Hi all. I recently purchased an '03 Matrix Xr. I was wondering where I can get a good cold air intake. Also, anyone know any good places to get cheap rim and wheel combos? Any and all advice is appreciated.
For the 03, your choice of good CAI are AEM, Injen, Cosmo, & K&N.
I know that the AEM & K&N CAI are carb. legal or pending.
Not sure of Injen, Cosmo is not.
For other opinions or other information check out matrixowners.com
sorry, I'm kinda new at this, what do you mean by carb legal? Also, for the CAI listed, do I need a bypass, or is it mounted high enough to avoid water?
sorry, I'm kinda new at this, what do you mean by carb legal? Also, for the CAI listed, do I need a bypass, or is it mounted high enough to avoid water?
me too, still a newbie I think carb legal means has something to do with emmision control & checking smog here in CA. what I did on mine is when I order my TRD CAI, the guy told me to put the sticker under the hood that states "this meet all requirements and pass all 50 states carb legal". The sticker comes with it....
If you get the "short ram air" it will be mounted high enough, for some it's near the battery and if you choose to take the CAI, it is mounted behind the bumper and high enough to avoid water unless you will drive it in a deep water....
c.a.r.b is pertaining to the emissions regulations over here in california, may not apply to you depending on your state laws.
for your CAI question - it all depends if you live in an area that rains a lot or is prone to flooding - CAI are lower to the ground to "breathe" in the cooler air (short ram intakes "breathe" in the warm/hot air from the engine bay).
Due to the proximity of the filter on the CAI, it is closer to the ground - passing through a flooded area (usually more than 4 inches deep) may cause the filter to "suck" in water. Too much water ingested by the engine will cause hydrolock - your engine stalls/dies and most likely damgae to the internals(water does not compress). With the bypass valve, when there is a change in the intake pressure, the filter part of the CAI is bypassed & air is coming in through the bypass valve (unfiltered though) from the underhood.
People have their own preference for either the CAI or short ram. Some people have said the CAI gives more power in the higher rpms, while others have said that the dyno. testing showed only a 1.2 hp (approx.) increase in using the CAI over the short ram.
On top of that, there is the filter to think about. K&N, Injen, & TRD use a special mineral oil that is sprayed LIGHTLY on the filter element. This oil assists the filter to breathe in more air & filter that increased air. But too m,uch oil may dirty the MAF (Mass Air Flow sensor). A dirty MAF will cause the engine to run a rich a/f ratio causing noticeable idle vibrations, decrease in mpg & hp. AEM is the only one that I know of for the Matrix that does not use this oil (Dryflow Synethetic). Just wash it, let it air dry & go.
Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to make sure you have all the facts. If I have missed something, someone please fill in to help out the new people.
Wow...that's a lot of info and I love it...I might use it to impress my wife...hehehehe! Really, that is very informative. I got question though, Rainy season is just around the corner and i just installed a TRD CAI on my baby. Do I need a Bypass Valve?
thanx for all the help guys. I doubt I'll be driving through much water as I live in WI. Does snow matter? and is it likely that you would really get enough water into the engine from spray and slush to actually cause hydrolock without cooking the water out first? Also, with the CAI, is it hard to access the filter to clean it regularly? thanx again for the advice
Last edited by Mr.Anderson; 09-08-2006 at 05:01 PM.
unklekracker - as long as you still have the stock splash guard & the wheel well shields - you should be fine - watch for them puddles though. Bypass valve is only $40 or so but I have heard that it is a b1tch to install. The plus size is that you got the TRD CAI - warranty should cover any unforseen circumstance. Does it flood in San Jose? If so, stay on higher ground just to be safe.
Mr. Anderson - is that your real name or is it in reference to the Matrix movies for Neo?
Not sure about snow, but should be fine, just don't go off roading or snowmobile the trix. LOL
As mentioned before avoid puddles & I guess snow piles of over 4 inches - u should be okay.
MY NAME....IS NEO!!!! yeah, that's what the Mr. Anderson is about. thanx for the help. I've been looking at the AEM CAI but still havn't made a decision. Is it really gonna help that much in relation to the stock intake?
of course - any intake is an improvement over the stock. The tubing should be mandrel bent (meaning "soft" bends, no crimping) air would flow in smoothly. If you look at the stock plastic from the filter to the engine - there are "speed bumps" that affect how the flow is going in. These bumps are there to lessen the engine noise because the "general" public does not want a loud engine. As tuners ( u & i & everyone else who craves performance and / or looks ) this restriction is NOT what we want.
Plus the stock filter is a paper element, imagine how hard it is to breathe if that was strapped to your face. The aftermarket filters from AEM, Injen, TRD, K&N & others allow the car to "breathe" in the air with more flow & less restriction @ the same time having the same or even better filtration from dirt than stock.
Once u put on the intake, or even a drop in replacement from TRD or K&N you will notice how the engine responds to the improved flow of air. It's called the "seat of your pants" test or "butt test". Not scientific, but convienent if there is no dyno. available to test the results.
The engine will rev higher with less restrictions and with the intake - u can even here the "sucking" sound coming from the engine. This is a sweet sound, for obvious reasons. More air = more power. Same thinking applies to superchargers & turbochargers, the only difference is the car needs more fuel to match the "forced" air and the ECU (piggyback - ECU to control the the "charged" process) to control the A/F ratio when forced induction is applied. Forced induction causes a much higher compression ratio which must be controlled or your engine goes BOOM!
Remember the colder the air - the more dense it is. i believe for every 10 degrees the temp. is reduced, roughly equals 1 horsepower increase. That is why u see an intercooler on cars that are turbo'd and even supercharged. The intercooler "exchanges" the hot air from the turbo or supercharger and releases the cooler air into the engine, which means more power.
Sorry for the lecture again, just want to relate info. that I had to find from other sources. It took me a while to learn all this stuff, consider this your crib notes.
Thanx XR, I appreciate the info. Is there much modification required for the standard CAI's available? Or does it pretty well just attach in place of the old one? Also, what did you guys pay for you intakes?
The 03 model that we both have need no special modification to install any CAI. I heard the 05 and / or 06 need to be "fitted" in a certain way to install. Here's the link for a CAI install :
TRD CAI - http://matrixowners.com/forums/How-t...AI-t35637.html
Injen CAI - http://homepage.mac.com/twilkers/PhotoAlbum10.html
AEM CAI - http://matrixowners.com/forums/How-T...AI-t18443.html
All pretty much the same for the most part. In general plan to spend about an hour to complete.
I got the AEM CAI from mach1car.com for $205 w/ free shipping, but look around for better prices. Maybe even ebay has CAI for good pricing.
The intake is all the same - it is the filter that makes the difference. In SoCal, I needed a CAI that would make the goverment happy meaning c.a.r.b. okayed.
"The intake is all the same - it is the filter that makes the difference."
Does this mean it's possible to buy an off brand intake and purchase a better filter elsewhere and still get roughly the same results?
roughly yes - as long as the intake has "soft bends" aka mandrel bend - the flow from filter to engine should be smooth with absolutely no bumps (compared to the stock plastic).
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