z4 induction kits any good ?

[mad_mackem]

Afternoon all,

just had a quote from the local stealer for £106 for the parts for a sound generator, which im thinking is a bit expensive, had it been around the 80-90 mark it might of been worth doing, but i am thinking that for nearly £110 i could buy an induction kit for more or less the same effect and possibly less of a cost.

after reading through a few posts it doesnt seem as though this has been a popular mod with other owners, all im trying to do is add a bit of grunt to the tone.

Has anybody bothered to fit one to a z4? im also a bit worried that it will get heat soaked and il end up losing performance just for a bit of extra sound, which isnt really worth it.

just wondered what others thoughts were and if anybody had fitted one.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Rudd]

i have one on mine just to test it out. it makes it sound much nicer but for the minute i am sucking in warm air (not that there is much of that about in this weather). im just busy finding a cold air insuction kit......one that comes in a heatshield and a pipe that you put to a cold spot, behind the grills or lower in the engine bay.

 

[PawnSacrifice]

I have been looking into this myself recently... I keep coming across Racing Dynamics - have a good reputation in the US as far as I can tell. Ship to the UK, but no UK presence I could find. Have a look at the link below...

http://www.racdyn-usa.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=1&Category_Code=z4
The thing I like about their kit is that it includes a custom heat shield.

I still need to do some homework myself - not convinced as I don't really know what I want from it (was thinking it might growl a little... Grrrrr - as the car has been sounding a little meatier in this cold weather). Personally expecting any power change would be incidental - maybe just a little smoother through the rev range. Just going a little mod mad at the moment!

Be interested to see what you get back on this.

 

[Bobbydm]

I've spent a lot of time searching and think this maybe the one for me,

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/subcategory_detail.asp?modelcode=Z4&subcat_id=195

I have spoken to a guy called Doug about delivery to the UK and an insured delivery service to London area is $90. I know its quite a lot of money but seems to be a lot of kit as well.

There is also a stage 2 AFE kit available for more money, but again seems to be very impressive. I would appreciate the thoughts of someone that has this on a 3.0 or similar. I know someone has one on an M but think this is quite a bit different.

 

[Rudd]

i dont really find much difference in performace, the main difference is the growl/worble at low revs and then again if you put your foot down.

the exhaust seems to be louder also.

there are a few manufacturers out there, il dig a few out when i get home

 

[Bobbydm]

This is the stats on a 3.0ltr but I think we all know thats not why we want to put a kit on. Its the noise and any power gain is a bonus!

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=54-10661

 

[Rudd]

you can get them a lot cheaper than that. get a k&n for example and buy a heat shield for a tenner, probably £100 max

 

[cj10jeeper]

There's a detailed thread on the forum if you track it down.
BMW make pretty good air intakes and frankly when they spend millions if they could get better performance from a change of filter then they'd do it...

IIRC the current intake is in the correct position for not only hold air, but pressured and that's why it's in such an odd position

Out of interest I have not only a K&N filter but an experimental cf intake (that I got for as good as free) and it's made no difference at all to anything.

 

[Bobbydm]

That is very true but if I had the spare cash I would have something like this,

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new.php?partno=54-11602&filter&searchtype=word&keyword=z4&brandID=53

I can't find a listing for the 3.0l induction kit from K&N?? Does anyone know the part number?

 

[Rudd]

the diagram on that looks more like sperm being minced than air

i agree CJ, you wont get much, if any performance increase but i find a definate difference in the sound.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/K-N-57i-Induction-Kit-BMW-Z4-2-5-03-06-57-0558_W0QQitemZ360172992195QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item53dbfbb6c3

for the k and n

 

[mad_mackem]

yeah i agree with all the above and im not looking for performance gains.

i just want a bit more meat in the sound, but i dont want to lose power through heat soak.

at the expense of losing power its not worth the extra in gains in sound, but if i could fit one fairly cheaply and not lose power through heat soak then it would be worth doing.

 

[mad_mackem]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Z4-2-5i-192BHP-2003-RAMAIR-Induction-Filter-Kit_W0QQitemZ390142054974QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item5ad647523e


seems quite reasonable.

also found this video of an e46 325

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OygMLK3fs3Q

sound isnt very good, but seems to have a decent heat sheild in place, not sure where you would source one of them from though

 

[Russ59]

the diagram on that looks more like sperm being minced than air

i agree CJ, you wont get much, if any performance increase but i find a definate difference in the sound.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/K-N-57i-Induction-Kit-BMW-Z4-2-5-03-06-57-0558_W0QQitemZ360172992195QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item53dbfbb6c3

for the k and n

I thought about going K & N but the company you listed dont do for the 3.0i
Are the 2.5 fittings different??

