[dancaraya]

My car: 2009 335xi

Right now I have the stock air intake, but I just bought the dual cone Injen intake, thinking I would have a little more fun with it. However, after my purchase I started reading some posts on here where people are basically saying it's not worth it to switch from the stock intake to an Injen or even AFE dual cone intake.

What do people think? Is it worth it? Will I even notice anything other than the sound?

[jt335i]

Agreed. Not worth changing the intake as the stock already maximizes air flow. Better off swapping the paper filter with a K&N (to save long run cost of frequently replacing paper filter). You'll be spending a ton of money to change the sound, and for minimal HP gain, which I would rather spend that on a muffler. Did that route with the K&N and had the BMW PE installed. Love the new more aggressive sound. Also, I had my trusted mechanic do a Cobb Stage 2 tune which added more "GO" power to this badness.

[GSX455s]

If your going to tune it in the future then keep the dci or get the injen. If not then yes all your doing is changing the sound with a few hp gain you'll never notice. The stock box is plenty good for stock boost. Though in the end its what you want, the injen dose look kind of cool.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

If you tune the vehicle, the stock intake cannot provide enough throughput. That's where the gains on an aftermarket intake shine.

[CoffeeBean]

Ha, have y'all ever looked at the stock airbox? The area between the box top and the filter is so restrictive. DCI isn't needed on a stock car, but it's a must if you're going to tune it.

[fredcase]

I was considering a injen intake. They kinda look like a hybrid dci and cai.

I liked how the filters sit closer to the front of the engine bay, possibly bringing in some.colder air than a standard dci.

I didn't like the excessive bending of the pipes, possibly causing a restriction.

[Gohan335i7]

Originally Posted by dancaraya

My car: 2009 335xi

Right now I have the stock air intake, but I just bought the dual cone Injen intake, thinking I would have a little more fun with it. However, after my purchase I started reading some posts on here where people are basically saying it's not worth it to switch from the stock intake to an Injen or even AFE dual cone intake.

What do people think? Is it worth it? Will I even notice anything other than the sound?

Yay!!! Totally worth it IMHO. Been running injen since I first tuned my car. The sound it makes alone is worth the money, however it is very useful on a tuned car.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by jt335i

Agreed. Not worth changing the intake as the stock already maximizes air flow. Better off swapping the paper filter with a K&N (to save long run cost of frequently replacing paper filter). You'll be spending a ton of money to change the sound, and for minimal HP gain, which I would rather spend that on a muffler. Did that route with the K&N and had the BMW PE installed. Love the new more aggressive sound. Also, I had my trusted mechanic do a Cobb Stage 2 tune which added more "GO" power to this badness.

+1. the stock airbox is already almost as good as anythng aftermarket. you will barely notice a difference compared to stock other then the increased noise.

I think an intercooler upgrade (or painting it black) would be more worthwhile.

[CoffeeBean]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

+1. the stock airbox is already almost as good as anythng aftermarket. you will barely notice a difference compared to stock other then the increased noise.

I think an intercooler upgrade (or painting it black) would be more worthwhile.

He's talking about the N54, not N52. Completely different box.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by RossTheBoss

He's talking about the N54, not N52. Completely different box.

yes I know, its obviously a different design. I'm just saying whatever stock box BMW makes, whether its new or old is of good quality and unnecessary to replace.

for a turbo car especially, I would be focusing on exhaust modifications like a downpipe and secondary cat delete.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by dancaraya

My car: 2009 335xi

Right now I have the stock air intake, but I just bought the dual cone Injen intake, thinking I would have a little more fun with it. However, after my purchase I started reading some posts on here where people are basically saying it's not worth it to switch from the stock intake to an Injen or even AFE dual cone intake.

What do people think? Is it worth it? Will I even notice anything other than the sound?

If you dyno the car, you will see slight gains ... Highly doubt butt dyno will feel the difference though

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

yes I know, its obviously a different design. I'm just saying whatever stock box BMW makes, whether its new or old is of good quality and unnecessary to replace.

for a turbo car especially, I would be focusing on exhaust modifications like a downpipe and secondary cat delete.

Not sure why you insist it's not worth replacing. It's extremely restrictive on a tuned & modified vehicle. Not only are wastegate duty cylces reduced when switching to a better performing intake but people pick up MPH at the track, Lower ET's, power on the dyno and everything else in between showing the stock intake is not sufficient.

The data is out there and has been beaten to death for the last 8+ years

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

Not sure why you insist it's not worth replacing. It's extremely restrictive on a tuned & modified vehicle. Not only are wastegate duty cylces reduced when switching to a better performing intake but people pick up MPH at the track, Lower ET's, power on the dyno and everything else in between showing the stock intake is not sufficient.

