[ERANG A LANG]

Ok so I have a 2006 bmw 325i e90 and i have been rocking the RPI scoops for about 2 weeks now and here are my thoughts.

First of all, who said that they only take 10mins to install? i dono about anyone else but it was kinda a bitch to put them on. the screws that went straight up were fairly tough to put in, ok enough of the complaining.

So on rapid acceleration me and my friends (passengers) definately noticed an improvement, especially on the highway. Common reactions:

"what did you change on your car?"
"your going that fast already?"
"your car sounds meaner"

I don't know if my engine "sounds better" with the scoops but they definately improved the performance, also they kinda look good behind the grille. Anyways thats my 2 cents, flame me if you want but I think they're a good product, would be killer with an intake (which i didn't have )

[335imax]

I don't have the scoops, but I removed the factory down angled plastic and noticed an impovement. Assuming I am not driving 145 mph in a rainstorm, I don't see why you need any of that plastic there anyway? (I removed the part you removed to install the scoops, but did not install anything in return)

[ERANG A LANG]

yah i agree not sure why, but i took the scoops off today to sell them, thus i am not modding a car for sale lol...but thats interesting as well, angling the plastic?

[FrankiE90]

they diff look good behind the grill.
ur foot tends to be heavy on the pedal after install as well.

and if u don't have a low profile drill it takes longer for install.
took me 7mins. For 1st time install i'd say 15-25mins.

[PiZauL]

IMO, scoops are a waste. The concept sounds nice, but all scoops do is introduce more dirt to the air filter.

But I guess I can't hate if I never gave them a chance.

[dtc100]

Originally Posted by 325imax

I don't have the scoops, but I removed the factory down angled plastic and noticed an impovement. Assuming I am not driving 145 mph in a rainstorm, I don't see why you need any of that plastic there anyway? (I removed the part you removed to install the scoops, but did not install anything in return)

Hmmm, good one, I might give it a try before considering the scoops. How did you guys remove those two damn plastic pins?

[thatsosm]

Scoops = better air flow = better for turbo'd cars, not so much NA

[///M3NACE]

it makes no difference and looks ricey imo if its painted red. If its black it looks nice. I bought it thinking i might feel something but i didn't. Its not bad to have though and 40 bucks is a good price. My clutch stopper which was like 15 bucks was a better investment than that.

[thatsosm]

it definitely does help at higher speeds

[johnsonz1122]

do u need to drill holes during the installations?

[MaximusJ]

With the Cyba I didnt had to.

For I; I did feel some minor improvements.

- Better MPG while cruising
- Better flow (Had some flow issues before and that + better fuel + Injector cleaner handled the issue); so RPM is going up a bit quicker. (Not much, but for $35; thats a good bang for the buck)
- And they look nice and mean while used as black on black with blacked out grilles.
-

[AlanAZ]

I like my MFD scoops, less than 10 mins to install, no new screws - disassemble and pop in. My MPG went up, feels stronger, and

all scoops do is introduce more dirt to the air filter.

in my mind, more dirt = more air (how could it be otherwise.)

[benzo23]

so whats the verdict on these things?

[MaximusJ]

You wont get any firm answer. Try them. They're cheap and you cant go wrong for $35 @ Cyba.

[ERANG A LANG]

all the point of this thread was to voice my oppion, not to start a major discussion (RPI always causes a huge discussion)

[c_jeong89]

scoops in general always cause a debate. i wouldn't pay more than $40 for them(aka cyba). They all do the same thing just every other company sells them for $80+

[MaximusJ]

aFe sells theirs for $149

[just4kickz]

Originally Posted by johnsonz1122

do u need to drill holes during the installations?

for RPI, yes. but not all scoop applications require drilling.

[5erman]

RPI is the only one with dyno tested scoops that prove they gain some hp. any little change in design can mean no or even loss of HP as air flow is really touchy-I wouldnt trust cyba or afe since they have never been able to list hp gains consistently with a dyno for any products.

I have the scoops but at the same time I also changed the filter to a bmc so the combination helped, especially at higher revs--now I have had it for so long and I have so many other mods-I dont know forsure unless I took them off but it simply makes sense that the scoop will help pressurize the closed in stock airbox at higher speeds and that pressure will be able to get a bit more air into the engine than if lower pressure existed

[ERANG A LANG]

i mean the whole thing about the scoops is that they cant hurt performance, if you have money I would recommend them.

[IancoleTX]

In theory they make sense, but in reality they have no noticeable effect. You can spend the money more effectively for sure.

[dtc100]

Originally Posted by dtc100

Hmmm, good one, I might give it a try before considering the scoops. How did you guys remove those two damn plastic pins?

Ok here is the scoop (didn't know where that came from), after you explained how you simply removed the front air snorkels, I kept looking at them, finally decided not to remove them, rather drilled two 2" holes, one right at the front of each snorkel piece, close to the center and facing the front gap under the hood. I then removed the rubber seal pad attached to the front of the hood so there is the opening at the center under the hood. With the two remaining long rubber seals along the front of the underhood, they now form a large "scoop", directing air through the center gap, right into the two holes I cut.

This air flow now goes through the snorkels with less twists and turns. I then used a bunch of self adhesive pipe insulation tapes cut into shapes to lay them around and behind the two holes on the snorkels to form a seal again, to serve the purpose of the rubber seal pad I just removed.

At my initial test run, I immediately noticed more aggressive intake sound, something the K&N drop in filter and the charcoal filter delete did not produce. I also noticed just a little further more pull and quicker throttle response, like when I first installed the K&N.

I need to drive the car for some time to make sure my DIY mod is solid before making it permanent. The worst case is I will have to reverse this mod by buying another snorkel part for $55. However if this thing works well, I'd like to find a more permanent rubber seal to go around and behind those two holes.

So far no money out the pocket with this mod.