Mazdaspeed3 Bumper Removal

[Zoom2UCI]

So I'm trying to take off my bumper in order to access my intake filter to clean it, and I was wondering how long it usually takes?

I live in a community garage with a crazy anal manager so I want to do it asap, hopefully without much traffic in the garage.

 

[spiffyone571]

So I'm trying to take off my bumper in order to access my intake filter to clean it, and I was wondering how long it usually takes?

I live in a community garage with a crazy anal manager so I want to do it asap, hopefully without much traffic in the garage.

Honestly its pretty crazy for a front bumper, you have plastic clips and bolt on the top, along with several screws and clips all along the bottom. The wires for the fog lights and air temp are in the front make sure not to stretch them. Id say about an 30 min on 30 min off if u know exactly what u need to do and have tools on hand using no jack stands

 

[Zoom2UCI]

My car is lowered in the front to the point where I think I'm going to need jack stands. So I'm gonna have to jack up the car then do all that. Is there any other possible way to reach the filter (located in drivers side wheel well) without completely removal of bumper? It's kinda annoying that this has to be so complicated for such a simple job.

 

[spiffyone571]

My car is lowered in the front to the point where I think I'm going to need jack stands. So I'm gonna have to jack up the car then do all that. Is there any other possible way to reach the filter (located in drivers side wheel well) without completely removal of bumper? It's kinda annoying that this has to be so complicated for such a simple job.

Possibly, you may be able to get the filter off by taking off the driver side fender well. It's not a guarantee, because its tight and depending on the way your clamp is set on. I really can't think of any other way.

 

[Zoom2UCI]

Possibly, you may be able to get the filter off by taking off the driver side fender well. It's not a guarantee, because its tight and depending on the way your clamp is set on. I really can't think of any other way.

Argh ok I'll go take a look. I remember bumper removal taking a while when I first put on my intake too. POS CAI. Should've gone with the SRI (notcool)

 

[oaklandopen]

i never removed my bumper to install my mscai. jacked her up, removed the wheel, undid the wheel well and slipped the filter on the piping

sure it's a lot tougher to maintain than an sri, but for ppl like me who do their own maintenance it's really nothing. and it ends up being the standard 2 birds with 1 stone scenario anyway. next time i do an oil change and rotated i'll already have the wheels off and the car up so i can take the filter off and clean it, or stick a K&N on there if i find one to replace the oem mscai filter

 

[blkspeed]

^yea i desided to put a k&n on my mscai and im very pleased

 

[Zoom2UCI]

Yep. There's no way I can do this without jacking up the car...I'm gonna have to drive 30 minutes to get to my friends garage in order to get it off the ground. I guess I'm just gonna wait til I need an oil change to clean the filter.

 

[Sport6]

Yeah it's not so bad actually, just takes time the first time.

There are 11 screws under the bumper, 2 clips in each wheel well and you peel them back to get to a screw that holds the bumper to the fender. Then the 4? clips that are above the grille, also have to remove the two ducts for the intercooler.

But don't forget to unclip the foglights and their harness, also the ambient temp sensor which is centered in the bottom of the lower grille. The bumper unclips with a gentle pull where it meets each fender.

Honestly the hardest part of the whole thing was getting the harnesses free from their clips.

 

[Kain]

Removing the front bumper isn't hard, just a shiatload of clips/screws. Takes about an hour total removing and re-installing.

Not sure about the MS CAI, but I can access the filter on my CP-e CAI by just removing the underbody shroud.

 

[RaiderMS3]

There is no need to take off the whole bumper. on the far right underneath is 3 phillips screws holding on a corner flap. Undo them, flip the plastic back, and reach up with a stubby ratchet or screw driver to undo the clamp holding the filter on. That is how I have done it. I have had SRI's, and like my CAI better.