[Former_Boosted_IS]

With so many cold air intakes on the market, a lot of us no longer use the stock intake plumbing. That leaves a gap, or opening, for air to wastefully be directed away from the radiator and into the engine bay. Since keeping this very hot engine cool should be a huge goal for all of us, STETT Performance decided to make a very nice and inexpensive mod to help force more air through your radiator. Air block offs or radiator sealing plates are common mods on other cars, so I was glad to see this item was now going to be offered for the N54.

The STETT Performance Air Intake Block Off is now available for the N54 in two different finishes. STETT has a clear acrylic version or aluminum finish version. Both are very inexpensive and the installation is a quick 10 minutes at most. After a little thought, I decided to pick up the aluminum finish STETT Performance Air Intake Block Off and the review begins.

Experience with STETT Performance

I have picked up a number of items from STETT Performance in my modding process because their products have been great, their communication superb, secure packaging, and tracking info is always provided. When I heard STETT had the intake block off available at such a good price it was a no brainer. STETT as always was very helpful and knowledgable on their products. After ordering the product, I received the tracking info by email very quickly and was able to plan for its arrival/install.

The STETT Performance Air Intake Block Off came very well packaged as has always been the case with STETT.



The part was individually packaged and protected with peanuts.





My first look at the item showed a very nicely constructed air intake block off with a beautiful finish!



The STETT logo is beautifully etched into the textured aluminum plate.







You can see this is a well constructed item with professional craftsmanship.



As I expected, STETT provided a quality product, great communication, and superb shipment. Now it was time for the install.

Installation

This is going to be a very easy install for any novice. All you will need is a pair of pliars and a 3/8" socket head with a torx t-30 socket. Oh and 10 minutes of your time.

Pop your hood and locate the stock intake plumbing from the radiator section that feeds air into your engine bay. You will see two fasteners (highlighted with the blue arrow) that secure the intake plumbing.



Note, if you still have the stock snorket in place, you will remove the screws that hold the upper section intake plumbing in place. Since I removed the snorkel long ago, I just had to remove the fasteners shown with the blue arrows above. To remove them, grab your pliars and pull the center pop out of the fastener.





Now you can pull the fastener itself out on both sides of the stock intake duct.



Assuming you have removed the upper snorkel screws, then you can just pull the duct out by lifting it up and pulling it out of the car



This will expose the opening that the STETT Air Intake Block Off will cover.



To install the STETT Air Intake Block Off, you will need to remove two bolts holding the brace for your crash bar using a 3/4" socket head and torx t-30 socket.



As you can see in the picture below, this will give you enough "play" to slide the STETT Air Intake Block Off past the brace.





Now it is time to button things up. Simply re-insert the fasteners in the holes on the STETT Block Off, and press the rivet into the fastener to secure things, re-install the 2 torx t-30 bolts for the brace, and you are done 10 minutes later.



This is absolutely an install any novice can do with no problem whatsoever in about 10 minutes.

Results

The STETT Performance Air Intake Block Off is very rigid, so I feel confident it will not flex while the vehicle is at speed. The item doesn't interfere at all with your ability to close the hood easily. The appearance of the item is sharp and sleek. Here are the final results.



In terms of performance, I am not sure if I can tangibly measure the difference here without a track, but the point of re-directing the air to the radiator has absolutely been accomplished. The intake block off has sealed off the unused intake duct holes allowing greater pressure to build on the face of the radiator and that can only lead to cooler water temperatures.

Conclusions

I keep going back to STETT Performance because they have yet to fail me in any way. Their designs are always eye catching, yet very functional. STETT communicates beautifully, packages well, and always provides tracking info. They have been an A+ vendor for me thus far and continued that perfection with this order.

Radiator block offs or intake block offs are common on a lot of platforms. They serve to direct air toward the radiator when intake tracks are no longer using that air. The goal is to increase the pressure on the front of the radiator increasing its effectiveness. The STETT Performance Air Intake Block Off accomplishes this goal well with a rigid piece providing a snug seal. For the money, I just don't think you can go wrong with this one. The price for the acrylic piece is $16.00 and the aluminum piece is $24.00.

I have no doubt I will continue to purchase from STETT because they have proven reliable over and over again.

[import36]

looks like a great piece......not too bad on the wallet either!

[cstavaru]

Probably one of the most useless mods ever

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by cstavaru

Probably one of the most useless mods ever

Are you serious? I can't tell since this is the internet. LOL

If you are serious, then look at what is around the side of your intercooler. You will see there is a rubber sealing strip. If you don't have a sealed encloser then the air will bypass the cooling device. Sealing the compartment around your intercooler and radiator are ideas even supported obviously by BMW.

[Belarus]

Originally Posted by Former_Boosted_IS

Are you serious? I can't tell since this is the internet. LOL

If you are serious, then look at what is around the side of your intercooler. You will see there is a rubber sealing strip. If you don't have a sealed encloser then the air will bypass the cooling device. Sealing the compartment around your intercooler and radiator are ideas even supported obviously by BMW.

As always another well written DYI/Review by you .

I do agree with cstavaru, however if the # can be posted comparing before & after it'll be a different story.

[triggz]

I would think this is a bad idea

While driving, you're getting cold air rushing through your kidney grilles and into the snorkel which then goes into your DCI. If you block off that portion, you will no longer get any cold air into the engine bay. Therefore your DCI will suck in very hot air instead of luke warm air.

Correct me if im wrong

[Belarus]

Originally Posted by triggz

I would think this is a bad idea

While driving, you're getting cold air rushing through your kidney grilles and into the snorkel which then goes into your DCI. If you block off that portion, you will no longer get any cold air into the engine bay. Therefore your DCI will suck in very hot air instead of luke warm air.

