Removing Intake Resonator on Mazda3

[goldwing2000]

Why would you do such a thing, you ask?

Well... cuz it not only sounds better, it improves airflow, thereby increasing performance and fuel economy! Well... theoretically, anyway.

Tools you'll need:
Jack and 1 jack stand
21mm lug nut wrench or similar tool
#2 Phillips Screwdriver
10mm deep socket or short socket with extension and ratchet (the smaller the better; 1/4" drive tools will work best.
10mm open-end wrench

Procedure:
1. Loosen lug nuts on left front wheel
2. Jack up left front corner of car
3. Remove lug nuts and wheel
4. Remove 3 phillips-head screws from left front underbody splash shield
5. Remove three phillips-head push pins from front of inner fender (two on the wheel opening lip, one inside the wheel well)
6. Using socket and ratchet, remove 6 10mm-head bolts from splash shields. These bolts only: One in wheel well next to the push pin from step 5, three across the front of the car on main splash shield, two on left side where main splash shield attaches to transmission splash shield. Do not remove the push-pins on the main splash shield.
7. Slide main splash shield free from lock-pin where it attaches to the transmission splash shield.
8. Pull front portion of inner fender back away from the front of the car.
9. See that big honkin hunk o' plastic inside there? That's the resonator. There are three bolts holding it in place.
-10mm Bolt #1: This one is easy. It should be staring you right in the face. Take it out.
-10mm Bolt #2: This one's a little more difficult. Lie on your back and look up between the resonator and the frame rail, next to the horn. You should see the bottom of the tab that bolt #2 is going through. Use a small ratchet and take it out.
-10mm Bolt #3: This one will take the longest. The resonator was put in before the headlight, so bolt #3 was designed to be accessed from the front. We don't want to take the headlight out, so we will be using the back door method. Take the 10mm open-end wrench, lie on your back and look up inside the fender/bumper area. You'll see the edge of bolt #3 tucked up about a foot from the bottom of the bumper. The resonator will be pretty loose, so just wiggle it and see where it pivots. Take bolt #3 out with the wrench and don't let the resonator fall on your face. You'll have to turn it this way and that but it will eventually come out through the wheel well.

10. Reverse steps 8-1, tighten lug nuts to 85-90 ft-lbs in a star pattern and you're off and running!

11. Call K&N and bug them about getting a new filter.

[Da 6]

yes that is the back door instructions for resonator....normally people added the frount facia removal for that.....also this made it a lil bit eaiser for whenever you get the cai cause the resonator is already gone so you are just dropping the splash guard 1 more time and putting the filter on the intake instead of dropping the entire frount facia....nice write up...

[AzMz3]

I did this a couple of weeks ago. I even opened the bottom hole in the filter box and added a extension with a 90* and a cone filter. Made alittle bit of differnce. I think a big part of the restriction is the housing the maf sensor is in!

--Herb--

[goldwing2000]

Originally Posted by Da 6

yes that is the back door instructions for resonator....normally people added the frount facia removal for that.....also this made it a lil bit eaiser for whenever you get the cai cause the resonator is already gone so you are just dropping the splash guard 1 more time and putting the filter on the intake instead of dropping the entire frount facia....nice write up...

Thanks.
I'm basically lazy, so I always try to find the fastest and easiest way to do things.

[goldwing2000]

Originally Posted by AzMz3

I did this a couple of weeks ago. I even opened the bottom hole in the filter box and added a extension with a 90* and a cone filter. Made alittle bit of differnce. I think a big part of the restriction is the housing the maf sensor is in!

--Herb--

Where did you find a 3" 90°? Did you just use PVC?

[Da 6]

did that on my neon ahile back...mandrel bent pipe from pepboys

[Silver Bull3t]

Just wanted to thank goldwing2000/~Kane for the post...
I might try this after break-in....

For those of you who have done this mod..., would you say it has made a significant impact on performance/economy?

....If so, was it worth performing the procedure...sounds relatively simple to remove the resonater per your instructions.....

[goldwing2000]

I haven't had it done long enough to check the economy (I'll know next week) but it does seem a little peppier.
The biggest plus is the sound. The added growl puts it way up in fun factor.

[Da 6]

Hey just found out yesterday in another forum that the 6 resonator was desighned where the bults on the front that are hard to reach weren't eeded to be taken off...there are washers that are the sama size as the bolts and it pops right off after removal of the rear bolt that was accessable. not shure if the front pain in the ass bolt(s) were the same way for you guys?

[Tonys3]

Nice Post !!! Did it make the car any louder at highway speeds ?

[goldstar]

Why do you think the Helmholtz resonator is part of the intake system in the first place and what effect on performance do you think it's removal will have?

[goldwing2000]

Originally Posted by Tonys3

Nice Post !!! Did it make the car any louder at highway speeds ?

Not really. Just from about 3/4 to full throttle.

[goldstar]

Originally Posted by goldwing2000

Why would you do such a thing, you ask?

Well... cuz it not only sounds better, it improves airflow, thereby increasing performance and fuel economy! Well... theoretically, anyway.

So in other words, Mazda incorporates the resonator into the air intake system in order to make it sound worse, impede air flow and decrease performance and fuel economy? Interesting concept.

02 DX Millenium Red

[tonkabui]

Originally Posted by goldstar

So in other words, Mazda incorporates the resonator into the air intake system in order to make it sound worse, impede air flow and decrease performance and fuel economy? Interesting concept.

02 DX Millenium Red

the stock intake assembly is used to minimize noise. it is not in the best interest of performance or fuel economy. why do you think CAI companies dyno test their intakes only to show that there are gains that can be had? it's because of the flowing nature of air. easy in + easy out = more power. the faster you can get air in for combustion and the faster you can move that air out of the combustion chamber allows you to combust more. so in a sense, yes, mazda incorporates a resonator into the air system to make it supress noise. when your motor doesn't growl at you after you hit the pedal, it sounds "worse" in my opinion.

[goldstar]

Originally Posted by tonkabui

the stock intake assembly is used to minimize noise. it is not in the best interest of performance or fuel economy. why do you think CAI companies dyno test their intakes only to show that there are gains that can be had? it's because of the flowing nature of air. easy in + easy out = more power. the faster you can get air in for combustion and the faster you can move that air out of the combustion chamber allows you to combust more. so in a sense, yes, mazda incorporates a resonator into the air system to make it supress noise. when your motor doesn't growl at you after you hit the pedal, it sounds "worse" in my opinion.

Yes, the stock intake system is designed to minimize noise but that is not at all the function of the Helmholtz resonator. The resonator is incorporated to increase and maintain low-speed torque. Remove it and there will be a loss of low-speed torque with no consequent gain in performance. If you examine the positioning of the resonator, you'll note that it is in "parallel" with the intake system and does not constitutute an impediment to the air flow. Also, the sound of an intake system has little to do with its performance.

02 DX Millenium Red