[Jonas.Steffen]

So the plan is to take my new used e92 and, because all my money right now is going to car payments and insurance, the intake mod to break into the new whip has to be done on the cheap. From what Ive read here a stockbox mod with a DINAN style ram air inlet will give better gains than some CAI for 3-8 hundred. Not that the difference will be worth much anyway but I hope to eke all the hp I can out of this n52 eventually with an exhaust system and 330i intake manifold and AA tune.
My plan was to take follow Apex's DIY to put a cone filter in the stock airbox
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ht=supersprint
And then put together a ram air inlet from the various DIYs and DINAN kit instructions.
Something like this :http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1149331
I was also planning to remove the resonator/silencer on the intake behind the MAF sensor while I was is there for a bit more noise out of my engine before I get around to doing exhaust.
The problem is that my cone filter is slightly too large for the airbox. Im thinking of cutting out the offending side of the box and instead of sealing the inlet tube into the airbox, just leaving it laying next to the filter kinda like this guy: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=836702
I would leave all the parts of the stockbox which connect to the engine bay and the piece which connects to the air inlet from the kidney grilles.
Ultimately two things have me stumped. First, I know that by opening the box I expose the intake to warmer air from the engine bay, but Im curious if the ram air inlet feeding from next to the fog light would bring in any measurable cold air at all without any pressure from the intake like in a sealed airbox. Second, because I think I may wat to keep my resonator/silencer intact in case I prefer it later once I change the exhaust, I tried to pop in my 1-3/16" plug from the inside of the tube and it popped snugly in. Do I need to worry about it being sucked into the engine if I dont epoxy or secure it somehow? How much pressure does a NA intake generate anyway? I couldnt find any damn answers trawling online, hope you guys can help me out...
I hope to get some photos up and make a real DIY of this whole project once I get the kinks figured out, I feel like the n52 doesnt get enough love these days.

TLDR: 1) Does an air ram inlet that has no suction still provide reasonably significant fresh air to the exit of the inlet pipe? 2) Does the suction in the MAF ever get strong enough to pop a tightly fitted plug out of the resonator hole and suck it into the engine?

Thanks and cheers!

[Biginboca]

Order the Rev Motoring silicone tube and forget the plug in the resonator, or even using that factory accordion tube. Swapping to the silicone tube has been demonstrated on dyno to actually gain HP.

The DIY Dinan style ram intake is worthwhile.

Don’t forget Charcoal Delete also!

Just buy a K&N (or brand of choice) Drop In and use the sealed factory box. You want cold air not warm engine bay air, and the ram mod supplementing stock snorkels will give you all you need.

I did a bunch of CFM comparisons and the K&N Drop In flows plenty of air for your set up. I did what I believe is the fastest 1/4 mile pass ever (13.9 ) on a N/A N52 with a K&N Drop In, Charcoal Delete, and Rev Silicone.* That intake set up can be done with DIY ram for around $100-$125 and will be all the intake you or any N/A N52 will ever need.

*(Plus other mods but just saying.)

[AWSB328iM]

Following! I picked up a spare US airbox for $20 to experiment with!

My only concern with the dinan ram air mod is potential hydro lock if I were to ever run into a deep puddle. My area gets flash flooding that causes havoc on the local roads.

[tetsuo111]

V.1: + 15 hp and 16 ft/lbs for $80


V.2: CORRUGATED HOSE + FUNNEL


V.3: 3" Hendrick Motorsports carbon fiber CAI

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Order the Rev Motoring silicone tube and forget the plug in the resonator, or even using that factory accordion tube. Swapping to the silicone tube has been demonstrated on dyno to actually gain HP.

The DIY Dinan style ram intake is worthwhile.

Don’t forget Charcoal Delete also!

Just buy a K&N (or brand of choice) Drop In and use the sealed factory box. You want cold air not warm engine bay air, and the ram mod supplementing stock snorkels will give you all you need.

I did a bunch of CFM comparisons and the K&N Drop In flows plenty of air for your set up. I did what I believe is the fastest 1/4 mile pass ever (13.9 ) on a N/A N52 with a K&N Drop In, Charcoal Delete, and Rev Silicone.* That intake set up can be done with DIY ram for around $100-$125 and will be all the intake you or any N/A N52 will ever need.

*(Plus other mods but just saying.)

