Cory, your on the right track.
The whole problem with the bend is that it alters the air that enters/goes past the MAF and changes the sample. This ends up leaning out the car. Now, in stock form, our cars are tuned rich form the factory. So by adding a CAI like a densecharger that happens to lean ou tthe car, you make more power from the altering of the a/f than the "cold air" part.
Hence why I am interested in swapping out to a K&N FIPK, or at the very least, cutting the flange off of my maf and running a small piece of straight pipe with a filer on the end, similar to that of the K&N kit.