Anyone install a CX-5 cold air intake?

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I mean.. you can't use the factory filter... but you can surely use an universal filter


what @sm1ke said above.
Then how about the thread title:

Anyone install a CX-5 cold air intake?


Everyone writes about cold air intake, after which you put the intake in a warmer place than the factory intake
😂
😂
 
#3 in this illustration is the panel filter, the circled area is the box/filter configuration.
View attachment 303448
If you look at assembly part #11, that is where the restriction occurs.
That air inlet is anything but smooth. Too many sharp edges and turns. If you remove that, then you still have your airbox and filter assembly intact.
Just stick a 4" flexible hose on the air box inlet, point it forward, or down, wherever it can pick up some cold outside air, and voila, cold air intake. Problem solved. Worked in my old Pathfinder....lol.
 
If you look at assembly part #11, that is where the restriction occurs.
That air inlet is anything but smooth. Too many sharp edges and turns. If you remove that, then you still have your airbox and filter assembly intact.
Just stick a 4" flexible hose on the air box inlet, point it forward, or down, wherever it can pick up some cold outside air, and voila, cold air intake. Problem solved. Worked in my old Pathfinder....lol.

I did the same thing on my old 99 Accord, only I used an aftermarket system by AEM. Same principle though. Worked just fine for what it was.

On modern Mazdas, the "snorkel" is indeed the first point of restriction, however it is there by design. The snorkel is meant to pull the cool, turbulent air from the area in front of the radiator via the holes in the hood latch when the hood is closed. On the CX-5/-9, there are no air ducts in the bumper designed to allow any significant amount of outside air into the engine bay. By removing the snorkel (and changing the filter element), air flow is less restricted, but the intake is also now pulling in ambient air from the engine bay instead of the cooler air from the front of the radiator. In truth, the OEM intake is actually a cold air intake, it just has a lot of restriction to keep it quiet.

To actually create an aftermarket cold air intake, one would have to extend the piping down into the bumper, attach a cone filter there, then drill some holes in the black bumper trim piece to allow outside air into that area. I think one guy actually did that to his CX-9, but no idea if it made any appreciable difference.
 
You went into more detail than I did, but you did essentially the same thing I did.
I agree that just removing the snorkel assembly will result in the airbox sucking in all that warm air in and around the engine bay. Not ideal.
In the Nissan, there was a fake vent in the bumper that I used as an air inlet. Unfortunately there is no such convenient thing on the Mazda.
I haven't looked under the hood yet, but maybe there is some way of smoothing out the snorkel design to allow better flow?
As for noise it might make, I actually liked the intake noise my car made after the modification.
There's something about the sound of air getting sucked into the throttle body that is pleasing, especially when you put your foot down. Whaaaaaaahhh. Like a poor man's supercharger...haha.
 
Aside from an aftermarket panel filter, and without breaking out a rotary tool/sawzall, there's no real way to make the OEM system less restrictive. I'm thinking that you could put a hole in the "back" of the snorkel, cut off the bottom half and seal it, then secure some tubing to connect the snorkel to the inlet on the box. But the panel filter and ribbed tubing between the air box and the throttle body would still be points of restriction. Plus, it would probably look terrible, lol.

Edit: Just took a look under the hood. On the CX-9, there's really no room to do anything like that. Might be different for the Mazda6/Mazda3/CX-5/CX-30.
 
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Installed a CS intake on my CX-5 turbo a few weeks ago, definitely not a power upgrade. But it's cool to hear the noises.

The other part, is that the roughly 2" x 3" 'snorkel' has to be a restriction for the intake. Especially with the weird route that the air has to go to get there.

Going from 6 sqin to an open element filter HAS to be less restriction on the system. On the other hand, maybe the restriction is by design?
 
It's for the turbo noises primarily, if that's your cup of tea. As for NA, whooshing and more roaring, slight loss of lower RPM power and slight gain up higher.
 
My mistake, you're right.

View attachment 227388

Googling the P/N for the air cleaner cover turned up that picture, which (like the Crosstrek) shows a non-replaceable carbon filter. You'd have to replace the $60 cover to get a new charcoal filter (if you wanted a new charcoal filter). I didn't notice it on my car but I probably just missed it. I guess that's one more layer of restriction that is removed during an aftermarket air intake installation.

