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Ok, so I got this Loch Stewart V.1 cowl intake installed & it's great. Also did the removal of the insulation stripping at the top of the firewall where the bonnet presses down onto when closed trick that takes out hot engine bay air.

But since the CAI feeds on air from the cowl, it'd now be digesting hotter air. So am I better off leaving it as is with a bit cooler engine bay but slightly hotter air into the intake, or put the stripping back & have a hotter engine bay but colder air into the intake??

In addition, also removed the headlight surround bits under the bonnet at the front for a small gap to get in more outside air. Won't be buying any TSI's or headlight scoop covers, they're kinda expensive for what they are & I'm unemployed right now..

The removal of the strip across the back of the Engine bay will allow hot air to escape at low speeds only ( under 60 KPH ) after that the high pressure the the Cowl will push air into the engine bay.

so is that good then?

SuperMazdaKart wrote:so is that good then?

No Not really the Extra Air Pressure in the Engine bay means the Air entering thru the radiator has a harder Job. And Air being air takes the easy way out ( IE out of the nose and around under the car )
So now you have a higher chance of over heating
The air vents in the Head light are the best for added cooling as they dont
stall the air flow under the bonnet . ( Now i just nead to make one of these )

hrm, good thing i kept the stripping then

well, i do have a top radiator cover, so there is more air going through then normally.

well i'll try putting the stripping back on anyway & see how it feels. it hasn't been on since the cai was put it.

and it’s apparent that the gap between the radiator and bottom of the front bumper would draw more air away from the radiator

There is supposed to be a foam seal on the bottom of the radiator to seal it to the splash tray, as well as another foam seal on the top of the radiator to seal it to the radiator support. Air can still go around the sides of the radiator though as there are no seals there. I've never understood Mazda's logic there.