I've ran across some kits for other cars that have airboxes or iceboxes between the cold air intake and the engine. Apparently this provides the same benefit of short ram intakes by reducing the air speed (larger "box" = lower air speed = higher static pressure = better combustion), and the benefit of cold air by using a pipe and filter to the same location as a CAI would go.

Another advantage I've read about is that this reduces the noise you normally get from a CAI or SRI

I know none exist for our lancers, but I'm thinking I'd like to manufacture one. I've read about one guy using a 60$ mazda3 CAI on his lancer and it working fine. I figure if I start with that for the pipe coming out of the engine (MAF and TB mounts), then to a custom made airbox 2 or 3 times larger than the intake pipe, then a pipe going down to a k/n filter down below the driver side headlights (where a CAI filter normally goes), I should be ok. I'd insulate the airbox with a thermal protection of some sort to keep heat out. I have a friend who custom builds bikes so he should be able to help me manufacture the airbox and custom cut/bend/fit the piping.

Thoughts anyone?

If I go through with this, I'd love to find some people in the area (maritimes) with the Injen CAI and RRM SRI who would be willing to do a weekend somewhere were theres a dyno, I'd love to put one of the cars (or maybe 2 if we have a 2.0L, I've got the 2.4L) and dyno stock, SRI, CAI, and then my custom intake all at once. get some real numbers.

 

I would never tell someone NOT to do something they were curious about but having used both the Injen CAI and RRM SHort ram (v1 and v2) i'd say you're splitting hairs trying to outperform those designs.

And i may be mistaken but the Mazda intake some people get is a short-ram design. I never knew Mazda made a CAI that would EXACTLY bolt up and wrap down to the wheel well...and avoid the ill-placed battery under our hood.

 

Yeah... evolve is right, the intake for the Mazda3 is a SRI. I've heard about it also.

 

There's nothing to praise about those designs. Don't get me wrong they're as good as they can be if you don't move the battery but i think that the best way to do a good intake is to relocate the battery.
My question is,
Is there any way that you can mount the battery right where the airbox is and fit another SRI or CAI with a straight pipe?
That would be a good compromise if it would be easy to mount the battery in the back where the airbox is.

 

I didnt mean to suggest either the RRM or INJEN is the end-all to everyone's performance needs. Those are the 2 examples he posted and i have experience with both.

That's exactly what i was hoping AEM would do. A battery relocation kit would do wonders for any company looking to make a nice-looking CAI. Im sure alot of people would jump on the chance to buy it too. I would've

 

i was thinking of doing that exact thing, but custom, if no one else does it. i dont know that the price would be to do this, but thats what i want also. as for CEL issues, i heard there is a part u can put under the maff, and adjust so it doesnt cause any engine lights and stuff, i hope i worded all that correctly. only 17. still learning

 

I know the Mazda 3 kit is an SRI on the lancer, but I was planning on converting it into a Cold Air intake, and with an "airbox" or sorts to give you the advantages of both.

It would be possible to look into relocating the battery and having the kit come straight out, then down. I'd prefer that, but I'd have to pull off the stock airbox and see what needs to be done to move the battery.

the advantages of an SRI and CAI are different. low end Torque with the SRI and high end HP with the CAI. Both give you slightly better MPG and the CAI is better for your engine. Both however have the disadvantage (in my mind) of increased noise.

I'm trying to pool all that together, and get low end torque, high end HP, better MPG and hopefully less sound than either a CAI or SRI will give you.

Hence the idea. It may not work at all, but if it does it would be marginally better than the SRI or CAI on its own, and possibly cheaper since I'd be doing all the fabrication on my own.

However, I don't claim to know everything about cars. There could be a glaring problem or something I'm missing in planning this, hence me asking. Is there any reason this wouldn't work, or would work worse than the available SRI or CAI options?-

 

lol i thought of something like this.. like a SRI / CAI hybrid so the SRI would suck more air in to start up and then when the CAI gets the flow to the engine ud get the better top end.. but its never been made so im guessing it doesnt work.. heh

 

You'd have to have some RPM based gate going to a y valve for that. A bit overkill.

After reading a bit, I guess I'm just looking at a more efficient Cold Air Intake. Airboxes complimenting the size of the engine are supposedly the best design for CAI's, so it seems strange that our stock intake has one but the aftermarket ones don't. I can see why the drop in filter and the full aftermarket intakes seem to give such small increases.

I might still try this, and I'd love to dyno it against stock, and any other intake if I can find people that have them in the maritimes and are willing to do a weekend at a dyno sometime.

 

good luck with it.

i still say you're splittin' hairs. But all the power to you if you can put some numbers at about the same as a shorty or CAI

 

the short ram intake i made from the mazda 3 intake was def better looking than the rrm v1 and had the same functionality i mean when you think about it its nice looking piping.

I am currently thinking about making a cai for my 09 gts, using the stock maf holder, tubing and a piece of an injen cai setup for a 350z.

 

I am curious as how the intake actually looks from a Mazda3. can anyone post pics?