Ooh! Tell us how that works out. I'd love to keep a true CAI without fretting about sucking water with the AEM/Mspeed.

 

When you say coupled do you mean just paired up or the duct actually sealed together with the intake? If it was completely sealed it would suck water worse than the aem/mazdaspeed because the duct sits a little lower.

So far i love my aem/mazdaspeed intake. Really lets the rotary engine "roar".

 

Dyno numbers at a decent temperature are all that really matters when it comes to intakes.

 

I'd suggest rethinking that and call a dyno a highly flawed but still useful tool to test intake performance.

Dyno are great and all, but they use a fixed load system using static parameters. That's hardly a real world condition. So the results are not a comprehensive test.

Real world conditions like effects of engine/radiator hot air flow, engine heat soak, decent & indecent temperatures, variable external load conditions, variable throttle conditions, idle stability, RAM air effect need to be considered.

In-car data reflects real-world performance and so is "really all that matters"

 

It's sealed. No reports on the list that I'm aware of wrt the RB duct, vs. many water problems reported with the AEM.

The RB duct is open, yes, but it makes a right angle bent upwards. The effect and shape is very similar to inertial filters used on helicopters and turbine aircraft designed for dirty environments. Sand and water and raindrops cannot make the bend, much less easily go up that far to the inlet. The RB duct has drain holes for water that hits the back and falls down. If that's insufficient, it can fall out the front without restriction. Even if it makes it past the bend, it has to go up ~18" or so to make it into the engine bay. If any gets past that, it has to fill up the bottom of the intake airbox before getting to the accordian tube out.

If water makes it past the AEM filter, it's already slowed so there's no inertial seperation effect in subsequent bends. There are no drains and the filter itself impedes water from draining out. There is no airbox/resonance chamber to fill; once water makes it up to the engine bay, it's going into the accordian and throttle body.

 

^ if you look carefully, there is a small hole in the bottom of the box too to drain water in there. I've been thru some torrential downpours and found sand and water up in the intake box. You'd be surprised (but shouldn't be) of the power of airflow to move water/sand around at 60-120mph

 

^ Good to know ... another level of protection.

 

if you are at 60-120 mph at wide open throttle in the rain then you probably have other things to worry about other than sucking up some water

otherwise a custom intake is only worth it for serious racing competitors, having built and tested a half dozen different custom tube and box versions myself I would recommend sticking with an enclosed box type, specifically the Racing Beat one

 

In my opinion none of the aftermarket CAIs are really worth it. Just remove the walls in the stock air box, remove the VFAD, then replace it with a ram air.

 

I have an idea.. its a bit far fetched but hear me out.
Keep in mind I have a greddy turbo so I cannot use the RB air duct because of the intercooler

I saw somewhere a picture of an air duct incorporated into the mazda emblem in the front bumper. Ok so same idea but get a cx-7/9(BIG) front emblem. Cut a hole in the bumper the same size/shape of the inner diameter of the emblem and put black mesh under it(I have a black car so it wouldn't stand out to bad). Mold a tube/air box (out of either fiberglass or aluminum) for the filter using a modded AEM CAI. ... OPINIONS GO!

So far I have not been able to source said emblem. Anyone know where I could find one on the cheap?

 

It's not an original idea, I believe Leg Sport makes a kit that does that exact thing.

 

Thats the one I was thinking of! But bigger and more DIY=Cheaper

 

If the S1 intake is anything like the S2 intake (and from the engine bay pics, it does look very similar), an aftermarket intake won't do you any good. It will make a nice sound, but there will be no performance gain beyond the placebo effect, because the stock intake already pulls air from the nose of the car, in front from the radiator. The intake on my Passat did the same thing, but there was at least a small performance gain from replacing the restrictive snorkel that connected the airbox to the front bumper; on the RX-8 there isn't even that restriction to remove.

So, you'll get a nice sound and the air filter will be a pain in the *** to change because of its new location under the engine bay. Other than that, no measurable difference.

 

Thats completely irrelevant to my suggestion lol I have a greddy turbo kit with the Greddy intake that comes with it... anything would be better than that haha.

 

Yeah back on topic, from what I've read the best CAI seems to be the mazdaspeed/AEM. They're pretty much the same CAI with different stickers. You should read RIWWP's new modification noob thread, it's useful.

Bfowler that's really cheap for AEM I can only find them for over $300. Was it used?

 

The AEM intake is always hovering between $250-$275 on Amazon. The prices always seem to be different between the different colors, too.

If its a milder car, just buy a K&N filter and remove the baffles. Noise=power, right?

What you really need is one of those old Civic intakes from the late 90s that is supposed to look like an intercooler in the front bumper.

 

You mean this ****?

 

I remember those.

 

We stopped going places in my buddy's car because I tormented him endlessly for having one of those. I kept making blow off valve noises every time he shifted. Pshhhhh!

 

What's wrong with the Greddy intake that came with your turbo?

 

just about everything that could be wrong with an intake is what is wrong with the stock greddy turbo intake. maf tube size, design, placement, etc. its all bad

 

What he said ^^ I'm on the side of AEM/MS being the best CAI. I just saw custom in the thread title and added my Idea of some customization to make that intake better.

 

https://www.rx8club.com/members/f1st...-air-me-28303/

 

that looks terrible lol I want it to still look good man