Thanks for the tip, I will likely do the silencer delete with a proper tube (maybe like this guy? http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491274 )
I was just curious whether I could run my car safely with this cap to easily see if I feel like the intake/engine note is better with or without.
The charcoal filter delete was the first thing I did to the car once I got my hands under the hood, why not get free hp while externalizing the cost to small fuzzy tree animals
I guess maybe I should consider a K&N drop in, it just seems boring and I feel like I saw some decent arguments from TheAxiom on why a cone filter is superior, although I understand the warm engine bay air will essentially negate any gains Im hoping for, I thought I might cut open the box and deal with the imperfection until I get around to fabricating a fiberglass piece that can cover the whole without blocking the cone filter.

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by AWSB328iM

Following! I picked up a spare US airbox for $20 to experiment with!

My only concern with the dinan ram air mod is potential hydro lock if I were to ever run into a deep puddle. My area gets flash flooding that causes havoc on the local roads.

Niice Im glad someone is interested in the idea!
I had read about some concerns about hydro lock but it didnt seem like anyone had really had it happen to them, most people seemed to dismiss the idea as you would need to be essentially flooring the gas through the puddle to theoretically suck in water. I do live in Portland OR tho and so I was planning to make a cap of of some sort to store in the trunk so that I could easily seal the inlet if I needed to to wade through some cloudburst puddle.

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by tetsuo111

V.1: + 15 hp and 16 ft/lbs for $80


V.2: CORRUGATED HOSE + FUNNEL


V.3: 3" Hendrick Motorsports carbon fiber CAI

I had actually studied your posts earlier to try to figure this out, that +15hp/16tq for 80$ is totally what got me inspired for this project!
Where did you get that Hendrick tube and how did you know it would fit though? I have a 2012 e92 and the space behind the xenons is super limited, Ive been struggling to find a good duct that Im confident will fit. I was originally planning to use a 4" tube and something like this for the scoop: https://www.amazon.com/Spectre-Perfo.../dp/B005N6WX2O
I was looking at velocity stack horns too as a inlet funnel.
If you had any ideas of what might work in my car Id be real appreciative. This project has me feeling a bit slow xD

[atmosphericM]

Many ways to skin a deer but I'd go with the $60 boot from Rev Motoring for the extra $30 vs. piecing together your own tube.

As far as sound goes, I noticed no difference at all between everything stock vs. silicone boot (resonator delete) + euro intake which is a cone filter and no charcoal filter. Sure there technically may be a little more "growl" without the resonator but I'd think one would need super hearing abilities to notice. IMO you only get "intake sound" if you have an open housing / cone filter exposed under the hood.

[Route 16]

putting this out here, meet in centralia for this, I've had my other e90 since 2011 with this stuff, makes owning it fun

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1440959
www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1440958

[tetsuo111]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

Many ways to skin a deer but I'd go with the $60 boot from Rev Motoring for the extra $30 vs. piecing together your own tube.

As far as sound goes, I noticed no difference at all between everything stock vs. silicone boot (resonator delete) + euro intake which is a cone filter and no charcoal filter. Sure there technically may be a little more "growl" without the resonator but I'd think one would need super hearing abilities to notice. IMO you only get "intake sound" if you have an open housing / cone filter exposed under the hood.

The Rev silicon hose connects the airbox to the TB and is separate and serves a different function than the CAI.

Interesting about sound. I don't really care how mine sounds, but I immediately noticed an aggressive growl sourced from the intake after these mods.

[Noir]

Originally Posted by tetsuo111

The Rev silicon hose connects the airbox to the TB and is separate and serves a different function than the CAI.

Interesting about sound. I don't really care how mine sounds, but I immediately noticed an aggressive growl sourced from the intake after these mods.

I have the same box/filter but no CAI...
Definitely sounds nice though!

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by Route 16

putting this out here, meet in centralia for this, I've had my other e90 since 2011 with this stuff, makes owning it fun

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1440959
www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1440958

Its a nice offer an the box looks dangerous, but outside the price range Im aiming for with this mod homie

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

Many ways to skin a deer but I'd go with the $60 boot from Rev Motoring for the extra $30 vs. piecing together your own tube.

As far as sound goes, I noticed no difference at all between everything stock vs. silicone boot (resonator delete) + euro intake which is a cone filter and no charcoal filter. Sure there technically may be a little more "growl" without the resonator but I'd think one would need super hearing abilities to notice. IMO you only get "intake sound" if you have an open housing / cone filter exposed under the hood.

