Stenner
New member
Alrighty, here's the scoop,
I think I've kind of figured out where to start with my Mazda3. I was getting my oil changed at the dealership and was flipping through the parts guide they had displayed at the counter.
I found some relatively inexpensive mods I can start with to add some cheap horsepower. The first is a Cat Back exhaust kit to increase the air flow out of the exhaust. The description said it would add about 10% extra horsepower. I still have a lot to learn about the tuning and mod world so I did some extra research and from what I understand the Cat Back kit basically replaces the exhaust from the Catalytic converter to the tail pipe with a larger diameter pipe that is mandrel bent so the bent pipe isn't crimped from the bending machine. This is supposed to increase air flow making it more efficient so the engine doesn't have to work as hard to expel the exhaust. It also makes the car sound a little throatier which is plus for me as well. :bigsmile:
The next two items that caught my eye were a short RAM intake and a cold air intake. The the short RAM intake keeps the intake inside the engine compartment but it's shorter than the stock intake (not sure how that is supposed to increase horsepower). The cold air intake made more sense to me as the intake is positioned outside the engine compartment letting the engine breathe cooler air which has a higher concentration of oxygen. This is where I could use some help in making a decision. The cold air intake helps produce more power but as the intake is positioned outside the engine compartment toward the bottom of the vehicle, if you run over a water puddle the intake could get wet and cause hydrolock which can destroy the engine. The shorter intake doesn't have this problem but the increase in power isn't as much.
between the Cat Back kit and the cold air intake I would get about an additional 20% horsepower turning my 167 hp 2.5L engine to a 200 hp engine.
Has anyone applied any of these to their vehicles? Is my understanding correct on this? Am I going in the right direction do you think?
Any feedback would be helpful and much appreciated:bigsmile:
I think I've kind of figured out where to start with my Mazda3. I was getting my oil changed at the dealership and was flipping through the parts guide they had displayed at the counter.
I found some relatively inexpensive mods I can start with to add some cheap horsepower. The first is a Cat Back exhaust kit to increase the air flow out of the exhaust. The description said it would add about 10% extra horsepower. I still have a lot to learn about the tuning and mod world so I did some extra research and from what I understand the Cat Back kit basically replaces the exhaust from the Catalytic converter to the tail pipe with a larger diameter pipe that is mandrel bent so the bent pipe isn't crimped from the bending machine. This is supposed to increase air flow making it more efficient so the engine doesn't have to work as hard to expel the exhaust. It also makes the car sound a little throatier which is plus for me as well. :bigsmile:
The next two items that caught my eye were a short RAM intake and a cold air intake. The the short RAM intake keeps the intake inside the engine compartment but it's shorter than the stock intake (not sure how that is supposed to increase horsepower). The cold air intake made more sense to me as the intake is positioned outside the engine compartment letting the engine breathe cooler air which has a higher concentration of oxygen. This is where I could use some help in making a decision. The cold air intake helps produce more power but as the intake is positioned outside the engine compartment toward the bottom of the vehicle, if you run over a water puddle the intake could get wet and cause hydrolock which can destroy the engine. The shorter intake doesn't have this problem but the increase in power isn't as much.
between the Cat Back kit and the cold air intake I would get about an additional 20% horsepower turning my 167 hp 2.5L engine to a 200 hp engine.
Has anyone applied any of these to their vehicles? Is my understanding correct on this? Am I going in the right direction do you think?
Any feedback would be helpful and much appreciated:bigsmile: