http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=20909.0

How-To: Install Simota Carbon SRI v4 - Lots of pics, 56K beware!
« on: October 09, 2008, 10:51:33 PM »
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Hello. Simota changed their design on their carbon SRI enough to justify a new How-To.
The previous how-to was awesome, and it helped me write this one, but its time to moveon.
How-To for previous version:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=20909.0
Let's do this!
First of all, here's a pic of everything that came with the SRI. My shipment was missing a
nylon lock nut, but I had one on-hand. You can go ahead and assemble the SRI, but the
assembly requires some pieces that are on the car, so I'll start with the disassembly of the
stock airbox.
You'll need to remove this piece first by unscrewing the pop-in clips. Pop'em out and
remove the trim piece, battery lid, and finally the battery air vent.
You will be greeted with this, and the arrows are things that need to be un-clipped:
Remove the MAF sensor plug, but leave the MAF sensor until you're ready to install it. I
installed it last to prevent any SNAFUs. Just squeeze the back of the clip and pull it straight
back. It's a little stiff. Be careful not to tweak it up and down or side-to-side as the body of
the MAF sensor is fragile.
Same goes for the barometer (only present on 04-05 models):
And finally, the breather hose:
Next, pop all four clips on the top portion of the air box:
Then loosen the clamp on the throttle body, you'll have to loosen it WAY up, and then just
squeeze it and it will come off. Pull the top assembly out of the car.
Now you're presented with the filter, so just pull that off and set it aside.
The bottom half of the air assembly has a rubber hook towards the front of the car, pull up
and to the side to remove it.
Now, the airbox actually has pressure clips holding it in, so just pull straight up on it and it
will pop off:
Okay, that is as far as the disassembly for the car goes, so let's assemble the SRI.
Flip the box over, and put rubber gasket on the outside.
Place the inner filter mount inside the box, and line-up the bolt holes with the aluminum
tube. Run a bolt or two into it in order to keep the alignment, and snug them down. I
waited until the box was in the car and all the brackets were installed before tightening the
bolts fully. I just wanted to make sure they were evenly torqued.
Of the four small bolts you are provided with, one is a bit longer. Leave that bolt out for
now. You will also need a lock washer, just in case.
I put some electrical tape on the back of my bracket to prevent scratching, but I don't think
it made much of a difference, so its up to you.
Here's how it looks with the bracket on there. Keep in mind, you have to install the bracket
on the car before dropping in the box, so this pic is just an illustration of where everything
goes.
The filter is next. Obviously, you need to put the clamp on the filter first, and tighten it
down just enough so it does not move around. Put the filter on the the filter mount, and
run your fingers all around the base of the filter and make sure there are no gaps. Tighten
down the clamp, again making sure that it is evenly spaced from the edge of the filter. A
nut-driver works best here.
Okay, now you can put the rubber hose on the aluminum inlet pipe, and snug the clamp
down on that side. Its easiest if you put the clamps on with the tensioners closest to the
front bumper, that way they are clear of the wiring harness and easier to tighten down. Slip
the other clamp on the throttle body side, but leave it relatively loose. I don't have a pic of
that step, but it should be fairly straight-forward. Here's a pic anyway:
NOTE: The following step only applies to 04-05 models, later models have the
barometer built-into the MAF sensor. Now we need to remove the barometer from the
stock airbox assembly. It is one bolt and the bracket comes off fairly easily.
Since we need to reuse this bracket, we also need a nut, so we might as well extract the
one from the box:
There is a plastic clip that snaps into the square part of the bracket, just pull it out. Flip the
bracket over, and use the nut extracted from the stock airbox to reassemble our bracket.
Attach the new bracket to the box using the top bolt on the back of the aluminum inlet pipe.
Alright, here is a point of contention. Some people are installing the breathers included with
v4 on the end of the breather hose. I don't think that's what Simota intended, but the
breather they sent me isn't the right size, so it had to be modified, but we'll get to that in a
moment.
Remove the breather hose from the back of the valvecover. Keep in mind, its a pain in the
ass, and removing the hose from the clamp prior to pulling it off helps.
I killed the breather with a drill, and blew it out with compressed air. I was careful, and
there weren't many rubber bits inside--not that it would matter.
It works, and it looks much better than having the hose dangling around.
Okay, now we need to mount the bracket on the car. Here's what we got. Again, you'll
need to pick-up a lock nut:
Stack the washers so the smallest washer is on the outside on both top and bottom, and run
the bolt up through the hole left by the stock airbox mount. Tighten it down pretty well
since this is the last time you're going to mess with it.
Swing the bracket out of the way and lower the box down into the void. You'll have to
negotiate it in such a way to enable yourself to simultaneously put the rubber hose over the
throttle body, and tighten the hose clamps:
Then, swing the bracket around and attach the bolt with lock washer to the box. Tighten
down all of the bolts on the box. A ratchet wrench works wonderfully here.
We're getting close!
Okay, one of the last steps deals with the MAF sensor. Carefully remove the MAF sensor
from the stock box, and very carefully place it into the aluminum inlet pipe. Some people
have had problems with stripping the screw heads. The screws are not to be
overtightened! The MAF sensor more-or-less sits in there on it's own accord. The screws
simply prevent it from popping-out. The O-ring on the MAF sensor is what actually seals it
in the inlet pipe.
Now you need to pop the harness out of the battery box to give the MAF harness some
slack. Take some needle nose pliers to the anchors on the inside of the battery box.
You
can optionally lengthen the wires, which I will most likely do, but I don't think its necessary
in this case. Attach the MAF plug, and the barometer plug.
Do a last minute check, and make sure everything is tightened up. Also make sure there
are not any tools laying about in the engine bay.
Disconnect the battery for a few minutes in order to reset the ECU. Hook it back up and
drive it around for awhile. You'll notice some weird stuff happen for a bit, but after you turn
the car off and start it up a few times, it should be good-to-go.
The intake sounds awesome, I just can't get over how it sounds like an exhaust note only
its not present unless you're putting your foot in it. There is definitely better throttle
response as well. Horsepower gain? Maybe, but it seems more drivable. Its nice.
« Last Edit: February 02, 2009, 02:27:45 PM by bicycle_wreck »
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