Now to start off, this has been something I have been looking into for a long long time (probably 2 or 3 years ago when I made my first intake with a basic pod filter) and currently, finding and buying a cold air intake for the 1.6l proteges just isn't the easiest thing in the world. I say that since living in Australia, getting access to said parts is very costly (about $250-$300 not including shipping). My first test began when I bought a cold air intake kit at my local autoparts store for about $100, and I had also found a separate part to buy that was the MAF housing for the MAF sensor, which I thought was brilliant. So my mate and I got started instantly on what we could make with what we had. Turns out there was an idle issue, so bad it would idle out and die, and the only problem we thought was that it wasnt sealed completely and air was escaping the maf housing. Scraping the idea, I just went back to my previous setup (I apologize, I dont have any photos of that setup) which was a piece of intake tube I got from another mazda at the wreckers, that we drilled a hole into for the maf sensor to sit, it worked, but I am sure would not be a suitable suggestion...
Anyway, not to get off track, fast forward to 2 months back, I had been researching this maf sensor issue and been doing a whole lot of other research into CAI made by Injen and Cosmo racing. Then, when I was reading up about the idle issues everyone else had, someone had mentioned that the only way for the maf to read properly was through a pipe no bigger than 2.25" in diameter. This is where I got an idea, having only recently pulled out my whole stock intake setup and gave them a good clean, and recolouring in gloss black, I noticed the inside of the top of the airbox, for where the maf sensor sits, there is actually a bit a pipe (similar to how the 1.8 and 2.0L are), but this bit of pipe is actually permanently attached to said box. From here, I went to the wreckers looking for another protege with the top of the airbox, but could not find one. I said screw it and bought a whole intake setup on ebay for $35, and at the same time, I also bought a straight piece of pipe, and silicone connector for $15 all up, as well as a K&N pod filter to complete the intake.
I'll be posting photos of the process when they finish uploading.
Anyway, not to get off track, fast forward to 2 months back, I had been researching this maf sensor issue and been doing a whole lot of other research into CAI made by Injen and Cosmo racing. Then, when I was reading up about the idle issues everyone else had, someone had mentioned that the only way for the maf to read properly was through a pipe no bigger than 2.25" in diameter. This is where I got an idea, having only recently pulled out my whole stock intake setup and gave them a good clean, and recolouring in gloss black, I noticed the inside of the top of the airbox, for where the maf sensor sits, there is actually a bit a pipe (similar to how the 1.8 and 2.0L are), but this bit of pipe is actually permanently attached to said box. From here, I went to the wreckers looking for another protege with the top of the airbox, but could not find one. I said screw it and bought a whole intake setup on ebay for $35, and at the same time, I also bought a straight piece of pipe, and silicone connector for $15 all up, as well as a K&N pod filter to complete the intake.
I'll be posting photos of the process when they finish uploading.
