cold air intake?

[ottoblotto]

anyone try out the cpe intake sys yet or any other? id like to see some reviews on it from normal drivers. not testers or manufacturers... i put the K&N in the car and in a prev post stated that it didnt do much. but its ok, i still like K&N!

[Raider]

I could have my wife post up, since I know Street Unit well, I am not sure you want my opinion, as we have a Top Mount Intercooler and the Cold Air Intake.

You hear the turbo spool up, blow off valve kick in, it is a sweet setup. 22-24 mpg average. I will let someone else post up though.

[toby]

sup otto, raider?

well guys u both know i can't tell ya 'til may, but i did just order a cpe cai from street unit:D . i'll have the 5-6 hour drive home when i finally pick it up 2 c how she does bone stock, then provided i can get some leave when it gets here, i'll bolt on the cai and let u know how it does! and as u know otto, i'll have the autobahn at my disposal 4 testing:cool: . and ur buddy e-mailed me back eric, thanx, i'm lookin 4ward 2 the intake mod and possibly the tmic after that! talk 2 u guys!

[Raider]

hi Toby! be sure you post up a review of the intake. For ottoblotto, you might want to get it and post up a review, as May is a while away.

If you want, I can ask my wife to reply here about it, as the car is hers.

[ottoblotto]

i wasnt trying to put anyone that is a tester/manu/ect off, i just wanted to see if we could hear some unbiased realworld this is what it did for me kinda review. so if you want to tell us about it raider, thatd be cool. im really interested if you have some vids and such. id like to know what kind of setup you got, the price, where you got it, and the sound. i saw the one vid on youtube of the one with the bov and its too short. anyways if you wanna tell... ;)

[Raider]

I have not taken any vids of it, but will try when our Turbosmart BOV arrives. I was not a tester, we bought it after it was released, right off of the SU website. Our other mods include a 3" ETS Top Mount Intercooler. Mods pre-ordered are the BOV, as well as some 5 ply silicone intercooler hoses, which are stiffer than stock.

My wife drives it, and is un-connected with Street Unit, and I am not employed either, just a customer turned friend turned emptying my wallet for mods customer, and I help admin on the StreetUnitForum.com.

Anywho, the CX-7 began getting modded when I began modding my Speed3, and parts were out already for hers. She got the bug, and thus, she has a sweet ride.

Reviews, noise is there, sucking in air through the CAI, but the turbo you can now hear spool up, and the stock BOV does go off, it is pretty slick. We have had them both installed within 24 hours of each other, so our experience is really in response to both pieces.

If you want any particulars, let me know. If not, I would def. order it, install it, and give it a true test. Just be sure to reset the ECU.

[CajunCruiser]

I just installed the CP-E cold air intake and it works awesome...sounds like a high pitched vacuum cleaner of sorts...not sure how to describe it but it is pretty neat not to mention the power gains and turbo lag is minimized. This is a great product!

[Raider]

Glad you like it. if you start hearing a pssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sound at acceleration, not intake related, it is the stock Blow Off Valve (BOV) that is leaking like the 10 cent piece of plastic dookie it is.

[CajunCruiser]

I plan on getting the dual mode CP-E blow off valve...ordering it right now...the stock one is a piece of junk. I am going to do the catback exhaust, larger intercooler, blow off valve, cold air intake and standback system...that should hold me off on the mods for quite some time. I love the sounds of the turbo...very sweet...as for the pssssssssssshhhhhh; not so sweet!!!

[Raider]

you are headed in the right direction. Not sure what you are referring to, the standback. Are you talking EMS?

[CajunCruiser]

I have a question for you Raider...you have the TMIC on your wife's car...is it the 3.00 or the 3.50? I found a web-site that said "The 3.5 inch core is known to rub the intercooler shroud on Mazdaspeed6s with stock engine mounts. With upgraded engine mounts such as the AWR models, this rubbing is alleviated allowing the use of the larger core."...I figured the 3.5 would perform even better than the 3.0 but if it doesn't fit....that's no good!

