I have looked at many CAI from members and they all have very small diameter piping which causes a lot of restriction.

After doing the math I figured out that 3.25" ID would be a better choice.

The filter is a specific brand. I will not say which brand because a few will jump all over me for using it. Its filtering capabilities are great but because of this, im sure it doesn't flow as good as K&N filters. It is washable though without needed a recharge kit.

No issues with having the AFM at a weird angle, nor did I expect any issues since the flapper is so light, that its not going to effect the AFR.

I was not to sure how its effect would be on the cooling system since its right infront of the radiator. After driving car, hard at time, with the E-fan disconnected, the temps still didn't reach 90*C. This was in weather of about 78*F.

Here are the pics.

 

thats a interesting place to put the filter why did yo decide on that location?

 

Isn't that blocking the radiator's flow of air to it's left side? Looks good though. I have mine running down into the typical fenderwell location.

 

Well I wanted to keep the washer fluid resivoir, and I also wanted easy access to the filter incase I need to clean or replace it. Where it will be in a slightly higher pressure zone which should help reduce the intake airflow resistance inside the piping a bit. Making it easier for the engine to breath. Not saying its a ram air intake though, because its not.

I Am going to work on putting the belly pan back on and then enclosing infront of the radiator with sheets of aluminum so there is very little places for the airflow to escape.

I had this in mind way before I even started the project. I went ahead and did it anyways since it didn't look like it would make a huge difference since its just a small portion of the rad. Now this would be different if I put the filter right in the front bumper where the airflow comes from, then the engine would overheat. I had my license plate in the center of the bumper once and I couldn't keep my engine cool. I pulled to the side of the road, removed the plate and my temps went back to normal.

After driving around with this, the engine temps still stay cool even after beating on it a bit.

 

I know for some vehicles , haveing the MAF meter too close to the throttle body screws with the readings. How is yours?

Nice job!

 

looks nice. how much did it cost u? and time?

 

Doesn't the AFM have to be level? Or is that just the S4?

 

that is an s4 AFM, and yes doesnt the AFM need to be level?

 

You're the only other person I've seen fab up an intake!!! LOL. I'll post some pics of my setup tomorrow.

 

why dont you extend the wires of the AFM so you can have it level once again? I know its supposed to be leveled but I wonder what kind of negative effects the angle of your AFM actually has on performance. IMO, extending the wires and leveling the AFM would be more pleasing to the eye.

 

I guess you've only read the forums for 2 days in your life.

 

Bump for a custom fab job... looks like a really interesting piece of work. nice job

 

Just a suggestion... Wrap some black panty hose around the filter. It will keep all that extra dirt and debris from getting rammed into the filter's fins.

 

No, its just that most of the N/A guys slap on a cone filter and call it a day.

 

FYI. Mazda flap AFM's are notorious for not likeing not being level. It is supposed to be level and in time the extra angle will wear on the spring on the door and it will make the AFM go bad. I say in about 6 months you'll be posting about a bouncing idle problem. Other than that I think it looks great. Good job.

 

Thanks for the comments guys. I have enough extra pipe to redo it if I can ever get the engine to run good without the AFM. So far I have only been able to get it to idle and rev to 2800 under light load.

For all with the same question about the AFM. Here it is.
The spring for the AFM keeps the flapper/cone closed and also adds some resistance so the flapper stays with the airflow, if you know what I mean. Having it at the angle I have does not hurt the spring at all, if anything it would help it but keep reading. The flapper weighs next to nothing so the idea that the flapper will not open as far because of the angle you have it at is wrong. Same goes for having the AFM up at an angle instead of down like I have it.

Take your S5 or S4 AFM out and turn it at any angle you would like, even sit the intake side straight up, the flapper/cone will not move. If it does, your spring is weak and your engine could be running rich. Tightening the spring could help. When the flapper/cone is closed, the spring is at its weakest point so if the flapper/cone will not move then, having the AFM at a weird angle will not hurt it at all.

You are right that its supposed to be level, but there will be no negetive effects having it the way I have it.

