Hey how many of you did this mod? K&N Drop in + swiss holes on the bottom left part of the airbox. I saw a couple and I want to know how much of a difference is it over a CAI. I did this on my 96 VR6 Jetta and perfromance wise it was better than any intake I had for it. Let me know how your setup goes.
Swiss Cheese Airbox
- Thread starter dichiee
- Start date
SharkDiver
Member
- :
- Speed3
I did it to mine and loved it.It sounds good because you can hear the turbo.To be honest it was louder then my MS CAI for some reason.If you dont have the money for a CAI then this is a good way to go.If you dont want to hack up your box because of warranty I could sell you mine with the holes in it already,I dont need it anymore.
Shark
Shark
More air flow.
SharkDiver
Member
- :
- Speed3
In the stock air box there is only 1 small inlet for the air to get in.Im guessing that by adding more larger holes it should be able to get more air.There was a gain in performance but I did my K&N filter and did the holes at the same time so I dont know what did what.I know it sounds alot better..Lol
SharkDiver
Member
- :
- Speed3
Im not out to prove anything..I dont care.Doing the filter and air box gave me some gains,Maybe just because of the K&N filter.
SharkDiver
Member
- :
- Speed3
It seem to have more tourq in the mid range,It just seem to pull a bit harder.I could notice it in 2nd gear more because my wheels would spin more then it did before the mod.I was happy with the upgrade in filter and box mod.
Because mazda only cares about making everything quieter for the everyday driver. And plus it costs more money to manufacture a box with holes then just a complete box.
oh, alright so the purpose is for less noise.
Yes when companies make a car they make it to target the general public who just want a car for what it is..a car.
That includes things like comfort, price, looks..etc
Most people do not care about gaining performance and thats why mazda just makes things that will be good for the majority of the buyers out there.
Now when they advertise a car for speed like the ms3 or ms6 then they will allow an increase in sound to be generated from the engine because it is faster and companies will even offer upgrades like intakes and exhausts to further increase sound and performance which is usually only for true enthusiasts.
edit...another thing i realized is that increased sound coming from the engine might cause some car-illiterate people to thing something is wrong with there car and will take it to the shop immediately.
this might be good or bad for the dealers
Last edited:
Jasonstiller
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed 3
I did mine a month or so ago. Its fantastic. Great cheap mod for sure! I cut the crap out of the fender side and the bottom till there was just a "frame" of the airbox there.
slvrsleeper
Member
- :
- 2007 Mazda5 sport 5mt True Silver
A great deal of the plastic in an OEM intake is there to quiet what the NVH folks at Mazda deemed "un-necassary" intake noise. The nice MOVE RIGHT growl you get from a CAI is largely unmuffled turbulent air being Hoovered into your TB. You may get small HP gains from swiss cheesing but the major appeal is the noise! Which in my opinion is worth an afternoon with the Dremel every time. Another thing you can do for dirt cheap is remove the intake resonator assembly and replace with a piece of flexible heater duct. A Home Depot CAI. On the 3's and 5's ( I have a 5) you can't even see the duct from above or under the hood, but you gain a much straighter tube feeding the engine cooler air from outside the engine bay. The duct costs about six bucks and a clamp to stick it on with is $1.75 it just doesn't get any better than that.
justa4banger
Member
- :
- 2007 SILVER MS3
only gain you get from swiss cheesing the airbox is Noise. Want noise and performance then get a CAI. the noise was cool casue i did the holes first , but damn is the CAI so worth it in these cars. Later when you get the CAi you'll realize that the extra holes were a waste of time.
Yes i had a K&N also.
Yes i had a K&N also.
