CAI filter placement

controlo

Member
:
'07 Mazdaspeed3 Sport, Sunlight Silver
Hoping some pro's will chime in. Is there a specific reason why injen, cp-e and mazdaspeed all have different piping designs? does it matter where the filter is placed? on the injen, it goes down into the fender and then curls up almost looking straight up. the mazdaspeed looks like it goes straight down and i think that's true with the cp-e as well. The guy who custom made his own intake seems to have went with the injen design as well, just wondering why that is. also, injen claims that if i were to use a dryflow filter, it may reduce performance or change a/f ratios... hmm... why is it that i've only heard people talking about amazing power gains from the mazdaspeed cai? everytime i see someone with something else, they're just like "i got the injen, it sounds and looks good"... just trying to make sure i have the right intake. btw, i ordered an injen cai in black and an aem dryflow filter.
 
They all have their reasons for placements I am sure but I would be most comfortable going with a company like MazdaSpeed before another design.

Can I ask why you went this route because in the end you must have only saved like $10?

Did you just want the black pipe?

Sorry to say it man but this topic is argued often and I am happy I made my choice with the MS CAI for many more reasons then just what you have listed.

Good luck man and maybe just sell that filter or return it if you can. I doubt it would change how the CAI functions but no company will ever suggest to you another MFR product to work with theirs so they could be full of s***.

Maybe the guy from CPE will give you an honest answer since he seems huge into R&D.
 
i got it for a few reasons. 1. injen is very well known and seem to have very good products. 2. its black. 3. it's cheaper. 4. the mazdaspeed is out of stock until july.

there hasn't really been any dyno tests to compare numbers between the 3 intakes. i've seen the biggest gains from the mazdaspeed. it seems like they should all be very good intakes and put out good numbers though.
 
Injen posted dyno's of huge gains on their website. As far as filter placement I think the locations are based on the likelyhood of hydrolock. The only was water is getting in the bumper is if it comes in the fender vents or the bumper is submerged. The mscai, has a splash shield to block the water coming in those vents.
 
dread said:
Injen posted dyno's of huge gains on their website. As far as filter placement I think the locations are based on the likelyhood of hydrolock. The only was water is getting in the bumper is if it comes in the fender vents or the bumper is submerged. The mscai, has a splash shield to block the water coming in those vents.

Yep! that's the reason I made my custom intake with the filter facing up. MS intake and injen both have the filter facing this way inside the fender.
 
good to know. i wasn't sure which way the mazdaspeed faced. in the stock pictures it looks like it just faces down. same with the cp-e.
 
CP-E's filter does not point down. It points upward. Thats one of the reason I purchased the CP-E conisdering I live in MIami, Fl.
 
so they all are in the same spot? in the install directions for the injen, it shows the filter pointing up, right below where the fender and bumper connect.
 
well i ordered one but i've been told it will mess with the tuning. the dryflow is the same size as the injen but i guess since it will flow differently, it will mess with the a/f ratios and hosepower.
 
CP-E specifically posted that their CAI tips up inside the fender to reduce the chance of hydrolock. The Injen looks like the MS-CAI to me: straight into the fender.
 
controlo said:
well i ordered one but i've been told it will mess with the tuning. the dryflow is the same size as the injen but i guess since it will flow differently, it will mess with the a/f ratios and hosepower.

Dude, what's up with the sig? You one of those dark ages Catholics/Christians? Just asking and not intended to be a question directed at all Catholics/Christians. My wife's Catholic, so trust me I have no problem with Catholics in general. I even had to promise to raise my kids Catholic in order to be married in the Catholic church.
 
ha, its fine man. i'm a christian though. my sig is lyrics from a song by my favorite artist, David Bazan. He's responding to multiple reviews of his music made by pitchfork media.

it seems that all of the intakes have the same design. the injen flips upward just like the cp-e and the mazdaspeed. the only difference are the filters and maf placements. i'm still not sure if i should use my injen filter or replace it with the dryflow or if i should get a cp-e instead. i think the cp-e has an oiled filter too though so it should be comparible to injen as far as efficiency.

so...

injen w/ injen filter?
injen w/ aem dryflow filter?
mazdaspeed w/ mazdaspeed filter?
cp-e w/ cp-e oiled filter?

will the slight difference in filtration efficiency really matter? (uhm)
 
Last edited:
Quick answer........NO! Yeah I know, one may be better than the other, but you are not gona feel the difference.
 
at this point, i know they all have big gains, i just don't know if there is a significant difference in how well each filter works. i mean, does it really matter if the injen filters 97% and the aem filters 99.4%? have there been long term studies of horsepower loss or engine trouble due to less efficient filters? i only plan on keeping this car for probably 3 years but i don't want to damage my motor in any way if i can avoid it.

there was a test done with oem filters, jackson racing, k&n, napa and a couple others on a miata.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm
 
Last edited:
As previously discussed its about price, warranty concerns on the car, and personal choice.

I still think the AEM filter is the best filter out and K&N will be moving to that design soon. Oil filters really suck on boosted or super charged cars so I am glad that has been addressed and corrected with this new style.

For me to spend an extra $90 was well worth keeping the cars warranty intact for any realted CAI failures or CEL's.
 
sorry to say whitey but the dealer can't void your warranty unless they can prove it no matter what intake you have. whether you know it or not, mazdaspeed performance are aftermarket parts. i'm not worried about voiding any warranties, because i know the law. i'm trying to figure out if there will be any significant signs of wear due to using a filter other than dryflow or OEM. significant meaning, any horsepower loss or early engine failure. if oiled filters suck so much, why are injen and cp-e still using them? i'm not refuting the fact that dryflow is better, i'm just tying to get to the bottom of this that's all.
 

New Threads and Articles

Back