Shadetree Mazdaspeed Cold Air Intake Test

[MCompact]

Last year I finally got around to purchasing a CAI for my Mazdaspeed 3. I decided to go with Mazdaspeed's own CAI(it's essentially the AEM CAI with a different filter and a splash shield) as Mazdaspeed claimed it added an additional 24 bhp. Rather than rely on the easily deceived butt dyno, I conducted before and after acceleration tests. In their June 2009 issue Grassroots Motorsports tested the AEM CAI for the Mazdaspeed 3 using 3rd gear 30-70 acceleration times so I decided to follow suit. A nearby deserted two-lane served as the test site. My procedure was to floor the car at 25 mph, start the stopwatch at 30 mph, and stop it at 70. I made an equal number of runs north and south. On both test days the temperature was 88F and the relative humidity was 68%. The car had a full tank of BP 93, and the tires were inflated to the recommended pressure. After all runs were timed I threw out the highest and lowest run times in each direction and averaged the times of the remaining runs. My results were:

30-70 mph stock filter : 5.67 seconds
30-70 mph Mazdaspeed CAI: 5.06 seconds(-0.61 seconds)

Finally, I went back and checked the Grassroots Motorsports results:

30-70 mph stock filter : 5.45 seconds
30-70 mph AEM CAI : 4.85 seconds(-0.60 seconds)

Make of this what you will...

 

[mechtech2]

Your stock intake must have been sucking hot air from under hood in a very poor location. CAIs help primarily at lower speeds , because the hot underhood air is pretty much purged in there when up to speed.

But are you forgetting the actual shape and design of the new intake?
That is probably where the power is coming from -simply a better upper intake pipe..

 

[shpankey]

On my 09 MS3 GT I put a COBB Short Ram Intake, power wise, it's easily the best mod I've done so far. One word of warning however, when I decided to add the COBB Turbo Inlet Pipe to the mix, the threw the stock ECU tune off from the MAF so bad that it began surging in higher gears and actually lost performance as the stock tune couldn't deal with the MAF any longer. A tune would fix this. There's a few of this that this has happened too, but it's mostly centered around COBB's stuff for some reason.

I may get the Hypertech ($330) chip which basically removes the 1st and 2nd gear turbo limits and calibrates your MAF to your intake, which would easily fix the issue. Until then, I had to put my stock intake on as I accidentally broke my stock turbo inlet pipe. lol

 

[shpankey]

What oil you running btw?

 

[Lethal1ty17]

stock intakes are very restrictive, CAI's can make more power but they are a bit more pricey. i run a short ram intake which is basically a warm air intake, but it runs great.

and whoever said the warm air is purged at high speeds is pretty spot on.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: shpankey
What oil you running btw?


Mobil 1 5w30.
And I haven't decided whether to go with a Cobb AP or the Hypertech Sport Tuner.

 

[charbaby]

MC, do you feel any difference? Have you tried any 0-60 runs?

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

Its common for Mustang GT's to pick up considerable hp with a cai but a tune is needed to maximize gains. My 06 picked up 25hp on the dyno (rwhp) with a custom dyno tune and an SCT tuner.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Char Baby
MC, do you feel any difference? Have you tried any 0-60 runs?


I definitely feel a difference; in particular the midrange feels much stronger. Road and Track installed a MS3 CAI and a MS cat back exhaust and saw whp increase by 24 at 5500 rpm. Torque increased by 28 lb.-ft. at 3250 rpm(the consensus in the MS3 community is that a cat-back won't add significant power until it is paired with a larger diameter downpipe/racepipe). The R&T article can be found here.
I didn't perform any 0-60 runs because it's hard to launch the car consistently- and each shift adds another variable.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Old Mustang Guy
Its common for Mustang GT's to pick up considerable hp with a cai but a tune is needed to maximize gains. My 06 picked up 25hp on the dyno (rwhp) with a custom dyno tune and an SCT tuner.


Both the Cobb AP and the Hypertech Sport Tuner boost the MS3's output by @20 whp. The big difference is that the AP can be tuned to release the last few ponies, while the HT is a good safe tune- especially for someone who doesn't plan to add anything more than an intake and cat back exhaust.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Glad you got gains.

Some cars do, some don't. The only bad thing is everyone thinks they get scads of free hp with a CAI no matter what kind of car it is!

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Glad you got gains.

Some cars do, some don't. The only bad thing is everyone thinks they get scads of free hp with a CAI no matter what kind of car it is!


I agree 100%; it depends on the car and the CAI. I also get irritated when I hear some so-called experts state that a CAI can never increase horsepower- likewise for those who claim that a CAI will always unleash at least 25-50 bhp.
In the case of the MS3 I decided that there were enough credible published reports and dyno tests(including one from Mazdaspeed itself) to justify the purchase. In contrast, there is little -if any power to be gained by adding a CAI to my 1995 3 Series, so I only added a Turner/Conforti chip and left it at that.

 

[flacoman]

I went with the Bell, and it freed the beast up a veddy good bit.
The Cobb tuner is so dang pricy though! What does the Hypertech run?

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: flacoman
I went with the Bell, and it freed the beast up a veddy good bit.
The Cobb tuner is so dang pricy though! What does the Hypertech run?


I believe that the MSRP is $450, but I've seen it for under $320.

 

[shpankey]

It can be had now for $350 online w/ free shipping. I'm ordering my Hypertech this Wed and installing next Friday and will report back. I mainly need it to solve the issue of the MAF miscalibration after the COBB SRI and TIP combo and the resultant surging issue.

btw... I think Hypertech claims +68whp and +38ft lbs torque. Supposedly they are coming out with updates to it in the future that will include exhause upgrades (Test Pipes, Down Pipes, etc) to go along with the MAF calibration to the intakes.

I also like that it gives you back your full turbo in 1st and 2nd (Mazda limits it). Can't wait.

 

[mechtech2]

Chips and tuning are the way to go, for sure.
Prepare for buying the best premium fuel, though.
Many stock intakes ARE cold air intakes. This is normal nowadays.
Aftermarket performance intakes are lumped into the 'cold air' category, but the real power is usually from their design.

 

[shpankey]

This car requires premium fuel completely stock. Even says it on the gas lid. :0

 

[flacoman]

+1
Even 91 oct. mid grade makes it unhappy (knock, timing retard)
A swig of methanol or toluene makes things better (esp. toluene!)