Short ram intake whistle

[OneLostLlama]

I have the CorkSport short ram intake on my 2019 CX5 turbo and I have noticed that under load it will whistle like when you blow over an open bottle. It's actually quite annoying. I might swap back to stock if I cannot think of a way to make it stop. I have double checked to make sure all the clamps are secure and there are not leaks as well. Anyone else having this happen as well? I saw someone mention in a youtube video before, I will have to look it up again because he does get the car to make the sound with the CS intake. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Found the video:

CorkSport Short Ram Intake on 2018 Mazda 6

Follow my IG _itscu for more.

youtu.be

He talks about it at the 7 minute mark and you can hear it as well shortly after.

 

[Silly Wabbit]

The sound is more prominent with aftermarket intake and a lot of people actually like the sound (including myself). The sound you hear is from the wastegate or blow off valve to bleed some of the positive pressure off.

 

[OneLostLlama]

I figured that sound would be more of a hiss than a whistle though. If that it what it is then I could be alright with that. As annoying as it sounds. The guy captured it in the video pretty well around the 7:30 mark.

 

[sm1ke]

Hm, I have the intake on my CX-9 and it only sounds like suction and hissing. No whistle sounds.

Has it always made this noise since you installed it? Or did it just recently pop up? I assume the filter element is clean? ... Wonder if there's maybe a hole or a defect in the AEM Dryflow filter itself.

 

[OneLostLlama]

Hm, I have the intake on my CX-9 and it only sounds like suction and hissing. No whistle sounds.

Has it always made this noise since you installed it? Or did it just recently pop up? I assume the filter element is clean? ... Wonder if there's maybe a hole or a defect in the AEM Dryflow filter itself.

It’s been doing it since install. I removed the filter and reinstalled it making sure there are no leaks and it still does it. The filter is very clean as I have a hydro sock on it. Wonder if it’s making that noise because of how clean it is? I read someone else saying the sound lessened once it started getting dirty. But that shouldn’t be the reason for it. Maybe the filter is defective.

 

[theblooms]

That's not a design flaw of your hot air intake, that's a feature. (Yes, hot air, as it draws hot air in from under the hood instead of cold air from behind the bumper.)

The only thing those HAI's do is make noise, which is the entire point of them, and literally the only reason they exist. As Silly Wabbit said, some people like that, so they buy them. What they don't do is increase power, nor do they filter air very well. Nothing beats the filtration ability of a decent quality paper filter like Purolator or Wix. Nope, not even K&N.

 

[OneLostLlama]

That's not a design flaw of your hot air intake, that's a feature. (Yes, hot air, as it draws hot air in from under the hood instead of cold air from behind the bumper.)

The only thing those HAI's do is make noise, which is the entire point of them, and literally the only reason they exist. As Silly Wabbit said, some people like that, so they buy them. What they don't do is increase power, nor do they filter air very well. Nothing beats the filtration ability of a decent quality paper filter like Purolator or Wix. Nope, not even K&N.

Thanks for that and while that may be true for NA motors. Turbo cars have more benefit from a short ram intake as the turbo compressed the air already creating heat and the intercooler cools the air as it goes into the charge pipe. Removing the baffles and silencers improves airflow which is what a turbo engine needs over NA where it doesn’t matter. Boost is boost. If the engine was running MAP and speed density I wouldn’t even bother with it and put a filter straight off the turbo inlet.

Anyway the noise I’m showcasing in particular is what I’m trying to diagnose as either a normal noise to intakes with smoother bends or if it’s the filter or something making the strange noise. As it’s not normal a induction sound.

 

[sm1ke]

It’s been doing it since install. I removed the filter and reinstalled it making sure there are no leaks and it still does it. The filter is very clean as I have a hydro sock on it. Wonder if it’s making that noise because of how clean it is? I read someone else saying the sound lessened once it started getting dirty. But that shouldn’t be the reason for it. Maybe the filter is defective.

I watched the video and I think I know what you're talking about now. Its the noise that starts around 7:34, when the "Hear it?" text appears in the video, right? To me, it sounds almost like an electronic beeping noise.

I do recall being able to hear that beep/whine ever since I took delivery of my car. It's only audible when I floor it, and I have everything in the car as quiet as possible (windows/sunroof closed, radio muted, HVAC off). It's also a LOT quieter in the CX-9. The CS intake may have increased the whine very slightly in my car, but it's honestly hard for me to really tell. Maybe there's just more insulation or cabin dampening in the CX-9 that makes the whine less audible overall?

That's not a design flaw of your hot air intake, that's a feature. (Yes, hot air, as it draws hot air in from under the hood instead of cold air from behind the bumper.)

The only thing those HAI's do is make noise, which is the entire point of them, and literally the only reason they exist. As Silly Wabbit said, some people like that, so they buy them. What they don't do is increase power, nor do they filter air very well. Nothing beats the filtration ability of a decent quality paper filter like Purolator or Wix. Nope, not even K&N.

Even though it draws in ambient air from the engine bay vs cool air from the front of the rad via the hood latch, the intake does increase power (though it is minimal). As you said, the filter has reduced filtration capability compared to the OEM filter, but because of the reduced filtration and the smoother intake tube, the intake is less restrictive, allowing it to draw in more air to make that bit of extra power.

Personally I don't live in a very dusty climate, so I'm not really worried about the filtration capability of the filter. That said, I installed the intake at 22500 kms, and had a UOA done at 29k. I will be getting another UOA done for a sample taken at 53500 kms, so it will be interesting to see the difference.

