Question: Do you already have the intake?
If so, then THEORETICALLY, if the box is truly capable of drawing air from the left front area before it gets heated by the engine bay, then it may have value. Any drop in actual intake air temperature at the MAF sensor is a good thing. But whether Corksport's representations on the drop in temps are true is unknown to me.
I can say that I have measured air temps in the engine bay in a car idling after full warm up. They are fully 30 degrees higher than ambient measured in the left front wheel well. Once the car gets moving, things tend to normalize under the hood, tending back toward ambient as air comes in through the front grill. But in stop and go driving, there is still a significant difference. And it does take about 15-20 seconds for this to happen. At the drag strip, the run is over before you get ambient air, unless you keep your hood open till that last minute possible.
If you have NOT purchased the SRI and are trying to get CAI access to ambient air from the left front wheel well, why not just bite the bullett and get a true CAI?
I'll not enter the endless debate on which is better and the benefits and or disadvantages of either. I'll just say that if your goal is to directly draw ambient air from the left front wheel well's slots to the outside, then go ahead and get a good CAI. The location of the whole side of the filter on the Mazdaspeed/AEM CAI is only ONE INCH from those slots to the outside. ONE INCH. For this reason I would question whether the Corksport air box is really drawing true ambient air.
We do need to hear from users who have the Corksport box, especially any who have done any air temp measurements or have other objective data on performance.
