested in cutting the mesh from the MAF, am a little unsure about this and have read conflicting stories ,

so someone tell me the science behind this how it works etc , and the good and the bad bits,

thanks as always ,,

stephen

 

[m0rk]

there's no point in removing the mesh...

it straightens the air so that the MAF can ready accurately.

 

[stoneyfordNI]

thats what i thought all along too mark , but ive read posts on ukmkivs and such that say it does very little in that respect and that removing the mesh allows more air , but says it affects fueling etc ,

i dunno

 

[cordobabrendy]

surely you can remove the sides of the mesh as its not measuring the entire housings worth of air, just the air in the proximity of the sensor?
Im not convinced its a noticeable worthwhile mod though.

 

[karl.w]

i wouldn't bother removing the mesh from the maf. cant see it making much difference at all. just smooth the airbox and stick a large cold air feed in and you should get good results

 

[stoneyfordNI]

il probably just keep my cupra intake and see how it goes , definately getting smoothed tho

 

[m0rk]

bosch know more about MAF's than some people on a forum

 

[Tabintab]

there's no point in removing the mesh...

it straightens the air so that the MAF can ready accurately.

Ok, im an Aeronautical Engineer by trade, so I have done all that aero dynamics stuff.

If u put just about anything into an air flow it will cause turbulence. Now if u look at the cross section of a wire its circular in shape, i.e. its going to cause turbulence, and looking at that mesh, well there is a lot of wire in there. I can’t see any way you will be straitening the airflow in that way.

The mesh will be restricting the air flow and causeing turbulence.

I have seen devices fitted in intakes to shape airflow, but this is not it

Tab

 

[sssstew]

Ok, im an Aeronautical Engineer by trade, so I have done all that aero dynamics stuff.

If u put just about anything into an air flow it will cause turbulence. Now if u look at the cross section of a wire its circular in shape, i.e. its going to cause turbulence, and looking at that mesh, well there is a lot of wire in there. I can’t see any way you will be straitening the airflow in that way.

The mesh will be restricting the air flow and causeing turbulence.

I have seen devices fitted in intakes to shape airflow, but this is not it

Tab

so why would bosch engineers fit it then?

 

[cheshire cat]

maybe to encourage the air to flow thro' the finer mesh, in front of the tube which is there to try to fix the dirt problem which arose from a crappy design in the first place ?

 

[Tabintab]

so why would bosch engineers fit it then?

It has to be to stop particulate matter, which makes me think, but the car already has an air filter!

Maybe its to disturb the air, so the MAF gets a reading from a larger sample of the air? But i have read there are some cars with 2 filters, 1 in front & 1 after the MAF.

Maybe its just a safty device to stop larger objects being ingested, tbh, I just dont know.

Tab

 

[cheshire cat]

It has to be to stop particulate matter, which makes me think, but the car already has an air filter!

Maybe its to disturb the air, so the MAF gets a reading from a larger sample of the air? But i have read there are some cars with 2 filters, 1 in front & 1 after the MAF.

Maybe its just a safty device to stop larger objects being ingested, tbh, I just dont know.

Tab

the inner tube is there for the particles that go thro' the air filter

 

[muddyboots]

I guess there is always a risk that a paper air filter could disintegrate, perhaps if it got damp - so the mesh just could be a last measure of protection to stop anything getting sucked into the turbo and causing damage

 

[F2 Ed]

A little turbulance in the air is needed. I think the turbulance is needed to help mix fuel you see.

How do you smooth the airbox? You mean open it up and smooth the inside? Will the filter element still fit ok?
Interesting stuff

 

[stoneyfordNI]

yip green panel filter still fits , i used a dremel tool to cut the ridges out and sand paper to finish

 

[F2 Ed]

Think i will do the same. Was going to get a green induction kit (£50 odd) but a green panel filter is more like £30

 

[Tabintab]

yip green panel filter still fits , i used a dremel tool to cut the ridges out and sand paper to finish

I have an Altea 2.0 sport TDI & just out of curiosity took a look at the inside of my airbox to see how much material could be removed if i ever considered smoothing the inside. Well I'll never need to do it, cause its mostly smooth in there alrdy thanks Seat.

Tab

 

[Tabintab]

A little turbulance in the air is needed. I think the turbulance is needed to help mix fuel you see.

How do you smooth the airbox? You mean open it up and smooth the inside? Will the filter element still fit ok?
Interesting stuff

I understand why you think turbulance is needed, but tbh I think it has a negative affect. Think of why people port & polish cylinder heads! Smooth baby, smooth ))

Tab