MS3 Custom CAI

[redspeed]

Well, I start by saying that I wanted to buy a ms cai since I got my ms3. But $300+ dollars for a cai is a bit high for me. I know there's a good hp gain, but $300 is almost my monthly payment ($375). Sooo.... if you don't want to pay the high price for a cai, this thread may help you. (thumb)

The only solution is to make your own custom cai. You can find 3 in. elbows and straight pipes made from plastic, rubber or metal. I did a little search online and found a couple of websites that sells them in rubber and silicone. But you can go to the local autozone or pepboys and get the spectre parts. Now, I am in no way advertising their product. You can buy what you need anywhere you like and any brand you like.

I got the spectre pipes because it was cheap and it is made specifically for custom intakes. The pipes are made of plastic (again, cheap) and have a chrome looking finish (see pic #1). The pipes and elbows are 3 in. diameter and have a plastic clamp in one of the side with hex screw, so you don't have to buy clamps, but be careful and don't over tight. I went out and bought the following:
2 4in. long straight pies
1 6in. long straight pipe
1 45 deg. elbow
1 90 deg. elbow
1 60 deg. elbow
1 maf sensor adapter
1 mounting kit
1 3in. cone filter
1 T clamp
Total price $90
Pic#1
109431
I figured what I needed by looking at pics of the ms and injen cai. I ended up using EVERYTHING. You can just get 3 4in. long pipes to make it shorter, but they only have two at my local store so I got the 6in. long pipe instead. I tried different layouts but pic #2 shows the final version that fitted right. Also, before you attach the pipes together, remember to put the O ring that come with each part to avoid air leaks.
Pic#2
109433
Now for the installation, I used the instructions in the injen website as reference. Also, I highly recommend that you remove the front bumper, it is so much easier. The reason is that you are making your own custom intake and multiple adjustments will be necessary. You want all the space that you can get, don't get me wrong, is not hard to do it. To remove the front bumper, find the biggest hammer and start destroying your bumper. (silly) J/K don't do that . Just remove all the clips on top of the front grill, 8 I believe, then all the bolts across the lower lip, NOT the phillips screws on the paint. Carefully pull on each side, besides the headlight. Before it comes out disconect the fog lights connectors and some sort of sensor ( amb. temp?). Remove the left front splash shield to make space for the cone filter. Remove the intercooler cover, disconnect the Neg. battery cable, remove the maf sensor and stock air box.
Pic#3
109434
Attach the cone filter to one of the 4in. pipes and attach the T clamp in the middle of the 4in. pipe. You will use this T clamp to secure the intake after installation (pic #3). Now, you are keeping the corrugated looking hose. It is a lot easier, but if you want to remove it, you need to buy additional parts, and the point is to keep it cheap. The maf pipe comes with 3 adapters for different cars, just follow the instructions and use the one for mazda, and take notice of the direction of the air flow. Attach the maf pipe to the stock black hose (pic #4). I tried to use the stock clamp but didn't work, so I used a extra one that I had.
Pic #4
109435
Start assembling the intake. Attach 4in. pipe to the 6in., then put 60 deg. elbow on top, 90 deg. elbow at the bottom and 45 deg. elbow to the 90 deg. (pic #2). Tighten enough to keep together but allow movement, and lower into position. Attach top part (60 deg. elbow) to the maf adapter and adjust as necessary (pic #5). It looks like there's no space but there is enough (pic #6).Attach cone filter to lower intake and adjust (pic #7). I also used a m6 vibra bolt (bolt with rubber) from my old maxima intake, but I don't know if one can buy it locally, so you have to find something for if you want to isolate vibrations on the intake.
Pic #5
109436

Finally use the parts in the mounting kit to secure the intake (pic #8). There are 3 different size metal rods, I used the medium size and attached the other nuts and little plate to make some kind of bracket, very easy stuff (see pic #8 again). If you adjusted everything right, the intake will not rub against or hit anything. Tighten everything and double check, replace bumper, install maf sensor and connect battery. Start engine and listen for air leaks. Finished installation (pic #9)

If everything is good, Congratulations you just installed the cheapest CAI in the market :D
Driving impressions you ask? Well, full throttle in 1st and 2nd gear is futile (lol2)
Before it will spin tires in 1st and try in 2nd, now it spin tires in 1st, 2nd and tries in 3rd. Butt dyno says it is a major improvment and it will rev past 6k easy. And of course the beautiful sound of the turbo sucking air and the stock BOV keeping everything in check (cabpatch). I don't have a baseline dyno or and after dyno, but I'm located at 3,900 feet elev; so I know dyno #s will be super low, anyways I will try to get some numbers for you guys. Sorry for the long post, but I tried to give good instructions. (direct) (breakn)

********************Edit*******************
I took the cai off to get the recall work done. Before I put it back on the car I decided to move the 6 in. pipe and attach it to the filter. The 4 in. pipe that was on the filter was attached to the other 4in. pipe. The result is that the filter was moved up aprox. 4 in. to give it some extra protection against hydrolock (engine sucking water). Sound and feeling is the same as the length of the cai was not changed.

