Review: Riss Racing 135i Intake Plenum

[miro2296]

Originally Posted by Johnnyr135

I got my Plenum today the fit and finish is amazing I was not expecting this to be metal I thought it would be plastic I was pleasantly surprised.

+1 I thought it was going to be plastic too. Nice lil surprise

[GOU]

Originally Posted by beyondriddick

I don't see how thing plenum is supposed to fit. not enough room.

mm houston we have a problem

[Johnnyr135]

There is no problem with the plenum fitting, just remove the filter and screw in the plenum. Then unbolt the power steering fluid container install the filter and reinstall the power fluid container and you are done. The install took me all of 10 minutes. I just drove down to the city and back it is about 65 miles each way so I got a good feel for it. Running through the gears you can feel the extra power above 3000 rpms and the car is just breathing better at WOT. Another thing I noticed tonight is that the car is running cooler I have no idea why that was but I let my cousin drive the car back and he noticed the same thing. The car is running about 2 - 3 lines lower then before I installed the plenum maybe Anthony can explain why that is but it is running cooler after the install. The plenum really makes this intake look well put together the whole package really came together nice. Anyone looking for an intake this is the one.

[ddtung]

It appears the installation problems are being caused by the new bracket which is supposed to avoid interference with certain aftermarket intercoolers.Let's see which bracket each user receives with the recently shipped intakes, and what solution RR comes up with.DDTUNG

[tkbr0wn]

Wouldnt plastic be a better material than metal for a plenum? It seems like the metal would conduct more heat than plastic.

[rcracer_tx]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

Wouldnt plastic be a better material than metal for a plenum? It seems like the metal would conduct more heat than plastic.

I think the difference in temperatures would be negligible to performance... The metal will look better than plastic which is important in an engine bay like ours

[tkbr0wn]

Originally Posted by rcracer_tx

I think the difference in temperatures would be negligible to performance... The metal will look better than plastic which is important in an engine bay like ours

Really? I thought this was for performance. If looks are important, then I think a well formed plastic piece would "look" better than a metal box with welds that look like they came from a High School shop class.

My .02

BTW, I don't own an after market intake or plenum. So no fanboi posts from me promoting one product at the expense of another.

[KeithLM]

The metal will allow for thinner walls, which means more interior space for the same exterior space, thus more airflow. Also this plenum appears bigger than the old one so even more volume. With air moving through the plenum quite rapidly there shouldn't be much opportunity for heat to be transferred. I don't know what the coating is, but if it's like their downpipes then I believe that would also reduce heat transfer.

[dmailloux]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

Really? I thought this was for performance. If looks are important, then I think a well formed plastic piece would "look" better than a metal box with welds that look like they came from a High School shop class.

My .02

BTW, I don't own an after market intake or plenum. So no fanboi posts from me promoting one product at the expense of another.

TRULY AWESOME COMMENT! LOL I wanted to say it but I figured everyone would flip a bitch that I had something negative to say about Riss Racing.
I've been anticipating getting the plenum and the scoops for the past several weeks and when I opened the box, it was well... a total buzz kill. The plenum looks (as tkbr0wn stated) like something someone made in shop class. I guess I was expecting the plenum to look less ghetto--When I buy a part for my $45,000 car, I expect it not to have any fittament issues, and I expected it to look more professional I guess like, the Injen plenum (i'm not promoting them). Not to mention the " "RR" logo on the front center of it, which was basically a piece of sheet metal with a RR sticker and it was glued on to the plenum
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sending mine back. I'm tired of having install issues with everything I order from them. Their customer service is great and they're stand up guys but I'm tired of having issues.
I'm not an automotive idiot, I turbo'd my Infiniti G back back a few years ago. But all the items I've had to talk to RR tech support (Daniel is a great help) for minor shit like parts missing or the scoops not fitting properly with the stock piece, it just doesn't seem worth the money.
Please no flaming me for saying all this, if you're happy with your Plenums and RR then thats awesome for you! this is just my honest opinion.

[KeithLM]

I have to say I'm feeling the same way. I have considered sending all this back. They haven't provided instructions on how to fit the intake properly with the new steering reservoir bracket. They claim very few people have had issues with it, but I'm also wondering how many have had the new bracket. As for the plenum, well I think it's clear they didn't try it with the new bracket. And did they say anything beforehand? No. I also agree that the look of the plenum isn't that great. All the people expressing amazement over it surprise me. The edges are not nicely cut and the welds look a bit cheap. Not that it matters in such a piece, but still.

This stuff does appear amateurish to me. The intake needs to be made with indicators on the pipes that tell you how far to put them into the inlets on the car, as well as how far up the filter needs to go. Same with the DDV. Furthermore they should have designed the DDV in such a way that the valves could go in and be pointed at the appropriate angles. Once I had the DDV in, and was having all sorts of problems getting it to fit right, Daniel told me that if I rotated the valves their hoses would lay flatter and be less of a problem. Once it's in the car, turning the valves is not easy.

