Anyone have any commends on custom air intakes for Miatas

I was checking out the following:

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I am curious if people have actually experienced better mileage from a kit like this. If so, how much? I would think even an extra 1 MPG would be significant these days. I am thinking of adding it to my 1999 AE.

Reply to
a_user
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But the page does not make any mention of any mileage improvement? Why would you think there would be any? Stock intakes are usually highly optimized for temperature stabilization, which aftermarket intakes lose.

The only thing I see is a claim of *approximately* 10 more hp. I would believe this would be very, very, very, approximately.

They do seem to have a very big corporate headquarters, for a Miata vendor. I wonder whether they have other business? (There is no sign on the building.)

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

Unlikely. Stock Miata angines do not suffer from intake restriction--the OEM airbox and filter will flow more air than the engine requires at redline--so there's no "improvement" to be had in that area. A cold air intake can help reduce loss of power in hot weather, but this is just a cone filter, not a CAI. At best, cone filters and K&N panels make more noise and pass more dirt. At worst, some of them can disintegrate and get swallowed.

Your 10AE might benefit from a set of headers, though. Only you can decide if the expense and labor are worth the 10 or so hp increase.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

The folks who make the MonsterFlow intake used my car to make their prototype for the newer Miatas. Afterward, I got to keep the intake. I left it on for a couple of months before I went back to the stock intake. The only difference I noticed was an intake sound near full throttle. I didn't feel a HP increase and I didn't notice any change in MPG. Such intakes might be good if you are into looks, but given their reduced air filtration ability, they seem like a bad idea to me.

Randy

Reply to
Randy Maheux

I sorta suspect this intake will make a little more noise at WOT and probably restores a mid-band torque dip that's addressed by the resonance chamber in the stock cross-over. Further, the intake filter on that system doesn't seem to take advantage of the cooler air from the wheel-vent on the NB.

In my car, I replaced the intake with:

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... and the results are impressive. Power increase was amazing for an intake system; fuel economy is about the same if I don't get into the throttle too much. It is a couple of MPG lower if I get jiggy wid it, but the surprised look on faces of Z3 and G35 drivers is worth it.

I added a J&S BTC to deal with CA 91-octane and that's pretty much mandatory, even if you stick with the JRSC stock nose pulley (I replaced it with a BRP 62.5mm pulley).

The stock kit is probably OK if you live where 93-octane fuel is easily available.

Dana

Reply to
Dana H. Myers

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