the mazdaspeed cai for the 2.3 is for the manual only. I have an auto. does this make any difference? I never would've thought so

 

No, it makes no difference. I have an auto tranny and have had no problems with my CAI. Granted I'm running the 3.0 rather than the 2.3, but it still won't make a difference.

 

ok good. yea they have one for the 2.3 and 3.0. is it an easy fit?

 

Yup, install takes maybe an hour for someone who has little to no experience under the hood, and maybe 30 min for a veteran.

 

cool beans. I haven't looked under the hood since we got the car and don't remember this...does the intake go down into the fender? I'm asking cause I don't wanna go outside

 

lol, yes it goes down into the fender for CAI's and stays inside the engine bay for SRI's.

 

dang. when I buy the CAI do I have to take the bumper off or pull the fender well backing back or can I squeeze it in? please give me good news on this one cameron

 

You can squeeze it in by pulling the fender liner back. But removing the front bumper makes life much easier, especially when removing the resonator. But yes, it can be done without removing the bumper.

 

I told you to give me good news mister! haha! j/k. I met someone the other day who has an '03 mazda6 with the k&n cai and he said he'll do it for me when the time comes

 

*shrug* honestly removing the bumper is an easy job and is done in about 3 minutes...provided you have a floor jack and some basic tools. Then again, I thought that the full suspension swap was fairly easy, so my definition of easy and yours may not coincide.