[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by TEST DRYVER

Interesting thread. The last 2 pieces I am looking to buy after going FBO, BM3 stage 2, wheels & tires, and cosmetics (front lip, rear diffuser, and side skirt decals) would be an exhaust and intake. Of course you see a lot of BMS intakes here for sale used, I'm not interested in an intake without a heatshield as well. I was also considering an AFE and Injen as I have heard many positive reviews, especially about the AFE. Problem is, the proper AFE is a bit too pricey for my blood, but you guys have my curiosity piqued with the CTS. Seems like a good bang for the buck... Once I've purchased the exhaust an intake, I'll be done modifying for a short while. At least till something comes out that excites me again. I'm pretty happy with the performance right now, I'd just like to add a bit more sound, and of course a bit more power never hurt anyone

I think after reading all the comments and doing more heavy research, the best bang for the buck is going to be the CTS. im gonna purchase a unit soon, and ill keep you posted as to how it goes!

[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by HKD126

My car made more power with just an AFE drop in dry filter with stock airbox vs. the open filter intake I was running previously. Spend that extra money on other worth while upgrades. Food for thought...

Interesting. I had not thought of keeping the stock unit in place. I am mainly looking for sound, and capability for future power mods.

[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

I have it and i do not have a tune. Im starting to notice some oddities with it. I get rough idle, almost like the car is cammed..

It only happens if i drive the car and shut it off only to start it back up less then 10 minutes later. During driving its fine but the odd idle has me thinking i either need to get a tune or take the intake off.

how long have you had this in the car/ does it impact performance or throw a light on the dash?? I was thinking about going CTS after all the positive comments.

[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by Brice.omalley

how long have you had this in the car/ does it impact performance or throw a light on the dash?? I was thinking about going CTS after all the positive comments.

I've had the intake on the car for ~9 months. I've cleaned the air filter and since its an oil less i cant attribute it to that. No impact on performance or throwing a light. Its just when im in park after starting the car up again after its been off for less than 10 minutes.

[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

I've had the intake on the car for ~9 months. I've cleaned the air filter and since its an oil less i cant attribute it to that. No impact on performance or throwing a light. Its just when im in park after starting the car up again after its been off for less than 10 minutes.

ok, thanks for the info. I will have to look into it, but it seems to be pretty reliable so far, as you have had it for 9 months with no problems. hows the sound of it? is it a noticeable difference between stock and then the aftermarket piece?

[BetterLivingF30]

CTS all day long, just had mine installed at the dealership I work at. They have a Langley office so for Canadians you don't have to pay any extra brokerage fees and shipping is free in the US & Canada. Great company to deal with they were helpful with any questions I had. I would give 10/10 for quality 10/10 for sound. Performance wise it adds better throttle response and opens up my AA exhaust more. No rough idles and from what I gather the manifold is similar to the OEM so it wont throw a code, just let it run for 10 minutes after install. Buy the CTS Turbo Intake you will love every minute of it and shouldn't have any issues with it, if its installed right. Plus its got a heat shield to protect from heat soak. So no codes, quality and sound rule and a great price point. I don't think you can beat the quality & sound for the price point.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Also consider BMS, it's one of the best values out there!

Heat shield is not an issue as with a Turbo car the turbos heat up the charge ir far more then the intake can draw in, and then FMIC cools it all down. Least restrictions are the key (Most are flowing)

[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by BetterLivingF30

CTS all day long, just had mine installed at the dealership I work at. They have a Langley office so for Canadians you don't have to pay any extra brokerage fees and shipping is free in the US & Canada. Great company to deal with they were helpful with any questions I had. I would give 10/10 for quality 10/10 for sound. Performance wise it adds better throttle response and opens up my AA exhaust more. No rough idles and from what I gather the manifold is similar to the OEM so it wont throw a code, just let it run for 10 minutes after install. Buy the CTS Turbo Intake you will love every minute of it and shouldn't have any issues with it, if its installed right. Plus its got a heat shield to protect from heat soak. So no codes, quality and sound rule and a great price point. I don't think you can beat the quality & sound for the price point.

Thank you for the review. I am thinking I am gonna pull the trigger on one. seems like everyone who has one likes it alot.

[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

Also consider BMS, it's one of the best values out there!

Heat shield is not an issue as with a Turbo car the turbos heat up the charge ir far more then the intake can draw in, and then FMIC cools it all down. Least restrictions are the key (Most are flowing)

if you want rough idle and a check engine light.... and no the answer is not get a jb4

[Munchi435i]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

if you want rough idle and a check engine light.... and no the answer is not get a jb4

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Brice.omalley

Ok, the time has come to buy a new intake for my 2015 f30 335i. I am between two brands right now, but I am open to suggestions. I want something that will give me the best sound, while still having good potential for power mods later on. right now I am between these two:

injen cold air intake
https://topgearsolutions.com/injen-s...free-shipping/


AFE momentum pro 5R
https://afepower.com/afe-power-54-82...-intake-system

side note:

I have also seen the dinan example, BMS, CTS, MST. I like dinan's look, as its full carbon fiber, but it seems to get a bad rep. I do not like the BMS because there is no heat shield and that will cause problems down the road. I love the fact that the AFE has a full case and looks alright at the same time, however I dont like the cost. I have seen numerous f30s with the injen, and it gets a great rep. regardless I would love to hear personal experience/ opinions.

