Actual performance gains from Mods?

[TRUEREDMS3]

Lets say I added a Mazda CAI and the Intercooler upgrade to my MS3, what kind of actual performance gains would I see? Bone stock the car runs 14.1 would it be unreasonable to expect these Mods to turn this into a 13.8 second car?

The CIA is what? 15hp and the Intercooler upgrade a solid 20hp. Thats 30 hp, seems like it would change somethin.

I don't want to do anything radical to the car "Turbo upgrade" but I don't want to waste money on parts that increase HP but don't effect the actual performance numbers of the car a great deal.

 

[quiet desperado]

Lets say I added a Mazda CAI and the Intercooler upgrade to my MS3, what kind of actual performance gains would I see? Bone stock the car runs 14.1 would it be unreasonable to expect these Mods to turn this into a 13.8 second car?

The CIA is what? 15hp and the Intercooler upgrade a solid 20hp. Thats 30 hp, seems like it would change somethin.

I don't want to do anything radical to the car "Turbo upgrade" but I don't want to waste money on parts that increase HP but don't effect the actual performance numbers of the car a great deal.

The effects of wheel spin and torque reduction are big unknowns even if you add another 20-25 whp. This car is really hard to get good 1/4 mile time with according to at least one mag (C&D?). They had to do run after run b/c the kept "tipping the wastegate". Torque reduction is in effect in 1st/2nd and also based on wheel angle. So, it may take a lot of practice or some way of disabling the torque reduction feature to get the great times that the SRT-4 gets with it unrefined powertrain.

 

[Brian MP5T]

IMO better tires and lighter wheels would give you a much better performance gain.

With Turbo applications, your not going to get a "Massive Improvement" with a CAI like you would on a N/A car.

The intercooler upgrade will only make a diference if the stock one is not able to remove all the heat. IE, You live in Mexico and it's 110 Deg... If the climate is not normally Insane, then the money can be spent elsewhere first, they you can save that mod for later.

 

[quiet desperado]

IMO better tires and lighter wheels would give you a much better performance gain.

With Turbo applications, your not going to get a "Massive Improvement" with a CAI like you would on a N/A car.

The intercooler upgrade will only make a diference if the stock one is not able to remove all the heat. IE, You live in Mexico and it's 110 Deg... If the climate is not normally Insane, then the money can be spent elsewhere first, they you can save that mod for later.

The stock TMIC's pressure drop is significant enough compared to the ETS that it dynoes a lot higher. It also stays cooler and showed no decrease in power on the 2nd run whereas the stock TMIC lost 10 hp. This matters in places like TX where the summer temps are 95-100F. It will also matter in stop-n-go, although I guess it's only theoretical.

 

[dread]

actually cai give better results on turbos than NA cars. Infact most mods do.

 

[Brian MP5T]

<<Proof?>>

 

[dread]

Cai on regular mazda 3 8-9hp cai on ms3 15hp. Exhaust on standard 3 10hp on ms3 20hp. I am basing my numbers on numbers reported by forum members for the standard 3 and on what mazda claims for the ms3. I don't have dyno's but I am sure they will come out soon. Generally turbo cars respond better to mods, that is why the aftermarket is so huge for vw's and subies. Chip on v6 vw 15-20hp, chip on turbo vw 50+ hp. I am not trying to start a fight here, just observations

 

[quiet desperado]

<<Proof?>>

This is a 11hp gain for an MS-6 with a CP-E CAI.

This is a 15hp gain for an MS-3 with a prototype CP-E CAI.

 

[dread]

thanks I was too lazy to look for the evidence

 

[StephanieT]

A CAI system may not always make more power, but cooler air intake temps do allow for more power. Usually most gains are seen in torque. We removed JUST the air box lid and saw a 15 rwhp gain also.
Stephanie

 

[funktownp5]

I don't want to do anything radical to the car "Turbo upgrade" but I don't want to waste money on parts that increase HP but don't effect the actual performance numbers of the car a great deal.

If all you want is a faster ET, then you should just buy 2 wheels and mount

some drag radials on them.

 

[quiet desperado]

A CAI system may not always make more power, but cooler air intake temps do allow for more power. Usually most gains are seen in torque. We removed JUST the air box lid and saw a 15 rwhp gain also.
Stephanie

What about the fwhp gain? Any gain in rwhp gain would be huge for me, I don't know about you. Probably want to filter that air, also. You never know, you might suck a zip tie up in there and it might not be pretty. (nailbyt) Also, if you increase torque, don't you proportionately increase hp, since (Torque x Engine speed) / 5,252 = Horsepower? So how can "most of the gains be seen in torque"?

 

[the415]

wtf....why are you talking about rwhp? you drive a fwd car!!

hp isn't proportionate to tq. it's a derivative of tq. thats why you will have different gains throughout the power band

 

[quiet desperado]

wtf....why are you talking about rwhp? you drive a fwd car!!

hp isn't proportionate to tq. it's a derivative of tq. thats why you will have different gains throughout the power band

Sorry, can't resist the occasional smartass post from time to time. Stephanie was touting the gains in rwhp from removing the the MS3's airbox lid. They talk about rwhp gains from the Vishnu tune at the Bell Engineering site as well, so maybe she works for them.

Re: torque/hp, right, definitely not directly proportional. But wouldn't any increases be proportional assuming the same torque curve? I guess if you change the curve, then the hp increases would definitely not be proportional.

 

[jbiird317]

actually cai give better results on turbos than NA cars. Infact most mods do.

you have to remember to look at these in proportion, 8hp gain on a regular 3 is ~15% inc. where a 20 hp gain on a ms3 is roughly the same. The turbo car may show more HP gain, but in fact, the gains aren't that different. On any car, if you can decrease the temp of the air going in and how quickly the hot air gets out (thereby increasing the efficiency of the engine) you will see gains in performance

 

[redms3gt]

Increasing airflow through the motor will show a increase in power over stock on depending on how much the stock is restricting to decrease noise.. On the turbo car efficiency will usually be increased more dramatically because the turbo will be able to reach full boost sooner and quicker which in turn raises HP/TQ exponetially over a NA car.. The factory wastegate will still keep its set pressure but if the airflow is increased to a point where the factory wastegate cant vent exhaust away from the turbo fast enough you will get boost creep. That is the wastegate is wide open and cant flow enough air away from the turbo to reduce turbine speed and maintain a set level. This most likely will not happen with this cars small turbo but with faster spooling comes a bigger spike before the wastegate opens up and essentially more power from more boost even at a factory level.. Also since the airflow through the motor is more efficienct the turbo wont have to work as hard to maintain stock boost levels. Increasing power also. 8 hp on a mz3 is most likely between 6-7k rpms. increase on a ms3 will be from 2500-6000k most likely..will be able to boost quicker and hold longer.. so its more that just 8% or whatever at a certain rpm but you got to look at the whole curve.

 

[dread]

well said, that explanation makes my car want to breath better, she is suffocating.

 

[speed3_813]

actually cai give better results on turbos than NA cars. Infact most mods do.

I have read the same thing from tuning mags. Turbo get better gains than N/A cars. I have also been told the same thing by some performance shops around the area. The closes thing I have to proof is when I own a Protege I put the Injen CAI and gained 5hp and a friend of mine has a Mazdaspeed Protege and gained 11hp with the intake.

 

[stirob]

If you are going to run a cai it is a very good idea to get a good em system and have the car tuned. This a good idea for any power mods made to a car to ensure that your af's are where they need to be and also to realize the full potential of the mods you have made.

Rob