[atmosphericM]

Hello all,

Since I am seeing a lot of people interested in buying a used European market air intake box for the N51/52/53, I thought I'd make a quick thread with some advice. I'm sure this info is already out there, but possibly buried in threads containing 10+ pages. Hopefully this thread will be easy to find and reference for those interested.

Basically I just suggest that you use the UK eBay site (ebay.co.uk) as well as the German site (ebay.de) for finding the part. They do pop up here in America at ebay.com, but usually they're accompanied by the ridiculous price inflation that we're used to here. Using the sites located across the pond, I had no trouble really finding a great deal on one in good shape, paying about $125 USD shipped to my door. Happily, your US eBay site credentials work perfectly on the other countries' sites.

Now how I can help you the most is with this.. when searching eBay, copy and paste this search term (without the quotation marks, of course): "bmw (luftfilterkasten,luftfiltergehäuse,airbox,7555287 ,7552437)
(e90,e91,e92,e93,n52,n51,n53,e81,e82,e88,130,330,1 25,325)"
**No spaces within the parentheses, one space between each "cluster." For some reason, E90Post is adding spaces in my search term and I can't get rid of them.**

Yes, all of the part numbers work (the difference is in the MAF, which you don't use anyway). Yes, the unit from a 1-Series works (just not the 5er). And yes, the N53 box works with both N51 and N52 motors. So basically, if it "looks" right, it works.

I want to say that there are one or two additional (though much rarer) part numbers (from prior revisions), which would also of course be perfectly acceptable to include. You could also include "intake," after "airbox," but then be ready for a ridiculous amount of hits to sift through.

Beyond that, don't be afraid to "make an offer," and it might help your haggling abilities if you tell the seller that he/she is welcome to keep the MAF sensor that is often included in the auction.

Finally, consider your shipping options as it can be a pain sometimes importing items from other countries through Customs. Using a reputable shipper (and seller) that understands the importance of all the required customs documentation can mean the difference between getting your part and not.

Other than that, just be patient. My part took almost a month to get to me, and the tracking was pretty awful.. but in the end it did arrive. Good luck! And cheers to not paying $500+ for an intake lol.

-aM

[hassmaschine]

the euro airbox doesn't come with a MAF. it's typically just an IAT

That said, if anyone has a euro IAT they don't want, I'll take it..

[Thorin]

Mine came with a MAF; the same MAF that came off the US (N52) airbox- all connections, part numbers, etc match (it was from an N53, PN 7555287). The eBayer was awesome (vwbreakersukltd), got it to me in 10 days.

[lab_rat]

Great thread.

I did this exact route when purchasing my Euro airbox (got it from eBay UK). The entire process worked out great; and patience is important-it took nearly 3 weeks to arrive, but when saving >$350, it was worth it.

[thespecificocean]

Hi guys, I was able to use this website (see below) to easily find two Euro airboxes in Germany. What was especially nice is that it includes a link to open a foreign eBay listing through the US website. Meaning, it will auto translate most of the language of the important buttons and text. Used it last night and found two air boxes posted... bought one! I used the search term "BMW 7552437". Hopefully this helps anyone else looking for one.

https://www.geo-ship.com/

[PORTMOODY]

great thread.

[Eric_M328i]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

Hello all,

Since I am seeing a lot of people interested in buying a used European market air intake box for the N51/52/53, I thought I'd make a quick thread with some advice. I'm sure this info is already out there, but possibly buried in threads containing 10+ pages. Hopefully this thread will be easy to find and reference for those interested.

Basically I just suggest that you use the UK eBay site (ebay.co.uk) as well as the German site (ebay.de) for finding the part. They do pop up here in America at ebay.com, but usually they're accompanied by the ridiculous price inflation that we're used to here. Using the sites located across the pond, I had no trouble really finding a great deal on one in good shape, paying about $125 USD shipped to my door. Happily, your US eBay site credentials work perfectly on the other countries' sites.

Now how I can help you the most is with this.. when searching eBay, copy and paste this search term (without the quotation marks, of course): "bmw (luftfilterkasten,luftfiltergehäuse,airbox,1371755 5287,13717552437)
(e90,e91,e92,e93,n52,n51,n53,e81,e82,e88,130,330,1 25,325)"
**No spaces within the parentheses, one space between each "cluster." For some reason, E90Post is adding spaces in my search term and I can't get rid of them.**

Yes, all of the part numbers work (the difference is in the MAF, which you don't use anyway). Yes, the unit from a 1-Series works (just not the 5er). And yes, the N53 box works with both N51 and N52 motors. So basically, if it "looks" right, it works.

I want to say that there are one or two additional (though much rarer) part numbers (from prior revisions), which would also of course be perfectly acceptable to include. You could also include "intake," after "airbox," but then be ready for a ridiculous amount of hits to sift through.

Beyond that, don't be afraid to "make an offer," and it might help your haggling abilities if you tell the seller that he/she is welcome to keep the MAF sensor that is often included in the auction.

Finally, consider your shipping options as it can be a pain sometimes importing items from other countries through Customs. Using a reputable shipper (and seller) that understands the importance of all the required customs documentation can mean the difference between getting your part and not.

Other than that, just be patient. My part took almost a month to get to me, and the tracking was pretty awful.. but in the end it did arrive. Good luck! And cheers to not paying $500+ for an intake lol.

-aM

Good info man. Do you think the Euro intakes are worth it? Like any noticeable benefits at all with this intake compared to the US spec

[atmosphericM]

That's a highly debated topic around here lol. In my opinion, it's probably about the same as the US intake *with charcoal filter removed, as far as performance goes. Other than that, it has the advantage in that it makes filter changes much easier, and it also looks better under the hood, if that matters to you.

