Treadstone Performance MAF mass air meter airflow straightener

[vibenvy]

Just thought I'd share this unique, interesting little "modification" with my fellow GenVibers...Quote, originally posted by Treadstone Performance »HoneyComb MAF Mass Air Meter Airflow Straightener. These small additions to any cold air intake, turbo inlet pipe or anywhere a MAF sensor is located, will greatly improve the MAF readings "fuel trims" that the ECU sees. No more erratic MAF readings, fix lean or rich spikes, increase throttle response, fix idle, all of these can be improved with this $20 upgrade! -Available in 3", 3.5" and 4" diameters.-Slides right into pipe before MAF sensor-Can be glued, braised, or epoxy'd in.Actual outside diameter will be .13 less to accommodate the wall thickness of .065 pipe sizes, so the honey comb slides right in with a snug fit.I was turned onto these by a guy on The J-Body Organization website who had gotten one for his HHR SS. I figured for $19.95 (for the 3" which is what is needed for the 2009-2010 2.4L K&N CAI) it was worth a try. I did some research online and these seemed to be mostly used by people with boosted (supercharged and turbocharged) vehicles. I decided to just email the company directly and ask if it would provide any benefits for my N/A Vibe with only a CAI. I also asked about the distance needed between the airflow straightener and the MAF sensor itself because pretty much everything I was reading online said the airflow straightener needed to be at least 3" away from the MAF sensor. Unfortunately with the K&N CAI on the 2009-2010 2.4L there is only about 2" between the end of the pipe (where the filter attaches) and the MAF sensor. This was his response to both questions:Quote, originally posted by Jason (owner of Treadstone Performance) »Yes, a honeycomb airflow straightener will benefit any application, the results might not be felt, but they always help slightlyAs far as the distance, id say a min distance of 1-2 “ is fineI figured it was worth a try and since I was getting a code for running rich last summer, I figured it could only help. And the possibility of smoothing out the idle and increasing the throttle response doesn't sound too bad either.Our K&N CAIs will be getting re-installed tomorrow along with the airflow straighteners, brand new AEM Brute Force Dryflow air filters and brand new AEM Dryflow air filter wraps (to help keep the filters cleaner). I am anxious to see what, if any, results we have with the addition of the airflow straighteners. I will keep everyone posted once everything's installed and we get a tank or two under our belts.

[Bedlam]

GL with that one. I'd do some more research if i were you before leaving that in your intake.those things are up there with the ebay performance chips and throttle body spacers. I've seen those tested again and again on modern cars by people that weren't making money from them. They restrict flow, plain and simple. Several of the independent tests that used actual equipment to register cfm flow clearly showed the restriction, if only a slight one. You also run the risk of metal bits making it into your engine as the piece decays in there.Many of the companies that want to dyno a car with mods like this as well will dyno a super hot, fresh off the street stock vehicle, and either wait till it cooled down or dyno on a completely different and cooler day and show some amazing gains. There is an object in the path of your flow. It is not an engineered product that is integrated into the intake tube and optimized as such. there are some instances where they do come factory installed and if used properly, then can seemingly smooth the airstream, but never from a performance standpoint. For example: they come on stock LS1 MAF's and one of the simplest, and most common mods to free up HP is to cut it out and remove it completely.

[vibenvy]

I appreciate the input. I did do alot of reading through all sorts of different forums before purchasing these. I never once read anything negative about them impeeding airflow, causing warning lights, falling apart, etc. I will give them a try and see what happens. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If they seem to cause any problems or they start falling apart, I will remove them immediately.

[Salsa Guy]

Interesting but without some dyno results I would be very skeptical. Hope it works out!

[star_deceiver]

Hmmmm.... Give it two tanks.... I'm still quite skeptical but good luck!!!

[skimask]

I call $20 worth of B.S. on the part...but will add, as said above, as long as it doesn't fall apart and it's removable, $20 ain't bad for a crap-shoot.Why do I call B.S.?The honeycomb structure is supposed to smooth out the overall airflow, help create laminar airflow, free of turbulence, and is supposedly going to help with boundary layer turbulence, all supposedly to keep the MAF in a steady airstream, smooth out the readings, etc. The throttle plates, intake valves, intake runners, etc, are going to mess up any chance at laminar airflow, so any argument there, well, null and/or void.Can today's MAFs respond quickly enough to any changes in airflow due to turbulence? I don't think so. Pulsations from the intake valves, engine vibrations, etc...all of that gets filtered out digitally in the ECU after the signal is read. The signal read by the ECU, after filtering in software and such, is always going to be X amount of time behind what the MAF is actually reading at that particular instant.If an intake system is seriously messed up in the first place, i.e. lots of curves, bumps, rough surface inside the tubes, well, sure, maybe one of these could show some marked improvement.Chances are, as with most other 'snake oil' products out there, any improvement dyno results are jacked up in some way...i.e. base dyno run done at a shop in the middle of the afternoon on a 100F day, make whatever change, then do another dyno run in the middle of the night after the temp has dropped 30 degrees, on a cold engine, after a tuneup, etc.But...hell, if you get it work and show a repeatable, documented improvement...then there ya go...

[keithvibe]

my 1990 buick had one stock mounted just before the TB... I ripped it out and got better MPG without it

[vibenvy]

Well, I am in the process of re-installing my CAI right now (waiting for the MAF to dry). I decided not to install the airflow straightener afterall because I had a hell of a time getting it into the tube in the first place and I decided I really don't want to risk getting little pieces of metal in the engine or anything. I hope I am able to return them and get most of money back . Thanks for the input guys!

[Salsa Guy]

I was hoping for some feedback on this device.