The Intercooler pipes are made from 304 stainless steel with a beautiful brushed finish. The two Intercooler pipes are distinctly different. The supercharger side pipe has more bends than the intake side pipe as shown in the photo to the right. There are four silicone hoses and clamps. The hump hose has the bulge in it to allow more flexing from the torque of the engine. The hump hoses use the smaller clamps for mounting and attaching to the Intercooler. The other two transitional silicone hoses mount on the engine side.  Soapy water simplifies the installation of the silicone hoses when sliding them onto the pipes, the dummy throttle body and supercharger outlet. To protect the silicone hoses we specify only liner-type clamps that won't tear the silicone surfaces and weaken the integrity of the silicone hoses.

11.1 Installing The Lower Radiator Shield

• Lift up the hood latch and slide the stainless steel panel, (brushed side up) into place over the bolts on the two ends as shown in Photos 11-A and 11-B.
   
• Install the nylon nut over the stainless steel panel. This nut holds the stainless steel panel down and is also a spacer for the black aluminum radiator panel as shown in Photo 11-C. Do not over-tighten; it takes little effort to fasten securely.

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Photo 11-A: Hold latch up	Photo 11-B: Install panel over bolt	Photo 11-C: Install nylon nut

11-2 Installing The Intercooler Pipes

Hardware Package F

To make fitting of the silicone hoses to the parts easier, spray a little soapy water onto the hose connection before installing. The soapy water also acts as a sealant when it dries. Installation is similar for all model years.

• To simplify installation and removal of the connector hoses on the Intercooler, mount the clamps so that the tightening bolt are on the front side as shown in Photo 11-E. This will give you more clearance with a nut driver (recommended for more torque) or screwdriver.
   
• Install the hump hoses to the Intercooler using the smaller of the two pipe clamps supplied in Package F as shown in Photo 11-D. Slide the hose down so the bottom of the hump is at the top of the Intercooler pipe.  Ideally you want the top Intercooler pipe to mount just above the hump to allow flexing in between. Tighten the bottom clamp. Place another clamp onto the top of the silicone hose in the same direction.
   
• Install the intake pipe into the lower connector hose. Take the 2 3/4" to 2 1/2" transition silicone connector hose and slide it on to the Intercooler pipe at the top as shown in Photo 11-D. Use the larger clamps for mounting the top connector hose. We prefer the clamp tightening bolt to be on the outside.

• Slide the connector hose about halfway over the dummy throttle body. Tighten only the clamp on the throttle body securely. Tighten the clamp on the pipe lightly so you can align the pipes. Photo 11-I shows the 90-93 intake pipe installation.

• Install the supercharger pipe into the lower silicone hose on the Intercooler. Take the 2 1/2" straight connector hose and slide it on the Intercooler pipe at the top. Use the larger clamps for mounting the top connector hose as shown in Photo 11-H.
   
• Slide the connector hose about halfway over the supercharger. Tighten only the clamp on the supercharger securely. Tighten the clamp on the pipe lightly so you can align the pipes.

• Tighten both of the lower connector top clamps lightly. The bottom clamp on the hump hose should be tightened securely.

• To improve the idle air hose location the 94 and newer supercharger dummy throttle body fitting may extend straight out as shown in Photo 11-J. Installing the 90 deg. fitting can simplify the hose arrangement by lowering the hose between the radiator and the engine. Install the idle air hose 90 deg. adapter from Package I-1 to your existing 3/4" rubber hose, as shown in Photo 11-K.

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Photo 11-D: Lower silicone connector intake side	Photo 11-E: Insert intake pipe into silicone connector	Photo 11-F: Rotate I/C pipe into position, check clearance
Photo 11-G: Slide connector over DTB and secure clamps	Photo 11-H: Slide connector over SC and secure clamps	Photo 11-I: 90-93 model similar to the 94 and up models
Photo 11-J: Idle air hose straight out on 94 and newer models	Photo 11-K: Idle air fitting 94 and newer models
11.3 Installing The Radiator Shield And Aligning The Intercooler Pipes Hardware Package A-1 Locate the L bracket and hardware from package A-1 as shown in Photo 11-L. Insert the nylon spacer into the L bracket as shown in Photo 11-M. Remove the 10mm bolt from the top of the radiator bracket and install the L bracket using the supplied 10 x 12.5mm bolt and washer as shown in Photo 11-N. Mount the black aluminum radiator shield over the pipes and to the 4 studs. Mounting the acorn nuts is not necessary while aligning. Check the fit between the shield and the Intercooler pipes to make sure the Intercooler pipes have good clearance and are not making contact with the shield or the frame area as shown in Photo 11-O. If you can see any frame area as shown in Photo 11-O through the pipe opening, remove the metal. Take caution to not get any metal shavings into the Intercooler. To allow flexing, try to keep a minimum of 1/4" of space between the pipe and the shield.   Hood clearance is close on the supercharger side. Start by pressing the pipe down into the intercooler and feel for about a 1/4" of space where the pipe and the intercooler meet. Align the pipe to have good air gap around the shield as shown in Photo 11-P and then tighten the top clamp. The top clamp will hold the pipe in alignment. Use a nut driver for more torque. Align and tighten down the intake side using the same method and keeping a good air gap as shown in Photo 11-P.   Remove the aluminum radiator shield and without moving the pipes securely tighten the lower Intercooler hose clamps. Check the radiator shield again and retighten all of the hose clamps.   Securely tighten the aluminum radiator shield using the stainless steel washer and acorn nut supplied from package A-1. You should have good hood clearance and air gap around the radiator shield if done properly, but you might want to do a hood clearance check as shown below in Step 11-4.   Click on thumbnail image to see larger image in a new window Photo 11-L: Radiator bracket hardware Photo 11-M: L bracket with nylon insert Photo 11-N: L bracket installed on radiator Photo 11-O: Check clearance and modify cut-out if necessary Photo 11-P: Check clearance and modify cut-out if necessary Photo 11-Q: With proper clearance on both sides 11.4 Checking For Clearance On The Intercooler Pipes Hood clearance may or may not be an issue, but it would not hurt to check. If you have stock motor mounts you will have excess engine movement that WILL cause the pipes to touch the hood. Be sure to replace the motor mounts with our Mazda Speed heavy-duty motor mounts, as they not only reduce engine movement, but also lower the engine 1/4" for a better center of gravity. Photos below show how to check for hood clearance. Play-Doh is inexpensive and available from grocery stores, drug stores and department stores for about $2.00. Place the Play-Doh on the pipes and close the hood all the way as shown in Photo 11-R. Look were the hood presses into the the Play-Doh as shown in Photo 11-S. The hood brace makes contact with the Play-Doh. Carefully pull the Play-Doh off the pipe and look at the thickness. Ideally we would like to see a minimum of a 1/4" as shown in Photo 11-T. Keep in mind as the engine torques toward the passenger side the pipes will move out from under the hood brace. If necessary, re-adjust the pipes for more hood clearance as shown in Step 11-3.
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Photo 11-R: Play-Doh on pipe to check hood clearance	Photo 11-S: Look were the hood presses into the Play-Doh	Photo 11-T: Check thickness of Play-Doh