The newer Mazda CX-5’s are 150 pounds heavier than my 2015 CX-5. Would an aftermarket ram air kit help offset the higher weight/horsepower ratio?
Sorry John, but it is hard to even think of this as a serious question. Even if you put the ram air kit on you would never be able to tell the difference. Frankly , if the ram air kit was actually beneficial don’t you thing the vehicle would come with one?
The quick answer is no. If you really want a CX-5 with power, consider a trade. The 2019 will now be offered with the 2.5-liter turbo making it the most powerful CX-5 ever. That said, if this is your line of thinking, you are really in the wrong class of automobile. Our 2018 CX-5 doesn’t seem like it lacks any power.
150 pounds heavier is the equivalent of picking up the average US female as a passenger. You’d notice that in something like a Civic from the 90’s, but not so much in your vehicle.
Ram air on street cars is mostly for show. For one thing, ram air uses the vehicle’s forward motion to stuff a little more air into the intake. By the time you’re going fast enough for it to matter, you can’t go any faster without getting a speeding ticket. And even then it doesn’t matter all that much. Picture standing in front of your car with a leaf blower pointed at the hood. Think that’ll make a horsepower difference to your engine?
Hopefully the OP won’t fall for the hokum about K&N air filters that… supposedly… add power, but have been known to cause problems with the MAF.
What those ‘ram air’ cold air intakes often do is make more noise, which makes it sound faster. I noticed the same thing when I (as a 16 year old) trimmed the air filter housing of my 170 CID Mustang. Sounded faster, still a slug.
In addition to the good comments above, I’ll point out that modifications like this could invalidate the warranty on your engine, which most people wouldn’t want to do.