I just bought and installed a K&N Drop in panel filter for my Mazda 3 2.3l 5 speed. I'll report back on seat-of-the-pants performance gains (if there are any to be reported) tomorrow when I drive to school. It honestly took me less than 4 minutes to do the installation, it slipped right in (i've heard of some people having problems with them fitting on certain cars, definately not the case here)...if drop in filters are anything close (performance wise) to cold air intakes, id definately stick to the panel filters for ease of installation and overall 100% gaurantee of nothing going wrong/ not voiding the warranty...

I picked it up for $38.35 - free shipping from here:

http://www.4filters.com/merchant/mer...t_Code=33-2293

they are located in California. I placed my order on the 8th, it was shipped out the 9th and I receieved it the 10th. I live in eastern Pennsylvania, right on the Jersey border - Fast shipping as you can see - I'd highly recommend this site...unless you can find a better price = P

Mike

 

i had the k&n filter in and barley noticed the upgrade in general. now i got a cai in there and have definitley noticed the performance improvement, there is really no comparison between panel filters and cai, maybe the short ram intake would be more of a comparison

 

I'll remain hopeful and realistic...i too loved the CAI on my old car, but with this car still under warranty i have to play it safe = )

 

what....putting in a cai voids your warrenty?

 

i thought it does, only if it causes the problem

 

I got the K & N filter panel too.
Can't say I've seen much of a difference.

 

right, i doubt you obtained much power gains from the drop in...but didnt you notice an improvement in your throttle response, or an improvement in gas mileage at all? thats what the panel drop in filter is for, and it lasts the life of your car.

 

Hey, how about buying one of those cone K&N filter's, remove whole stock intake EXCEPT for the piece where MAP sensor goes, and just place in that whole a K&N cone filter? this way you loose some wheight under your hood, little more space, and better throttle respons and mileage?

 

ive already tried that with the APC intake cone.....your gonna need a MAF sensor mount ~$16.

 

i cant report on gas mileage since i just put it in yesterday...what i can report is that the gas needle isnt going down any faster than it normally would...i may be picking up slightly better mileage (1 to 2 mpg) - but that will be assessed next time i fill up my tank at the beginning of the week...ill report back

as for the throttle response, it is actually better....if youre expecting a turbo-like feel from this little performance upgrade, youre going to be sorely disappointed...i went in expecting nothing, and i actually got something = ) the 0 to 60 is faster ive noticed - im not sure by how much, but it feels like it revs/accelerates faster. The engine definately breathes easier at from 4k rpm upwards.

Even though its not a CAI, it actually has a little intake growl to it higher up in the RPM range -it sounds kinda nice, not obnoxious at all.

I'd recommend it...