Intake

GloveBox

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#1
Could someone tell me the difference between a cold air intake and a hi flow intake. I assume its the position of the system. New to the board and new to my hot e36....Thanks guys.
 

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#2
Both are almost the same, both does nothin, just an additional intake noise in order to force the driver to believe the engine has more power. Ah! just forgot to tell you they gives you more engine wear due to dust ingestion.

Bye [thumbd]
 
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#4
An intake does add HP, it has been dyno proven. You maximize your overall HP gain when you use an intake in conjunction with a chip and exhaust. Just an intake will give you 5 extra HP and you will feel a better throttle response.
 
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#6
Personally I wouldn't spend that much..The reason they are that much is becasue they have put alot of research into developing their intake. But even with the more expensive intakes the ending result is maybe a 2HP gain over a $100 intake. So a $100 intake w/ +5 HP or $300 intake w/ +7 HP.. I actually plan to make my own CIA using a Dinan Filter..
 
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#7
GUS said:
Both are almost the same, both does nothin, just an additional intake noise in order to force the driver to believe the engine has more power. Ah! just forgot to tell you they gives you more engine wear due to dust ingestion.

Bye [thumbd]
Sorry Dude high quality intake produce more power and torque. [screwy]
 
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#8
no they don´t. at least not in my book, the one of several mechanics and friends that have had one.
just the intake, w/o modifying the engine further leads to nothing and the reason is simple. the engine electronics in modern cars regulate fuel and air mixture automatically. even if you would have unrestricted airflow to the manifold, there would simply not get more air used than the system dictates. intake systems only make sense, when you change the electronics, with a chip for example and even than the parts have to be tuned together.

some folks say, that a direct intake delivers colder air = more oxygen. well, look at your bimmer and see where the original intake gets its air from...samething, different layout. there is also a filter...the pipe...if you want to add oxygen and power to the intake, get a turbo.

i don´t trust that stuff...there´s better ways to waste my money
 
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#9
i'm not sure that is entirely true. I think with less resticted air flow more air will enter the engine. This is because it is not the engine/electronics regulating air flow but your gas petal (you). The engine/electronics then regulates how much gas etc. for the given air.

Your gas petal will open a flap. If the air to the flap is less restricted.... more air will enter making a better designed intake..... well better.

This is from my understanding. Could definitely be wrong.
 

epj3

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#10
mjbst111 said:
i'm not sure that is entirely true. I think with less resticted air flow more air will enter the engine. This is because it is not the engine/electronics regulating air flow but your gas petal (you). The engine/electronics then regulates how much gas etc. for the given air.

Your gas petal will open a flap. If the air to the flap is less restricted.... more air will enter making a better designed intake..... well better.

This is from my understanding. Could definitely be wrong.
How will a filter that is already nearly free flowing - like all bmw's for the past 20 years, be improved by putting a 'free flow cone filter' with less surface area on? I'm absolutely positive that when I put the stock airbox back onto my car it revved faster and harder.

But a larger throttle body, larger air flow meter, etc. is an upgrade that will make a difference.
 
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#11
epj3 said:
How will a filter that is already nearly free flowing - like all bmw's for the past 20 years, be improved by putting a 'free flow cone filter' with less surface area on? I'm absolutely positive that when I put the stock airbox back onto my car it revved faster and harder.

But a larger throttle body, larger air flow meter, etc. is an upgrade that will make a difference.
I don't argue any of that. My comments were toward wadula's statements.
 
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#12
mjbst111, basically you are right with that describtion for older cars. but new models have the fuel air mixture controlled by the engine electronics. the electronics do not only control the gazoline injection but also the flow of air.
I have not had any studies on engines myself, that´s all based on what i learned from a tech. this tech is not with BMW so he might not have tried to keep me away from the stock stuff. he was a race mechanic himself and knows his stuff.

but anyway as me and epj3 said, the bimmer intakes are already fine.
 
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#13
I love a good clean discussion. Thanks for the info wadula as I have very little experience with newer cars as newer cars are beyond my reach at this time.... I'd love to tear apart a new car and gawk at new technology.

I do have to agree bimmer intakes are pretty dang hard to improve on.
 
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#14
All are valid points, but how can you ignore the dyno results? It has been dyno proven that the Conforti and Dinan do increase performance..
 
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#15
simple, I don´t trust. That is the same misleading marketing gag as some people prove with a dyno that gaz additives from liqui molli or whomever result in increased hp.

that is the same with chip tuning. I have seen hundreds of dyno charts that prove a chip gives you 20 hp plus. i´ve been there, i had the chip, all i didn´t have was the power increase. sure, a chip leads to more power, when the correct additional upgrades are installed. chip +intake +fuel can work, not a chip alone.

what i am saying is, that either one of these options itself will not end up in higher performance.
 

lordzeke

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#17
For my intake I just made my own, and it cost me $90. The most exspensive part was the K&N filter, cost a whopping $45. But I'm happy with it and it definately made the throttle more responsive.
 
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#18
CAI are dyno AND track proven to be effective. Now, the car you bolt it on to has a great deal to do with it.

Example:
*I had a 95 Z-28. My CAI gave me 15 RWHP on the dyno. Because dyno's can be fooled, it also droped my 1/4 mile times by a little over 1/10th of a second.

*On a fox-body mustang CAI give < 10 RWHP.

The gain you get all depends on how good/bad your current intake is from the factory.
 
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#19
lordzeke said:
For my intake I just made my own, and it cost me $90. The most exspensive part was the K&N filter, cost a whopping $45. But I'm happy with it and it definately made the throttle more responsive.
lordzeke,
VERY nice! [thumb]
Did you even fab that heat shield?
 


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