anyone know why the heck mazda made the air intake for the mazda 3 so big? it seems like they tried to make a hybrid cai, but failed miserably...

 

no....but it was a pain in the *** to get out

 

just about all cars nowadays have a maze of a plastic intake.

 

yeah, even my mazda6 was a doozy to get out. uninstalling the stock intake was the hardest part of swapping it for a cai. i think the top of the intake is made purely for engine aesthetics to make it look "pretty" or "cleaner" for the buyer.

 

intakes and exhausts on cars are made so restrictive by the manufacturer, all the plastic on the intake is just filler, and made just to look nice, even though it would look better with a CAI on there

 

it blows my mind everytime i look at the stock intake system in my 06 mazda 3i.....it looks extremely restrictive to me. Air is actually coming in from the wheel well area through the fender liner..wtf. i drilled over 20 half inch holes to let more air in from the little grill cover (fog light location). A drop-in K&N air filter also helps.