*******************UPDATE*****************

I found on the specter website a kit to "match" the spectre maf ID(3 in.) to the stock maf ID(2 3/4 in.) The kit includes a maf pipe and 3 inner pipes in ID size 2 1/4, 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 in. This is good, because now the custom cai can match the stock maf ID size for stock calibration. I have not upgraded my custom cai with this kit at this moment, but I will get this, install it and post the updates as soon as I can.

[redspeed]

Pic # 6
109437
Pic# 7
109441
Pic #8
109442
Pic #9
109444

[whitey4311]

Now that is some facny work man, good job!

[Rotus8]

Well done! That's the way to innovate and get what you want for the budget you have. Congratulations and keep us posted on the long term.

[whitey4311]

Yeah I worry that the plastic tube wont fair well in the long run but maybe it will get you long enough until you can buy the real deal in the future.

[benzo]

NICE INSTALL!!!! Quality looks good too!

[guy_incognito]

Are you going to leave that in when it goes to a dealership? Looks good to me, and I'm sure you'd raise some eyebrows.

[redspeed]

Thanks guys! (drinks) The custom intake has been in the car for two days and 50+ miles, so I'm still getting used to it. The plastic is not too flimsy, I think that as long that you make sure is not rubbing against anything, it will be alright. And for dealership trips, you can remove the top part and put on the stock one, but I'm gona leave it there, they have to prove that it is causing whatever malfunction I get, unless of course is intake related. I have one obdII scanner, so I'll check before going to the stealership. (shady)

[itzl0l]

i've been thinking bout that too....but i was worried the MAF tune from spectre would cause a CEL b/c its alot bigger than the stock tube diameter

[gsrtype1]

good job, i was going to do that ...autozone, but i thought it would be to complicted i'll go with the mazda version, but you did a dam good job!!!

[dread]

I usually laugh at homemade intakes, but that is a really nice job. The only change I would suggest is getting rid of the 90 degree elbow and use something that will have a smoother transition. Looks like the MAF is in the stock location, so thats good.

[redspeed]

I usually laugh at homemade intakes, but that is a really nice job. The only change I would suggest is getting rid of the 90 degree elbow and use something that will have a smoother transition. Looks like the MAF is in the stock location, so thats good.

Yeah, I wanted to get rid of the 90 deg. elbow, but I have to use it because the intake its a little long. I can change the 6in. long pipe for a 4in. and get rid of the 90 deg. but after trying different layouts I just used the parts that I had. I suspect it causes some turbulence, but it works great. Maybe later down the road I'll change it.

[ms6utah]

any sound clips lets here this bad boy

[Boost Driven]

any sound clips lets here this bad boyAgreed(yes)

[redspeed]

any sound clips lets here this bad boy

Let me try to get some sound clips.

[ajspeed3]

Have you get any CEL yet

[redspeed]

Sound clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYxqJrj2JkI

Sorry, not the best sound clip, but you can hear the bov. When I give it full throttle you can hear the turbo spool, but didn't have enough time.
No cel's so far.

[CaSHMeRe]

can you post a pic of just the maf adapter ?

can you post a link to the one you got ?

thanks bud

EDIT: Nevermind, saw pic #4. how much did you pay for the adapter alone ?

[redspeed]

can you post a pic of just the maf adapter ?

can you post a link to the one you got ?

thanks bud

EDIT: Nevermind, saw pic #4. how much did you pay for the adapter alone ?

Maf adapter was $13.99 at autozone.

[CaSHMeRe]

Maf adapter was $13.99 at autozone.

damn, i can't find it online at autozone. do you know of any other online vendors that might carry it ?

[redspeed]

damn, i can't find it online at autozone. do you know of any other online vendors that might carry it ?

I think advance auto parts or pep boys, or you can check spectre website:

http://spectreperformance.com/

[CaSHMeRe]

is a mazda MAF housing the same as a subaru MAF housing ?

[itzl0l]

^^^^ yes it is

[redspeed]

is a mazda MAF housing the same as a subaru MAF housing ?

02-up mazda and 02-up subaru. There are 3 adapters included with the maf piece.

[yakov456]

Well done, wish I had the guts to try it but I dont want to mess with my warranty.

[redspeed]

Well, just came back from the local track. Sorry, no time slip, is a getto track with a launch light and without timers. Raced a another ms3 stock, and beat him by at least 2 1/2 cars length. So at least I know the butt dyno was right. (alright)

[CaSHMeRe]

Well, just came back from the local track. Sorry, no time slip, is a getto track with a launch light and without timers. Raced a another ms3 stock, and beat him by at least 2 1/2 cars length. So at least I know the butt dyno was right. (alright)


or the other guy couldn't drive worth a damn ... (inout)

[redspeed]

or the other guy couldn't drive worth a damn ... (inout)

LOL! Yeah well I saw him racing other cars and the only advice I gave him was to launch at around 3k, but he didn't like it. Said something like "thats too much revs....wheel spin, bla bla". And remember he is stock, so have to shift at around 5.5k and me with the cai shift at around 6.3k rpm. (drive2)

Edit: I also have a SU motor mount. :p (lick)

[ms6utah]

Sound clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYxqJrj2JkI

Sorry, not the best sound clip, but you can hear the bov. When I give it full throttle you can hear the turbo spool, but didn't have enough time.
No cel's so far.


sounds pretty good for the price you paid

[the7comeback7ki]

Clever....looks pretty nice for homemade(rockon)

[Jasonstiller]

Any updates?