Here's my two cents, for what it is worth...

1) Most aftermarket intakes are open and designed to make more noise. If noise is what you want then look at them. I'm not big on the open units personally because they are really sucking hot air from under the hood into the engine rather than cool air entering the front of the car. Don't be enamored, like I was initially, of a big air filter, thinking that I would be allowing more air into the engine. Actually the limiting factor is the size of the stock turbo's intake port.

2) NEVER use an oiled filter. An experienced BMW tech told me it can gunk up those expensive sensors in the intake system. Not worth it!

3) Cheapest and quickest intake gain that you can make is to replace the stock air filter with an aFePower.com ProDry Part# 31-10226 for F30 12-15, F32 14-15. About $85 online. I think that aFe controls the price to be the same everywhere. You can clean it so it's a replacement filter for life. You can instantly feel the power difference.

4) The M Performance Intake basically modifies the bottom box of the air filter housing by adding another hole to suck more air into the filter. On M Performance models you can see the added hole outlined in red plastic. I've seen three ways to add this feature to your car:
a) Purchase the bottom box with the red hole already installed for about $200 and swap the bottom of your stock intake out. See attached photo which shows the bottom of the intake box but it is actually upside down.
b) Take your bottom intake box out and drill holes in the plastic in the same spot as the red hole in the M Performance unit. See post# 19 in this thread for the information and photos.
c) There is another intake post on the forum in the past month where a guy actually cut out the exact same size hole as the red hole. If you search I'm sure that you will find it. Photos are posted there also.

So for the price of an $85 aFe dry air filter and a little time cutting or drilling holes in the bottom of your stock intake box that will never be seen, you can have a high performance intake system. Then use the extra money for a quick plug-in tune like the JB+ for under $200. It will give you double the extra boost of the expensive BMW MPPK tune. That's the most fun that you can have with your N55 for the least amount of money.
Have fun! Hope this helps!

[XxThe_RemedyXx]

Keep your stock air box. It does a fine job. Spend your money elsewhere...

[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by johnung

Here's my two cents, for what it is worth...

1) Most aftermarket intakes are open and designed to make more noise. If noise is what you want then look at them. I'm not big on the open units personally because they are really sucking hot air from under the hood into the engine rather than cool air entering the front of the car. Don't be enamored, like I was initially, of a big air filter, thinking that I would be allowing more air into the engine. Actually the limiting factor is the size of the stock turbo's intake port.

2) NEVER use an oiled filter. An experienced BMW tech told me it can gunk up those expensive sensors in the intake system. Not worth it!

3) Cheapest and quickest intake gain that you can make is to replace the stock air filter with an aFePower.com ProDry Part# 31-10226 for F30 12-15, F32 14-15. About $85 online. I think that aFe controls the price to be the same everywhere. You can clean it so it's a replacement filter for life. You can instantly feel the power difference.

4) The M Performance Intake basically modifies the bottom box of the air filter housing by adding another hole to suck more air into the filter. On M Performance models you can see the added hole outlined in red plastic. I've seen three ways to add this feature to your car:
a) Purchase the bottom box with the red hole already installed for about $200 and swap the bottom of your stock intake out. See attached photo which shows the bottom of the intake box but it is actually upside down.
b) Take your bottom intake box out and drill holes in the plastic in the same spot as the red hole in the M Performance unit. See post# 19 in this thread for the information and photos.
c) There is another intake post on the forum in the past month where a guy actually cut out the exact same size hole as the red hole. If you search I'm sure that you will find it. Photos are posted there also.

So for the price of an $85 aFe dry air filter and a little time cutting or drilling holes in the bottom of your stock intake box that will never be seen, you can have a high performance intake system. Then use the extra money for a quick plug-in tune like the JB+ for under $200. It will give you double the extra boost of the expensive BMW MPPK tune. That's the most fun that you can have with your N55 for the least amount of money.
Have fun! Hope this helps!

Thank you for this! I did not even consider a drop in air filter, as I did not know a whole lot about it. I will have to look more into the drilling, because once i drill or cut into my stock air box, I can never go back unless I buy another one.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Brice.omalley

Thank you for this! I did not even consider a drop in air filter, as I did not know a whole lot about it. I will have to look more into the drilling, because once i drill or cut into my stock air box, I can never go back unless I buy another one.

Now you have me thinking about what I might do if I had the stock air box. I would install the aFe dry filter and modify the bottom box. You really can't mess it up because it isn't visible when you open the hood. See post#19 for nice removal instructions with photos.

