Looking at intakes for my '96 Miata.

The car currently has most of the stock intake in place with the exception that the bottom half of the airbox has been removed due to clearance with the Raceland header.

Here is the most recent pic I could find of my engine bay (mid deer collision repair)

I never really thought about replacing the intake until last weekend when I replaced the air filter and found that it was actually melted and deformed, presumably due to heat from being so close to the header with no heat shields. If it's hot enough to melt the filter, I imagine the car would benefit from breathing some cooler air. Not to mention damaging the filter, risking pulling unfiltered air, etc.

I have been mulling over two options.

1 - Jackson Racing cold air intake.

I found a pretty decent deal on a used one locally. I was ready to pull the trigger on this until I remembered my oversize Godspeed aluminum radiator. From what I have read the clearance is VERY tight with this intake under the best of conditions and it seems unlikely that it will fit with this radiator and the bulky stock fans.

• Anybody have experience with this intake it clearance around it?

2 Relocate the air filter away from the exhaust with some sort of heat shield around it.

Most of these seem to be DIY efforts (And/or on turbo cars...)

• I can't seem to find much pre made for something like this with an N/A car, am I missing something?
• Do people use the available ones (FM Turbo intake for example https://www.flyinmiata.com/air-box-turbo-kit-90-97.html) and make it work?

Any thoughts or input are welcome. Most of the forum reading I have done indicates the factory intake is 100% perfect and can only be made worse, but I think there is room for improvement in my case . It seems to me that the best course of action will be to get the intake physically away from the exhaust, one way or another. I am on a tight budget and have very limited "making parts" skills, FWIW. Also standalone engine management is not an option (damn you, OBD2 and inspections) so the MAF must stay

Im planning on doing option 2. Should work well with a headlight intake duct.

1. Randall. Proven to add HP with the hood closed

Fitzauto wrote: Im planning on doing option 2. Should work well with a headlight intake duct.

Are you planning to make something, or use something "off the shelf"?

Keith Tanner wrote: 3. Randall. Proven to add HP with the hood closed

Correct me if I am wrong but, for effectiveness, don't those plumb into the snorkel in the bottom half of the factory airbox? I don't have physical space to reinstall that. Would the Randall style intake still be useful without it?

In reply to thestig99:

DIY.