[redspeed]

I tried to get some dyno numbers last week, but when I called they said the dyno is down. Ill try again in a couple of weeks.

[ichiromariko]

I'm guessing that making a short ram should be pretty simple then huh?

[redspeed]

That would be super easy. Just get the maf adapter and a 4in. pipe for the filter and you're set.

[MSpeedRacer]

you could have saved 30 bux and the plastic and got an ebay intake that would probably flow better and function just as good, not to flame or be a dick, thats just my $0.02, But you did do a pretty good job

[redspeed]

But were is the fun in that? (flash)

[ichiromariko]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109435&d=1181466721

Hey man, did you have trouble squeezing the spectre piping into the stock rubber hose?

[redspeed]

Yeah, it's a little tight. But I put a thin coat of oil around the pipe and was good to go.

[Jasonstiller]

Have you had any CELL's trip yet?

[redspeed]

Nope! No cel's

[ichiromariko]

Thanks redspeed. Here's my short-ram set up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/ichirotora/both3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/ichirotora/both4.jpg

[redspeed]

Great! How is it working for ya?

[ichiromariko]

^^It's working out great. I'll be replacing the rubber hose with alum piping some time this week. Thanks man.

[Boost Driven]

How are the gains? Since it's still pulling some warm air in.

[ichiromariko]

^^It actually feels a lot better than stock (seems to pull harder). I love the sound. After i replace the rubber hose with the alum piping, it'll hang down much further, not as far as standard CAI's (deathly afraid of hydrolocking) but farther from the heat.

[Boost Driven]

Sounds like a cheaper alternative to a CAI. I'll had to try it.

[redspeed]

A lot cheaper!! :D

[mckraut]

Edited: Nevermind

[redspeed]

Edited the original post. Made some changes to the cai to move the filter up for some protection against hydrolock. Still trying to get some dyno numbers. Apparently the shop closed or moved.

[mckraut]

Inspired by Red, I decided to make my own custom SRI for fun (I can't stop playing with this car, it's great). I realize there may be next to no gains with it, but it was fun to install and only cost me $40. Pictures to come soon.

P.S. I am having a problem with hesitation though until the turbo kicks in. Perhaps I need to disconnect the negative battery terminal again, but for longer this time?

[Boost Driven]

P.S. I am having a problem with hesitation though until the turbo kicks in. Perhaps I need to disconnect the negative battery terminal again, but for longer this time?I've had the same problem, drive it around for awhile and recheck everything. It took a couple days until it started driving better.

[redspeed]

Yeah, probably the short ram intake wont give you a big gain because of the hot air under the hood. Try disconnect the battery for like 5 min. I guess it should be enough to reset to ecu.

[clos561]

hydrolock is nto a problem with the ms3, i have the m s cai and it has the splash guard on top. ive driven in some serious rain where i couldnt even see where i was driving and i didnt get a cell or lock the car up...

[redspeed]

Hydrolock happens when you submerge the filter, like driving over a puddle deep enough to suck water into the engine. Rain alone is not gona cause hydrolock. (thumb)

[clos561]

Hydrolock happens when you submerge the filter, like driving over a puddle deep enough to suck water into the engine. Rain alone is not gona cause hydrolock. (thumb)

i know, but i had a large fear because florida it rains aloot and i jsut saying that it hasnt happend and ive driven in some bad weather. I wouldnt drive in a large puddle in a car anyways.

[mckraut]

Well, it seems the hesitation is not getting any better. I even put back on my stock airbox, which didn't help at all. I'm beginning to think that I did something bad to my MAF sensor. I headed to AutoZone and got some cleaner for it, sprayed it down some, let it dry and tried again. Might have been a little better, but it could also be in my head. Anyone have any ideas on what's wrong?

I've got hesitation in every gear, until the turbo spools up and it takes off. When flooring the gas pedal, it feels like I'm in a much higher gear then I should be for the speed/RPMs (example, feels like I shifted from 2nd to 5th instead of 3rd). The hesitation only occurs until 3K RPMs, then the turbo spools and i takes off. But after reaching around 4k/4.5k RPMs, it sort of tapers off and I can't reach the top end of a gear for a while.

[Jasonstiller]

Check the fittings and make sure you arent leaking air anywhere.

[mckraut]

Check the fittings and make sure you arent leaking air anywhere.

Double checked all the fittings/seals on the stock airbox and also the rubber hose connected to it. Gave the MAF sensor another good cleaning and let it sit overnight in the back of the car. Nothing I did seems to have helped, so I have an appointment with Mazda next tuesday to have it looked at. I feel so stupid for possibly screwing up my car. Thanks for the tips though guys, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[chuyler1]

Could you update the first post with a total cost that you spent?