[Eric_M328i]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

That's a highly debated topic around here lol. In my opinion, it's probably about the same as the US intake *with charcoal filter removed, as far as performance goes. Other than that, it has the advantage in that it makes filter changes much easier, and it also looks better under the hood, if that matters to you.

Yep it is debated a lot. Oh Ok i see thank you

[Biginboca]

Using some of the pointers here I located a euro airbox on eBay Germany. I was able to message the seller using an online translation site and negotiated a price shipped to the US. So this was a great help!

I then decided not to order the airbox. I did some flow calculations and research and decided it’s not going to do much over the US airbox with charcoal delete. At best it might give 1-2hp over the US box with charcoal delete and drop in, but I honestly don’t even think it will do that. Here is why...

Our engine at peak with mods can’t even get to 400cfm needed. K&N rates their drop in for the US Box at 518cfm. K&N rates their drop in filter for the e46m3 which makes 333hp stock at 452cfm. So our filter will have more ceiling to accommodate more power than the filter used on a 333hp, higher revving and larger displacement I6 motor. FYI I’m pretty much certain you will never see a US N52 that’s N/A make more than 333hp.

The euro 330i made 270hp with euro airbox, while the US spec 2006 330i made 255hp and used the US airbox. So the Euro airbox must be better right? Well... most people overlook the Euro 330i also used a Direct Injected motor that’s much different than the US motor. The extra power isn’t from the airbox it’s from direct injection.

Dinan released their own intake system for our cars. It used a drop in filter and adds a second ram intake tract to the stock airbox. So they must believe like I do the air flow bottle neck for the US box is not the filter or box, it is the snorkels ahead of the box. There are some dynos posted on this site I found while searching for info that back up gains up to 15hp with adding a ram air, charcoal delete, and silicone intake tube. That’s way more than anyone ever showed from a euro intake.

So considering all that is why I decided to pass on the >$250 delivered Euro box and spend $30 on making a ram air intake for my US airbox instead. (I already have the charcoal delete and rev silicone tube.)

[hassmaschine]

the early euro 330i was also an N52, but it was rated at the same 255hp.

[atmosphericM]

As an aside, I just wanted to say that I don't think it matters much what the published HP figures are. And here's why I feel that way: BMW probably isn't too worried about someone not purchasing their product because of 1-5 HP.. and rightfully so, because the typical consumer couldn't care less about 5 HP. What I am getting at is... the European N52 330i could very well have made 3-5 HP more than the US Spec N52 330i, yet I would imagine that BMW wouldn't bother adjusting figures for that. It's pretty well known that some car manufacturers "underrate" HP figures from the factory, and BMW is known to be one of them. If anything, their "underrating" the Euro 330i allowed them to publish the same HP figures for the US Spec 330i, even though it actually made a few less ponies due to the US Spec air intake box.

Now, I'm not saying that this is the case, but I am simply painting a picture as an example in order to make my point which is that looking at published figures for these cars isn't really a good way (in my opinion) of judging the exact amount of power they made/make. Again, I'm not saying that the Eurobox makes more power. As I've already voiced in this thread, it's probably the same as the US box with the charcoal filter removed.

Of course this is just my opinion and speculation, and I could very well be wrong. Ahh, isn't it fun debating details about such small amounts of power that the rest of the world doesn't even really care about?

[hassmaschine]

yeah, ok, sure - people can justify it however they like, but the fact is they are rated the same. Also, BMW did rate the 3.0si models higher (365hp) so if there was a difference, I think they would have stated it. And in the past, they have done the same with smaller changes (US S54 - 333 - EU - 341, etc).

[atmosphericM]

Hey man I hear ya and again I'm not saying that the Eurobox makes more power. Also, I see what you're saying about the M3 numbers.. but the market for an M3 does care about every pony whereas the market for a 330i cares, well, less probably. Either way, like I said.. I could definitely be wrong.. probably am. Just my two cents...

[hassmaschine]

There are many examples, that was just the one that popped into my head. Maybe, there's a 1hp difference, and BMW didn't think that was worth highlighting - but I doubt it.

Also - keep in mind that once M3 production ended in May 2006, the 330i was BMW's highest performance 3 series. I'd say in 2006, they did in fact care or they would have bought a 325i instead.

[FlaPatsFan]

What have you seen as the average US dollar price for a used Euro intake?

[atmosphericM]

On foreign eBay: When I was actively looking (didn't take me long to find one), I'd say the average price was somewhere in between $150 and $200 delivered. That said, I paid less than that; but IMO $250 would be semi-reasonable. But to me, anything over $300 is just not worth it - at that point I'd get an aFe setup or just modify the stock box. It all depends on how much you like OEM parts, etc. To each his own.

Now, if you check US eBay or the forum here, etc.. people are asking around $300-350 from what I've seen... too pricey IMO.

[hassmaschine]

Its just like the 3 stage manifold - people on the forums are asking $500 or more, when in reality anything over $250 is probably a rip off.

[maxwell1331]

Just wanted to say thank you to the OP. My euro airbox showed up today. Found it on the German eBay site and got it shipped to TX for $193. Very happy with the process, Looking forward to my commute tomorrow morning!

Just for the those who may have questions on it, I ended up with the 13717552437 part number an had zero issues with fitment. I have a 2010 e91 328i. The MAF fit no problem.

Thanks again!

[atmosphericM]

Glad I could help! Happy motoring!

[desertman123]

Thank you so much!

Got my airbox for $70 shipped from the Fatherland!

Also a filter that's readily available in the states for this is:
MAHLE LX 1035

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[PORTMOODY]

Originally Posted by desertman123

Thank you so much!

Got my airbox for $70 shipped from the Fatherland!

Also a filter that's readily available in the states for this is:
MAHLE LX 1035

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

nice, I think I paid $175 shipped.