Yeah maybe your right, its been alot of heartache worrying about this plug in the resonator right in front of the throttle body. Im just real cheap and the hole plug was 65cents

[Jonas.Steffen]

So I ended up finding a smaller cone filter which sits only 3.8 in. tall and fits completely within my airbox. I figure I can maybe route the air ram inlet pipe directly into the hole in the top of the filter although I havent looked up yet how exactly that gets done

For the resonator Im thinking I will just pull out that damn hole plug thats worrying me so much and just wait for the time and funds to do a straight swap with one of those 60$ silicone boots or maybe try to beat the price point by a hair and add some engine bay color with a DIY something like demxx did: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491274

Heres some photos on the process itself:

The damn hole plug I put to block the resonator:

Heres the steps to prepping the mount for the cone filter.

First mount bracket in the MAF entrance and bolt holes drilled: [IMG]
Heres the first mounting bracket after being cut to accommodate the MAF sensor hole. I used a dremel butane soldering tool to cut the plastic and sanded it with a rotary tool.

Then I sealed up any possible leaks in the mcgivered mount bracket with JB weld silicone RTV gasket maker stuff.
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This is the air filter I ended up using and the mounts too. This air filter had an adjustable filter base which cinched onto the mount with an included worm gear.

[hassmaschine]

I know cone filters are all the rage - but that filter is probably worse than stock, given it has about 1/2 the surface area of a drop in panel filter.

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Originally Posted by Jonas.Steffen

So I ended up finding a smaller cone filter which sits only 3.8 in. tall

Can't see a single pic that you posted

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by Blueeyesredpanda

Can't see a single pic that you posted

they are linked from google photos, whats the problem thats popping up?

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I know cone filters are all the rage - but that filter is probably worse than stock, given it has about 1/2 the surface area of a drop in panel filter.

Yeah I wouldnt be surprised if its a little short of stock rn because I had to get it so small to fit the box but given the reports Ive been seeing from other people the air ram that I want to plug in the top of the cone will hopefully make the final intake setup worth the effort, if not directly after the install, then after a tune.
I like that now my engine bay mounting and MAF sensor are happily attached to a simple 3" inlet and ready to receive a cone filter. Also if Im honest part of the interest in a cone filter is exactly as you seem to have identified; cone filters are all the rage because they look icy under a hood
I was also thinking that I might be able to upgrade the size of the cone when I have some more money and the time to fab a fiberglass or carbon fiber piece to enlarge the front half of the stock us box.

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Originally Posted by Jonas.Steffen

they are linked from google photos, whats the problem thats popping up?

Use incognito tab to see this page. It's empty image with a stop sign

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Originally Posted by tetsuo111

V.1: + 15 hp and 16 ft/lbs for $80


V.2: CORRUGATED HOSE + FUNNEL


V.3: 3" Hendrick Motorsports carbon fiber CAI

There's a V4 made by another member

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...1454101&page=2

[Jonas.Steffen]

Originally Posted by Blueeyesredpanda

There's a V4 made by another member

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...1454101&page=2

Thanks! I hadnt found this thread yet, might help me out.
I think I fixed the photos too hopefully

[atmosphericM]

Originally Posted by tetsuo111

The Rev silicon hose connects the airbox to the TB and is separate and serves a different function than the CAI.

Interesting about sound. I don't really care how mine sounds, but I immediately noticed an aggressive growl sourced from the intake after these mods.

Oh for sure. I was referring to the link he posted where someone pieced together a bent tube and two silicone couplers to serve the purpose of the intake inlet "elbow."

As far as sound, maybe I just need to roll my windows down and pay more attention. Granted, it's been pollen'y AF where I live for the past few weeks so my windows have been in a permanently up position. It also probably doesn't help that I already had PE prior to the intake either... That said, my buddy has a typical "cold air intake" (cone filter exposed under the hood) on his Honda Accord and I can hear him coming from, literally, a hundred+ meters away...

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if you did have a good bit more intake sound than I do, tetsuo (and Noir). With your PI, you have the added induction spot above the driver's side fender, and I suspect that part, if not most, of the reason BMW designed the PI with that additional inlet is solely for a pleasing induction sound aimed almost right at the driver. That coupled with your additional air source near that fog-light from your DIY and you have way more sound near you than I do from my OE inlet design in the front grilles.

Regarding all of this sound talk, I find it amusing how subjective it is. People here buy the PE and then complain that they can't even hear it. Then some of us can apparently hear the difference after only removing the intake resonator heh.