[redspeed]

It's still around $90. I didn't bought additional parts, just switched around the 6in. pipe the run down from the maf, and put it on the filter. The 4in. pipe that was on the filter, was put in place of the 6in. pipe. The result was that the filter moved up about 4 in.

[mckraut]

Update from my last post. Took it into Mazda, they said nothing's wrong with it. Updated my ECU apparently and gave it back to me. It still doesn't throw you back in your seat anywhere near as fast as it used to though. Thanks for nothing Mazda.

[redspeed]

Sorry to hear that man. Do you still have the sri and/or the hesitation problem.

[Hypnotized]

What do I need to do a SRI? From quickly reading through this thread it looks like a MAF adapter, filter and 4" pipe?

[clos561]

Update from my last post. Took it into Mazda, they said nothing's wrong with it. Updated my ECU apparently and gave it back to me. It still doesn't throw you back in your seat anywhere near as fast as it used to though. Thanks for nothing Mazda.

drive it around with the stock aribox for a few days. the computer should adapt back to normal..if not jsut keep taking it back to mazda and drive a tech with u in the car

[mckraut]

drive it around with the stock aribox for a few days. the computer should adapt back to normal..if not jsut keep taking it back to mazda and drive a tech with u in the car

I took off the SRI before taking it back to Mazda. I did not bother to put it back on after I got it back though. Currently I've got the cut airbox and the K&N drop in filter replacement installed.

Hesitation is minimal if it's there at all any more. At this point it's so little hesitation it could all be in my head. My only "measuring stick" for my complaint to Mazda is that it just doesn't leap forward like it used to. I just don't get thrown back in my seat and anywhere under 3k RPMs is still quite lethargic.

If I do take it back to Mazda I may take a test for a test drive and then take them for a test drive in a brand new one to see if there's a difference...if they'll let me do that.

[major error]

^^^
That sounds like a symptom of the A/C being engaged.
Just for reference, at least for a standard 3, the butt-dyno power band is roughly between 2800 & 6000 rpm...

my .02

[clos561]

the turbo doesnt even kick in till 3k totally...ur prolyl jsut used to the car or some shit..... bad gas? u got fat? lol i duno

[mckraut]

the turbo doesnt even kick in till 3k totally...ur prolyl jsut used to the car or some shit..... bad gas? u got fat? lol i duno

lol, it's very possible that the whole getting used to the car culprit might be at play. I remember when I first got the car that it always felt like the steering wheel wanted to leap right out of my hands, but no more. I suppose it's likely I'm just accustomed to all those horses now. :)

[redspeed]

I feel the same way, after a couple of months of driving, it just don't feel as powerful. Now I drive it almost normal most of the time, so when I floor it it feels pretty good. It's all in our heads! (silly)

[ERIC-TC]

Loss of low-end is normal with CAI and SRI. You basically shift the power band.

[Hypnotized]

I just did a custom SRI. I love it. I think the car spools quicker than before. The sound of the car spooling is nice to have again. THis was a great mod for 50 bucks. Thank you Redspeed for attempring this on your on and sharing it with us. You saved me some money:)

[redspeed]

Glad to hear you save some $$ and gained some hp. (thumb)

[ERIC-TC]

I just did a custom SRI. I love it. I think the car spools quicker than before. The sound of the car spooling is nice to have again. THis was a great mod for 50 bucks. Thank you Redspeed for attempring this on your on and sharing it with us. You saved me some money:)

What parts are you using? Got pics? Got cel's? Do you have any data log for the fuel trim adjustment?

I tried the a custom SRI w/ SCEPTER 3" MAF adaptor pipe w/ an Injen 3" cone air filter and my MS3 fuel trims got out of wack. The diameter on the 3" MAF adaptor is about 2-7/8", which is larger than the stock piece (closer to 2-3/4") my fuel trims at idle reached %22 so I eventually got a CEL. Checked everything did not appear to be leaks -my idle was good. Transition from closed loop to open-loop was not smooth -but past 3K the car pulled like a monster! My boost was spiking all the way to 20PSI.

Heard the turbo and by-pass valve for the first time, I have to admitt I like hearing the turbo -but I put back the stock air-box until I can make some adjustments to the my MAF pipe. I think that If I do measurements I may be able to install a plastic liner inside the SCEPTER 3" MAF pipe so I can get it to flow exactly like stock.

I also noticed that the stock air-flow straightener is removable so I may be able to design a holder to allow it to be placed inside the SRI MAF adaptor.

[redspeed]

Did you disconnected your battery to reset it? I have been using my custom cai for months now, no CEL!

[ERIC-TC]

Did you disconnected your battery to reset it? I have been using my custom cai for months now, no CEL!

Yes, batt was disconnected for a few hours -Had to go back to Autoparts store -forgot to get some other odds-n-ends.

Keep in mind that I was running SRI not CAI. I've read of more that a couple folks running my same setup -Some say it's perfect...others had the same issues as me.

I guess some of the Autozone MAF pipes must be special ?

