Gary,
It is my OPINION that you should leave enough of it in place to direct the cooler air into the air box. But don't worry, you are not causing any harm by leaving all of it out. At worst, you MAY be slightly decreasing performance with it all out.
If you want to duplicate my setup, here's how (I assume you still have this out of the car):
The lower silencer is three parts: the main tube which has a 90 degree bend in it on the end that points down towards the fender hole, and 2 short pieces that are a bit larger in diameter. These 2 pieces (which I referred to as the "clam shell") simply snap together around the main tube. Use a screwdriver to gently pry open the tabs that hold them together and remove these two pieces. You will see a raised ridge on the main tube and corresponding valleys on the clam shell halves that hold the pieces in the proper position when they are assembled. Cut off the long end (the part that extends into the air box) of the main tube just behind this ridge (so that you DO NOT remove the ridge). Then, you can do like GLH_TC 16V did and wrap tape (duct tape or black electrical tape should work) around the tube to cover the small holes that are remaining. Snap the clam shell halves back over the tube. Remove the air box and reinstall your new, improved, free-flowing lower silencer. Come to the realization that you just wasted about 15 minutes on a mod that MAY provide an infinitesimal increase in HP. But hey, working on cars is FUN!
Brad
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2003 GT Turbo, 5-speed, Deep Cranberry with factory flames
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