 

[OneLostLlama]

I watched the video and I think I know what you're talking about now. Its the noise that starts around 7:34, when the "Hear it?" text appears in the video, right? To me, it sounds almost like an electronic beeping noise.

I do recall being able to hear that beep/whine ever since I took delivery of my car. It's only audible when I floor it, and I have everything in the car as quiet as possible (windows/sunroof closed, radio muted, HVAC off). It's also a LOT quieter in the CX-9. The CS intake may have increased the whine very slightly in my car, but it's honestly hard for me to really tell. Maybe there's just more insulation or cabin dampening in the CX-9 that makes the whine less audible overall?




Even though it draws in ambient air from the engine bay vs cool air from the front of the rad via the hood latch, the intake does increase power (though it is minimal). As you said, the filter has reduced filtration capability compared to the OEM filter, but because of the reduced filtration and the smoother intake tube, the intake is less restrictive, allowing it to draw in more air to make that bit of extra power.

Personally I don't live in a very dusty climate, so I'm not really worried about the filtration capability of the filter. That said, I installed the intake at 22500 kms, and had a UOA done at 29k. I will be getting another UOA done for a sample taken at 53500 kms, so it will be interesting to see the difference.

Yes! The sound at 7:34 where the text pops up is what I’m talking about. I do hear it only when I’m at WOT or even 75% throttle when in manual mode in a single gear. It’s almost like the boost cuts and then that sound happens. You can hear the turbo spool up but then it stops completely around 4200 RPM and that sound comes on. Maybe a valve is closing or the waste gate is cracking open to let out some boost because it’s at max by that point? I don’t know it’s strange.

 

[sm1ke]

yes! The sound at 7:34 where the text pops up is what I’m talking about. I do hear it only when I’m at WOT or even 75% throttle when in manual mode in a single gear. It’s almost like the boost cuts and then that sound happens. You can hear the turbo spool up but then it stops completely around 4200 RPM and that sound comes on. Maybe a valve is closing or the waste gate is cracking open to let out some boost because it’s at max by that point? I don’t know it’s strange.

If you are fueling with regular gas (87 octane) then that would explain the sudden plateau of power at 4k RPM. If you fuel with 93, the engine will continue to pull into the 5k RPM range.

I have no idea if this is related to (or caused by) the noise you're hearing, but it does seem that it may be normal with these engines.

 

[OneLostLlama]

If you are fueling with regular gas (87 octane) then that would explain the sudden plateau of power at 4k RPM. If you fuel with 93, the engine will continue to pull into the 5k RPM range.

View attachment 298253

I have no idea if this is related to (or caused by) the noise you're hearing, but it does seem that it may be normal with these engines.

That may be possible. It just sounds like the turbo doesn't spool anymore after that rpm range. instead I get that noise in the video. I am in california so 93 is non-existent out here unfortunately. I could try 91 and see if it makes a difference.

 

[sm1ke]

That may be possible. It just sounds like the turbo doesn't spool anymore after that rpm range. instead I get that noise in the video. I am in california so 93 is non-existent out here unfortunately. I could try 91 and see if it makes a difference.

91 does make a difference (it's all I have available to me so that's what I use). I think the power increase from 227 to 250 is cumulative depending on octane, so even 89 would give you some of that extra power.

 

[Catch22]

The sound is more prominent with aftermarket intake and a lot of people actually like the sound (including myself). The sound you hear is from the wastegate or blow off valve to bleed some of the positive pressure off.

I love that sound, it reminds me of an airplane

 

[OneLostLlama]

I love that sound, it reminds me of an airplane

Lmao. I don’t like it. Still have really figured it out either. Are you running the heat shield on your corksport intake?

 

[Catch22]

Lmao. I don’t like it. Still have really figured it out either. Are you running the heat shield on your corksport intake?

Yup got the CS heatshield also, even modded the heatshield with some extra weather stripping

 

[OneLostLlama]

Yup got the CS heatshield also, even modded the heatshield with some extra weather stripping

Did your snorkel not fit flush on it? Mine doesn’t fit completely into the bottom hole for it. I read it’s a cx5 thing as the Mazda 6 and cx9 snorkel fits in there just fine.

 

[Catch22]

Did your snorkel not fit flush on it? Mine doesn’t fit completely into the bottom hole for it. I read it’s a cx5 thing as the Mazda 6 and cx9 snorkel fits in there just fine.

Yeah it doesn't fit completely flush with the heatshield, but after almost 4000 miles it's running fine!

 

[OneLostLlama]

Yeah it doesn't fit completely flush with the heatshield, but after almost 4000 miles it's running fine!

Yeah it just bugs my ocd sometimes. Almost want to just take the snorkel out completely lol.

 

[sm1ke]

Yeah it just bugs my ocd sometimes. Almost want to just take the snorkel out completely lol.

Go for it! No reason to have it on there since the OEM filter box isn't used.

The OEM box is sealed, so any air being pulled in comes through the snorkel. Since the CS intake doesn't have a sealed box, it pulls air in from the area surrounding the filter only.

 

[OneLostLlama]

Go for it! No reason to have it on there since the OEM filter box isn't used.

The OEM box is sealed, so any air being pulled in comes through the snorkel. Since the CS intake doesn't have a sealed box, it pulls air in from the area surrounding the filter only.

You’re right. I yanked it out this morning. My ocd is happy and it looks cleaner.