Afe intake - anyone tried this?

T

tjlazer

Active member
 Richmond
Right first things first, I'm not interested in any hp gain just whether this will add a similar growl to the gruppe m device at half the price...obviously I wouldn't want to damage the engine either but these things seem fairly harmless. Just wondering if anyone here has taken the plunge and cares to share their experiences...it seems like a fun way of adding some drama to the whole M experience and reversible should I decide to go back to stock!
Cheers
Tim
 
I assume you mean this......

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new.php?partno=54-11521&menu=bmw&searchtype=family&brandID=52 ?
 
Quite a few North American owners have this on their M's. Most report a modest improvement in throttle response and a nicer, more aggressive intake growl. Others say that they would never even think about installing it because of concerns about heat soak, seeing as the filter is open to the engine bay, unlike the stock airbox. I've asked several people about it and they say they've not noticed any heat soak at all but i'm still on the fence about it.

You'll probably find more info here mate: http://www.zpost.com/forums/
 
Seems to be a lot of money for a cheap filter and some thin metal plates.

You could probably make one yourself for less than £50.
 
So the gruppe m design is better for dealing with the perceived heat soak issues? Cheers for the link I'll check out zpost for a viewpoint. I'm a fan of more intake noise if I can but not if its going to create problems down the line.
 
tjlazer said:
So the gruppe m design is better for dealing with the perceived heat soak issues? Cheers for the link I'll check out zpost for a viewpoint. I'm a fan of more intake noise if I can but not if its going to create problems down the line.
Click to expand...

Dont really know mate, they both have an exposed cone filter.... I found a youtube member from Mexico that posted some clips of his afe Z4MC and asked him if he noticed any loss of power or anything else after installing the filter, he replied he hasnt noticed anything like that... :idunno:
 
Intake air temperatures will always be hotter with an open cone. The difference it makes is minimal once moving on most cars.

Is a cold airfeed something anyone has fitted?
 
mmm-five said:
Seems to be a lot of money for a cheap filter and some thin metal plates.

You could probably make one yourself for less than £50.
Click to expand...

+1 looks like cheap crap.
 
ive actually heard one of these in person and it really does sound CSL esque, that particular car is owned by my best mate which dyno'd at an extra 3hp so he definatly didnt loose horsepower, his dyno runs were done with the bonnet down also, that same day my car made 460.7bhp so im pretty sure the dyno was accurate, as my car dynod at 462 on another completely seperate RR.

All in all i dont think intakes make huge differences but the sound ........ i was in awe of the s54 @ 7900 with an open intake.
 
daz05 said:
mmm-five said:
Seems to be a lot of money for a cheap filter and some thin metal plates.

You could probably make one yourself for less than £50.
Click to expand...

+1 looks like cheap crap.
Click to expand...

Wrong.

It looks great and finished exceptionally well. I'll post a pic soon. It matches very well with the engine compartment. The machined aluminum filter/elbow adapter has been really well engineered. AFE does it's diligence (at least on every one I've owned).

There is NO DOUBT that the car is more responsive to throttle input. Period. There's not a murmur at idle, and it pulls hard to WOT. Sound aside (which is absolutely fantastic) I couldn't find one negative about it. My car feels faster (and not just from it's sweet song) Not a HP gain per se, but greater linear power along with a much more blippy throttle. Wonderful. Haters be damned, this is a great mod.
 
SweetRide said:
It looks great and finished exceptionally well. I'll post a pic soon. It matches very well with the engine compartment. The machined aluminum filter/elbow adapter has been really well engineered. AFE does it's diligence (at least on every one I've owned).

There is NO DOUBT that the car is more responsive to throttle input. Period. There's not a murmur at idle, and it pulls hard to WOT. Sound aside (which is absolutely fantastic) I couldn't find one negative about it. My car feels faster (and not just from it's sweet song) Not a HP gain per se, but greater linear power along with a much more blippy throttle. Wonderful. Haters be damned, this is a great mod.
Click to expand...

You should post videos too if you have them! :D
 
I've got the RPI cold air scoop on my car. That retains stock airbox but uses a high flow filter. They retain stock airbox to avoid heat soak. It does seem to make sense that by removing the airbox the filter is going to suck in some air from the engine bay and therefore you loose some of the effectiveness of the mod.

Do I notice any difference to the car? I'd say maybe a little smoother and more responsive especially at higher revs when the cold air intake supposedly is doing it's job.
 
sammyz said:
They retain stock airbox to avoid heat soak. It does seem to make sense that by removing the airbox the filter is going to suck in some air from the engine bay and therefore you loose some of the effectiveness of the mod.
Click to expand...

The air being sucked in (when you're moving) is only in the intake for a millisecond. If you analyze the design of this intake, it's more abt to take in air from the front of the car (the cone delivers air from the TOP of the filter, and also from the sides) Besides that, the box itself IS closed on 3 1/2 sides out of 4.

Heat soak is what happens when the block and manifold continue to rise in temp after the car is shut off, since there is no longer coolant or air flowing through it. So it IS something that can happen when your sitting in traffic. But is anyone really driving like a bat out of hell when you're stuck in traffic??

But if we're talking about IAT (intake air temperature) - that is something that will rise and fall with movement of the car and will effect performance..... short ram style intakes tend to see IAT's raise quicker, but they fall just as quickly as well. Not to mention, even if the intake is warm, the air is in the tube for AN EXTREMELY short period of time anyway when the car is moving.

Bottom line, it works, looks great, and I think it's a great mod based on my experiences in the prev post. My $0.02.
 
mmm-five said:
Seems to be a lot of money for a cheap filter and some thin metal plates.

You could probably make one yourself for less than £50.
Click to expand...


I was thinking exactly the same thing, thats a scandal of a price for a filter. Looks a poor quality one at that. :x
 
AFE make a poor quality filter? Sorry, no. These are not blue Chinese knock-offs. They are the main suppliers of filters to other top-shelf manufacturers and have better breath-ability than their K&N counterpart. As far as price is concerned... take a look at the Gruppe M. I almost choked because it's exactly DOUBLE the price. Although it is drop-dead sexy (for an intake).
 
I have one fitted to mine - Got RPi intake duct fitted too... Didn't buy it for power gains (most won't deliver anything noticeable), induction noise was my aim and AFE delivers that in spades.

Noticed no power loss. Heat soak is only an issue if stationary for some time, then only an issue until car picks up forward motion, as mentioned once moving so long as filter is getting an external air feed it really isnt an issue.

Induction roar is mega (I don't know how it compares to Groupe M, never heard that intake in person from inside the car). I paid about £400 for mine and am very happy with the build quality at that price.
 
Cool thanks Trevor that's just what I was hoping to hear! I think 400 sounds fair given the ridiculous cost of the gruppe m. Something to ponder if I'm feeling flush in spring. Having taken a ride in the sls on Sunday I'm keen for a bit more growl to the engine and that's a damn sight cheaper than getting a v8 merc ;)
 
I'm about to take the plunge on one of these, the noise is pretty mental.... very CSL!

For anyone worried about the very minimal heatsoak, whilst moving it's not really going to notice and you'd be lucky to notice 1-3bhp down for the sake of the noise. You can also move the filter forward slightly outside of the engine bay and avoid this issue entirely (if you think it's worth the effort!). Found a guide online somewhere, can locate again if people were interested.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom