[Keidame]

I was looking at the Weapon R intake but after reading some older threads I thought the Injen would be better.
Has anyone run either who could give their input? (I'll be getting the BMW performance exhaust as I'm unsure if it'd be worth getting the AA headers, mid pipe, and muffler.)
I'm not looking to be cheap, but my car has 83k and I'm not sure how long they last, and don't want to go broke haha
Thanks everyone,
Alex

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Originally Posted by Keidame

I was looking at the Weapon R intake but after reading some older threads I thought the Injen would be better.
Has anyone run either who could give their input? (I'll be getting the BMW performance exhaust as I'm unsure if it'd be worth getting the AA headers, mid pipe, and muffler.)
I'm not looking to be cheap, but my car has 83k and I'm not sure how long they last, and don't want to go broke haha
Thanks everyone,
Alex

Injen = lose hp

get a euro intake or just get 3 stage intake manifold with a tune

[Keidame]

Damn Injen dropped the ball I guess haha, and I was trying to stay away from the stage 3 lol (also I know Weapon R is cheap and there must be a reason, but cheap is still cheap haha)

[Zajac1]

Euro box

[rick100]

K and n filter

[lab_rat]

Euro box via eBay.uk...if your lucky you can find them for less than $150 shipped (used).

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Originally Posted by Keidame

I was looking at the Weapon R intake but after reading some older threads I thought the Injen would be better.
Has anyone run either who could give their input? (I'll be getting the BMW performance exhaust as I'm unsure if it'd be worth getting the AA headers, mid pipe, and muffler.)
I'm not looking to be cheap, but my car has 83k and I'm not sure how long they last, and don't want to go broke haha
Thanks everyone,
Alex

Did any transfer case, front and rear diff oil change yet?

[Keidame]

I'll have to check the service records. The person I bought it from was a salesman who drove it mostly highway, but kept the receipts for everything in a folder (the folder he got with the car when he bought it [with the CPO info])

[hassmaschine]

Still dont get the fascination with the euro airbox. There's no difference in terms of power.

To me, they're all pretty much a waste of time.

[JuniorB]

+1

[fravel]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Still dont get the fascination with the euro airbox. There's no difference in terms of power.

To me, they're all pretty much a waste of time.

I mean, it does at least LOOK nicer in the engine bay than the US airbox.

And although filter changes are infrequent, not having to pull the entire airbox to do an air filter change is so much more convenient.

[hassmaschine]

meh. it's like once a year, and it still only takes 5 minutes to get it out.

[atmosphericM]

I went with the euro airbox for a few reasons: looks better in the engine bay, filter changes are easier, and it doesn't have the charcoal filter which most likely does rob us of a few ponies. You can also hack out the charcoal filter from the US stock airbox, but that isn't my preferred method if a better one (IMO) exists (euro airbox in this case). I also picked up a silicone intake inlet from Rev Motoring as a way to delete the air intake silencer on the stock inlet. I've read to stay away from the Mishimoto brand inlets, FYI, in case you decide to go this route. Finally I went with an aFe dry filter, as I do not personally like oiled filters. I don't expect much, if anything, power wise though. We will find out soon enough.

The only other option I was considering (IMO the only other decent option out there) was the aFe enclosed intake (Stage 2 SI or something like that). It may or may not be slightly better than the euro airbox setup I pieced together, but it costs a bit more at $450+, and also isn't OE (I like the OEM+ mod scheme).

I paid $260 for my euro airbox, aFe filter, and silicone inlet elbow.

[Route 16]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1440959

[JayTriggy14]

You could do a create a custom Dinan style Intake. Using the stock airbox cut a hole big enough to to route a hose with a filter at the end that sits in the bottom of the driver side foglight. You could check on the forum as well as Dinan's website to get an idea.

[luckyJ]

Originally Posted by JuniorB

+1

I've installed the Euro Airbox in my car for 1 week now...I noticed gas/mileage go from 18/19 city to 19/20 per gallon....so after driving over 1300 miles...I will have recovered the cost of my airbox....and I think the car revs a bit more freely...but that cud b my imagination

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by luckyJ

I've installed the Euro Airbox in my car for 1 week now...I noticed gas/mileage go from 18/19 city to 19/20 per gallon....so after driving over 1300 miles...I will have recovered the cost of my airbox....and I think the car revs a bit more freely...but that cud b my imagination

You really think you gained 1mpg from changing to an airbox which is functionally identical to the stock one?

Here's why I don't believe this kind of nonsense. BMW spent millions of dollars engineering the N52, and if they could have gained 1mpg/5% on their CAFE average rated fuel economy, by simply using a part they already had designed, they would have done so in a heartbeat. What's more, there's no dyno evidence that a euro airbox (with a stock filter) makes any more power than a US airbox (same spec euro and US N52s make the same power).

So how exactly do you think it magically increased your fuel economy by 5%, when they both flow the same? You think BMW didn't care about the airbox design when they engineered the N52, even when they went to such great lengths such as designing valvetronic and electric water pumps in the name of efficiency?

If you want to spend $300 so you can save 30 seconds when changing your filter once every 2 years, I could care less - but claims of higher fuel economy and 'seat of the pants' responsiveness are rubbish.

[CobraMarty]

Actually they both don't flow the same.
I flowed both stock and EURO and the EURO flowed more.

The EURO air box design doesn't really lend itself to being able to have a carbon filter mounted like the stock air box. I am sure that the need for the carbon filter for the US market is why BMW had to design a different air box.

[CobraMarty]

Here are my old posts in another thread.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=483276

Originally Posted by CobraMarty

When we did the install and all the pieces were off, I used a digital air flow meter to test the stock and EURO box. I connected it to a shopvac and then the flow meter and then the boxes. Here are the results:

1239 CFM - Stock box with paper filter and carbon filter
1257 CFM - EURO box with paper filter
1265 CFM - Euro box with K+N filter
1300 CFM - OPEN no box, max flow on my DIY flow system

What does all this mean? EURO box with K+N filter flows 2.1% more air than stock box. 230HP = 2.1% more air flow + 4.8 HP, So I estimate a 5 HP increase. Sounds about right and the math backs it up.

Originally Posted by CobraMarty

Interesting that the air intake upper elbow made no difference in the flow. I also blew air into the intake opening, like to stimulate an air scoops and the airflow definitely went up but was unstable and hard to get an exact steady reading. I was just trying to blow air in with a hair blow drier.

[hassmaschine]

I bet if you compared the stock airbox with the carbon filter cut out and a drop in K&N filter, it would see the same increase. the boxes are the same size, the inlets are the same - the only real difference is the filters themselves.

Also stock for stock, the difference in flow is really small. You can cut out the carbon filter for free and I bet it would be even.

[luckyJ]

The mileage/gallon change I am just reading from my OBC dashboard...I am no mechanic or engineer but I had fun modding the air box...was it worth the $200?

I enjoy working on cars...

[CobraMarty]

Yeah I didn't cut the carbon filter out and test it with a paper filter and didn't have a K+N panel filter for the stock box to test.

All be it a real small difference, that is why they only claim 1-3hp increase.