Also, I choosed blue couplers because I was hopping they may not soak up as much heat as quickly as black couplers would. red couplers just seems...well....I dunno, I don't like red couplers.

Just correcting, its a AFM (air flwo meter) instead of a MAF (Mass Air flow). Two different animals.

No bad effects. According to an Air Flow Restriction writeup, its better to have your largest restrictions, such as your AFM or Filter, as close to the TB as possible.

Parts:
2 x T-Bolt Clamp for 3.0" Silicone Parts (CLA000104) = $5.20
4 x T-Bolt Clamp for 3.5" Silicone Parts (CLA000105) = $10.40
2 x Silicone Reducer, 45° bend - 3.5" to 3.0" - Blue (BRE000924) = $39.98
1 x 3.5" Silicone 90° Elbow, Blue (SIL000415) = $19.99

With shipping it cost me about $88.

The aluminum pipe I ordered off ebay for about $30 shipped. 3.5" OD x 4'. I didn't think that was very expensive.

The filter was about 37.50 and with shipping, $43.

So grand total would be about $161.

I got 2 sheets of 1/16" aluminum for a shroud I was going to build for free from a guy I know. So I used one to make the side piece next to the radiator. I actually cut it wrong but you can't tell since the screw up is covered by the radiator. Its just going to agravate me everytime I look at it since I know its not cut PERFECTLY.

Well, I think im the only one that has done the homework on trying to designing a low restriction intake. I can't tell you how many intakes I have seen with a 2.5" ID or smaller. Thats WAYYY to small.

Personally, I wish I didn't have the 45 degree bends but the AFM needs a place to be. Another reason I have the AFM there is because it was easier to make the "bend" at the TB elbow with silicone elbows instead of buying bent pipe or having it mendral bent.

BTW, if any of you are wondering why there is not clamp on the silicone coupler on the AFM, its because I read me notes wrong for the OD on that side of the AFM. Its 3.25 OD, 3" ID instead of 3" OD like I thought. After all the countless measuring I did, I guess I didn't read my notes correctly. So its on there VERY tight. My 3" clamp is not going to fit it

I think im going to order the right couple and clamp, then send the wrong couple and clamp back.

 

Yea, you should really make the AFM level. If its tilted like that, the AFM won't respond the way it would normally to a given air flow (it wont open as much because gravity is pulling it closed), thus giving lower than actual readings to the ECU and making it run leaner than normal. With an NA, this may actually be good because they are tuned very rich from the factory, but I dont have any hard data or testing to back up how lean it will be vs how far you can safely go.

 

That's real nice. Props!

 

Here are some pics of mine (excuse the quality). I used the same size piping as you, only mines really shiney :p lol.

 

^ That doesn't look very cold air-like.

But looks good, I like how you kept the AFM level, but that would work best on an S4 when it would matter.

If you remove the windsheild wiper tank and make a 2.5" cut, you can stick it right down into that hole and have a cold air intake.

 

Actually, surprisingly enough, after some full temp spirited driving, I can pop the hood and the air space around the filter is cool, filter is cool to the touch, and so are the pipes. But yeah, I will eventually put more fab work into it and put the filter out of the engine bay.

 

If you wanted a filter that wasn't a pain to clean, you should have picked up an AEM Dryflow.

 

The flapper weighs next to nothing. So the effect of gravity is very very minimal if any. Nothing to worry about. I see a lot of people with claims like this but have not thought about the construction of the AFM. Plus the AFM is at a 45 degree angle, not verticle so the effect of gravity is pretty much less the half of what it would be if the AFM was verticle.

I havn't had any negitive or positive effects with having the AFM at that angle.

1RevinnFC3S. Looks nice, I would deff put a cold air box around the filter or pipe the filter outside.

 

^Thanks. I'll get around to making it better. I'll probably fab up a box of some sort or at least a sheild. Like I said though, heat isn't really an issue. The ambient air is pretty cool around it even after the car is at full temp on a hot day.

 

All my intake piping in the engine bay gets real hot so im going to research heat wrap products to see if that helps.