[Dark_Knight_335]

I know right? You think if I call m o d b a r g a i n s they would actually tell me the truth and produce a dyno?

I'm almost convinced that those ram air intake scoops (not to be confused with the cheapo scoops) may actually do something!

[135Pats]

They don’t do squat except block a bit of the main rad. But they look pretty awesome….I painted mine canary yellow and it’s a nice contrast on AW paint and matte black grills.

[BRAISKI]

I'm thinking of making my own scoops, does anyone have some approx measurements?

I'm not installing this for +HP, just for looks. Companies will say anything to sell their product esp increasing HP. Its a "cheap mod" for HP increase. But unless they do a 100% money back guarantee and tested it on the same day with and without the scoops, without piggy backing other mods to increase the HP, I call it BS. Again they look cool and thats it!

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Scoops only do something at high speed. Remember, we have the benefit of an intercooler, so the air going into our engines is already at a good temperature.

Fighter jets and airplanes have ram-air scoops for various different applications. They do work, but at high speeds only. Low-speed (sub-highway) there will be no difference that you'll be able to measure.

I would recommend doing other more tangible mods prior to purchasing a scoop.

[Jsoboti]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Scoops only do something at high speed. Remember, we have the benefit of an intercooler, so the air going into our engines is already at a good temperature.

Fighter jets and airplanes have ram-air scoops for various different applications. They do work, but at high speeds only. Low-speed (sub-highway) there will be no difference that you'll be able to measure.

I would recommend doing other more tangible mods prior to purchasing a scoop.

The scoops on fighter jets only have an effect at super sonic speeds. My cars fast but idk if it's THAT fast!

On a serious note though, they do nothing, but the sure do look cool. Red Cyba scoop FTW

[e92proper]

Originally Posted by mashimarho

Cyba as well.
Old pics of my old scoop set up

What lip is that? Arkym? Weren't you selling 2 before or something? Still selling?

[snaimpally]

This video shows that scoops do seem to provide more air to the engine:

I have the Cyba scoops. For $45, whatever ...

[Euroboost91]

Installed my Cyba scoops a couple of days ago and at highway speeds I feel a "slight" difference, maybe its just my head.

[kettasii]

I am not an expert, but how about this? Turbo boost is fixed unless you tune it. So HP is fixed? Inlet air temperature should be the same with or without the scoops, right? Assuming these are correct, dyno is not going to show any differences.

Now throttle response is a different story. The scoops should increase the inlet pressure a bit. Not sure how much, but should be a bit. Now for the same boost pressure at the engine, the turbo does not have to do as much work. So less turbo lag, faster throttle response?

[snaimpally]

Originally Posted by kettasii

I am not an expert, but how about this? Turbo boost is fixed unless you tune it. So HP is fixed? Inlet air temperature should be the same with or without the scoops, right? Assuming these are correct, dyno is not going to show any differences.

Now throttle response is a different story. The scoops should increase the inlet pressure a bit. Not sure how much, but should be a bit. Now for the same boost pressure at the engine, the turbo does not have to do as much work. So less turbo lag, faster throttle response?

If you watch the video, you'll see the guy uses a leaf blower to simulate the air coming in. He has a scoop on one side and no scoop on the other. He has a lit candle at the back of the engine compartment. The scoop side causes the air to be sufficiently concentrated to blow out the candle while the non-scoop side does not blow the candle out. Maybe its just a cheap parlor trick but does seem to lend credence to the theory that the scoop is concentrating more air to the engine.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Interesting posts.

The only thing I imagined it doing is scooping more road debris and dirt into my radiator ha ha

[kettasii]

Originally Posted by snaimpally

If you watch the video, you'll see the guy uses a leaf blower to simulate the air coming in. He has a scoop on one side and no scoop on the other. He has a lit candle at the back of the engine compartment. The scoop side causes the air to be sufficiently concentrated to blow out the candle while the non-scoop side does not blow the candle out. Maybe its just a cheap parlor trick but does seem to lend credence to the theory that the scoop is concentrating more air to the engine.