[CajunCruiser]

Yes the EMS...thought CP-E was calling it the standback system...maybe not. Nevertheless I figured that the mods wouldn't be fully utilized without it!

[CajunCruiser]

Ok Raider...so now that I read the trad above the one I posted indicating that your wife has the 3.00 intercooler...what do you think about the 3.5...or the talk of a 3.25 that I haven't found but heard was coming out in the fall?

[CajunCruiser]

Ok, don't mean to capitalize the postings...I am going to order the blow off valve. I saw many postings talking about different blow off valves. It seems like even Mazda recommends using a dual port valve capable of recirculating internally at low RPS and venting to the atmosphere at high RPS...thoughts???

[Raider]

Yes, yes, and yes.

First, the TMIC comes 3" from Street Unit. That is the one that fits. The larger cores are for MS3 and MS6. Here is the link to the TMIC. That is our CX-7 in the pics...:
http://www.streetunit.com/MAZDASPEED_Top_Mount_Intercooler_p/sucx7tmic.htm?Click=125

Second, we have the Turbo Smart BOV. It is awesome. We love it, and run in hybrid. No turkey, no fluttering.
http://www.streetunit.com/product_p/sucx7tsbov.htm?click=125

You have to trim the TMIC cover some, so a Dremel helps. Not a lot is needed. I went overboard with ours, but you can do a good job like Recercx7, and have it look smooth.

As for standback, I suppose that is what they are working on. It will help, but we really liek what we have right now, and no EMS is needed...yet.

[rexercx7]

I stand by Raider's statements, and that's that you've all got to have the whole package, that's the CPE CAI, the ETS 3" TMIC, and the TurboSmart Dual-Port BOV and preferably run it in Hybrid mode, where it vents to atmosphere at extreme conditions, and for normal driving it recirculates the extra boost. I've put almost 2500 miles on my setup since I last posted here, had it into my dealer for service too (man, did they dig my setup!), and it's just running better and better, the more miles that I put on it.

As for cutting the OEM TMIC cover correctly, all it takes is a little patience, and a good dremel tool with the right type of cutting wheels for ABS plastic, and a couple of other fittings to "polish" the edges where you make the cuts. I actually taped mine off, and sprayed the cut edges with some black, flat model car spray paint to get rid of the bare, cut plastic look. That took about 10 minutes to do, and instant improvement in how the cut looks after you're done.

I also recommend the replacement of the OEM Turbo Boost Tubes with the StreetUnit.com 5-ply Silicon rubber hoses, as the stock Boost Tubes just suck! They collapse easily, and that costs a lot of performance, while the SU.com Boost Tubes look great, and are really, really strong and reinforced. I also suggest, your option, to use the OEM Boost Tube hose clamps, as my mechanic/friend/neighbor who builds Alcohol Funny Car engines noted that the stock Mazda clamps are made of a higher quality stainless steel than the truly excellent ones that SU.com sends out with the Boost Tube kit...so it's a marginal call, but I went ahead and used the OEM hose clamps instead of the new ones, and so now I have a nice backup set of hose clamps if the heavy-duty OEM Mazda units ever go South on me.

I'm waiting on the final word from CorkSport.com as far as the release date for their new T304 polished Stainless Steel exhaust system(s), and I am really looking forward to the day that I can install their new 3" (80mm) axle-back dual exhaust system. I just may be doing a couple of web pages on the installation of the system, have sound and video clips on them, but I am still waiting on final approval to do the write-ups and video and sound clips...so it may, or may not happen. I will have the 1st system sent to the great State of California, though, and it will be professionally installed at a friend's muffler and header shop here in SoCalifornia, and I will report back here with at least a complete writeup with sound clips on how it sounds.

Kindest regards,
rexercx7:cool:

[Dingusboy]

I would like to upgrade the blow off valve, but I do not want to trim the inter-cooler cover. Has anyone tried the Forge Motorsport OEM Bypass Valve Replacement? Is this really any improvement over the factory unit?