 

[cj10jeeper]

I should perhaps be clearer - My K&N is the standard airbox filter panel replacement. Not one of these cone jobs. Wouldn't get one of those near my intake :thumbsdown:

 

[Rudd]

the diagram on that looks more like sperm being minced than air

i agree CJ, you wont get much, if any performance increase but i find a definate difference in the sound.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/K-N-57i-Induction-Kit-BMW-Z4-2-5-03-06-57-0558_W0QQitemZ360172992195QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item53dbfbb6c3

for the k and n

I thought about going K & N but the company you listed dont do for the 3.0i
Are the 2.5 fittings different??

hi, sorry i just searched for a 2.5 because that is what i have just check on ebay they will probably do them. there is also a company called pipercross who do a concealed cold air intake cone filter, it would be better than having a on open to the air in the engine bay. go on their website and look at their viper range.


CJ why wouldnt you put one on? just out of curiousity. from what i see there are a fair few cars (not just chav ones) that seem to have them on

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Company comes recommended - although the site is a little poop...
http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/frame-detail.asp?PAGE=/performance-air-filter.htm

BMC setup looks good - although not listed for the 2.5. You may want to drop them a line - a couple members said they a helpful bunch.

 

[cj10jeeper]

CJ why wouldnt you put one on? just out of curiousity. from what i see there are a fair few cars (not just chav ones) that seem to have them on

Well many reasons, some already stated:
(My comments only reference road cars and not well sorted track vehicles where such changes are likely part of a comprehensive tuning package involving all aspects of the intake to exhaust.)

I believe BMW make pretty good intakes to start with and cannot imagine they would restrict airflow and thus performance and fuel economy. You might find that on a bottom end town car but not a high end sport orientated brand.
Adding any sort of cone filter inside is just a bad idea for hot air intake, etc.
Extending said cone to the front grille gets cold air, but makes all sorts of probably false assumptions about airflow, pressure zones

End result is almost certainly a drop or no change in performance. We all know real dyno evidence is hard to come by.

On top of that you have insurance issues that once you do this your premium will go up as it's one of the key areas they look at for mods and the huge cost of any of the higher end products.

Still if you want more induction noise and willing to pay, do it properly or possibly sacrifice performance then it may well be a great idea

 

[peddy]

CJ why wouldnt you put one on? just out of curiousity. from what i see there are a fair few cars (not just chav ones) that seem to have them on

Well many reasons, some already stated:
(My comments only reference road cars and not well sorted track vehicles where such changes are likely part of a comprehensive tuning package involving all aspects of the intake to exhaust.)

I believe BMW make pretty good intakes to start with and cannot imagine they would restrict airflow and thus performance and fuel economy. You might find that on a bottom end town car but not a high end sport orientated brand.
Adding any sort of cone filter inside is just a bad idea for hot air intake, etc.
Extending said cone to the front grille gets cold air, but makes all sorts of probably false assumptions about airflow, pressure zones

End result is almost certainly a drop or no change in performance. We all know real dyno evidence is hard to come by.

On top of that you have insurance issues that once you do this your premium will go up as it's one of the key areas they look at for mods and the huge cost of any of the higher end products.

Still if you want more induction noise and willing to pay, do it properly or possibly sacrifice performance then it may well be a great idea

i was thinking about this after reading this thread and was going to ask if the one for the 330 would work for the zed, but you put me right off (and rightly so)... completely forgot about insurance issues! Thanks CJ!

 

[Ali_Z4C]

Has anyone thought about modifying the standard intake? I have not had a look at mine but the reason I say is that I did it for my TT after a guy called WAK did some testing and came up with a design for the TT to basically drill some holes in the bottom of the intake housing - see here

http://www.wak-tt.com/mods/ramair/cheapinduction.htm

Results in terms of sound were awesome for a free mod and if you check the link out at the top of the page the performance gains were impressive as well compared to KN etc.

As I say not sure if its possible on the Z4 but food for thought?!

 

[Rudd]

Has anyone thought about modifying the standard intake? I have not had a look at mine but the reason I say is that I did it for my TT after a guy called WAK did some testing and came up with a design for the TT to basically drill some holes in the bottom of the intake housing - see here

http://www.wak-tt.com/mods/ramair/cheapinduction.htm

Results in terms of sound were awesome for a free mod and if you check the link out at the top of the page the performance gains were impressive as well compared to KN etc.

As I say not sure if its possible on the Z4 but food for thought?!

you could potentilly drill a hole in the bottom the correct size to fit an additional cold air feed pipe and route it down behind the bumper.

i dont think many people on here would agree with that though

plus the cost of a k & N/performance panel filter is about £50+ i reckon