I honestly don‘t know much about cars, but from the research I‘ve done it seems like an air intake will give me a slight 3-5 hp boost, a bit faster acceleration, and better noise. Also it will save me money on air filters since all you have to do is clean them instead of replace them. I‘m interested in the Weapon R dragon intake system because of it‘s looks and lower cost ($170 Vs. $270 for a KN)
The horsepower increase occurs near redline. At lower engine speeds the stock intake can provide all the airflow the engine needs. At normal engine operating RPM, the ones you use 99% of the time the intake does nothing, plus you'll never notice the extra couple of horsepower unless you put the car on a dynamometer. Yes you can clean the filters but I'd rather spend $10 or so for a new filter every 30,000 miles than waste time and get my hands dirty cleaning a reusable filter.
I believe in cold air intakes particularly for a smaller engine. Only the Mazda rotary engine spins out to 9000 rpm with the stick version. Realistically a 2.0 four cylinder will churn at 3500 to 4000 rounds per minute (rpm) the cold air intake will be noticeable to the driver. They work best in the fall and winter months. I have noticed improved gas mileage, better torque and a stronger pursuit for top end speed in my previous 3. In short the cold air intake is a bigger set of lungs. Its benefits are along the lines of the car being able to breathe better which improves overall engine efficiency. I owned AEM Cold Air Intake and was very pleased. You should be too if you decide to go that way. Best
3-5 HP on a car that makes 148 HP. Do you really think it'll make it much faster? All it will do is make it louder and more annoying to drive. You should have got the 2.5L Mazda3 instead.
isn't there a rocker switch or something that looks like a wiper symbol? did you look at the control for the front wipers? maybe it has a way to turn them on? did you try the owner's manual?