The data is out there and has been beaten to death for the last 8+ years

This guy comes on EVERY n54 intake thread I've seen and spouts garbage.... .Our forced induction engines are different than your naturally aspirated engine, especially with how restrictive the oem airbox is. Get it through your head, you don't know what you are talking about.(6IX)

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

This guy comes on EVERY n54 intake thread I've seen and spouts garbage.... .Our forced induction engines are different than your naturally aspirated engine, especially with how restrictive the oem airbox is. Get it through your head, you don't know what you are talking about.(6IX)

.. theres other people saying the exact same thing on this thread.. just because i do not have a turbo engine does not mean my knowledge is limited to only natural aspiration. the N54 has two intakes which go straight to the turbo, so the gains in replacing an intake on a turbo engine would obviously greater but are the gains really wort the money? what, maybe like 2HP max and slightly lower air intake temperatures which are offset by being heat-soaked while sitting still on a hot day anyways.

Not that im trying to spread garbage on a forum that doesnt apply to my application, but i believe that an intecooler upgrade or even a secondary cat delete would let you achieve better performance for similar (or less) money

[CoffeeBean]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

.. theres other people saying the exact same thing on this thread.. just because i do not have a turbo engine does not mean my knowledge is limited to only natural aspiration. the N54 has two intakes which go straight to the turbo, so the gains in replacing an intake on a turbo engine would obviously greater but are the gains really wort the money? what, maybe like 2HP max and slightly lower air intake temperatures which are offset by being heat-soaked while sitting still on a hot day anyways.

Not that im trying to spread garbage on a forum that doesnt apply to my application, but i believe that an intecooler upgrade or even a secondary cat delete would let you achieve better performance for similar (or less) money

Yeah and they don't know what they're talking about either. I know both intakes like the back of my hand - I've had 2 E90 328s and now have a 335. You're really missing the point. Like has been said, yes the N54 stock airbox is fine for a stock tune running the stock 8 psi of boost. You change the tune and run twice that much, you've got a hell of a bottleneck between the top of the airbox and the filter. It's not like the N52 intake where the the filter sits on its side and there's no real restriction other than the charcoal filter.

Look how short the lid is!





The air has to go through the front tube, UP through the panel filter, squeeze through under the lid, then go into the cavity on the right out to the 2 turbos. At $95 for a DCI set up, why would you not use it on a tuned car? That's only twice what a panel filter would be. Obviously a lot more airflow, and the small increase in heat isn't going to matter once it gets to the turbos anyway.

Stop being a troll.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by RossTheBoss

Yeah and they don't know what they're talking about either. I know both intakes like the back of my hand - I've had 2 E90 328s and now have a 335. You're really missing the point. Like has been said, yes the N54 stock airbox is fine for a stock tune running the stock 8 psi of boost. You change the tune and run twice that much, you've got a hell of a bottleneck between the top of the airbox and the filter. It's not like the N52 intake where the the filter sits on its side and there's no real restriction other than the charcoal filter.

Look how short the lid is!





The air has to go through the front tube, UP through the panel filter, squeeze through under the lid, then go into the cavity on the right out to the 2 turbos. At $95 for a DCI set up, why would you not use it on a tuned car? That's only twice what a panel filter would be. Obviously a lot more airflow, and the small increase in heat isn't going to matter once it gets to the turbos anyway.

Stop being a troll.

fair enough but if you are near stock, dont you think it makes more sense to spend that money on a downpipe or even a secondary cat delete instead?

[CoffeeBean]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

fair enough but if you are near stock, dont you think it makes more sense to spend that money on a downpipe or even a secondary cat delete instead?

Nope, if you're going to use a tune (therefore DCI too) you're going to need a better intercooler to run it consistently. Stage1 MHD on stock i/c in 90+ heat = 150+ IATs. Been there done that. Maybe you can get away with it in Canada.

[l3rett]

Originally Posted by RossTheBoss

Nope, if you're going to use a tune (therefore DCI too) you're going to need a better intercooler to run it consistently. Stage1 MHD on stock i/c in 90+ heat = 150+ IATs. Been there done that. Maybe you can get away with it in Canada.

Exactly. Different people live in different places and have different needs/desires. It's 32F in Seattle right now. Even with a BMS intake on my N55 my IAT are never exceeding 90F and that's only when it's spooling out 15+psi.

The cost of the intake is far less than a downpipe or FMIC, especially when you consider the time/cost to install it.

I also think the boost comes on faster, but that may just be because I can hear it spooling.