[mnkybiznes]

First I want to thank a sponsor/store owner/e46 enthusiast/CPA/musician .......... Bob @ Bimmer Performance Store.com . Excellent customer service and a VERY knowledgeable guy to talk bimmers with!


T E A S E R . . . . . .

Look what I got from brown today ......

2nd day air baby!


then look what happened ............

Thanks to the guys @ Highland Goodyear of Chattanooga, TN for the installation ....... they love bimmers



OKAY... now that I have everyone's attention .....

Yes, I have the AFE CAI installed and am THOROUGHLY enjoying it. I will be having the car Dyno'd on Monday, August 11th, using A to Z Performance located in Hixson, TN. As of now, I believe they use the DynoJet.

The Dyno will be conducted by the technicians with myself observing. This will be a completely unbiased, FACT based demonstration of gains (believe ME there ARE gains) achieved w/ the AFE kit.

To achieve the most accurate readings, I will have three pulls w/ the AFE kit installed and will then have three pulls w/ the OEM system reinstalled to show actual performance differences between the two intakes.

To help the car's adaptation to the change of intakes; I will take the car for a drive for approximately 15 minutes or so between pull sets.

By the way, I had been using the Logic Motorsports CAI prior to the AFE intake and am enjoying the new feeling of power ........ yeah ... really.

The following information will be made available within this thread ASAP:

1. Dyno charts/graphs
2. Pics of the r & r of each intake
3. Video clip for sound purposes (AFE intake installed)
4. My HONEST/UNBIASED opinion and first impressions of the kit itself, installed appearance and initial responses after first installed.

**The dyno and cost for the r/r is on my dime and I am in no way being compensated. My curiosity (and the curiosity of fellow E90ers) is motivation enough to warrant the investment.

A HUGE thanks goes out to Bob @ Bimmer Performance Store . com for getting the kit to me SOOOOO quickly and for being the VERY BEST w/ regard to customer service and follow thru from start to finish!!

[Garissimo]

Originally Posted by mnkybiznes

[...]

Thank you for the post - looking forward to your dyno results. One thing I'm confused about is your comment about lag & 29.2. Dinan Stage II is based on earlier ECU firmware. So even if you have 29.2, once you get the Dinan Stage II update, you get "rolled back" to whatever version the Dinan flash is based on. Lag should not be an issue & it definitely is not with my car.

Also, does that intake void your Dinan warranty?

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by Garissimo

Thank you for the post - looking forward to your dyno results. One thing I'm confused about is your comment about lag & 29.2. Dinan Stage II is based on earlier ECU firmware. So even if you have 29.2, once you get the Dinan Stage II update, you get "rolled back" to whatever version the Dinan flash is based on. Lag should not be an issue & it definitely is not with my car.

Also, does that intake void your Dinan warranty?

You're absolutely correct ......... I had my numbers screwed up!! Editing as we speak ....... and I definitely have NO lag either

[JOe335i]

WOW awesome im def subscribed! the AFE is sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant wait for dynos, you my friend are really gonna get this communitys attention, thanks alot for doing this!

[mJ335]

Subscribed, so you do feel more power after installing it?? I must see the real truth from those numbers......

[JO3]

Please make sure you do the dyno with the hood closed, with a fan, so we can get realistic data with air actually having to travel through the snorkel.

Thanks for the thread and going through the trouble of a dyno!

[lucassilva]

Are you using the new Dry filters? are they gray, or is it the pic?

[Johnnyr135]

That looks great, I should be getting my afe intake early next week. I need to find a dyno in the Westchester NY area. Good luck with it

[jeho]

videos of intake sound and dyno would be great!! i wanna hear the & n54

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by JOe335i

WOW awesome im def subscribed! the AFE is sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant wait for dynos, you my friend are really gonna get this communitys attention, thanks alot for doing this!

I was REALLY glad to see AFE go with the "oval" shaped filters. They really came up with a nice design for "us" ...

[BoostedBMW]

Congrats!

I'm looking forward to seeing your dynos, but I am just as interested in how you think the intake sounds.

