What are the best intake systems?

[crossbow]

Btw ram air effects don't start occuring until well past the Mazda3's maximum governed top speed.

Anything else is just pr garbage meant to sell a product.

I will say one thing for the autoexec intake though...they do shield the intake from engine bay heat soak, which is a big plus.

However if they move from a stock diameter pipe (even slightly) there will be a chance for an eventual cel, as all the mazda 6i's found out.

Here's an excellent thread on the falsehood's of ram-air as spread by various marketing departments.
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=41295&page=1&highlight=ram+air

Ram air does work, but not at any speed the 3 will ever reach.

 

[NIM]

Btw ram air effects don't start occuring until well past the Mazda3's maximum governed top speed.

Anything else is just pr garbage meant to sell a product.

I have heard this (both sides that is) on several occasions. And if you'll follow some of the links mentioned on that thread, they bring up a very big point, one that was reiterated to me by my friend and collegue, Steve Chitwood (made quite a name for himself as a driver of both turbine and piston driven cars on the Nascar circuit in the 70's, and prototype racers at Sebring in the 80's): the point: if the effects of ram-air are only attainable at speed in excess of 130-140mph, then why does every single Nascar in existance today have this type of system installed? If the effects were only present at that high a speed, then they would cover the openings to reduce drag on tracks where that average speed could not be reached (and unlike Talladaga and Daytona Speedway, most Nascar tracks do not allow for such high sustained speeds). And as for the physics of ram-air, some believe that the incoming air simply passes over the intake duct rather than into the system. While this would be true if the static air pressure outside and inside the system were equal, the engine is trying to inhale air into the system creating a low pressure area inside the intake manifold, plenum and throttle body all the way up to the point where the system meets the outside world. This low pressure acts much in the same way as an airplane wing, creating a vacuum effect that draws more air into the area of low pressure as it attempts to achieve equilibrium (see pic below); and since the air immediately in front of the car is being compressed by the forward motion of the car, it is at that higher pressure that the system try to equalize with. The only limit of this effect is when the ability to equalize this pressure is out-stripped by the difference between them (example: a turbo or supercharged engine's intake creates an area of low pressure which exceeds the difference between the high pressure area in front of the car and the rest of the outside world... i.e- negligable difference in gain at best) The diversion of the battery's intake plenum into the system also has the added effect of swirling air vortices, which allows for more efficient mixing of air and fuel.

There are many out there who believe ram-air is just a PR device, and that any claim of superiority over traditional intake systems is hot air. However both wind-tunnel testing, enormous amounts of R&D by many automoblie manufacturers (and every race team on the planet), real word experience, plus the application of fluid dynamics and physics all point to a different answer.

 

[crossbow]

You answered your own question. (130-140 mph)...well past the maximum obtainable speed of the Mazda3.

You won't even BEGIN to see such an effect till after you pass 100 mph.

Besides, the autoexec system sits behind the headlight. You'd have to remove the offending blockage to get the effect. Air doesn't magically zigzag where you want it to you know =/. By the time the air reaches the intake, its lost a massive amount of its inital force. Autoexec is just using the fancy talk and pretty pictures to show that the intake is getting some level of ambient air, to try and explain why they didn't build a cold air intake.

This is an example of a useful ramair system.
http://sprintf1.free.fr/Wallpaper/F1%20cible.jpg

Note direct exposure to incoming air.

Anything on a 4 door family sedan is just for marketing purposes. Even racing beat (one of the most respected mazda tuners) ram-air system only showed a noticable difference past 160 mph. (And they also showed the drag from the system was starting to negate gains at those speeds)

 

[NIM]

Well I guess this difference of opinion isn't going away any time soon... might as well leave it up to the individual to make their own decision; that's what I did, and there isn't a single CAI Mazda3 user out there who can catch me C-U @ HIN Miami!

 

[MazdaAxela]

Holy s***! you paid tht much for the intake...well at least it looks nice....

