Anyone done a cold air intake mod to the Mazda 3? Not sure what manufacuter to get Injen, AEM, or K&N. Any ideas or steps with pics?

 

well, you get the most performance out of the injen, followed by the AEM, and then K&N comes in third place for performance. injen is more prone to having your car set off a CEL and K&N is the least prone. but even if you have a CEL, that only means that your car is having alot more air come in than fuel and since mazdas are very sensitive, that will be alarmed. but if a CEL light annoys you, go with second or third place choices. they are less prone, but may still set off a CEL. the installation is pretty easy, even a person with no knowledge of fixing a vehicle could do this if you ask me. i would go for injen cai, it's the most bang for your buck.

but do keep in mind your area with water. the closer your intake is to the ground, the more prone it is to sucking up water and hydrolocking you engine (lots of money to fix!!!).

 

do they make guards or splash protectors for the intake, not much for the whole idea about hydrolocking the engine...is there anyone to get a intake that doesnt go so low that it will suck in water or snow (i live in virgina, we dont get much rain but winters we can get up to 4-6 inches of snow....which means lots of slush!!

once i remove the old air intake and all the sensors, i just put the new air intake in and reconnect the senors back to it and its done?

thanks!

 

basically, depending on what intake you get... that is the basic process of installation. well, i live in PA and we get alot of rain, i've driven in torrential downpour the last couple of days and have yet to have a problem with my intake. it's really low to the ground as it is the injen cai, but now i have put on an Injen Hydroshield (look into this as it covers your intake and beads off alot of water to help prevent hydrolocking). if you are really concerned about hydrolocking, even with a hydroshield, then you might want to get a short ram air intake which is higher up on your vehicle.

dont forget, also when your intake is lower to the ground and it is hotter out (aka the roads), your intake will be sucking in really hot air. the short ram air will be higher up thus being that it will suck up cooler air. but i've never had a problem with my intake in either of these situations.

 

oh, and here is a write-up that i did on the Injen Hydroshield!


check it out --> https://www.mazdaforum.com/m_8313/tm.htm

 

do you think the injen hydrosheild would fit on a aem cai filter?

 

it's also easy to make a splash shield with aluminum or flaxible plastic. Just cover the lower portion of an intake and try and follow the curve of the con wnd drill some holes to hold it in place. If you have a little bit of heat avliable, you could rimp the plastic to have 2 90 degree angles so you'd have square sheet with one edge bent twice in opposite directions about 1 inch between bends. Then you could heat that up and wrap it to the contour of the cone and drill two small foles in it then use the screws that hold the cone filter to the pipe and wrap it underneath the cone. It's hard to explain bu tI can see it in my head.

 

hah, yeah, i dont understand what you mean, but it sounds like it will work!! i might try to make something like that

 

well my injen cold air intake came with a splash shield as well, but i was overprotective of my investment in my vehicle and ordered a hydroshield as well.

 

Really? All i can see is cobwebs, but as for fitting a injen hydroshield a.k.a a sock over your filter, i would say it should work cuz all any intake is a regular pipe and a filter, your really only paying for the name (and maybe the quality of the pipe and filter), but its a filter none the less