AEM Intake heat shield

ROB105 · Postby **ROB105** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 12:26 pm

Hi,

Just curious if anyone has fitted one of these to an SE.
In short, I have just completed mine and am curious as to how they got on with clearance around the front of the power steering pump reservoir.
There is also a potential issue where the air filter will rub on a support bracket for the A/C piping - I am thinking a rubber cover.

Clearance is tight between the air filter and bonnet, but otherwise it looks decent enough - cost approx' $420-450 from memory (ex Ebay).

Thanks,

Rob

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 1:27 pm

It's been a while since I fitted mine, from memory it was a bit awkward to manoeuvre it into place but i never had any issues with rubbing.

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KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 3:44 pm

Lokiel wrote:It's been a while since I fitted mine, from memory it was a bit awkward to manoeuvre it into place but i never had any issues with rubbing.

Bet it was easier than the BEGi!! What a PITA that is to get in under the power steering, around the turbo piping and round the aircon lines :shock:

ROB105 · Postby **ROB105** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 5:22 pm

KevGoat wrote:
Lokiel wrote:It's been a while since I fitted mine, from memory it was a bit awkward to manoeuvre it into place but i never had any issues with rubbing.

Bet it was easier than the BEGi!! What a PITA that is to get in under the power steering, around the turbo piping and round the aircon lines

Literally tossed up between these two. Sounds like I got off easy.

I marked and was going to cut the heat shield to clear the piping in front of the power steer, but then ended up bending it a bit as I didn't want to end up with a raw unpainted edge on the shield (or walk the 20m to get my angle grinder out of my work ute in the cold).
In any case, the holes for mounting didn't exactly line up so there was going to be some modification. All reports suggested the AEM to be a premium product (at a relatively premium price) so I didn't expect to have to modify.

luzinit · Postby **luzinit** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 12:02 am

What are your driving impressions now that you have fitted it? How long ago did you purchase it? I had a look in eBay today, with current exchange the cheapest ones are close to $500 so you nabbed a good deal!

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Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 10:55 am

The AEM CAI and a MBC allowing 10psi will transform a stock MSM/SE from "Meh!" to "Oh Yeah!"

These modz increase your car from ~110rwkw to ~135rwkw so you really notice the difference (the "butt dyno" resolution is around 10kw, it wont notice anything below that, but this is a 20kw difference and will put a huge grin on your face).

These are by far the best bang-for-buck modz you can do to an MSM/SE, after that additional gains become less and more expensive and you have to deal with the ECU issues ("dead zone" between 4,500 and 5,000 RPM where you're running lean).

If the car had 135rwkw from the factory Mazda, would have sold 10x as many MSM/SEs

The downside of the AEM CAI is the extra noises it makes, especially when you ease up on the accelerator and the air gets dumped back from the BOV into the intake - you'll hear a fluttering sound (these have been described as sounding like whooshing and farting noises). Some don't like the noise, others like it. I stopped noticing it altogether but that may have been because I installed a larger FM 2.5" exhaust which helped improve the entire airflow.

The other downside to these modz is that it will send you on the path of "MOAR POWA!", which is a very slippery/expensive slope.
- "My name is Lokiel, and I am a "MOAR POWA" addict."

StillIC · Postby **StillIC** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 12:04 pm

ROB105 wrote:.....
In short, I have just completed mine and am curious as to how they got on with clearance around the front of the power steering pump reservoir.
There is also a potential issue where the air filter will rub on a support bracket for the A/C piping - I am thinking a rubber cover.

Clearance is tight between the air filter and bonnet, but otherwise it looks decent enough - cost approx' $420-450 from memory (ex Ebay).....

To quote NitroDann: "Welcome to cars".

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 1:31 pm

Lokiel wrote:...and a MBC allowing 10psi will transform a stock MSM/SE from "Meh!" to "Oh Yeah!"

I wonder who has one of those for sale....

ROB105 · Postby **ROB105** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 6:05 pm

I'll post some impressions once I've has the chance to drive it although Lokiel mirrors what I have read. MX5 Mania are sending me a PWR intercooler this week so it won't get dríven until after that is installed. Then it'll get an exhaust (muffler delete only at this stage if I can't get a local shop to do a 2.5" mandrel bent job for less than $600-700 with no cat/muffler).

MBC I am dubious on without an ECU upgrade. I haven't seen much info' on what AFR people see with standard injectors and ECU. I'm not the biggest fan of melted pistons having just rebuild my Austin Healey motor from exactly that. Lokiel - Have you seen any info' on this?

As for the quest for more power; I promised myself I wasn't going to go too crazy because this exercise was meant to be my 'cheap' targa car..... I'm now eating Mi-Goreng for the forseable future on account of Sparco Sprint seats, BD roll bar, Velo Harnesses, DBA rotors, alloy radiator, Potenza RE003 and a set of Enkei RPF01 with Federal RS-R semis. I've also got a Clio Sport and an E46 M3 so my girlfriend is one step away from killing me in my sleep if more car parts arrive. For this event i'll hold off on the ECU upgrade for more boost and the throttle body inlet pipe - they will be the next and final expense I think.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:13 pm

I don't know about any issues with just the CAI + MBC at 10psi.

The stock injectors are at their limit once you add the 2.5" exhaust which adds about 10rwkw and you'll be running lean - the stock ECU really can't cope around there either.

The sensible SE update is just the CAI + MBC at 10psi and being happy with 135rwkw - it's hard to stop there though when it was so easy to achieve.

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:22 pm

Mine has ... BEGi CAI, BEGi TBI, Denso 321cc Injectors, T/smart mbc (10psi), T/smart BPV, eBay FMIC, FM02 mod, TPS Resistor mod ...

Power is "OOOHHH Yeah!" and runs/idles fine. Would probably get away with upgrading downpipe, but any further than that would need at minimum Chiptorque chip or for even "MOAR POWA" pass it over to Dann ....

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 3:32 pm

I've got the same setup on my SE, but it was installed by the previous owner. Would love to do an enclosed air box at some stage.

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:02 pm

TCR, have a read through Lokiel's thread. He built an airbox for his AEM. Have a read from a few posts down on here: http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=41091&start=300 though the whole thread makes a great read.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:44 pm

KevGoat wrote:TCR, have a read through Lokiel's thread. He built an airbox for his AEM. Have a read from a few posts down on here: http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=41091&start=300 though the whole thread makes a great read.

Not for the AEM CAI; I held off building the Cold Air Box until Dann routed the hotside plumbing under the car rather than via the SE OEM route because that would have meant that the hot-side plumbing was running through the Cold Air Box, making it less effective.

You could try something similar and possibly add insulation to the hotside plumbing inside the box to minimise heat transfer inside the box.

I also duct air from the passenger-side foglight into the Cold Air Box to maximise fresh air input.