I've been reading a lot of posts from people who have installed CAIs. I see a bunch of cold air intakes on BMW's that come in the shop. Mostly on 335's and 135's. They appear to be more like hot air intakes because they seem to be pulling in hot air because of their location. I don't see how that is more efficient than the stock air box. Again, I am referring to the BMW CAIs that I've seen. The Crossfire CAIs that I seen, have a longer run and draw air from the grill. That makes more sense to me but I've also heard people say that the have lost hp after installing cold air intakes. Whats fact and whats fiction when it comes to CAI? Don't manufactures spend millions in R/R to develope their intake designs to make them efficient. I know a lot has to do with CAFE standards as well. Someone please clear this up for me. I guess I'm not up to speed on the performance side of being a technician. I just mainly deal with check engine lights from vacuum leaks and issues that have been caused by people ******* with their cars. Please educate me

 

I have the Needs Wings single CAI. Just for grins I removed it and did some 1/4 mile runs with the stock intake that happens to have new K & N drop ins. My corrected times were .2 slower and my top speed was 2 mph less. I feel that many of the intakes on the market are just snake oil noise makers. However thinking that the stock intake is the very best performing unit available ignores the noise,BS requirements made by the government.

 

Go for the DCAI from Needswings. I am curious if ITG foamfilters will kick the K&N filters..

 

I think that you would have to spend money on mods to get the benefits from a CAI. I may be a little naive but when I look at M3s,M5s and M6s, none of them used CAI and they squeeze everything out of every liter of the engine. They are also NA engines. They have massive intakes, individual butterfly throttle valves for each cylinder. I have to say this, I'm not a BMW fan! I just work for them. I'm a Mercedes guy and plan on working for them in the near future, but their engines are amazing.

 

CAI on our cars make a huge difference. Everyone on here has felt the difference. Now for the 335i and 135i turbos, the filters inside the engine bay is fine because the air from there has to go through the intercooler before reaching the engine, therefore cooling the intake charge. I see those cars all the time at the tracks with those set ups and doing way better than stock. Some even upgrade the intercoolers also for better cooling. As for the other engines, the best performance is when the filter is outside the engine bay, just like the Needswings or like my home made NealsWings CAI.

 

I bought my SRT6 Coupe with an aftermarket CAI installed. The SRT6 has two CAI installed by AMG. I removed and sold the after market unit. I did not like the oversize filter blocking the radiator. Gary

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me! I just painted my intake manifolds so I'm not sure if I'm willing to give them up for the DCAI from Needswings that changes the manifold.

 

The factory SRT6 CAI is a true cold air since it gets it from in front of the radiator....but....it is VERY restrictive due to the plenum/air filter setup.... The Needswings single or dual will give you MUCH better air flow and more power.....DIY versions will also out perform the factory intake system.....

 

So the main problem with the stock intake is the filters that protect the engine. The reason why CAI work is the position of the filter being out front and a long run?

What does the SL55 intake system do differently? I see some forum members going that route.

 

The factory system has a VERY narrow gap between the intake tubes and the filter.....that, the filter type, flat Y to the SC and the total air path is what is so restrictive.....

The SL55 system is a bigger air box with bigger spacing between the filters and the intake, more open Y pipe feed and bigger intake tubes up front..... the SL55 system will be about the same as the Needswings single CAI....

I have had the factory, SL55 and NW Dual systems on my Aero.... the NW Dual is on it now and will stay there......

 

Just decided to DIY a CAI. Here is what I ordered from siliconeintakes.com

4 x Stainless Steel 3" Worm Gear Clamp (54-82mm) (CLA001044) = $5.96
1 x 3.0" Silicone 2' Straight Hose, Black (SIL000046) = $49.99
1 x 3.0" Silicone 90° Elbow, Red (SIL000444) = $16.99
1 x Mandrel Bent Aluminum 45/180 Bend, 3.0" (SSB000788) = $39.99

Hopefully the last pipe will give me enough pipe with the correct radius. I'll pick the conical K&N and adapter locally. I will have to fab a bung for the Pcv hose. Just looking at the stock system you can see how restrictive it is.
Hopefully, it will work. I got the fever this weekend when we did a impromptu trip to the Dragon. About hour and half from the house. Very very fun. First time there, I have always ran up to the NOC restaurant and then the Cherehola Skyway. This time was a exciting detour, scared my wife a little. It was perfect timing as it was at sunset and starting to get dark. Only came up on one car toward the end. I was really wanting to hear the supercharger or the exhaust a little more. So a homemade CAI and resonator delete is on my project list.

 

Keep us posted on how it turns out. Post some pics when you finish.

 

I installed a single NW CAI about 4 weeks ago and instantly noticed the difference. My recommendation, like many others here, is to make sure that you don't have a "hot air intake".

 

Noles, the NW CAI system does not do away with the intake plenums, just the filter boxes, unless of course you get hooked, and buy Rob's intake plenums also ..
I have K&N filters in the stock intake on the vert, and a Needswings on the coupe, and believe me there is a performance difference. Next time you get to a Houston GTG, I'd be happy to demonstrate ........

 

This is what I came up with, I think you are going to need a couple more 45s and a 90 for behind the grill.
Edit: Ok, I see, you can cut the 180 into 45s

 

rtmopar85,, I made one just like you are going to,, then went to test it ,along with me was another member who just happen to have a Needswings CIA on his car, this was before the duel Needswings existed, I though we were equal ,, i was running 13.0 with only my grill mod and my homemade CAI.. my friend was running 12. to 12.97 so he suggested we swap,,, i was reluctant because i have made a lot of intakes and know what i am doing, Over 1000 intakes for PT cruiser turbos, just look up amx1397 intake .. with the Needswings I ran a 12.99 4 times in a row, then we swapped back,, my best for the rest of the night was 13.2,, just to be sure i put the needswings back on and ran a 12.97,, Xray is the forum member that had the Needswings. you guessed it the next day i called Needswings and bought one of his,,, for one thing the teflon coating , for the other he flo-tested his and got it to flow the max.,, so after you make your homemade one don't try a Needswings, because you will throw yours away and buy a needswings CAI. jim

 

Oh yea, I beg to differ...My solid NealsWings is friggin' awesome! Less rubber/Silicon hosing than anything out there. More hard pipe is really hard to beat. And of course my numbers don't lie. Hee hee..... I have a solid pipe that goes through the radiator shroud where long pieces of silcon or rubber is normally used. To me there is a slight loss where I would think the hose would constrict. I've seen it happen to my car on a dyno. But that's just me. No one will replace my NealsWings ever! Haha... Now if I can just find a hard pipe to replace the silicon elbow at the intake manifold, then I'd be a real happy camper.