New CAI, is it good?

[dddanielek]

Does anybody have it in their vehicle?

I am not expecting to see a huge gain in power but just let the engine breath better.

Any pointers with the install?

Thanks guys.

Ebay item Number; 300259116911

[musicman614]

i actually just bought one very similar to that or that same one. i just installed it yesturday on my 93 325is auto. and actually i was pretty impressed by both the sound and power gain. catback and dinan chip should be here in the next couple of days.

joe

[Arctikz]

i have a custom one that i just made a heatsheild to. It sounds really nice and i love how when i shift and give it gas, i hear a nice whistle from my engine.. I got a good rofl when someone seriously asked me if my car was turboed cuz they could hear the spool off!!! :buttrock

[musicman614]

Item number: 360088137050

this is the exact one i bought, i also had to move my horn, as it was filling the hole that the intake tube runs through.

joe

[filler]

just wondering how this constitutes cold air? that pipe certainly won't reach any part of the engine bay that isn't hot.

[musicman614]

my filter is right behind my foglight, flush with the bottom of the car. agreed, it isnt a $500 dinan. but for 40-50 bucks, IMHO it was well worht it.

[sbeck09]

I bought mine at O'Rileys and Just made a heat shield out of an aluminum sheet. I have gained 2-3mpg and I love the whine as it climb from 4-6k on the tach! Mine sits behind my head light.

[MrSpectre]

The PO I bought the car from bought one of those ebay filters(the ones that are just the filter and adapter no piping) but I am still contemplating as to put it in or not. :/ any suggestions?

[riffman12]

don't go the ebay route. Looks nasty in chrome too. if you want a cheap intake, a lot of people like these

http://www.cosmosracing.com/products1.html

[frey328is]

get a good filter...and the pipe you use doesnt matter get a big cheap pipe

or just use some tin foil or something ha

as long as its a good filter...i wouldnt think an ebay filter would be very good

and from what i read using a metal heat shield is pretty backwards...i mean metal heats up and conducts heat so how would that shield it? i got a racing dynamics one that is made of some weird material that works better i think...or just get a long pipe and rout it down to your bumper and get a shield to keep it from getting wet and stay away from puddles

[psilocybe]

the cheap aluminum that intake is made of will heat up pretty quick, you would have to wrap it in some old school motorcycle muffler wrap or something to stop heat from transfering to it.
even if the air going in is cold, it will heat up before it hits the intake manifold
however, it will look cool and sound cool.

[MrSpectre]

>this< (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AIR-INTAKE-INDUCTION-KIT-FILTER-BMW-E30-E36-318-323-325_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33659QQihZ019QQitem Z290261528134QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW) is like exactly what I have :/ my car would probably sound amazing with it installed

[707bmw]

Almost anything is better then stock, they're lighter wieght and add power with better breathing. The difference in cheap versus expensive is the material and the bends. Different material reacts to heat in different ways and the stiffer the bend, the more disruptive it is to the airflow.

[MrSpectre]

the stock airbox is designed to be the best it can be but Its just built with keep noise down as a concern. I don't mind the stock airbox but I would like the sound and since I have the filter sitting around I'am thinking I might as well install it.

[bhvrdr]

Unless you do a before and after dyno and before and after MAF and timing logs you'll probably never know if its better or worse than the stock box. Look for any of those on the forums. FWIW, stock boxes are not always bad at all. Enclosing the intake path in ABS plastic is a superb way to reduce heat and provide fresh cool air and the MAF and TB are probably larger restrictions then any of our filter areas and inlets. But I cant be sure on this car. I'll try and test some stuff out this year on my car but it's the last on my list. All it did on my Audi was raise intake air temps and pull timing out of the car. That was the same thing that happened on their e36 when grassroots motorsports did independent testing too for their track e36 so i'll probably try it but not until other things are worked out.

cheers! Mike

[Edison@Jlevi SW]

If you are going the cold air intake route, I would suggest making sure the version you get has a heat shield and straight through design. A lot of these intakes are just cone filter replacements that really do not offer any benefits over stock because they do not shield the intake from any sort of heat soak. One option is the Simota CF Ram Style Intake (http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/p252/BMW-Carbon-Fiber-Cold-Air-Intake-%28Select-Application%29/product_info.html) which is a completely sealed cone filter surrounded by a CF cone.

http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/images/ML_01.jpg

[psilocybe]

hah, nice plug

[328icod]

what are you guys doing with the air temp sensor?

[riffman12]

If you are going the cold air intake route, I would suggest making sure the version you get has a heat shield and straight through design. A lot of these intakes are just cone filter replacements that really do not offer any benefits over stock because they do not shield the intake from any sort of heat soak. One option is the Simota CF Ram Style Intake (http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/p252/BMW-Carbon-Fiber-Cold-Air-Intake-%28Select-Application%29/product_info.html) which is a completely sealed cone filter surrounded by a CF cone.

http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/images/ML_01.jpg

that thing is sweet. How does it compare to the aFe (what i have)

[jmo69]

I did this one but when I got my Apexcones they were too big and I had no clearance. http://www.brazeauracing.com/customcai.htm
Here it is B4 the headlights.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa243/jmo68/CAI1-1.jpg

[Edison@Jlevi SW]

that thing is sweet. How does it compare to the aFe (what i have)
aFe is also a great choice, we have those available for the E46. Both are going to give similar power outputs, they just use slightly different designs. The Simota will be a bit louder than the aFe because of it's cone design but both are just as efficient in terms of power output.

[musicman614]

what are you guys doing with the air temp sensor?


mine new pipe came with a place to put it. i didnt eliminate anything. the only thing i dont like is the cheap crappy scratched up pipe and ricey looking rubber conectors. after seeing the ones up there in post 9.
from cosmosracing i think i might find something to wrap my tube with. those things looks pimp.

sorry i cant post pics or url's yet. maybe someone can help me out here?

joe