 

[sndsgood]

think i'd like to go to the corey-fairbanks place have them void my warantee so i could take them to court, i'd have a field day with them. what their doing is completly illegal.

as for the ram-air effect. its highly questionable. ive never seen any data showing it has any real effect below 100mph so for 99.999% of the time that feature has no effect. as for the pressure part of it. going with a larger filter 4" isnt going to increase the pressure into the intake if the intake tube is 3". it is a nice looking intake system i just think you could get more gains by buying an aem or injen for 200 and spending 500$ on another mod.

as for a show car though, its a much cooler intake then anything else on the market.

 

[Mazda3ofKent]

Well I guess this difference of opinion isn't going away any time soon... might as well leave it up to the individual to make their own decision; that's what I did, and there isn't a single CAI Mazda3 user out there who can catch me C-U @ HIN Miami!

Now I would not say that, there is always a faster car

 

[Pete47]

Well, it seems to me that the Auto Exe intake system has around the same gains as the Injen and K&N Typhoon system. I just wonder why would Auto Exe sell that intake system for so much. Maybe the carbon fiber stuff.
So which Intake system is the best regardless of price?

 

[wingnut12]

I've always wondered why people spend money on mods that do little more than look good, when you're never going to see them.

The person that spent 750.00 on an intake that while admittedly looks cooler than stock, will only look at it less than half of one %, and get realistic gains of even by his own estimates 2-4 hp. Would it not make more sense to have spent 250.00 on another make of intake, couple that with a freer flowing exhaust system to get gains more likely around 6-8 hp?

Then again, that's probably the logic that keeps me from buying 3 subs with their associated amps, when for the most part cars like that sound better 10' outside the car than inside of it.

 

[Badger Biker]

Would it be possible to eliminate the heat-soak problem with CAIs if you were to wrap the CAI tube in heat-shielding metal or foam?

I remember seeing a guy with a Jeep Cherokee who made a heat-shield for his intake out of cardboard and tinfoil. There was at least a 20 difference in temp in and out of the shield I believe.

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm probably going the K&N route this spring, but I will wait to see if they throw CELs like the Injen was.

 

[NIM]

HA HA HA Get a load of this garbage!

I've always wondered why people spend money on mods that do little more than look good, when you're never going to see them.

The person that spent 750.00 on an intake that while admittedly looks cooler than stock, will only look at it less than half of one %, and get realistic gains of even by his own estimates 2-4 hp. Would it not make more sense to have spent 250.00 on another make of intake, couple that with a freer flowing exhaust system to get gains more likely around 6-8 hp?

Then again, that's probably the logic that keeps me from buying 3 subs with their associated amps, when for the most part cars like that sound better 10' outside the car than inside of it.

By his own estimate? 2-4hp? Did you even read the estimate listed just a mere 5 posts ago? "Gains at non-moving stand-still are listed by Auto-EXE at 7-9hp and 5-6 lb/ft" Oh, and that's on a stock exhaust by the way, comboned with their exhaust the system as a whole nets 11-13hp. And I mentioned nothing about the intake looking cool, in fact I think chrome piping looks much cooler under the hood than bland, hard to keep clean carbon fiber. And if I'm not misktaken, this post is about intake systems, not how many subs you do or don't have. And just for the record... This forum is for Car Enthusiasts, wether that be engine, show, stereos or a combination of the three, any intrests are welcome here. What are not welcome is judgemental haters like yourself. So come down off your little high horse bro, no one here has any desire to hear your crap. Now... I'm gonna go listen to some Mozart on my 3 tens.

 

[FrigginGLI]

My dads mazda 6 v6-manual was modded to hell, we brought it in to have the clutch fix etc, they never said anything and fixed the clutch for free. Had intake , exhaust CP-e modifier. The subs breaking the window seals LMAO!. They are not going to pull that crap when I go down there to get my oil changed soon, I will body slam them.

 

[proboarder2369]

and what the hell does that have to do with anything!!!!

 

[FrigginGLI]

Has to do with him saying about warranty being voided at cory fairbanks.