Some people may say it is a trick, but let's say it is true. Isn't turbo boost is still being limited by the ECU to the same value? So no change in HP? Maybe the turbo does not have to work as hard, so less heat is generated, and a bit lower temperature and thus a bit higher HP? I do think turbo lag will be reduced though.

[kettasii]

Originally Posted by Dark_Knight_335

Interesting posts.

The only thing I imagined it doing is scooping more road debris and dirt into my radiator ha ha

Maybe more road debris and dirt to the air box, but not to the radiator. Actually less debris and dirt to the radiator as the scoops deflect some air away from the radiator.

[snaimpally]

Originally Posted by kettasii

Some people may say it is a trick, but let's say it is true. Isn't turbo boost is still being limited by the ECU to the same value? So no change in HP? Maybe the turbo does not have to work as hard, so less heat is generated, and a bit lower temperature and thus a bit higher HP? I do think turbo lag will be reduced though.

Logically, I think this is what may happen. The increased air flow would be measured by the MAF sensor. The MAF sensor would tell the ECU and the ECU would adjust accordingly, e.g., adding more fuel to match the increased airflow, resulting in more hp/tq. I doubt it would be a significant amount more though. Perhaps 1 or 2 more hp if we are lucky. Lets just say its a cheap, fun, mod and be done with it.

[kettasii]

Originally Posted by snaimpally

Logically, I think this is what may happen. The increased air flow would be measured by the MAF sensor. The MAF sensor would tell the ECU and the ECU would adjust accordingly, e.g., adding more fuel to match the increased airflow, resulting in more hp/tq. I doubt it would be a significant amount more though. Perhaps 1 or 2 more hp if we are lucky. Lets just say its a cheap, fun, mod and be done with it.

Is this true for a turbo engine? Is there more air flow to the engine if maximum boost pressure is fixed by the ECU?

[Tom Droze]

So, is it true that the orange scoops make more power than the black scoops?

In other words, how much air could an orange scoop, scoop, if an orange scoop could scoop air?

:-)

[#Tee]

im with the they dont do shit camp, something red inside your grill for an aggressive look??? watdaheo??? just throw on some M stripes /// . fyi shops tend to manipulate dyno plots to move products...i know of some.

[335i Bubblehead]

too bad...I was going to make a custom pair out of aluminum & a bit larger...they do look cool, just don't like the red too much.

[kettasii]

Well I did it as I am out of warranty. My setup is a 2011 335i sedan with the sport package and PPK. First I installed the AFE Stage-2 Si Intake. While at it, I also cleaned the MAF sensor with CRC cleaner. Don't know about power as my butt dyno is not calibrated, but immediately I felt the car more responsive.

Encouraged, I installed the AFE Dynamic Air Scoop. Wow, it is even more responsive. BMW should have shipped the car like this. Again I am not talking about power as I cannot tell, but throttle response is much faster. Also the engine sounds more refine as if it is happier. Before this, sometime the engine sounded harsh, and I did not feel like pushing it. Now I push it just to hear it.

[BMWrush17]

I do agree that these scoops are mostly for looks and in theory may do close to nothing... that being said I like having a new project.

It seems that the scoops in theory have the following positives/negatives:

Positives:
1) providing focused air to intake track (mostly only during higher speeds 70+ mph)
2) resulting in better throttle response and slight HP (maybe 1 -2 hp at some parts of the curve) gains at higher speeds

Negatives:
1) slightly blocks ac/radiator fins
2) increased possibility of more road debris/rain/insects to go into intake track

I took my front grills off this weekend and had a look around. The scoops will definitely block about 8-12% of the opening for the ac/radiator. The bottom piece of the front grill opening has a plastic sleeve covering the metal frame. At first I thought there would be some trimming to open up the space to make up for the covering caused up the scoop. Not going to be the case.

I then thought what if someone just installs one scoop (left or right?) and puts some type of covering screen to prevent bugs/debris from getting past the scoop into the intake track?

[LGCubana]

If I only had $50, I would do the drop K&N filter 1st