I'd keep the supports molded into the box and drill between them to remove material. But then I'd finish it off by using an inexpensive Dremel type tool to cut out the three rectangular areas for added airflow to the aFe filter. See the attached photos in the PDF. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Actually before doing the drilling/Dremel procedure, I would first try cutting the plastic with a utility knife.
a) outline the rectangle location with a Sharpie
b) put a wood 2"x4" or something similar behind the plastic being cut
c) optional: drill small holes in the four corners of the rectangular to assure clean start/stop points
d) place a solid straight edge or ruler on the line
e) score the line with a utility knife containing a fresh blade. See photo for Stanley utility knife that can be purchases at any Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. It is very stable in the hand for these types of cuts.
f) continue to score the line until it cuts all the way through the plastic
g) repeat for the remaining four lines that make up the rectangle

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by johnung

Now you have me thinking about what I might do if I had the stock air box. I would install the aFe dry filter and modify the bottom box. You really can't mess it up because it isn't visible when you open the hood. See post#19 for nice removal instructions with photos.

I'd keep the supports molded into the box and drill between them to remove material. But then I'd finish it off by using an inexpensive Dremel type tool to cut out the three rectangular areas for added airflow to the aFe filter. See the attached photos in the PDF. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Actually before doing the drilling/Dremel procedure, I would first try cutting the plastic with a utility knife.
a) outline the rectangle location with a Sharpie
b) put a wood 2"x4" or something similar behind the plastic being cut
c) optional: drill small holes in the four corners of the rectangular to assure clean start/stop points
d) place a solid straight edge or ruler on the line
e) score the line with a utility knife containing a fresh blade. See photo for Stanley utility knife that can be purchases at any Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. It is very stable in the hand for these types of cuts.
f) continue to score the line until it cuts all the way through the plastic
g) repeat for the remaining four lines that make up the rectangle

I'd recommend a Dremel. The plastic is fairly thick and seems like it would be somewhat laborious with a utility knife. I just did this today. Used a drill to perforate the pattern I wanted to punch out then smoothed out the edges with a file. Haven't driven a whole lot today so I can't really speak to any discernible differences yet.

[TSA8151]

Butt dyno told me I picked up a bit of power when I switched from an AFE drop in to a cts intake.

[Brice.omalley]

Originally Posted by TSA8151

Butt dyno told me I picked up a bit of power when I switched from an AFE drop in to a cts intake.

I wonder how much tho, its intriguing to see that for such little money and a dremle, you could get close to the same power gains from a 200+ intake system.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

I'd recommend a Dremel. The plastic is fairly thick and seems like it would be somewhat laborious with a utility knife. I just did this today. Used a drill to perforate the pattern I wanted to punch out then smoothed out the edges with a file. Haven't driven a whole lot today so I can't really speak to any discernible differences yet.

Thanks for the heads up about the plastic thickness of the intake box. I'd never try to cut it freehand with a utility knife. I have found that the technique that I mentioned with the wood backer, straight edge, corner pilot holes and a heavy duty utility knife will work and give great results without all of the drilling and filing. Always need a new blade and may need to change blades several times during the process of cutting the three rectangular holes. Just be patient and repeat the cut over and over against the straight edge on the same line and it should produce a clean straight cut right through the plastic even if it is thick. Really any which way that this modification is accomplished is worth it.

Please post your impressions after you've had a chance to drive it. Assuming that you have switched to a less restrictive air filter like the aFe ProDry?

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Brice.omalley

I wonder how much tho, its intriguing to see that for such little money and a dremle, you could get close to the same power gains from a 200+ intake system.

Yes. Much better to spend your money elsewhere. Here's a link to that $199 JB+ tune information that I mentioned. It'll give you more power than a BMW MPPK tune for a fraction of the cost.
Very quick and easy to install. (a small flat edge screwdriver helps to release the clips on the wiring connectors and they pop right off) There is also a trade-in program to upgrade the JB+ to a JB4 later, or you can just sell the JB+ on the forum if you ever want to go to a another tune. Good luck!
https://x-ph.com/burger-tuning-bms-f...install-tuner/

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by johnung

Thanks for the heads up about the plastic thickness of the intake box. I'd never try to cut it freehand with a utility knife. I have found that the technique that I mentioned with the wood backer, straight edge, corner pilot holes and a heavy duty utility knife will work and give great results without all of the drilling and filing. Always need a new blade and may need to change blades several times during the process of cutting the three rectangular holes. Just be patient and repeat the cut over and over against the straight edge on the same line and it should produce a clean straight cut right through the plastic even if it is thick. Really any which way that this modification is accomplished is worth it.

Please post your impressions after you've had a chance to drive it. Assuming that you have switched to a less restrictive air filter like the aFe ProDry?

Your process would definitely make for a cleaner cut. The only potential challenge is that there are "ribs" on the air box; it's not a flat, flush surface. Personally, I wasn't too concerned with the aesthetic as you can't really see it when it's reinstalled anyways.

I haven't gotten the afe drop-in filter yet, but it's in my Amazon cart for when I need to replace the intake filter next (which will be soon).

[Logicoeur]

From the looks of the MPPK airbox they remove the ribs altogether for that opening. I dont think you would be wrong to cut through them if you do this mod yourself.

[BetterLivingF30]

Originally Posted by Brice.omalley

Thank you for the review. I am thinking I am gonna pull the trigger on one. seems like everyone who has one likes it alot.

Awesome man, you wont be let down the sound is amazing and the quality is there, most importantly no issues!