[redspeed]

What do I need to do a SRI? From quickly reading through this thread it looks like a MAF adapter, filter and 4" pipe?

Sorry man!, forgot to reply you... yep, thats pretty much it. enjoy! (rei)

[Hypnotized]

No problem bro. I actually did the SRI and love it. I did however have a CEL come on last night when I was driving home. Once I disconnected the battery the light went away and it seems fine. did you ever have a CEL come on? What would have casued it to come on?

[redspeed]

I haven't had any CELs so far. You can get a obdII scanner pretty cheap and pull the code. What caused it? I don't know, a/f ratio, maf sensor getting to much air or something.

[Hypnotized]

I disconnected the battery and the CEL went away for almost 300 miles and then came back. Any ideas guy's? Should I go back to stock:(

[fourthmeal]

not a big deal, but would you mind providing the P-Code being thrown here? That would help a lot.

[jflo]

i just did the SRI w/ the MAF adapter and filter...totally sucks. sure, it sounds cool, but the driveability is way off. i get hesitation throughout the mid-range in 2nd-6th.

[Hypnotized]

Really. I dont have that problem. My car actually feels more resposive. I also think it pulls harder as well. Have you had a CEL come on?

[redspeed]

Hmmm, Looks like the SRI is not good for some ms3. I personally don't understand why go with the SRI, it's sucking hot engine air, and it's only a couple more $$ to go full custom CAI. (dunno)

[rodney]

dont do the SRI maybe like a week after i got my car i did the same SRI with the autozone maf housing and the cone filter, but i had idle problems and through CEL's left and right, i tried everything and then after about a week of trying i gave up and ordered a cold air intake. i think it had something to do with the housing for the MAFS the whole leaked so it was throwing codes are MAFS does not fit in that housing properly. So just a WARNING to anyone, ive done this long before this thread was even started

[ichiromariko]

Yup, I ended up trearing mine out, and replacing it with the Cobb SRI. I couldn't stand staring at that stupid CEL everytime I took a drive.

[jflo]

the CEL i got was lean idle bank 1 or something like that. with the SRI the car actually got slower because the ECU couldn't put enough fuel with the amount of air getting sucked in. in 1st gear mostly it would spool faster, but after that, anytime i wanted power, it would lag horrendously then get on to full boost

[redspeed]

Sorry to hear that jflo, just spend a couple more $$ and go full custom cai. I don't have any cel's or driveability problems.

[confinedconcept]

Sup Red its me.. black MS3 that everyone was clowning on like the second page. i would love to run again but that bootlegged track closed down.

anywho. the CEL might be from your fuel cap, i know it sounds dumb but i'm still stock and mine comes on from time to time and i turn the car off tighten the shitout of the gas cap and turn it back on and it goes away.

now everytime at the pump whichis alot lol:'( i make sure that i tighten the hell out of the gas cap, also when i get the CEL even though its a dumb gascap i notice a a loss of power

i'm no expert far from but its somthing to think about :P

-Rob
Confined Concepts El Paso, TX

[redspeed]

Whats up man!, I think Desert Demonz closed for the(winter)season or something. If it really closed down for good then we're f*cked. Arrollo Seco is too far(for me) and Thunder Alley is really closed.

[drledford93]

I really want to try this mod this weekend...

I had a kinda stupid question--the CAI filter ends up across the frame, just in front of the left front wheel, right? :confused:

If this is right, then why would you be so concerned about hydrolock? It seems that there is *very* little water that comes up into that area, at least in thought. Am I off?

Also, as another thought experiment, what about having 2 4" or a 6" and 4" pipes straight down and put the filter on at the bottom, for a "longer" SRI? (This assumes taking off the large plastic piece from the bottom of the engine bay for better air flow...) Just curious...

Thanks for the ideas! This looks like a good alternative to the MS CAI...

Daniel

[redspeed]

Yes, the filter sits on the other side of the frame. The only way to hydrolock the engine is to drive on a deep puddle. My filter is about more than half the height of the tire, so is pretty secure. Also in the area where the filter sits, it receives a good amount of outside air. There is a direct pad from the front bumper to the filter.

You can make a longer sri, but some people did not had good results with the sri. Probably with your idea you won't have any issues, so if you try and it works, let us know. My advice is to just by the parts you'll need for the cai, because the spectre parts are cheap. Mine is running good after 6 months with no cel light.

[drledford93]

Thanks--I'm excited to try it! Thanks for posting this!

Did you ever dyno it? Just curious...

Daniel

[redspeed]

Nope, I called the local dyno shop to schedule an appointment, but they never answer. Drove by a couple of times and it was closed, so I stopped trying. Hopefully I can get some numbers one day, LOL.

[drledford93]

Redspeed, you da man! For ~$100 (w/tax), my MS3 pulls past 6k rpm and gets wheel in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears! Holy shnikes, Batman!

Now my wife says she can't drive the car because it's too powerful...too bad (hee hee hee).

Daniel

[redspeed]

Now my wife says she can't drive the car because it's too powerful...too bad (hee hee hee).

Daniel

LOL, Good stuff. Did you made the complete cai?

