Cold Air Box

Robyn n Rich · Post by **Robyn n Rich** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:14 pm

My husband and I were looking at buying a cold air box from Jackson Racing
in the States, at $250 approx (american)... however, that seemed a bit over
the top, so a little Kiwi ingenuity has risen to the fore. He has
modified a large oval funnel and a length of flexible vacuum cleaner hose.
The funnel is mounted behind the fan, and the hose is running into the
existing airbox inlet. While the engine is not getting the full benefit of
cold air at low speeds, it does at speed, and while we are unable to confirm
via dyno readings any increase in power, it does seem to have made a
noticable difference.

Has anyone else tried this type of mod. did it work, what were your
thoughts??? If we are the only silly buggas... patents are pending...

We have also just imported a very well priced style bar from Moss Motors in
the States, and once gst, customs duty, freight and exchange are totalled up,
we will let you know if it was so cheap... they are delivering in the
morning,,,,,

Robyn and Rich.

Carey Hill · Post by **Carey Hill** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:12 pm

Not a bad idea. but you might get better results if intake is away from the
fan. Reason being the fan regulates the flow of air into pulses rather than a
constant flow, interrupts the continuous supply of cold air.
Carey

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:16 pm

Have just fitted a JR cold airbox to my 1.8 NA. Very pleased with the
result...if your mod is as effective you should be well pleased!

Cheers, Ian

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Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 21:36:02 +1300
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Subject: Re: Cold Air Box
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On the 1.8 at least, you can just strap a "cone" filter straight to
the airflow meter and do away with the restrictive airbox altogether!
(see the below article) This works great at speed (cold air) but less
so at low speeds where I presume it picks up hot air next to the
exhaust. With the 1.6 I think you need a mounting adapter to fit the
3" 'universal' cone type filters.

With headers and an exhaust (and a timin bump) it picked up a lot of
pep, but sounded strangely hoover-ish - got a few funny looks at the
lights !

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_0892/article.html

The whole exercise was well under $1k (filter, 4-1 headers, Mazdaspeed
exhaust, timing bump) , cheap bastard that I am i picked it all up
secondhand ...

So yeah, definitely worth it !

On 1/16/06, Robyn n Rich <glassone@xtra.co.nz> wrote:
[...]

Robyn n Rich · Post by **Robyn n Rich** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:40 pm

True, but couldnt get the intake any futher forward without a major cut
job... cutting holes in the radiator wasnt really an option.

poison · Post by **poison** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:52 pm

Here are a couple of links to DIY intakes,

The first one is from Glenn, a loyal club member

http://miata.cardomain.com/ride/264041/2

the second one is good but you have to pay to get the rest of the article

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/article.html?&A=0892

And a copy of the one I made, but I had issues getting a WOF since, mine is
based on the Loch Stewart model.

http://www.mx5club.org.nz/downloads/gazza_cai_1.jpg
http://www.mx5club.org.nz/downloads/gazza_cai_2.jpg

Hope this helps

Gazza

Okibi · Post by **Okibi** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:58 pm

On the 1.8 at least, you can just strap a "cone" filter straight to

the airflow meter and do away with the restrictive airbox altogether!

Yeah as long as the surface area of the cone is bigger than the panel filter
than you might get more "flow".

But a pod filter will be a lot more susceptible to heat soak.

Matty's autospeed article is fantastic; just don't just whack on a pod
filter without any shielding or a feed of cooler air.

- Dave.

EricW · Post by **EricW** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:31 pm

I agree with Carey, the fan will be producing an uneven flow of air, but more
seriously, (and I may be missing the point here), is not the function of the
fan to draw air through the radiator thus enhancing the transfer of HEAT to
the air which is subsequently being passed into the airbox, the opposite of
the required effect.

I am happy to be corrected, but that's how it seems to me

Eric

WiM · Post by **WiM** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:50 pm

Robyn'n'Rich, mmmh, check out what I did to get some more cold air
into the engine: www.cardomain.com/ride/312875/2
Hard to tell maybe but I build a aluminium airbox with the K&N in
the box. Cold air was suypplied by the black tube that you see
comming in just next to the headlight. So I got the cold air from in
front of the radiator, by doing so I got colder air and a bit of a
RAM-system as the cold air comes in quicker the faster you drive. My
idea was good but I never got around building a more sealed unit.
What happened is that I found a better way of getting more air into
the engine: a turbo

WiM
'96 Subaru Legacy S/W GT twin turbo
'91 1.6 MX-5 (due to immigration for sale)
www.mx5ireland.com
www.cardomain.com/memberpage/312875

Quoting Robyn n Rich <glassone@xtra.co.nz> on Mon, 16 Jan 2006
20:14:53 +1300:

My husband and I were looking at buying a cold
air box from Jackson Racing in the States, at $250 approx
(american)... however, that seemed a bit over the top, so a little Kiwi
ingenuity has risen to the fore. He has modified a large oval funnel and
a length of flexible vacuum cleaner hose. The funnel is mounted behind
the fan, and the hose is running into the existing airbox inlet. While
the engine is not getting the full benefit of cold air at low
speeds, it does at speed, and while we are unable to confirm via dyno
readings any increase in power, it does seem to have made a noticable
difference.

Has anyone else tried this type of mod. did it
work, what were your thoughts??? If we are the only silly buggas...
patents are pending...

We have also just imported a very well priced
style bar from Moss Motors in the States, and once gst, customs duty,
freight and exchange are totalled up, we will let you know if it was so
cheap... they are delivering in the morning,,,,,

Robyn and Rich.

poison · Post by **poison** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:37 pm

The best thing of all is the induction sound, really growls when accelerating,
makes the old MX feel much faster than she really is... ha ha

Problem with the WOF is I went to a testing station and they said it was part
of the firewall, which it isn't. It's in fact a leaf trap, anyway they said
it's structural and would not give me a WOF. The guy was a real ASS, he said
he was a certifier and my car needed the hole welded up to be road safe. The
panel is thin flexible steel, so not structural. I went to a LVV certifier and
he said no probs and I should just try and get a letter from a panel beater
work certifier, this was $75 but seemed to do the trick so far.

So doing this mod can cause WOF issues, although others with the same set-up
have had no problems.

Sadly it may have to be removed for the turbo install, unless I can find a way
to re-use it, which I will try as it took ages for me to make.

Cheers

Gazza

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