hey!
i'm kyle, 26 years old and back in my home state finally! i've had my 2007 mazda 3i for over a year now and i love it, super reliable car even for my... lead footedness ! recent mods include but not limited to, a cheapo name brand knock off CAI (which is giving me problems with newly clicking valves at low rpm in 4th and 5th and filter getting a little wet) which i will be finding a thread about, painted calipers, tinted windows, windshield brow, clear blue turn signals and headlights, blacked out reflectors and 3rd brake, crystal corners, custom located fog lights, custom interior mood glow, Goodyear Eagle GTs, compliments on how clean i keep her and THAT'S IT! nothing major. i got the sedan becauase i got talked into buying it at the car dealership. also because it's the only 3 sedan/ nice (to me) car there! went to car dealer with $4,000 budget; left with $12,000 car . no regrets however, except on short paydays! (being sick and all)
anyways, my bad on the paragraph. glad to be here. need answering of questions! look forward to hearing from everyone!!

 

Well Kyle, it seems your home state is also mine!! Albeit a little further south and wayyy further east than you.

Congrats on the new-to-you ride, and welcome to Mazdaforum. It seems like you're all ready on your way with the mods also.

As for your CAI, a "little" H2O isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's to be expected. BUT a LOT of water will hydro-lock the engine and cause all sorts of catastrophic damage.
If you get lots of rain, puddles, low water crossings where you are, then consider either going back to the OE box, or switch to a SRI to keep the filter above the difficulty.
Some will say a filter sock is possible, and of course they would be correct!! But to me, spending another $30-$40 for something that will restrict the filter/air flow is defeating the purpose you got the CAI in the first place.
Perhaps it would be possible to convert the CAI you already have into an SRI simply by cutting the tubing shorter??

 

the problem i have with a short ram is it would sit right were my intake tube is always getting water from rain coming in from the bumper an grill... i think thats were it's coming from. about 5 inches out from the throttle body i get mass water hitting that area. i taped off the vents in the fender and put a lid type flap over were my cai filter sits, that seems to help, but i am in the process of finding a better location or just eliminating it all together. an yea it rains here and snow pretty frequently... central PA weather. and the amount of rock salt they use..... ridiculous!! rally armor mudflaps are my next investment!