[drledford93]

Yep. I need to adjust the mounting bracket, as the filter has moved over to the side of the wheel well. (Maybe from the huge g-forces generated from all the additional horsepower??) (yippy)

Daniel

[mazdaspeedjay]

ok i've been a mazda tech for 3 years and been into tuning cars for ten so let get you guys in on a little secret. First short airs are pointless yes you have the protection of hydro lock with a CAI but as long as your a smart driver and avoid running into puddles and or sitting at a traffic light in knee deep water when you cars idleing you'll be fine most cold airs are two piece systems and you can convert to a short air for rainy days. I've done that on all my N/A cars with cold airs. on rainy days just switch to a short air or just run the cold and keep away from massive puddles. it may be a pain with switch from SAI to CAI but do what you got to do. You don't hear of these problems with CAI cause mazda makes a CAI for the car and hense tune the computer to accept it in the future.

your short airs are probally sucking in too much air at one time and the computer thinks there's a problem and cause misses hesistations etc. or cause your MAF is reading erractic. Trust me i know we all don't have deep pockets but take the time by the right parts except for this guys mod which works because it's a cold air set-up. cold air is cold air the filter always goes in the same spot on these cars so the tube size and legnth doesn't make that big a difference. short airs are cheaper but these cars aren't 96's anymore and ECU PCM's what ever you call them are alot more sensative now a days. cold airs don't cause as much trouble because the air has alot longer route to travel compared to the a SAI so even thoug the air is colder it's not being forced into the maff like a SAI intake does. i hope this explains something for some and opens up others eyes. I know mazdaspeed parts are pricing but every single mazda speed part i've installed i've had no problems with from suspension to intakes.

[fourthmeal]

^ Dude that is just a bunch of bullshit all wrapped in a neat package with a "Mazda Tech Answer" bow on it.

What you have here is completely wrong.

MAZDASPEED intakes are made by AEM, and while they are nice, it has been proven time and again that they actually cause problems all by themselves, typically due to their incorrect MAF metering section. This slight mis-calibration throws off some cars more then others, but ask around and you will see what's up. Truth is, whether it is an engineered SRI like Cobb's, or an engineered CAI like CP-E, you'll find the main factors in those being so successful and seamless in our cars to be the same thing: the MAF section is identical to stock in size.

Mazda didn't tune for anything with this intake, or any other. This computer learns the A/F, MAF inputs, and driving habits amongst other things and eventually creates its own trims depending on those variables.

Lastly, probably the reason why CAI's are working here while SRI's aren't is NOT that too much air is entering the intake! This is just silly. It is likely an issue of the short ram not being designed properly to straighten the airflow in time (unlike a long tube will tend to do), and this non-linear airflow is disrupting the MAF! The Cobb SRI doesn't have this problem, because they engineered a velocity stack to straighten the flow out. Simple.

This is your first post, but seriously, I'd reconsider telling anybody you are a Mazda tech until you've got the facts straight, not just what someone told you.

This is not to flame you or insult you, but to correct the mis-information that is coming out of your post.

[mazdaspeedjay]

ok I'm not a mazda master tech never said i was. I'm still learning alot about these cars but i'm mainly going off what they tell us and also going from working at a performance shop and seeing countless problems like what the guys earlier were saying about having problems with SAI's. We just had a mazda rep in here last week. We don't get any MS3 with problems like this i guess thats a good thing just see alot of MS6's. I asked the rep that came here. granted he wasn't the guy who designed the car but i asked him why people were having these problems. i'm only assuming thats why mazda made only a CAI and not a second more cheaper version with a SAI. I see countless cars come in regular mazda 3's 6's etc with home made short air intakes and they usually cause nothing but problems. I was kind of right with the short airs. i'm not saying anything your saying is wrong but do you agree that the longer the air has to travel and the more bents affects the way the air hits the MAF compared to a SAI were it's basicly just has a direct shot and is almost the same as running no air filter or tube.

I'm assuming AEM Makes their intake but they didn't design them. unless the hand out we out with the picture of a guy that designed the mazdaspeed CAI for the MS3 and another guy that designed the suspension was all a P R stunt. I re read my post and look back that i rambled on about a bunch of stuff basicly was just trying to say that i've seen and had less problems out of the CAI's then SAI's. I wish i could tell you why some computers respond different then others i honestly don't know. I onyl had similair experiences working for VW where one 1.8T would come in with a open BOV and not throw any CEL's and another same year same model everything would come in with the same mod open BOV ( just nameing one mod ) and would run like crap and throw all kinds of CEL's. As far as a reflash fixing hesistations that usually just the dealership way of trying to get out of fixing something under warranty reflashes that are out really don't help driveability problems like that there's something else going on with the person that posted on here that said there car has no power till 3K RPM's.

[mazdaspeedjay]

Here's a idea i told this to the rep that was here and i hope they follow threw with this. Unlike some techs i'm very understanding when it comes to warranty work and modified cars. I try to fix the car with aftermarket parts as long as the parts aren't causeing the problems. i modify my own cars and wouldn't want someone trying to say my intake caused my cat. converter to go up so i inturn have to pay for it which is a load of BS i work in baltimore and if anyone needs work done come see me chances are i can get it fixed under warranty and not have you need to remove anything.

