Aftermarket Intake Kits + Sound Generator Pipe

Abbas

Member
 West Yorkshire
Hi everyone,

I've got an E86 si. Do aftermarket intakes such as AFe etc still work with the 'sound generator pipe' which connects to the OEM intake? I removed a bit of foam out of mine and I've been absolutely loving it. Totally changed the driving experience for me, especially as I'm coming out of a convertible and with mine being an E86 coupe, it brings a bit of sound into the cabin when giving it the beans and I love it. My goal is to basically amplify the intake sound even more with an aftermarket one and have it feed it into the cabin, so it would need to marry up with the sound generator pipe. Is this a possibility? Any intakes out there that do this? Does the AFe one marry up to the pipe? Will it sound so good I don't need to feed it into the cabin anyway?

If the sound isn't that much of an improvement with an aftermarket and none of them marry up to the sound pipe, I might just stick with the OEM one.

Thanks in advance!
 
I got the Afe one and absolutely love it. It doesn’t connect to the original sound generator, instead fitting it with a small -arguably token- filter instead. I haven’t missed it once; the growl is considerably more pronounced both inside and outside :driving:

The GruppeM does reuse the original sound generator, and I’ll be fitting that later this week so should be able to provide a comparison.

IMG_6228.jpeg

Adds a bit of bling too :thumbsup:
 
Barty said:
I got the Afe one and absolutely love it. It doesn’t connect to the original sound generator, instead fitting it with a small -arguably token- filter instead. I haven’t missed it once; the growl is considerably more pronounced both inside and outside :driving:

Ah, interesting! Glowing praise :D Yes, the Afe one is what I've ordered. Didn't plan on ordering it so soon but couldn't say no to a great deal with the Black Friday sales last week. I guess I can fit it and then always revert back to OEM if it's not quite right. Bit of a long shot but do you have any videos at all of the sound inside?

P.S - build looks great btw;) I'll drop a follow on IG
 
[ref]Abbas[/ref], I do actually! I’ll send them over via Instagram, since I cant post them here.
 
Abbas said:
Barty said:
I got the Afe one and absolutely love it. It doesn’t connect to the original sound generator, instead fitting it with a small -arguably token- filter instead. I haven’t missed it once; the growl is considerably more pronounced both inside and outside :driving:

Looking at the awful fitment near the slam panel. I assume that AFE kit is for the Z4M on Si?
 
Kenich said:
Looking at the awful fitment near the slam panel. I assume that AFE kit is for the Z4M on Si?

Eh nope, the open filter housing is designed for the Si. You don’t want it to physically touch the slam panel; steel on steel won’t exactly sound nice. The steel cover is intended as a heat shield, underneath is the original air scoop feeding air into that area
 
Barty said:
Kenich said:
Looking at the awful fitment near the slam panel. I assume that AFE kit is for the Z4M on Si?

Eh nope, the open filter housing is designed for the Si. You don’t want it to physically touch the slam panel; steel on steel won’t exactly sound nice. The steel cover is intended as a heat shield, underneath is the original air scoop feeding air into that area

:rofl: Oy yeah, I understand how it all works.

For the money AFE charge I would something designed to fit neatly into that engine bay. No profile matching the contour of the slam panel, just leaving a straight edge just looks cheap to me. I looked at that photo fitted and assumed that was meant for a different car. Cut / bent steel isn't hard, hence why I wondered if yours wasn't meant for the Si model.

As will all open cones, they all sound glorious. I would personally just want one that looked neater in terms of more of an oem fitment in that E85/6 engine bay.
 
Yeah I see what you mean! I’d agree with that, it would fit more neatly into the design.
 
I'm no engineer but thinking purely visually, yeah I'm not a huge fan of the shape of the AfE box either, looks super angular. I think the GruppeM looks a lot cooler in the engine bay but is what it is! Will forgive it's looks if it sounds mega
 
Abbas said:
I'm no engineer but thinking purely visually, yeah I'm not a huge fan of the shape of the AfE box either, looks super angular. I think the GruppeM looks a lot cooler in the engine bay but is what it is! Will forgive it's looks if it sounds mega

Function over Form!

Smack a big hole in the bottom of the airbox :driving:
 
I have the AFE unit in my e86si. While not cheap (Unless compared to the Gruppe M) the noise is fantastic and it fits well. I don't regret buying it. To be honest, with the bonnet closed it looks as good as the Gruppe M too.
 
If I went down the CAI route, I would consider playing about and trying an ITG Maxogen. Generally not as loud as an open cone, but they are lovely bits of kit.
 
AveZ4coop said:
To be honest, with the bonnet closed it looks as good as the Gruppe M too.

:rofl:

Mine just came today from AFe actually. I'm not sure what the going rate is usually, but this seemed a very good deal to me > https://afepower.com/afe-power-54-11942-magnum-force-stage-2-pro-5r-cold-air-intake-system

I ordered it from ML performance originally, but I cancelled it as they said it was going to take ages. Luckily I checked AFE's site, and it was a couple hundred quid cheaper and I felt like ordering direct was probably better. Turned out correct, as I got it a few days after ordering it. Top notch service from them.

Can't wait to fit it now!
 
Abbas said:
AveZ4coop said:
To be honest, with the bonnet closed it looks as good as the Gruppe M too.

:rofl:

Mine just came today from AFe actually. I'm not sure what the going rate is usually, but this seemed a very good deal to me > https://afepower.com/afe-power-54-11942-magnum-force-stage-2-pro-5r-cold-air-intake-system

I ordered it from ML performance originally, but I cancelled it as they said it was going to take ages. Luckily I checked AFE's site, and it was a couple hundred quid cheaper and I felt like ordering direct was probably better. Turned out correct, as I got it a few days after ordering it. Top notch service from them.

Can't wait to fit it now!
A very good price! You will love it. :driving:
 
Got it fitted today! Haven't had a chance to take it for a proper drive yet with the dodgy weather. Definitely has a bit more of a growl low down which the OEM one didn't have. Hopefully it'll bed in nicely and sound even better once I put a few miles in. The sound generator pipe is still there, should I just take the pipe off? I'm guessing it'll only help with the sound aswell.
 
Abbas said:
Got it fitted today! Haven't had a chance to take it for a proper drive yet with the dodgy weather. Definitely has a bit more of a growl low down which the OEM one didn't have. Hopefully it'll bed in nicely and sound even better once I put a few miles in. The sound generator pipe is still there, should I just take the pipe off? I'm guessing it'll only help with the sound aswell.

Nice! The kit should have come with a smaller filter to cap off the generator? I’ve left it in anyway :thumbsup:
 
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