Installation of mx5 mania cold air intake

[robmx5]

I was wandering I anyone has installed the cold air intake from mx-5 Mania in Sydney?
I live in Melbourne and am considering having one shipped down. I'm not all that handy in general, and I know you need to cut a hole in the engIne bay. Also, will I need to move the washer bottles location?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. My only other option seems to be an mx-5 factory unit, but they're a bit pricey for me
Thanks again
Rob

[hks_kansei]

Installation isn't difficult, but needs a bit of thought.

To install the Mania you'll need to remove and find a new home for the washer bottle (Most tend to just cable tie it off to one side)
Then simply use a hole saw to cut out a piece of the firewall.
Mount the intake to the AFM (if NA6 you'll need an apadter if mania don't supply one)

Then you'll need to attach the brackets to hold the AFM steady. Mania supply them, but apparently the brackets they supply are just generic and need to be bent/drilled to work. (I've not installed a Mania intake, so just relaying what I've heard from a mate who did)


Personally I'd not bother with the MX5 Factory version, it's a lot more money and offers no benefit functionally (and aesthetically I think the Factory intake looks like sh*t)



edit:
Also you'll need a good drill!
Either a mains powered one, or a really good battery one (ie: high torque tradies one!)

The normal battery ones don't have the torque or speed to cut through the firewall.

[robmx5]

Thanks for the quick reply, man!! I should have mentioned, I have an NB8A
Sounds like its not too hard, and at about half the price of the mx-5 factory one, it makes my decision easier!
Cheers!
Rob

[hks_kansei]

Yep, NB8A is a bit easier.

You should be able to get away without an adapter for the AFM, the NB8A one is round, and so is the Mania one.
The only difference may be the diameters which just means you may need to buy some silicone joiners to pad it out.. (Mine's a DIY version of a Mania intake, so sizes might be different)

Washer bottle is really simple, two bolts up top, then you can lie it on the wheel hump and cable tie it to a pair of perfectly placed white cable holders that should be blank.

Brackets for the AFM should line up with a few of the holes where the stock airbox used to be.

The only trick with the NB8A is that you'll need to mount the air temp sensor into the nozzle end of the intake, pull the temp sensor out of the stock airbox lid, making sure to not destroy the rubber seal around it.
Then simply push it into the hole in the mania neck (or drill one if it's not there) and plug it back in.



Also make sure that if you've got aircon to test fit before drilling anything to make sure it's going to fit past the a/c condensor can.

[robmx5]

Starting to sound a bit techo for me
Maybe it's an excuse to go for a drive to Sydney!!!

[hks_kansei]

It's not worth the drive to Sydney, and not worth the $100 or whatever you'll get charged.


The only skills you'll need are the ability to operate a drill, and the ability to unplug one electrical plug (which is just a matter of press a tab and pull)

[robmx5]

Thanks man, that made me feel a bit more confident!
I'll give it a crack! I have a few mates who are a bit more knowledgable than me, so it should be right!
Thanks again dude!
RJ

[slug_dub]

Got some info and photos here of how I installed the Mania intake in my car, the brackets we made were very simple but worked fine

viewtopic.php?p=497617#p497617

Edit: Just realised you are looking to install in an NB8A my bad... some of the detail about my install may be completely useless then The bracket action may give you some ideas...

[Josh2232]

Hey mate, I've done it in my NB8A and its easy, as they guys have said you just need a good drill and some balls to drill through the firewall lol. The bracket supplied fit perfectly and no adapting pipework was needed to attach the intake. Also the air temp sensor hole comes pre-drilled so you'll be right with that as well. With moving the washer bottle, I originally used a self tapping screw into the wheel arch but that came undone pretty quickly with some spirited driving. So now its been relocated back up on the firewall using the right side original screw hole for the bottle. I you drill using the centre mark where mania instruct you to then you'll have plentyof clearance between the intake and the wiper motor. Good luck!!
Sent from my Lumia 800

[Josh2232]

Oh and importantly, make sure to cover your engine bay up with some sort of sheet t catch all the filings from the drill, that'll make you rust up bad! Also make sure to usesome sort of lubrication while drilling or you'll fry the hole saw
Sent from my Lumia 800

[slug_dub]

A worthy addition is some foam tape around the end of the intake where it sits in the firewall, to reduce the vibration a little bit from WOT fun.

[hks_kansei]

A worthy addition is some foam tape around the end of the intake where it sits in the firewall, to reduce the vibration a little bit from WOT fun.

I used some U section rubber from Clark Rubber.

Does the same things, but looks neater and doesn't hold water (so it doesn't look manky after a while)

[slug_dub]

Actually thats an even better idea, placed around the cut hole, rather than tape stuck to the intake itself... the end of my intake does look manky now because of the tape stuck to it.

[hks_kansei]

Just make sure to put a little glue or double sided tape on the inside of it.

Mine fell out at some stage (but my intake tube is smaller than a Mania, so the Mania one will probably hold it in tighter)

[robmx5]

Thanks guys, all this info is helping me!! I you've got any pics, I'd love to see them!!