 

[wingnut12]

Looks like I struck a nerve with Nim.

Probably because it's true. You're the one that said to cut the advertised gains in half, 40-50%, you actually said. And my point was fairly clear. You don't have to like it. Either way, you've babbled PR crap throughout the 50 odd posts, and have been routinely throttled for your wishful thinking.

In the end though, it's your money. If you want to paint your car flourescent green ( which might look kind of cool ), that's your business. If you come out and praise your flourescent green car as being the best looking one out there, you might get a different opinion.

Peace

 

[proboarder2369]

one quick question....does the dealership void your warranty if you have intake installed???

 

[NIM]

Looks like I struck a nerve with Nim.

Probably because it's true. You're the one that said to cut the advertised gains in half, 40-50%, you actually said. And my point was fairly clear. You don't have to like it. Either way, you've babbled PR crap throughout the 50 odd posts, and have been routinely throttled for your wishful thinking.

In the end though, it's your money. If you want to paint your car flourescent green ( which might look kind of cool ), that's your business. If you come out and praise your flourescent green car as being the best looking one out there, you might get a different opinion.

Peace

I said nothing about cutting the advertised gains, I said raise them: "Gains at non-moving stand-still are listed by Auto-EXE at 7-9hp and 5-6 lb/ft, but at highway speeds you can expect to see 40-50% above those numbers". I also followed that by saying the only real way to verify that is with a dyno in a wind tunnel. I have mentioned this in posts before yes, but thats what these forums are for. If someone can point me towards a scientifically valid peice of evidence snuffing out ram-air's "supposed" capability on a street car then I would dump the intake, chalk up the 750 as a poor investment and move on, but until that happens, or until someone with a conventional system shows me who's boss at the track, I'll be quite happy with it under my hood. And the only nerve you struck with me was bringing the subject in this post away from intakes and into personal attacks... whether you're right or not, it's very childish.

 

[NIM]

one quick question....does the dealership void your warranty if you have intake installed???

Usually a dealer will only void a warranty for aftermarket parts if the said parts can be linked to a failure. But you should ask the dealer's tech department about their individual treatment of customers with modified veicles just to be safe... and save all your original parts.

 

[crossbow]

I think that pretty much explains everything. The air comes in (autoexe bumper mind you, not stock) immediately makes a 90 degree bend to the left, then makes a 90 degree bend to the right, goes up vertically about a foot, turns again and heads towards the intake, then makes an additional 90 degree turn left into the waiting airfilter.

JFK anyone?

This is of course ignoring the fact the other air inlet is basically coming from the opposite direction and interrupting any velocity the magic bullet air had.

Threads/Sticky's/Article's on the Ram Air Myth

http://www.vetteguru.com/ramair/
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18409&page=1
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=41295&page=1
http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15487
http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=articles&report=view&ID=00004&Section=03
http://www.snowgoercanada.com/tech_ram_air.shtml
http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_9508_ram/ (Actually works, but not till 120mph+)

 

[NIM]

Yawn

Opposing links are great, but just to be fair, here's some legitimate
sites to support the benefits of Ram-Air. Also, I contacted Joseph Kane at Road and Track magazine, and he
pointed out that his magazine was actually present during a GM wind-tunnel based dyno test on the
2000 Firebird WS6, the car made about 320 HP while sitting still on a dyno, and once the car was "moving"
in a wind tunnel, it jumped to about 345 at it's peak thanks to the ram air induction.



http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0304vt_ramair/

http://www.vararam.com/reality_of_ram_air01.html

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/1999/12/ramairbox/index.shtml
(this one actually has proven track data on ram-air benefits!)

http://www.karlsnet.com/mopar/ramair.shtml
(This guy performed months of testing on a a 2.2L 4 cylinder,
definately read this one.)

http://www.installuniversity.com/install_university/installu_articles/ftra/ftra_12.262000.htm
(Shows mathematical analysis behind ram air and the part it plays in increasing volumetric efficiency)