As everyone knows the intake box is ******* massive and in the way if you want to work on your RX8's engines so i'm probably going to opt for a cold air intake. But i'm unwilling to spend 250-300 quid on a god damn intake. So should I just grab a universal intake kit from ebay, it comes with straight chrome pipes, 90 degree chrome pipes and various rubber 90's and straights of different sizes to connect it all up with. And of course an ebay cone filter.

I want to keep the MAF and other intake pipes connected obviously so I was thinking of replacing everything after the flexible intake pipe coming off the throttle body.

Would it really make that much difference doing it on the cheap? I'm not looking for performance gains, just some cool air for the engine and less bulky crap in the engine bay.

 

Tubing diameter and MAF location are very important to allow the proper measurement of airflow. A poorly designed intake will cause a ton of issues.

A lot of aftermarket cold air intakes have issues already.... so make sure yours doesn't have more

 

As you said, it's unlikely to make the engine perform better. It's very likely to make it perform worse. Mazda did a crap-ton of work optimizing the induction system and there's little performance to be gained.

I don't find the OE airbox that large an obstacle. Well, okay, it's large but it's the work of 2 minutes to remove it so it doesn't bother me much.

1. Remove strut bar (4x12mm nuts).
2. Sip beer.
3. Loosen hose clamp at accordion-TB joint (1x10mm nut or Phillips screw).
4. Sip beer.
5. Disconnect VFAD/MAF wiring and tubing.
6. Sip beer.
7. Pull up hard on the ears on the back of the airbox.
8. Sip beer.
9. Reassembly is opposite of disassembly.
10. Finish beer.

If you want to see a good implementation, just copy the AEM/Mazdaspeed design (or look in the RX8 in DSP thread in the Racing sub-forum).

 

^this, you gotta pay to play.
The oem intake is actually a really good intake. Yes it's bulky and in the way but it takes all of 2 mins to remove. The aem/mazdaspeed intakes are the only ones worth the replacement if space is your only concerning factor.

 

Fair enough. Like I said I plan to keep the part of the intake that houses the hoses and drill a hole in the same place that the original MAF sensor is for that. Just replace everything forward of it. I plan to keep the same tubing diameter all the way through, maybe reducing it very lightly to get though the hole in the front of the engine bay. I don't think its going to be poorly designed since i'm going to follow the path of most after-market intakes, just straight forward and down under the bumper support and put the cone in-front of the radiator inside the 'mouth' of the bumper. If I lose 5bhp then i'm really not that bothered. I like like having a tidy engine bay and I like to move all un-necessary stuff. For example i'm going to delete my air pump since i'm going to be running a decat pipe 99% of the time (Exception being on MOT days where i'll put the cat back on). Weight reduction and tidy engine bay is my end game really. And i'm going to take it to essexrotary for a ECU remap to remove engine check lights the decat and airpump delete will cause.

 

The MAF is attached to the OEM intake cover so you will have a difficult time re-using that part in a way that won't cause airflow disturbances

 

In that case looking at the intake box in a picture it might be an idea for me to take a trip to the local scrap yard and pick up another rx8 stock intake box so I can dremel the pipe leading into the box which houses the MAF sensor off and use that as part of my intake.
By the time i've finished I will have probably spent under £100 quid which is much more reasonable than an aftermarket intake. I'm really not that bothered if I lose 3-4 horses.

 

The problema you're looking to buy with this mod is not -5hp. It's your car won't hold idle because the MAF isn't reading properly. I'll take that 100 quid if you don't want it

The intake is already getting air forward of the radiator, it's as cold as it's going to get.

 

And spending any amount of money to lose horsepower is stupid.

I still don't see the point of this. Isn't the whole point of weight reduction to go faster? The stock airbox isn't that heavy to really affect performance, while your setup will affect performance and potentially reliability as well.

It's not like you'd stare under the hood 24/7, and like mentioned, the stock airbox takes all of 2 minutes to remove.

My suggestion: leave it or get a used MazdaSpeed/AEM if it really bothers you.

 

Yeah, I know it does.
I found a cheap aftermarket intake on ebay, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Air-Induction-System-Cold-Air-Induction-Kit-CAI-Intake-Mazda-RX-8-03-13/202236000292?fits=Model%3ARX-8&hash=item2f16347824:g:HAcAAOSwtDdajaH6.
It seems to be of decent quality with 100% buyer satisfaction and 24 sold. I think its safe to say this intake wouldn't be a bad option to lose some bulky plastic.
I also like induction noises and this will probably make that a little louder.

 

It's 89.99 quid too much. No typo here.

 

Well sure thats just your opinion. But I think for increased induction sound, and tidiness of the engine bay its worth it. Undoing a couple of intake clamps is much easier than unbolting a huge box each time I wan't to get to something. Plus i'll be able to see down the engine towards the serpentine belt to keep an eye on its condition.

I mean just look at the space it saves, I will give me somewhere to mount my oil filter re-route. I might even run a thick wire to the back and put the battery in the boot. Could just bolt the negative contact in the engine bay to the chassis. Would save loads of time when working in there.

 

My point is that if you are spending money at all, you may as well get something good, like the MazdaSpeed/AEM one.

It's expensive, but cheaper than buying a cheap-ish one and buying a MS/AEM one later.

Try and look around to see if anyone is selling their used MS/AEM intake.

 

I mean.. OK. It's a little weird, but then again this is RX8 Club. I can't recall the last time I took the intake out, there's nothing under there that needs work. The battery - yes. But you do you! Good luck!

 

 

The second filter is how you know it means business

 

hey noob listen to these guys or you are gonna increase your time working under the hood by being cheap and using **** ebay parts on your car but wtf do we know. rice on my man