GavinJuice

So i am in the process of gathering information so i can perform this air-pump mod finially. My ports haven't been hooked up since i bought the car a while ago, which i slowly have found out.

My problem is i have no idea what a proper working 5th and 6th port actuation is supposed to look like. I have no backpressure tube, i guess there is some sort of check valve connected to that, and from there i have no idea where that line is connected to the ports to actuate them. Right now my cats are gutted, and i have a tube hanging down, bout 1" OD, sitting right next to my exhaust heat shield on the engine. I know it went somewhere because it has a wire clamp on the end connected to nothing. There are two check valves/solenoids? sitting on the firewall next to the cold start assist; the right one has a nipple broken off the top with the vacuum line just dangling there. Whats this objects purpose?

Also if/when i perform this air-pump mod, can i remove my ACV? I don't know the answer to that question because i don't know if something purposeful is sposed to be hooked up to that.

If someone could supply some detailed pictures of their ports that would just be the shiznat. Thanks ~Gavin

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

This won't help you, but wouldn't it be cool to hook those ports up like mechanical secondaries? Or would that not be a good idea on a GSL-SE since there are no secondary injectors?

LongDuck

Here's a rundown of the '6'-port operation on your SE. Sit tight and keep reading - I'll try to throw some information your way that will let you decide how you want to proceed. (Any '6'-port search would reveal the same thing, and not a bad idea to research);

Inside the #3 Main Catalyst there is a tube that is flanged (about 5mm ID) and pointed to face the oncoming exhaust gas stream. This flange helps to gather exhaust backpressure and route it through the tube, up toward your intake system. On this tube (about 10mm OD) is attached a 2 foot long flexible metal hose (with ridges to allow it to flex) which routes the air pipe to a small splitter welded into the line which runs the '6'-ports - this splitter is small diameter and is about 2-3mm ID.

Above that moving toward the intake system (namely the Emissions Air Control Valve), a one-way valve exists which is shaped like a conical mushroom, and then a 1" rubber airpipe leads to the outlet on the emissions air controling unit on the lower intake manifold.

The reason for the one-way valve in the line is that at normal cruise settings of low throttle, the emissions control valve pumps fresh filtered air from your airbox through the airpump, into this 1" tube, through the one-way valve (toward the exhaust), and into the #3 Main Catalyst to add O2 which will help to burn off hydrocarbons. On heavy throttle settings, the emissions air control switches the airflow from the #3 Main Cat to the exhaust sleeve outlets inside your engine - this mixes fresh air with the exhaust to quiet the exhaust pulses some, and also to cool the exiting exhaust under full power acceleration. It is at this point (with no air being pushed to the #3 Main Cat), that any exhaust backpressure is fed up the line and into the splitter tube which leads to your lower intake manifold.

Mounted to the lower intake manifold is a metal pipe and several fittings which use this exhaust backpressure to power two air diaphragm's which translate air pressure into mechanical motion. This mechanical motion opens your '6'-ports - both front and rear. There are 'stoppers' at both the closed and open positions, so exhaust backpressure of 2-5 psi opens the ports smoothly and gradually as you hit 3800rpm. Above 4000rpm, both ports are full open up to maximum power. In an SE with working ports, you can 'feel' them open up - it feels like ther powerband has just moved further up the range and the car just pulls differently from 3800 to redline.

As soon as you dump throttle, the '6'-ports slam shut on deceleration, both to reduce fuel consumption, and to increase air mass velocity in the intake in case you need to get 'on-it' again. That's how they work when everything is running correctly.

Now, for the theory;

The '6'-port induction system, when tuned correctly, is like having a variable intake timing on a boinger. In rotary terms, it's like having a streetport intake porting, but only when you need it - such as when you're under full throttle acceleration. At other times, it acts just like a stock port engine with good idle qualities, good fuel economy, and quiet operation. As soon as you get on the throttle, it opens up not just 2, but 4 additional airpaths (remember the TB has secondaries that feed through the side housings, PLUS the '6'-ports), that feed in much more air and fuel. At all other cruise settings, you're only running on the primary ports located in the center housing - which gives good fuel economy, excellent low rpm air mass velocity in the intake system, and quiet operation.

This question comes up a lot here, and my response has always been; get your '6'-ports working the way that Mazda designed before wiring them open or closed - when this system works, it's fantastic. If you disable it with wire ties or bypassing, depending on how you 'fix' it you're going to lose power up top, or down low, but you're going to lose power somewhere.

HTH,