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by mJ335

Subscribed, so you do feel more power after installing it?? I must see the real truth from those numbers......

I know the torque has increased especially @ wot. The throttle response is significant even in comparison to the (formerly) installed Logic intake.

Something else I noticed tonight is that while the Logic intake would make a constant whistling sound when under acceleration; the AFE intake makes the turbos' sound MUCH more defined ....... hard to describe it ........ you really "hear" the whine from start to finish of the throttle.

I feel like I have a "new" car ........ can't wait til Monday

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by JO3

Please make sure you do the dyno with the hood closed, with a fan, so we can get realistic data with air actually having to travel through the snorkel.

Thanks for the thread and going through the trouble of a dyno!

Absolutely.

The hood being left open would negate the heatshield of the firewall (the seal created between the hood and intake heatshield).

Roughly 10 minutes of "cool down" time in between pulls as well.

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by lucassilva

Are you using the new Dry filters? are they gray, or is it the pic?

Yes, dry filter and yes ....... they're gray in color. A little disappointed but hey ........

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by Johnnyr135

That looks great, I should be getting my afe intake early next week. I need to find a dyno in the Westchester NY area. Good luck with it

Appreciate it! I think tuned or not this intake will definitely make a noticeable difference in performance.

Originally Posted by jeffE92TT

videos of intake sound and dyno would be great!! i wanna hear the & n54

Me too! Haven't dynoed before so ..... "fingers ARE crossed" all goes well!

Originally Posted by BoostedBMW

Congrats!

I'm looking forward to seeing your dynos, but I am just as interested in how you think the intake sounds.

I just hope the video/audio will pick up the sound well enough.

[stressdoc]

I like how the strut brace fits. But you need to fit the rubber seal from the AFE intake properly around it.

[MacFly]

Originally Posted by jeffE92TT

videos of intake sound and dyno would be great!! i wanna hear the & n54

vid of aFe intake on my 535i...sounds badass!

would love to see dyno numbers, thanks for going through the trouble.

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

I like how the strut brace fits. But you need to fit the rubber seal from the AFE intake properly around it.

There isn't any need to do that. The AFE heat shield is designed to sit roughly 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch above the manifold. "Hovering" above, if you will. The extra room gained allows for the strut brace to be mounted without ANY interferement of the intake or heat shield. The seal created between the heat shield and hood is also uncompromised in that the strut brace when installed compresses the "rubber gasket" without any added stress to the heat shield itself.

Take a look ......





As you can see here ........... the rubber gasket is rather thick as if they designed the heat shield for a future addition of a strut brace.

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by MacFly

vid of aFe intake on my 535i...sounds badass!

would love to see dyno numbers, thanks for going through the trouble.

Yeah, I love how you're able to hear the whine from start to finish. Thanks for the clip!

I'm just glad I'm able to get the information out to anyone who might benefit from it.

[OO---OO]

This looks awsome, cant wait to see the results!!!!
How does it sound?

[mnkybiznes]

Originally Posted by OO---OO

This looks awsome, cant wait to see the results!!!!
How does it sound?

Just above this post is a video/audio clip from an intake installed on a 535i .............. enjoy

FYI ............ I went for a ride around town just to listen to it this evening ......

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by mnkybiznes

There isn't any need to do that. The AFE heat shield is designed to sit roughly 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch above the manifold. "Hovering" above, if you will. The extra room gained allows for the strut brace to be mounted without ANY interferement of the intake or heat shield. The seal created between the heat shield and hood is also uncompromised in that the strut brace when installed compresses the "rubber gasket" without any added stress to the heat shield itself.

Take a look ......





As you can see here ........... the rubber gasket is rather thick as if they designed the heat shield for a future addition of a strut brace.

It looks to me like the brace pushes down on the rubber gasket, preventing a proper seal with the underside foam on the hood, hence allowing hot air from the right side of the engine to be sucked into the intake. When dealing with a turbo intake, I would prefer a tight system, preventing any slop that could develop leaks in the pressurized components.