Some people have reported loss of power or hesitation when an afermarket intake is put on the car. We have found that minorotiy of RX-8's do not like a higher flow intake. To see if your RX-8 will work with an aftermarket intake, you can do the following test.

Take the stock air filter out of the stock air box and run it from 1st to 4th gear in full throttle. If there is any sign of hesitation, an aftermarket intake will not work for you.

If you have an aftermarket intake, the distance between the filter and the MAF is also very important. Just by simply changing the distance, we have found 7-8 rear wheel HP in difference. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation when you install your aftermarket intake system.

Chuck Huang

 

That's good info Chuck.

 

so when a rock gets in my engine and pops my apex seal will you pay for it?

 

HAHAHA

 

Take off your bumper and look at the intake duct and then explain to me how it's possible for a rock to get into it.

Chuck Huang

 

Don't worry about it Chuck. Someone just *trying* to be funny.

 

what a smartass

 

I have the Typhoon and there is no room for adjustment. If I scoot the filter forward, it'll fall off the pipe, and there is no room to go aft. So I'm not sure how some of us can follow your advice.

 

Any ideas as to why two supposedly identical cars would react so differently to the improved intake flow?

jds

 

The Typhoon one is not adjustable but ours is. If it works fine on your car, I guess it's ok. If you have hesitation reported by some people with Typhoon intake, put back your stock air box and take off the filter and do the test to see if you have the same kind of hesitation.

Chuck Huang

 

I have no idea. My guess is the ECU and the MAF sensor. One of my customers told me about a recall on the MAF sensor. I am waiting for Techtom to release the equipment to reflash the stock ecu. When it's avaialbe I can look into the maps.

Chuck Huang

 

Good info Chuck!. I had dismissed the intake mod but now I'll revisit it and try your test.

 

So there may be HP gain but what about Torque? If the 8 is losing torque with an intake over stock, does the few extra HP even matter?

 

If there is a gain up top but a decrease in the midrange then the lower midrange power number definitely isn't a result of a lack of air. How can there not be enough air if it makes more top end power where airflow requirements are greatest? It is the result of a lack of beneficial resonance tuning which the factory did a very good job with and the aftermarket has not even adressed. I would but what do I know?

 

Mazda (and vendors) engineers spent about three years designing and testing the intake system, including the spout and airbox. Moreover, if there is a MAFS, it was calibrated with the standard upstream intake elements fitted. Any change in this set-up will make the MAFS read the wrong mass air flow.

K&N and others probably spent a few hours taking measurements in an engine bay at a nearby dealer and designing a kit which fits the available space.

Don't be surprised of rough idling and 'misses'.

 

If you are interested, I will give you $100 for you to do another dyno session with a series of tests. This will require you to swap intake on the dyno so you can compare result from your own car. If you are interested, email me at rotaryextreme@aol.com. Thank you.

Chuck Huang

 

Chuck, I sent you in email. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Chuck,

I'm curious about all the Intake Discussions going on in this forum about loss of HP and Torque. I've had your intake installed for about 2 months now and I've yet to experience ANY of the symptoms everyone has been describing: no rough idles, no acceleration hesitation, nothing. In fact, the car drives just the same as it was before with stock intake, with exceptions that it sounds better and it accelerates more "freely" on the high end. Off the line, its very quick and snappy. If there were any HP increase or HP decrease, I can't tell the difference. I can't say anything about the torque though.

Anyway, I'm just a bit curious though that my car is not exhibiting the same problems as others; I doubt I'm that lucky that its an exception. Perhaps you can shed some light on my situation?

Thanks.

 

Oh and I also want to add my installation experience. The first time I installed your intake, I noticed the car hesitated when I pressed on the gas peddle. When I checked the installation, I noticed that the rubber boot wasn't completely sealed around the chrome intake cone. I figure there was "excess" air flowing into the intake, bypassing the MAF, through the crack of the seal. I then added 2 layers of rubber tape around the cone to widen the diameter, and then I re-resealed the rubber boot around the cone. This time the boot sealed nicely tight. After the second round, no problem since, as I previously described.

 

My info was regarding all aftermarket intake, not just mine. Mine actually has a much higher sucessfual rate than others, such as your case.

Only 3 people out of 60 reported hesitation. It could be installation as well as the filter placement on the intake pipe is very important. I just want people to test their car out before they put on any kind of aftermarket intake so they can get something that works for them.

If your car has no hesitation, that's the way it should be. You don't have to worry about anything.

BTW, the stock ECU will self-adjust. Sometimes it takes some driving for the ecu to learn the new setup, such as idle.

Chuck Huang

 

I sent you an email back with all the instructions. Post here if you get it. It seems like we have email problems.

Chuck Huang

 

Do you mean the rubber gasket on the back heat shield?

I doubt that's the cause of it. Air sucked in by the engine all has to go through the filter and then through the MAF sensor. The rubber gasket is on the outside so it can't be the cause of it. Maybe it's a coincidence that the ECU takes some time to learn the idle.

Chuck

 

Chuck,

What I meant was the stock rubber (hose) intake pipe that connects to your chrome intake pipe; not the rubber gasket that seals around the heat shield. When I first installed the kit, I used the metal clamp you provided in your kit and bolted the hose to the intake pipe tight, so I thought. When I felt the hesitation, I re-checked the installation, and I noticed that there was a little gap between the hose and the intake pipe; didn't appear to be 100% sealed. So my guess was some air was seaping into the manifold through that little opening, bypassing the MAF. I took off your intake pipe and put on 2 layers of rubber tape to increase the diameter of the pipe, then I sealed it again to the stock rubber hose using your clamp. This time the seal was 100% (so it appears). All problems solved. Sorry for my choice of words, I don't know how to describe the parts properly.

Thanks.

 

Yes, that will be a problem if the pipe is not sealed completely.

If the air goes in without going through the MAF first, the a/f will be off and you will have idle problem.

Chuck Huang