mazdaspeed3 cai?

[whitey4311]

OK thanks man, I think I will get it figured out when it gets here on Fri.

So what all has to be removed in the wheel well after you pull the shroud back?

Is it just a matter of putting the filter on the pipe or are there parts to be removed?

Mainly I want to know about that big splash guard if it has to be taken off or anything else I may not know about. I hear people saying they crack clips so I am worried about that but not sure what they are talking about either.

If you have any tips of caution or things you would have done differently that would be great?

 

[jbiird317]

OK thanks man, I think I will get it figured out when it gets here on Fri.

So what all has to be removed in the wheel well after you pull the shroud back?

Is it just a matter of putting the filter on the pipe or are there parts to be removed?

Mainly I want to know about that big splash guard if it has to be taken off or anything else I may not know about. I hear people saying they crack clips so I am worried about that but not sure what they are talking about either.

If you have any tips of caution or things you would have done differently that would be great?

there is a wind diverter right in the way of where the pipe/filter are mounted. This needs to be removed but not put back on the car. there are 2 clips and one bolt holding this thing on and i spent so much time getting the bolt loose first that i broke off one of the clips

no biggie tho, doesnt need to go back on anyway

 

[whitey4311]

So then is there a better way you can suggest to remove it so I dont break anything.

I guess it wont matter if it does break since I wasnt aware it isnt put back on anyway but still I would rather not break anything.

What does a diverter do any way?

 

[blue2turbo]

So then is there a better way you can suggest to remove it so I dont break anything.

I guess it wont matter if it does break since I wasnt aware it isnt put back on anyway but still I would rather not break anything.

What does a diverter do any way?

It is very difficult to remove the diverter without breaking it where one of the bolts are. I would take pics, but I just moved and my camera is in storage. Getting the bolt out is difficult if you have big hands, I managed to go in through the top and remove the bolt (it is at the top of the air diverter), after that battle, I just got frustrated because it has a big plastic bolt in it as well holding it to the frame, and it would not come out, so I ended up breaking it taking it off, but I don't ever plan to put it back in, even if I put the stocker back in for warranty work (which I don't plan to do anyways)

The diverter is just a slanted piece of plastic that looks like it is meant to "divert" the air coming in through the front of the car, up into the stock intake box area.. you will see as soon as you pull back the fender lining. Basically you take off the fender liner, then I only took off Drivers side half of the under body panel, as I didn't find it necessary to take the whole thing off. That's about it.

As for the jack, I used the factory jack and used it about 4-6" back from the tire well, you can look under and see where it would go... I had jackstands to use, but once I got it jacked up, I totally forgot to put one under there... didn't notice it until I was done and thanked the heavens the car didn't come crashing down.

 

[whitey4311]

Thanks for that info man it should help me out.

I will borrow the neighbors jack stand to be safe but I dont think there is any reason the stock jack should fail under normal use.

Being that I am installing the mazdaspeed CAI I wont ever need to worry about warranty issues or installing the stock stuff back on so if I have to break the diverter as you did I will do the same.

Any special tools I need that you can think of? What all did you need to do this and to get to that difficult bolt?

 

[jbiird317]

Thanks for that info man it should help me out.

I will borrow the neighbors jack stand to be safe but I dont think there is any reason the stock jack should fail under normal use.

Being that I am installing the mazdaspeed CAI I wont ever need to worry about warranty issues or installing the stock stuff back on so if I have to break the diverter as you did I will do the same.

Any special tools I need that you can think of? What all did you need to do this and to get to that difficult bolt?

a realllly long extension wouldve been nice to have, but other than that, nothing special needed

 

[whitey4311]

I will borrow that as well if he has one, thanks.

Anthing else?

What tools were needed inlcuding extensions?

I wish someone could post the directions so I can get an idea and game plan going here. Once the wheel shroud is off and you insert the filter and housing inside the wheel well is there anything in there that has to be bolted up?

 

[jbiird317]

I will borrow that as well if he has one, thanks.

Anthing else?

What tools were needed inlcuding extensions?

there is a list of all the tools needed on the instruction sheet that comes with the intake. Im not rummaging thru my filing cabinet now, sorry

 

[taita25]

there is a wind diverter right in the way of where the pipe/filter are mounted. This needs to be removed but not put back on the car. there are 2 clips and one bolt holding this thing on and i spent so much time getting the bolt loose first that i broke off one of the clips

no biggie tho, doesnt need to go back on anyway

What about the large plastic splashguard on the underside of the car that is held on with the 7 bolts? This is one part that they have you remove in the MS CAI instructions but never mention replacing. Do you just leave it off?

 

[Kosh]

put it back on. It keeps dirt and rocks from getting in there.

 

[taita25]

put it back on. It keeps dirt and rocks from getting in there.

That's what I was thinking as well but I also thought maybe they never had you reinstall it due to airflow. Thanks for the response.

 

[camrycev6]

Finally! The dealership got my new MS CAI for my MS3 on Tuesday. Going to get it installed this afternoon....

 

[smoknspeed3]

Anyone do a how-to for this? The directions must be done up pretty well then. I think this will be my first purchase. So is there a big diferance in the noise from the turbo with the CAI?

 

[Hikaru9]

Anyone do a how-to for this? The directions must be done up pretty well then. I think this will be my first purchase. So is there a big diferance in the noise from the turbo with the CAI?

According to 100% of the people who bought the CAI, the difference in sound is very noticeable. I'm waiting for mine. *^_^*

 

[controlo]

it is.

 

[abun24]

there is a wind diverter right in the way of where the pipe/filter are mounted. This needs to be removed but not put back on the car. there are 2 clips and one bolt holding this thing on and i spent so much time getting the bolt loose first that i broke off one of the clips

no biggie tho, doesnt need to go back on anyway

I did the exact same... I was pretty p.o.'d and then read the directions to the end.

 

[shucky]

I got my splash shield (wind diverter, whatever its called) out w/out breaking it. Jacked up the car pulled the wheel off, pulled the lower black plastic shield off, then removed the 3 bolts and 2 plastic clips on the inner fender liner. You can reach up in there with a quarter inch socket to remove 2 of the bolts holding the splash shield in, then using a long extension you can reach the front bolt from the lower grill. After that the shield pulls out from the bottom.

 

[ecniemann]

Why does dealer say CAI is not available?

So after reading some of these threads, I thought the CAI would be pretty cool and asked the salesman I bought the car from about it (ie. cost + labor). I am sure I could install it myself from the directions posted, but do not want to deal with potential warranty issues. Anyways, that has all been rehashed here. What I could not believe is that I was told there is no cold air intake for a MS3 on their parts list. He said maybe they (meaning forum posters) are using a different model's CAI. I am pretty sure I saw pictures of parts that said MAZDASPEED on them posted here. I told him this with no good answer. What is up with this? I am assuming the CAI is a genuine MAZDASPEED part. Am I asking for the wrong thing? What should I do at this point; ask the service techs?

 

[CaSHMeRe]

screw your dealer, PM me and i will tell you where to get it cheap. install it yourself.

 

[Rotus8]

Go to the parts department and ask for GRMS8ML29. But, if they want more than about $350, come back here and get it from one of the sponsers, should be closer to $300.