well I would like to say something on the subject... ok think about this, In the last 2-3 weeks of a autos life what do they do??? answer... they pull the nutes from there leaves for the buds, we have all been witness to this its why the leaves turn yellow and the buds swell... now what happens if they do not have this energy supply??? they need it and being a resourceful plant it takes it from the only other places your buds and the sugar leafs... now we know them little sugar leafs are not going to last long that leaves your bud and bud production to make up for the nutes not being there... now if you are a person that flushes there plants I would say you need the leaf even more because of the flushing taking away the last nutes in the soil... not to say taking 1 to 2 choice sets of fan leaves to get light into a dark limb is a bad thing, just be sure to leave enough for the plant to finish it natural cycle... I only take off leafs on autos that are dieing or at the very bottom to make for better air flow and ease of watering...