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just prepping for the ze swap and one recommended part was the breather filter. when i put my cai in, i made to reconnect all hoses the way they were before by tapping into the pipe for the for both the large 1/2" vacuum line from right before the tb as well as the 1/8" vacuum line from the top of the stock air box.

do i still need a breather filter? if so, where does it get installed? tia

The whole vacuum system was carefully designed by mazda engineers, until I see dyno results I'm not messing with it.

Rick Johnson wrote:The whole vacuum system was carefully designed by mazda engineers, until I see dyno results I'm not messing with it.

huh?

i didn't mess with it. i guess i'm just trying to see if the breather filter is separate from the main air intake filter. the two vacuum lines that were tapped between the stock air box and tb, i have retapped in the same place, just on a new intake tube.

anyways, is the breather filter a stock part and where is it located? thanks.

What I used was a moisture filter from an air compressor between the PCV and the IM/TB.

Similar to this..


This prevents oil from reaching back into my intake manifold.

you can see it (its blue) next to my IM , comming off of my PCV.



I'll just dump the oil from it from time to time.

thanks barry. so if i have a inline pcv filter and oil catch can, i'm good?

breather = im?

Well, the only reason I did this mod was I didnt want to oil buildup from the PCV blowby getting into my IM. Im sure an oil catch can does the same thing.

Now keep in mind this is a mod I did only for that reason. Other than that IM using stock vaccume.

bought same catch can" for buddy's neon on ebay, works good at catching oil, thinking about getting one myself

I believe if you go to Grants site you'll see his catch can set-up and he has an old post that shows the install of the catch can, IIRC.

http://www.mx3er.com

I don't get much blow by and thus think the breather filter is just fine. I use a straight neck and thus the 1/2 vaccum line is behind the TB (firewall side) so I use a breather filter for ease. Trying to plumb a vaccum line to the CAI would be a super pain.
As for does it gain HP, IMO yes in a way. That vaccum line, as Barry said, will let oil from the valve covers go into your intake and then get into the combustion chamber, intake manifold, TB. This will eventually build-up. I'm sure you've seen the gucky black crap on inside if the TB. That is partially b/c of that vaccum line. Less build-up and oil the better the components will work and besides oil doesn't burn well and will eventually clog up some of the intake parts.
Do you have to use one, no. Should you, IMO yes.

Wow Pat you can talk

alright guys. thanks for all the help, but i'm still confused. i already know about the advantages of a catch can as i have one and will install with the new ze, but i have never heard the term 'breather'.

1. what is a breather?
2. is the breather filter the filter that some people put in-line on the vacuum hose from the pcv valve to the intake manifold?
3. why would you plumb it to the cai?

sorry if i just came off as really dumb for not knowing this, but like i said, i've never heard the term 'breather'.

a breather is a really small filter you can get from canadian tire or rice shops. i put one on the hose that runs to the valve covers but it looks like crap sitting there and i didn't notice anything performance wise, so i took it off. it didn't do anything bad mind you. i think the intake sucks in the air from the valve covers from that line and gets some oil with it also. i think this because i have noticed some carbon build up right after the tb. so i figured it would eliminate this.

Wow Pat you can talk

What's that supposed to mean Grants


I don't see what you don't understand "The Oven". (Ovendenk's nickname for those of you who missed the post where he was dubbed)

That hose pulls burnt oil fumes from the head into the intake to be burnt by the combustion chamber (when plumbed as stock). It, as Vozaday said, pulls some oil with it and causes some dirty build-up in the intake. This is gross and bad for your car. So we use a breather filter so that the gasses can be released into the atmosphere instead of drwn into the intake. (not very enviornmentally friendly, but a small price to pay for a clean ZE IMO )
This should help.




And then this is where the breather goes and what a breather looks like




I have larger pics if you need. Just pm or email me and I'll email them to you.

thanks pat. i just had never heard the term 'breather' and sisn't know what lines it fit on.

btw, if you'd just put the pics on your swap guide in the first place, i wouldn't have had to ask. you seem to have pics ready to go into the guide. why didn't you include them?