I have a 1996 s10 blazer vortec v6.

Dynomax cat back muffler with the turn down cut off so the exhaust exits straight out the back this was my first mod slightly louder and more power. Modded air box with drop in K & N Filter( i cut the whole front out where the small hole was originally, and 3/4's of the right side facing the fender, a hand jigsaw works great! there is a plastic piece that holds the original filter box to the radiator support or shell, right behind the headlights, i made a cut 2" x 3 1/2" out of this plastic bracket to improve airflow the results were also slightly more than positive with a louder intake sound at 2800 rpm and 45 mph. I have descreened the mass airflow, results were slight. i am getting a helix throttle body spacer in the mail in 2 days its on its way. to a tank full i used to get about 275 miles off my usual fill up, thats for city and highway to work and back at an overall average (before any mods). after these mods i have recently got 305 for the same trips.


Thats roughly 30 mile increase which equalls to about a savings of 1.9 gallons overall. and with gas costing over $3.20 a gallon in NY right now, I'm saving roughly $6.00 every 1 1/2 weeks. or a little over $200 a year driving back and forth to work. the savings is even more than that because i drive more than just back and forth to work, I have a life.

A while back I had a vent valve stuck closed lets just say Im glad i got that fixed i was getting about 240 - 250 miles to a tank.

i would like anyones comments on throttle body deflector plate mod and the egr mod?

 

Just gut the stock AB and install a TruFlo airfilter. JMO


I spent alot of money on ****. My neighbor did the gut and Truflo and I tried it out. Feels just liek mine. I spent $698.00 more than he did for the same result.

 

That post cracks me up. How can ANYTHING that actually reduces the intake flow area actually help? Both Car&Driver and Motortrend did testing with many of the mainstream "fuel savers" and just about all of them were a farce.

And something in the intake track can not effect the exhaust tone, period.

And about the airbox, I did a break down of the air intake path in another post ('search' function is your friend). That 'small' hole will outflow the throttle body even with the deflector removed (which I have done and would NOT recommend - again I have stated why in another post). Even if you wanted to enlarge that front snorkel, it should be replaced with a larger hose that still attaches to the hole through the core support so you draw in outside air or you are defeating the purpose.

Throttle body spacers on an engine with such high low end torque stock will net you next to no results. With the faux helix, you will get a nice whistle which will give you a placebo effect and keep you happy that you installed it. "Sounds different, must be more powerful!" Good luck with that.

Descreening the MAF isn't a good idea. Again, I did the run down on the intake path and the throat of the MAF is the restriction, NOT the screen that serves to aid the MAF in it's reading of the airflow by smoothing it out as it goes through the sensor. Removing the MAF screen could cause poor idle as well as a lean or rich condition, possibly damaging your engine. It has been well documented in the 3800 community that removing the screen does absolutely NOTHING for performance and has been the cause of engine drivability problems when removed.

 

ok so im looking for an intake to put in my car....which cai would u guys recommend...is it ez to install....and are there any tricks to getting cooler air to the filter? and finally does any1 have pictures of their intakes? id like to see how they fit and where the filters end up sitting

 

Hey so you all know "Mythbusters" ? I just emailed them about the turbonator not being worth a dime!! You all should do the same, i'd like to see em do a test on that. I really believe it hurts more than helps.

 

Hmm....

Well, I read these posts extensively before buying my intake stuff last week. I installed an AirAid CAI yesterday, and I definitely felt results. I haven't scientifically measured the increases, but when I hit the gas, it responds much more precisely and is quicker off the line. Very noticeable difference. However, as Kyle said above, I did notice that the metal piping was hot after driving, which was probably sapping some of its potential. Because this intake points downward 90 degrees, I've thought about getting additional piping to lower the filter more (away from the engine). I could also fabricate a heat shield, but because there's not much room between the intake and the radiator, I'm not sure that will help much.

And even though several people have been saying all along that TBSes don't work, I still bought the Helix. I'm hard-headed and think 50 bucks is worth checking it out for myself. [8D] I haven't installed it yet, because I do want to get before and after dyno tests.

(edit) Ha! Later in the day yesterday, after I posted the comments above, some schmuck in a Seville (with the Northstar, I might add), decided to race me. I was tired and irritated -- but I figured what the hell. To my surprise and his, I dusted him! Again, you would think he clearly had the faster car, so it's a mystery to me.

 

i did the MAF mod on my 94 z28 along with removing the fins, felt a difference, did the same with my 98 blazer, felt a difference there also. My point is each motor and computer programming is different for a specific set up. to compare the results with a 3800 v6 is like apples and oranges. My scan gauge actually showed better A/F ratio and we all know or should know that the closer you get to a perfect A/F ratio the better the efficiency of any motor. MAF compared to speed density in short is that a MAF has the ability to learn to correct A/F ratios to add more fuel when more air is introduced. (among other things) Myth busters did the tornado air thing on there show and had zero change in anything including A/f ratio. I disagree with the statement that removing the maf screen and or removing the fins will do damage to a MAF equipt car or truck. I been modding cars for a long time and love MAF over speed density. I wish my SRT-4 was MAF like my 94 z28(Procharged 8 psi). In fact when i was selling Prochargers they actually recommended removing the fins but leaving in the screen only for safety purposes, but if running purely at the dragstrip then go ahead and remove the screen also. The stock MAF are great from GM and a after market one would only make sense if yours went bad and it was cheaper to get the after market.

 

As I have said before, the sceen in the MAF is to provide a laminar flow over the MAF elements so it can get the average flow into the engine. If you do not have a very smooth and straight intake path before the MAF sensor, the sensor itself may not see all of the air going over it due to velocity differences over the cross section, causing drivability problems.

While seeing problems in one engine may not directly throw over to another, members here have had issues with removing the screen on these engines as well, caused by the reason stated above. I wouldn't call the comparison apples to oranges, maybe Granny Smith to Empire. Comparing speed density to MAF would be apples to oranges.

Another note... By opening up the cross section (removing the fins), you are changing the effective cross-sectional area of the sensor that the PCM is calibrated for. This may cause the engine to run lean as more air can now flow through the MAF than the PCM thinks is there. If a lean condition results, this would have to be compensated for through the MAF tables in the PCM.

 

descreen all the way, did my ls1 camaro andmy blazer, definite seat of the pants feel. i have 5,000 miles idles like brand new on stock plugs and wires at 120k