what is the best intake to buy for an 84 gsl-se? i have searched the internet and can only find a bonez intake that says explicitly that it fits my car and i don't know all that would be involved in retro fitting another type of intake on my car. any suggestions for a type of intake or a how to for retro fitting an intake for my car would be great. on a side note i was looking at weapon r intakes and they seemed ok. i was considering one of those with the ram air option and was also looking to street port my engine this summer. any tips or opinons would be appreciated

 

some people make their own. seems to work out alright. do a search on this site and i bet you find something.

 

there are a million of these cone intakes with adapters on ebay and such. It's the same adapter that fits 2nd gens.

 

so can any cold air intake, ram intake, etc. that fits a 2nd gen rx-7 fit my car?

 

i am looking for the type of intake that will up my hp the most

 

BEST intake? A Holley from RacingBeat, probably. But that's not what you meant, is it?

 

From what I've seen for intake 'systems' for the SE, you're pretty much limited to replacement of the standard airbox and flat filter assembly with a cone-type filter that may or may not improve performance..

In my view, one of the problems with the SE intake has to do with where the air is being channeled from, followed by how the air is filtered and moved to the TB where it can be put to use. Obviously, the Dynamic Effect Intake (DEI) system that Mazda engineered for the 84/85SE was a significant improvement on the standard, carbeurated car, but I think there's room for some handiwork to increase flow.

First off, the 84SE and 85SE intake systems are slightly different from each other. The 84SE has an airpipe that extends in front of the radiator about 3/4 of the way across the front air inlet, which, while good for 'fresh-air' flow, also tends to suck up any water that might be entering the front of the car due to puddles or rain. This causes problems. In 85SE's this air pipe was extended all the way across the front intake, and the opening was extended through to where the battery is located on the driver's side of the car. This effectively forms a long intake tract, but keeps the air from becoming a water inlet for the engine. It also results in warmer air being drawn through the intake. This 'improvement' in the 85SE's also increases flow length by adding another 8" to the overall distance that the air must flow before getting to the AFM and then another 18" to the TB. Shorten this distance and you can increase airflow, which may help to increase horsepower - with the addition of 'downstream' mods (intake ports, '6'-ports, and then exhaust headers/pre-silencer, and main muffler). Without these mods, the intake isn't like to add much horsepower.

Your restriction is within the engine and getting burned combustion gases OUT of the engine, not with cramming more air INTO the engine.

With that said, by simply replacing the stock SE airbox with a cone-type filter, you'll increase the available surface area for filtration, shorten the intake length, BUT you're not getting any cooler air in there, which increases air density and thus more O2 to mix with fuel and burn. You're still drawing warm air from behind (beside) the radiator - fixing this by blocking it off from the engine bay and pushing in outside air can help.

Like you, I looked at all of the aftermarket intake systems offered out there, and came to the conclusion that the stock airbox (with a K&N flat filter) is not a bad setup. I ditched the 3/4 length air pipe and recut it to fashion an air inlet to the stock airbox that feeds from the NACA duct in my right side headlight lid. This gives both cooler, outside air, as well as a shorter intake path, while not sacrificing filtration. When you squat down in front of my car, you can look into the NACA duct and see the air filter inside the stock airbox - lift the hood and it still looks mostly stock, unless you know what to look for.

When shopping for these parts, consider how much money you're paying for something that may have little or no increase in horsepower. You may find that you're better served to spend $150 on a new header, and add the CAI later on when it has the ability to give a greater return. HTH,

 

are you talking about a carburator? because i have the gsl-se which is fuel injected and uses an air intake

 

A Holley is a carburator, and that's about the extent of my knowledge. It replaces the entire intake manifold. ($230)

Get a K&N high-flow filter. It helps. Also, there is the throttle body "mod", which I just found out today, increases throttle response considerably. JIMMY54 has done it quite a few times, and I did it last summer.

 

thanks longduck that was helpful. i was thinking about replacing the stock air box with a k&n cone filter and making a ram air induction for the filter. i was going to remove the stock pipe infront of the radiator and replace it with a pipe turned towards the front of the car for the ram air. the only problem with this is the possiblity of water being sucked into the engine. any suggestions on how to prevent that? i was also thinking of placing the pipe i use for ram air around the cone filter. is this a good idea or not? in regards to removing air from the engine i have semi-modified the exhaust system. about a year ago my car would stall out and had no power. the problem was the catalytic converters. so i removed the exhaust system and removed the contents of the cats and replaced the shells. after doing this i noticed a definate increase of power and also solved the problems i was having.

 

Yeah, I'm talking about SE's with EFI.

 

i don't think you need to worry about upgrading the intake piping beyond a K&N drop-in at the airbox unless you're ported.

 

is ram air on the stock box a good idea? or should i upgrade to cone or k&n replacement filters? i am planning on street porting the car this summer too.

 

go to www.rotaryblvd.org and go under 1st gen section. Theres a good writeup on a 40 dollar cold air intake section. $0 dollars depending on what filter u get. Thats with a 20 to 30 dollar filter so u can make it cheaper or better.

 

On my CAI with Mariah NACA ducted headlight lid, I made a section of plastic tubing that protrudes below the front edge of the enginebay, and this serves to block off any water that may enter the system and be drawn with the air through the tube. Once it hits this water trap, the water drops down and falls into the engine bay (below the headlight retractor motor assm), and drains out.

Also, on rainy days, I just put the headlights up (or on), and this blocks off the air path leading to the CAI intake and the air filter. I've never had the filter get waterlogged or lose performance on rainy days.

Anytime you point an air intake toward the front of the car, you can expect bugs, leaves, paper towels, etc. to be drawn into it, potentially clogging the air filter. Something to think about,

 

Does someone have a picture of the 85 SE intake tract? I'm intrested to see the visual differences. I could also post a pic of the 84 intake this weekend if anyone wants to see.

 

What part of the intake tract? I have pictures of the throttle body, and butterflies, and the tubes from the manifold, and all.

 

sorry for the big quote. just want to see the difference