mazdaspeed3 cai?

[camrycev6]

Hello all,

I just purchased my MS3 less than a week ago and I love it. I think it is rare to find a car that is so practical / functional, has a good amount of power, and is reasonably priced. I don't care what the magazines say about the WRX (AWD beating our car), they just don't look as good. I've owned a supercharged G35 coupe (the dyno charts were amazing) and it cost me 2.5 times what I paid for this car and it is almost as fun to drive. That said, I simply love this car. (Except for the stereo -- the lack of an mp3 player option just is beyond me.)

Anyway, the reason I am here, is that I want to know if anyone has any official numbers for the Mazda CAI. My dealer offered to put it on for $290 plus labor. (He said it takes a little less than an hour to do the job - so about $420 all together) However, my concerns are two fold:

1) Is it worth the $400+ dollars? If the HP / torque gain is <10% will I even notice it?

2) If the gain is more than 10%, with the problems with wheel hop, launching, and torque steer at the current power level, why bother in the first place?

What do you think folks?

Greg

 

[dread]

you should notice the difference, your dealer charges 130/hr for labor? Why not buy the intake and install it yourself, it shouldn't take more than an hour. I think the ms cai was just released today, so make sure they are not trying to sell you the one for the regular mazda 3. No one has dyno numbers on the ms cai because mazda doesn't release them, but you won't get anywhere near a 10% increase, maybe 7%. I would expect about 15 hp and 20ft/lbs of torque. Most gains will be in the upper end of the rpm range.
congrats on the car and welcome to the forum

 

[camrycev6]

Interesting....

you should notice the difference, your dealer charges 130/hr for labor? Why not buy the intake and install it yourself, it shouldn't take more than an hour. I think the ms cai was just released today, so make sure they are not trying to sell you the one for the regular mazda 3. No one has dyno numbers on the ms cai because mazda doesn't release them, but you won't get anywhere near a 10% increase, maybe 7%. I would expect about 15 hp and 20ft/lbs of torque. Most gains will be in the upper end of the rpm range.
congrats on the car and welcome to the forum

My cost included tax and was based on 100 / hr for labor. Pretty common at most of the dealers I have dealt with over the years. Maybe I am too used to Infiniti...that's what they charge.

The dealer told me that they just got them in on the day of my sale (2/15/2007) and they did have a Mazdaspeed sticker on them so I think they were the current parts. Maybe some states (MD) got them sooner than other areas. In any event, that small of an increase doesn't really seem worth it to me. (I should point out that the #1 guy in the service bay told me that it was adding 33 HP according to Mazda. Maybe with the cat-back exhaust too, but I just can't buy that number for just a CAI.)

 

[dread]

yeah that number is definately for the catback as well. The intake for the regular mazda 3 says mazdaspeed on it as well.

 

[camrycev6]

I guess I won't need to worry about it right now. Maybe one day the bang for the buck might be worth it, but $1000+ for both the CAI / Cat-back seems too much for 30 HP.

Thanks for the help!

 

[tsunami]

i would say go with some small mods to make your driveabillity nicer and some small power mods that the dealer may not even notice, if you are worried about price and warranty which it seems you are....

the www.protegegarage.com tmic upgrade seems to add some nice power and a lower engine mount from awr and a short shifter from twm should nicely improve the feel and drive of the car... just my .02 and the tmic is around 350 iirc, the engine mount is around 70 and can be installed by you in less then 30min. and the sts is around 250 and again installed by you probably an hour... good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[camrycev6]

It really isn't so much the money as much as what you get in return for it. I will say that anything that will violate the warranty is out of the question. I have been down that road before (as have a couple of my friends) and it just isn't worth it in my humble opinion.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look in to those. I don't like the way the shifter feels, so something that makes that smoother would be nice. And as much as I hate iPods, I can see that option going in sometime soon. No MP3 capability is the single biggest flaw this car has. (Although not a big flaw overall.)

 

[elderlycoffee]

mazdaspeed cai?

Saw in another thread it's out now.
Is there any place for info on it?
Should I call up my dealer and buy one?

 

[Aricjm15]

they are on back order at the moment

 

[elderlycoffee]

they are on back order at the moment

where can i look at the info or get in line for one?

 

[dcomiskey]

Saw in another thread it's out now.
Is there any place for info on it?
Should I call up my dealer and buy one?

If you want your car to sound ridiculous, yes. I realize there are performance gains to be had, but I will never put a CAI on a turbocharged car again. I had one on my 1.8T and HATED the sound. Basically, you get the BOV sound. Can't stand that.(rice)

Oh, and they're WAY overpriced. Shouldn't be more than $200.... (monkey)

 

[MS3TR]

You may still have a chance to get in on this GB. Mine is on the way, just got the tracking info Better hurry though!

http://**********************/index.php?topic=68258.0


07 MS3 - True Red - Turboxs Hybrid BOV - Turboxs Race Pipe - MS CAI on the way!
RIP: 03 LS 350z - Injen Super SES - MSR 088's

 

[elderlycoffee]

link didn't work. pm it to me

 

[chaos4]

Ha!! Sure buy from the dealer!! What a joke, I just called mine with the MS P/n and he told me over $800.00!!!! I prepurchased for $314.00 SHIPPED. Check out all the mazda forums carefull.

 

[chaos4]

PN for the CAI is GRMS-8M-L29. Horse power increases of 20+ with just the CAI. Available from several of the dealers who contribute to the forums for around $310.00 shipped. 20 HP for just over $300, full warrantee not worth it? Shame on you! That is a bargain! The stock air intake is the pits.(usa)

 

[Speedy3]

I just prepaid for mine today. $325 at dealer and will be in in 1 week. I plan on measuring HP/Torque before and after installing. Also, I will measure the intake manifold temperature, mass airflow rate, and boost spool-up rate before and after, with graphs. If anyone has any ideas of other measurements, please post.

 

[Speedy3]

I just prepaid for mine today. $325 at dealer and will be in in 1 week. I plan on measuring HP/Torque before and after installing. Also, I will measure the intake manifold temperature, mass airflow rate, and boost spool-up rate before and after, with graphs. If anyone has any ideas of other measurements, please post.

 

[maestro]

Picked up the Mazdaspeed CAI for the MS3 today. Trying to make time for before and after dyno runs next week.

Dang, I want to put it in the car now!

 

[Funkycoldg]

Yeah I called my dealer today and he almost gave me a heart attack. I dont know what he was looking at but he told me $899 at first. Then I had him research it and he said $399. Anyone know what the warranty situation is? Like if it voids your warranty?

 

[dread]

I talked to my dealer and they said as long as it says mazda on it your waranty is fine, he said just don't put aftermarket stuff on the engine because he wont be able to fix the problems. He mentioned a BOV specifically and said he had a friend with a ms6 that installed an aftermarket bov and it screwed up the car somehow. Anyway you should be fine with mazdaspeed parts.