My idea to the rep was to talk to the mazdaspeed people and tell them it wouldn't be a bad idea to creat and sell staged ECU' PCM's what ever. Much what Dodge did when the SRT4 came ou. I owned a SRT4 before my speed and having the stage 1 or 2 ECU made installing and using aftermarket parts very customer friendly without worrying if this mod is going to throw a CEL. There's money to be made there and the customer base has already shown the need for the MS3's. We can't keep enough in stock. That would be awesome for them to do something like that for the customers that own them to be able to buy a PCM ECU for $500 from the factory that will increase power from a plug and play install but will also make future mods worry free. my e-mail is srt4jay17@aol.com If you live in the maryland baltimore area send me a e-mail if your having problems and worried about warranty being voided. unlike some other old timers i know what mods can and or won't affect other systems. I hate seeing people come in or hear horror stories of people trying to get simple warranty work done and their stuff is voided cause they have a CAI or a muffler on their car which had nothing to do with the part going bad and the techs void your warranty cause they make more money if it's customer pay

[redspeed]

So who else have done this mod and what results did you got?

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

When it is time to clean my MS-CAI filter for the first time (soon - this NC clay is a bitch) I am going to convert the thing to an SRI with a box picking up air at the front. Mostly because I don't want to deal with the cleaning headache a second time. The thing is, I believe that if I shorten it, I will regret doing so if I don't put some sort of straightener in the air path. Do any of the major chains (or websites) carry airflow straighteners for do-it-yourself types?

[jp4130]

^ Dude that is just a bunch of bullshit all wrapped in a neat package with a "Mazda Tech Answer" bow on it.

What you have here is completely wrong.

MAZDASPEED intakes are made by AEM, and while they are nice, it has been proven time and again that they actually cause problems all by themselves, typically due to their incorrect MAF metering section. This slight mis-calibration throws off some cars more then others, but ask around and you will see what's up. Truth is, whether it is an engineered SRI like Cobb's, or an engineered CAI like CP-E, you'll find the main factors in those being so successful and seamless in our cars to be the same thing: the MAF section is identical to stock in size.

Mazda didn't tune for anything with this intake, or any other. This computer learns the A/F, MAF inputs, and driving habits amongst other things and eventually creates its own trims depending on those variables.

Lastly, probably the reason why CAI's are working here while SRI's aren't is NOT that too much air is entering the intake! This is just silly. It is likely an issue of the short ram not being designed properly to straighten the airflow in time (unlike a long tube will tend to do), and this non-linear airflow is disrupting the MAF! The Cobb SRI doesn't have this problem, because they engineered a velocity stack to straighten the flow out. Simple.

This is your first post, but seriously, I'd reconsider telling anybody you are a Mazda tech until you've got the facts straight, not just what someone told you.

This is not to flame you or insult you, but to correct the mis-information that is coming out of your post.
(iagree)
Hey fourthmeal I am getting i kick out of your posts.
Everytime I read a post containing wrong info or something that just has to be warned againts I scroll down and see you have written exactly what I wanted say. People need to do thier research on thier mods, alot of engineering has gone into these cars.

[redspeed]

Do any of the major chains (or websites) carry airflow straighteners for do-it-yourself types?

Well, I searched, but couldn't find anything.

I went back to the spectre website, looking for a straightener, and found a kit to convert the spectre maf pipe ID to the stock maf ID. The stock ms3 maf ID is 2 3/4 in., spectre is 3 in. The kit comes with 3 different size inner pipes, and one is 2 3/4 in.

I will be getting this kit for my custom cai and I'll update the first post.

[ispypsi]

i was bored today and thnking about doing the SRI.

what i wanted to chime in on was that the stuttering issues people may have could be caused by the inaccurate diameter of the MAFs housing. ok we know that. so what to do.

im putting the "backstory" in quotes

well, it just so happened that when i first turbocharged my 240sx, i used a hacked mafs setup. it used the principle that going from stock 270cc injectors to a set of sr20det 370cc injectors that dropped in the fuel rail, was an increase of ~37%. luckily, late model 240sx's used plastic mafs housings with a probe style, hotwire MAFs. DSMs had done this before as well, so what we did was cut the MAFs housing to just the probe and square area above it that housed the circuit board/electronics.