In most cars, the carbon filter has been used to absorb hydrocarbons after shutdown. Helps get a PZEV rating. Yawn.
 
I did have a 1972 Ford Capri imported from Germany. But it had 2.0L, the first OHC I4 Ford was selling in the US market in addition to the infamous US made Ford Pinto.
I randomly picked one of the old Odd Rod trading cards from the internet, for the picture. As a kid I loved Odd Rod bubble gum cards. I was being a little sarcastic because a CX-5 is meant to be quiet and refined for sophisticated gentlemen and people want to make it louder and faster and some want it lowered.

Pinto.jpg
 
I did have a 1972 Ford Capri imported from Germany. But it had 2.0L, the first OHC I4 Ford was selling in the US market in addition to the infamous US made Ford Pinto.
I remember somebody telling me about a German Capri he owned...said he got about 40 mpg on the highway because of the overdrive 5 speed transmission.
 
I remember somebody telling me about a German Capri he owned...said he got about 40 mpg on the highway because of the overdrive 5 speed transmission.
My 1972 German Ford Capri unfortunately had a Borg Warner 3-speed automatic. Bought used and had no choice. The timing belt broke at 55K miles on the OHC 2.0L I4. Luckily it’s the non-interference engine and broken timing belt isn’t a big deal. The 3-speed transmission had also developed some slippage at the first gear about the same time. I DIY overhauled the transmission and it went fine for many years until it involved a car accident.

My Capri got about 25 mpg on the highway. A friend of mine had a 1974 Ford Capri with an OHV 2.8L V6 and 4-speed manual at the time got worse gas mileage than mine (~22 mpg highway). But with ~50¢ per gallon on gas at the time, who really cared about the gas mileage?

Got about 40 mpg on the highway because of the overdrive 5 speed transmission on a German Ford Capri? Back to the old days, only diesel could get over 40 mpg, and I had never heard a gas engine car could get over 30 mpg on the highway, not even VW Bug. And German Ford Capri’s had never offered a 5-speed manual when they’re imported into the North America from 1970 to 1978.
 
My '66 bug was only rated 26mpg, and that was a stretch. But I had an 82 Nissan Stanza 2.0 w/5 MT that easily got 37mpg at 70. My 1.5 Rabbit could get about 35mpg with its 4-speed.

I don't know where that guy got the Capri and I never saw it. Some guy at a gas station I saw around 1980. He might have modified it, I don't remember.
 
I had a 73 Toyota Celica, my first new car, that had a four speed manual. It revved too high at highway speeds and got crappy gas mileage. It desperately needed a fifth gear.
Of course the following year after I bought it, they added a five speed manual. Great timing on my part. Still, I loved that car and still wish I had it.
 
I had a new 1976 Mercury Capri II (German) with the OHV 2.8L V6 and 4-speed manual trans. Black with Gold trim. Manual steering and no AC. No power anything. My first car ! Also known as the "Black Cat Edition". Google it.
 
I had a new 1976 Mercury Capri II (German) with the OHV 2.8L V6 and 4-speed manual trans. Black with Gold trim. Manual steering and no AC. No power anything. My first car ! Also known as the "Black Cat Edition". Google it.
Ha, you had owned a brand new 1976 Ford Capri II? I hate to call those European / German Ford vehicles as “Mercury”. Although they’re carried by Mercury dealers in the US, but they still have “FORD” name plate on the trunk lid. During that time I did have a crush toward European / German Ford vehicles. I liked to borrow my friend’s 1974 Ford Capri enjoying that “powerful” OHV 2.8L V6 with 4-speed stick shift. Later I was looking for a European Ford Fiesta in early 80’s to replace my 1972 Capri which involved a car accident, but it never materialized. Then I shifted my interest to German VW’s, and one of the reasons I special-ordered a 2001.5 VW Passat GLX with 2.8L V6 and 5-speed manual is because I still missed that V6 / manual combination on friend’s 1974 Capri.
 
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