my front bumper is cut and the lower 2 grill pieces are gone because of how it sticks out. i don't care though, it's fast.
Fast yes, but the problem is road debris. The mesh is there to provide the IC protection from stuff that could dent the IC and potentially cause a hole and a boost leak.
A lot of us are running a bar and plate design IC, rather than tube and fin, so the bar and plate is pretty strong, and can take a lot of abuse. The tube and fin design is basically like a radiator. Saying all of this, I kept the mesh, mainly for looks, but also as noted, to help protect the IC.