[CajunCruiser]

Good to know, thanks Raider and rexercx7 for the info. I didn't specify which core when I ordered since there was no option. I asked for the largest on that would fit and that is what they are supposed to be sending me. As for the blow off valve, I am intending on setting it for recirculating at mid RPM's. I am not too worried about cutting the inter-cooler cover...will take the advice and paint the cut edges so it won't be noticeable. As for the EMS; it all depends on what they can get out of it I suppose. I was really happy with the one I had on my Mustang...it drove like a new car after I installed the chip.

[Raider]

I am sure Cullen and Street Unit will have us test out EMS if anything proto comes their way for some field testing.

[CajunCruiser]

I would be willing to donate my car as a test subject if need be. I live not too far from CP-E, not sure where street unit is located. If I can get rid of the low end turbo lag and get a little head throw back at acceleration...I'm game!!

[shadow1]

To the poster asking about the Forge BOV. Forge is an excellent company. They make great BOV. However, the only reviewers that I have seen have been from MS3 owners. And those reviews have been positive. I, myself, have been very happy with my TurboXS hybrid BOV.

Also, to those debating TMIC sizes, bear in mind that bigger is not always better. The advantage of size is more IC core to resist heatsoak. But the turbo has to fill this bigger core. So there is potentially more turbo lag. Also bigger cores weigh more and bar and plate IC cores can be very heavy. And finally, it needs to fit without causing interference issues. From the reviews that I have read, the ETS 3" TMIC is a great piece. In the Evo world, ETS is a late comer to the market but in the last 6 months they have been extremely popular and get excellent reviews for fit, quality, and power.

[Raider]

We had the TMIC first, and lag was reduced. After driving, we can pop the hood, remove the cover, and place our bare hands on the intercooler, cold to the touch. Sitting for a while, engine off, it will warm up, but moving fixes it.

Street Unit is in Orlando, FL. CPE owns a CX-7, but you never know if they want a local test mule.

[shadow1]

We had the TMIC first, and lag was reduced. After driving, we can pop the hood, remove the cover, and place our bare hands on the intercooler, cold to the touch. Sitting for a while, engine off, it will warm up, but moving fixes it.

Sounds like the ETS TMIC flows more efficiently than the stock TMIC. I'm not knocking this IC (in fact I would like to buy it one day), but sometimes IC can flow too efficiently. Airflow goes through thye core so smoothly and quickly that it doesn't have a chance to transfer heat to the IC core. Does anyone know if the CX7 TMIC has been dynoed or better yet tracked?

[Raider]

ETS dyno'd it, 20 whp gains, according to their site. It took a while to get it, so my guess is they spent time like CPE, and made it work right. We felt it with my 1974 model year Butt Dyno Extreme. Wife will not let me really dyno the car.

[shadow1]

haha. Funny Raider!

[rexercx7]

I don't know about Raider's Butt-Dyno Extreme, but I can surely speak from experience when I write here that I believe my CX-7 is putting out at least 280HP and 285+ Ft. Lbs of torque, with the intake system Mods that you can read about in my signature. Even with my 22" wheels, which are admittedly not adding to my performance, I can click off 0-60MPH runs of 6.4 seconds....over and over again, and that takes a lot more horsepower than the OEM 244HP and 258 Ft. Lbs. of torque.

And it is true about being able to put one's hands on the ETS 3" TMIC, at idle, after a long freeway jaunt, and not get them burned...it is literally cool to the touch if you pop the cover and touch it as Raider describes, because I've done it too.

Kindest regards,
rexercx7:cool:

[Jase]

Hey there I just fitted the Turbo Smart dual port BOV and it works a treat, way better than the standard plastic crap.

[Alpha Wolf]

I have the CP-E intake and it works noticeably better.
Makes cool sounds and boost may be bolstered by my ETS TMIC but yes it does work and fits great

[Cue]

Rexer,

6.4 seconds??? How did you time this?

[MAZOOM]

It might be best to PM him since he hasn't been on in a minute.

[Raider]

Looks like he has a Dash Hawk. That could be how.