Now i will continue to re write my expiriences with installing the MX5 Factory CAI.
NOTE: Information is based on fact and bias. Which parts are fact and which parts are biased is anyones interpretation (the beauty of bias!)
I first began with the drilling of the firewall. Unfortunately i couldnt find a 76mm holesaw so a regular drill had to do. 346 holes later i was able to punch oput the hole with a hammer and flathead. I continued to grind back the are with a dremel however i later upgraded to a bigger grinding attachment on the drill as the dremel is probably more apporopriate for toenails! After smoothing to hole i attempted to try and fit a 76mm heat tube in a not so 76mm hole. I soon gave up and found a perfect piece of PVC tubing that i could wedge into the hole and use a hose clamp to secure the tube to that. Next i lifted the cowling behind the firewall up and used a stanley knife to cut out a groove so that it would sit flush. This brought me to my next trouble.. trying to get the screw back into the cowling on the right hand side, something which proved to be very hard as there was a 2cm space to use when screwing. I guess you could say i gave up, im sure its not going anywhere. Heres the end result.
Next it was time to fit the filter... I started by spending 15 mins trying to ge the bloody stock airbox off, and was left with many existing holes from which to choose my bracket positioning from. My first dodgy attempt involed a horizontally placed steel bracket which was bent at the tip to accomodate the positining of the bolt from the filter brace. This was soon replaced with a vertical bracket bent to fit, this was the best option, and very effective, however it wasnt enough. The AFM was still heavy and i found it sagged so i found the only piece of metal i could find which looked like it belonged to a structural part of a house 20 years ago!. After a lot of trial and error, i managed to fit it and it was effective in supporting the AFM (try and guess which one was supplied with the kit and which was not
). Obviously everything was hose clamped together, then a hole was cut into the silicon adapter with a stanley knife to allow the fittment of the air sensor. The next step, which was also the hardest involved relocating the crucial MX5 Factory sticker. No offence to dick but the shiney aliminium enclosure wasnt the ideal place to put it. So i stuck it at the front of the engine bay.
After being fed up of not being able to use the window washing function as the washer bottle was being thrown around in wierd positions, i finally proceded to the garage and set out upon bracketing it steady. Using a picture of a random MX5 Mania CAI install i found, i came up with the idea to use anothe REALLY thick piece of metal to bracket it in. It is just a straight piece of metal which bolts onto an existin hole which sits on an angled face of the strut tower assembly, straight onto the washer bottle. Utilising bolts taken out with the stock airbox, hows that for smart ;)..
This is the finished product..
Whoops i mean this is the finished product
And yes i know my engine bay is dirty but what can i do, i really cant get around to cleaning it, maybe in 6 years time when its time to sell.
In conclusion, i think the MX5 Factory intake, based on logic has an advantage over the mania type in terms or filtering as it utilises a significantly bigger filter, and spun aliminium enclosure as apposed to a bodgy plastic one. Also the filter cone has a vortex feature in which it has a moulded type which in fact creates a vortex for beter induction (open for debate). Now with the tubing, im not a big fan as i would prefer not just something more heat resistant as it is a heat resistant tube, but something that is a straight pipe with no flex, and a smoother inside for better flow of air. So yes mania youve got points on that one. And in terms of asthetics, yes mania wins, however the mx5 factory type would provail if only it was a one piece setup because the filter and enclosure is absolute sex as it is, its just let down but the bendy straw of a tube.
Hope this helps, informs, entertains. Im going to try and update with some running videos for sound, and maybe dyno readings in the future. Thanks guys!!
crzymx.
P.S I have not proof read purely because i cant be bothered. Im forwarning you mx52nv..
