Polar Power Industries Cold Air Injection System

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NOTE: I no longer own the PPI CAI since I upgraded to the Sebring S/C, but I decided to keep this page around for others that want more info on this CAI.

Polar Power Indiustries is a new player in the Miata aftermarket. I choose PPI over the Jackson Racing CAI because I didn't like the fact that the JR CAI requires the wire to the Mass Air Sensor be spliced and extended. I choose the PPI over the Racing Beat CAI because, first of all, the Racing Beat CAI was not out yet for the 1.8L engine, and secondly, although an elegant solution, it seemed to me that it would lengthen the air tract, and thirdly, I was told by Racing Beat that they didn't think it would co-exist with a strut tower brace.

Now, the PPI CAI is really not a true CAI because air is not "rammed" into the filter. If you noticed the orange pipe in the lower right hand corner of the picture above. This pipe is part of the Stage II system (and costs an additional $70). Its connected to a fiberglass duct placed in the mouth opening of the front of the Miata toward the driver side. The duct is kept in place with cable ties.

The PPI CAI does have a very short air intake tract. Much shorter than the various "filtercharger" kits I've seen. Once I purchase and install the factor Air Dam, I might also run a second duct using the Keith Tanner Dryer Duct method.

Everything in the Stage I and Stage II system is fully removable and the car can be restored back to stock configuration in 1 hour. There is no drilling, cutting, or any other sort of modification required.

How does it perform? A definite increase in the power, specially in the higher RPM ranges. The car pulls much better. The engine is a little louder also. You hear the "hiss" of the intake and a growl during acceleration. Note that my Miata has an automatic transmission, so the performance improvement will probably be more pronounced on a 5 speed tranny. The engine temperature is definitely lower now. The coolant temp use to be above the half way point, now it is below the half way point. Overall, I am very happy with this setup. The cost of the Stage I and Stage II system came out to about $350. This is less than the JR system ($400), but more than the Racing Beat system (around $250 for the 1.8L).

Installation took about an hour for Stage I and about another 15 minutes for Stage II. I did not do the install myself. Eric Amador was kind enough to come over on a rainy Saturday morning and install it. I tried to assist him in any way I could.

The installation procedure was pretty straight forward. You basically start by taking the stock air box out starting from the air intake hose and work your way to the left until you get the the throttle body. Then you start installing the CAI from the throttle body all the way to the K&N air filter. There are two hoses provided that connect to the idle control valve and the cam cover.

The hood stay needs to be relocated with an included mounting bracket.

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