Correct me if im wrong

This is if you're using Cold Air intakes e.g. UR CAI. FBI should put it in Bold

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by import36

looks like a great piece......not too bad on the wallet either!

I know, the price is fantastic. Cheap mods are a good thing.

[jpsimon]

Originally Posted by triggz

I would think this is a bad idea

While driving, you're getting cold air rushing through your kidney grilles and into the snorkel which then goes into your DCI. If you block off that portion, you will no longer get any cold air into the engine bay. Therefore your DCI will suck in very hot air instead of luke warm air.

Correct me if im wrong

OP has the stett intake which has the filter located in the fender

[triggz]

ohhhhh ok...ya if you have a CAI then it makes sense

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by Belarus

As always another well written DYI/Review by you .

I do agree with cstavaru, however if the # can be posted comparing before & after it'll be a different story.

Belarus. Thanks for the compliments.

Opinions are welcome on the forums and I don't discourage that. I do disagree with your assessment. Pressure differential across the radiator is absolutely critical in the ability to cool. Why do you think BMW seals the side of the intercooler? Why is there a sealing plate under the intercooler? Why seal the fan against the radiator? What if there were two large 6 inch by 2 inch holes on the top of the radiator fan shroud? Block offs are common on tons of platforms. Look at the 2JZ and you will see these are commonly used.

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by triggz

ohhhhh ok...ya if you have a CAI then it makes sense

[triggz]

belarus sorry i couldn't make the bbq, was stuck at work until 9pm

[cn555ic]

FBIS...you should wrap that in CF and it would go along with your engine theme! If I got that I would request the polished ofcourse! lol

[Belarus]

Originally Posted by Former_Boosted_IS

Belarus. Thanks for the compliments.

Opinions are welcome on the forums and I don't discourage that. I do disagree with your assessment. Pressure differential across the radiator is absolutely critical in the ability to cool. Why do you think BMW seals the side of the intercooler? Why is there a sealing plate under the intercooler? Why seal the fan against the radiator? What if there were two large 6 inch by 2 inch holes on the top of the radiator fan shroud? Block offs are common on tons of platforms. Look at the 2JZ and you will see these are commonly used.

That's speaking hypothetically and sealing two holes on the top with out actually comparing # before & after is nothing more than maybe.

This reminds me of all the discussions around CAI, DCI engine heat impact & which brand is better... at the end when people did perform bench marks the power gains between CAI & DCI were pretty much the same and brand/design made minimum to non difference.

[Belarus]

Originally Posted by triggz

belarus sorry i couldn't make the bbq, was stuck at work until 9pm

Sorry for ... N.P. Hopefully you'll be able to make this Saturday Niagara Falls cruise under Canadian section

[triggz]

why would you need to close off the 2 other holes? It wouldn't serve a purpose except for looks

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by cn555ic

FBIS...you should wrap that in CF and it would go along with your engine theme! If I got that I would request the polished ofcourse! lol

That is my plan, but I cannot find vinyl that is glossy carbon fiber. The 3M DiNoc has only a matte finish which is baffling to me.

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by triggz

why would you need to close off the 2 other holes? It wouldn't serve a purpose except for looks

Because your hood will not close then.

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by Belarus

That's speaking hypothetically and sealing two holes on the top with out actually comparing # before & after is nothing more than maybe.

This reminds me of all the discussions around CAI, DCI engine heat impact & which brand is better... at the end when people did perform bench marks the power gains between CAI & DCI were pretty much the same and brand/design made minimum to non difference.

Belarus, I am not sure where you are coming up with this info. I did in fact do a statistical comparison between the DCI and CAIs. Here it is:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...DCI+versus+CAI

Here is the most important graph:



It is not opinion but a fact that the STETT CAI produced 9F cooler IATs then the DCIs under WOT pulls (with an Active Autowerke intercooler). With a stock intercooler I suspect the difference in IAT would have been closer to 15-17F.

If you do not subscribe to how radiators work with pressure differentials, then I am not sure there is any argument I can make. Will the difference be gigantic? I suspect not but this is about improving the car and I feel there is more than enough evidence to support the value of block offs.

[dzenno]

I sold my beautiful looking black powder coated UR CAI with a K&N filter and got a DCI..can't stand the fact that I have to lift my car up every single time I have to have a peak and reach down to the DVs and my meth nozzles to have a look if everything is fine, or worse, when there's suspicion of a boost leak, which on boosted cars in general can happen pretty often..on top of that having ALL the tuners running DCIs including many in time attack races doesn't help either...too bad I spend so much money on it but got a decent portion back which I can use to get my fuc*in driveshaft inspected oh the horror

EDIT: Oh, one thing DCI definitely beats a CAI in is weight reduction that pipe was HEAVY!

[cn555ic]

Originally Posted by dzenno

I sold my beautiful looking black powder coated UR CAI with a K&N filter and got a DCI..can't stand the fact that I have to lift my car up every single time I have to have a peak and reach down to the DVs and my meth nozzles to have a look if everything is fine, or worse, when there's suspicion of a boost leak, which on boosted cars in general can happen pretty often..on top of that having ALL the tuners running DCIs including many in time attack races doesn't help either...too bad I spend so much money on it but got a decent portion back which I can use to get my fuc*in driveshaft inspected oh the horror

EDIT: Oh, one thing DCI definitely beats a CAI in is weight reduction that pipe was HEAVY!

Hmmm I have the UR intake and I have no problems checking my meth nozzle since its right underneath the DV hoses...I have to agree with FBIS that it does make a huge difference between cai and DCI...