Doing some calculations with radius, diameter, pi, and using our 37% increase from stepping up to the larger injectors, we were able to find out the size that the "new" MAFs needed to be. the stock MAFs was ~2.4xx" inner diameter, and after the calculations, we came up with a figure that a 37% larger MAFs housing would have to be ~2.875". perfect. we then placed our MAFs probe in a 3" outer diameter pipe, with 1/8" walls (.125"), making the inner diameter 2 7/8" (2.875").

this was all done to bypass having to buy an s-afc,and cut the fuel trims by 37%. plus, being an s-afc tricks the MAFs signal going to the ECU, the timing maps remained unchanged and can cause problems when starting to really fool with s-afc "tunes". (the hacked mafs setup we used, we just used a .75 degree of timing retard per lb of boost, and we deviated from the stock 20 degrees by moving base to 16* BTDC and were only planning to run 7-10psi, and it worked out perfectly, for being way cheaper and definitely safe.

anyways, we found there were slight inaccuracies in guessing the MAFs housing, being that a "percentage" increase involving cross sectional area and volume and flow patterns really couldn't be spot on with simple calculations (whereas going from 270cc to 370cc on the injector side of the equation was rather straightforward).

what we did was develop a "shim" to slide into the hacked MAFs housing, effectively reducing the diameter of the MAFs housing and kinda getting the fuel trims back to close to normal. before, they weren't way off, but they were slightly lean. the driveability test passed with flying colors, and the wideband increased noticeably when the shim was inserted.

all the shim was, was a piece of 2.875" OD piping with 1/8" wall thickness (mild steel exhaust pipe you can buy anywhere - stainless might be better to not build corrosion in humid climates), and it had an ID of 2.75", and the car ran a bit better, at least slightly richer to keep peace of mind.

here's some pictures of it, i'm going to attempt the custom SRI (because CAI vs SRI is a dumb argument and it really isn't much of a difference anyways). and while redspeed found the correct MAFs housing size, this could be a viable option as well...though i'm not sure how well it would work with the plastic spectre pipes, not sure how easy it will slide in and out.

these are just thoughts, and luckily newer MAF sensors are mounted on the pipe with screws, so it's easier to remount them (we had to get creative). but short of buying the right sized pipe, this is the only thing that will effectively "fill" the area without being a worry that it will get sucked into the intake tract or worse.

[redspeed]

Excellent post ispypsi! (2thumbs)

The spectre kit that I'm trying to get is the same principle that you mentioned.

[ispypsi]

FWIW, I just put on the short ram, basically just the MAFs kit and an AEM filter (no oil, bout the best flowing one out there).

I'm not a believer in butt dynos, but I could definitely tell it's an improvement. Like alot. Unfortunately, as soon as I hit 2nd gear, it falls on it's face. 2nd gear spools and 3rd gear seems sluggish throughout. I only took it about a tenth of a mile down my driveway and back, so not really sure yet. I had the battery disconnected for about 30 minutes during the install, so I'm debating whether to leave it on for a few days to let it settle out or not. The bogging is just like the others mentioned, very hesitant. I don't feel like messing with the CAI, so if this doesn't work out, I'm likely to buy the BEGi kit, the one with the little enclosure deal. (Plus it's about the cheapest out there for what you get). And maybe pair it with an ATP inlet pipe, if they revise it to fit better - i hear its got some issues.

Edit - other option to hold me over is to put top half of the stock airbox back on and ziptie the filter to it (aka ghetto rigged). might help a little since the bottom of the box and the tiny 2"x3" hole in there is all the breathing and that just plain sucks. or doesnt. ha.

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

I am so not believing I just realized that your handle is a palindrome.

(bang)

[ispypsi]

:D

im hoping to get it as my license plate soon. most people don't understand it.

and then still don't understand it when i say "pound per square inch"....

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

:D

im hoping to get it as my license plate soon. most people don't understand it.

and then still don't understand it when i say "pound per square inch"....

My favorite "trick" plate was one I read about. Apparently it took a couple of years for the registry to catch on and revoke it, but a woman had one that was "3m ta3". Doesn't look like much unless you imagine it in your mirror.

[redspeed]

Damn trick plates! (argh)

[redspeed]

(bump)

[redspeed]

Come back to life!!

[navyagspeed3]

I really want to do this mod but with polished aluminum instead of plastic. So far my grand total on parts is around $165 (with out shipping or handling). Has anyone done this without putting the 90 Degree at the end? From the brand name CAI's I've been looking at some put it there and some don't. It looks like that might also cut back on some of the turbulence too. If I don't put the 90 in there then I think a splash gaurd of some sort would be a worthy investment. Let me know what you think.

[redspeed]

I don't think you will have any problems with a 90* elbow. Mine been there for a year now w/o any issues. Problem is space. If you want your filter to come up and give you a better chance against hydrolock, you need the 90* elbow in there.

[bnoon]

I did a version of this, but short ram since I didn't want to spend money on the extra piping if the MAF section wasn't going to work. I got a CEL for lean idle, as well as a bucking problem at mid RPM high throttle situations. I took it off for a week or so and fabricated two metal "straighteners" to mimic the stock air flow straighteners (after first trying aluminum screen material that didn't work). Well, the straighteners did their thing and the short ram has been on for over a week CEL free.

I thought about extending it down with some 3" mandrel bends I have laying around in the garage, but I think I'd rather make an "induction box" like Rally Sport Direct has for some other turbo cars.

[redspeed]

Can you post pics of the fabricated straighteners?

[bnoon]

Can you post pics of the fabricated straighteners?

It's just 2 pieces of sheet metal, about 1" wide, spaced just like the stock ones, and held in place with putty type epoxy.

[redspeed]

(bump)