I probably should have canceled my exhaust and downpipes order after I got the plenum. But by the time I got hold of them the downpipes were heading out, and I did get a real good deal on them. I won't be installing them myself, but I do hope it works better than this other stuff. I also just received their oil catch can. I haven't opened that box yet. I'm wondering how bad that can go.

Next week they are supposed to have updated DIYs for the intake. Well we'll see how that goes. The instructions really should be ready before the product gets in the customers' hands IMHO. Also how many times have we heard from Riss that something will be ready next week, in a few days, tomorrow, etc.?

Oh and Daniel told me he'd be sending me out the old steering reservoir bracket. I hope that shows up soon.

[rcracer_tx]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

Really? I thought this was for performance. If looks are important, then I think a well formed plastic piece would "look" better than a metal box with welds that look like they came from a High School shop class.

My .02

BTW, I don't own an after market intake or plenum. So no fanboi posts from me promoting one product at the expense of another.

I'm sorry, I was comparing the temperature difference in metal vs. plastic in the plenum. I have the plenum and it does make a big difference in maintaining hp for a longer period of time

Everyone has their own opinion on what they like, and I prefer the metal look vs. plastic

[Riss Racing]

They plenums are high temp coated. The heat is not an issue. Your OEM plenum is plastic. To increase flow by not having to use such thick walls like we would with platic. We made it out of metal.

[tkbr0wn]

Seems to me like you made it out of metal because it is easy to do with a bandsaw, sheetmetal, and a welder. Do you guys have the facilities to make something out of plastic or would you have to farm that out.

It looks to me like its about $10 in materials and about $10 worth of design time. $219 seems a little high for what it is.

[mynew135]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

Seems to me like you made it out of metal because it is easy to do with a bandsaw, sheetmetal, and a welder. Do you guys have the facilities to make something out of plastic or would you have to farm that out.

It looks to me like its about $10 in materials and about $10 worth of design time. $219 seems a little high for what it is.

+1.

I opted for the Injen Dual Cone intake which comes with a Plenum and from everything I've read has a cone and tube for each turbo separately. Currently sitting in a box, waiting for a nice day to install.

[wu2x]

Originally Posted by KeithLM

I probably should have canceled my exhaust and downpipes order after I got the plenum. But by the time I got hold of them the downpipes were heading out, and I did get a real good deal on them. I won't be installing them myself, but I do hope it works better than this other stuff. I also just received their oil catch can. I haven't opened that box yet. I'm wondering how bad that can go.

Hey Keith,

I had a messed up hose clamp and my bracket was not bent in the correct position to fit properly. Neither were major issues for me (hose clamp is cheap and I bent the bracket with a hammer), but very annoying as I figured that this stuff would be set up for me ahead of time. Then, I found out from E90post that this bracket can rust. I'm going to have to take it out again and coat it with something. BAH!

[rcracer_tx]

Originally Posted by mynew135

+1.

I opted for the Injen Dual Cone intake which comes with a Plenum and from everything I've read has a cone and tube for each turbo separately. Currently sitting in a box, waiting for a nice day to install.

The injen has the worst plenum of any available on the market imho. It only takes up one of the two vents and is very small...Nothing like the flow of the Riss Racing parts which takes both sides and redirects all available air directly to the filter.

These pictures really don't do the plenum justice. It is much better in person, and the coating is excellent.

[tkbr0wn]

Well, there's a rather quick way to figure out if you opinion translates to fact. I believe Injen has Dyno numbers for their intake. I would love to see some independent dyno numbers for the Riss Racing Intake + the 2:15 Industrial Engineering class project plenum.

Even if it is better, I could make the same thing myself with sheet metal from Home Depot, some tin snips, a rented welder, and a can of Rust-O-Leum.

Originally Posted by rcracer_tx

The injen has the worst plenum of any available on the market imho. It only takes up one of the two vents and is very small...Nothing like the flow of the Riss Racing parts which takes both sides and redirects all available air directly to the filter.

These pictures really don't do the plenum justice. It is much better in person, and the coating is excellent.

[KeithLM]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

Well, there's a rather quick way to figure out if you opinion translates to fact. I believe Injen has Dyno numbers for their intake. I would love to see some independent dyno numbers for the Riss Racing Intake + the 2:15 Industrial Engineering class project plenum.

Even if it is better, I could make the same thing myself with sheet metal from Home Depot, some tin snips, a rented welder, and a can of Rust-O-Leum.

Once (or should I say if) I get the plenum issue sorted, and once (or again if) the exhaust arrives, I'll be taking it to the shop to have the exhaust and downpipes installed. I have a baseline from that shop and will have another run before they do the exhaust install. Then after I break in the exhaust I'll take it back for another go.

[tkbr0wn]

Originally Posted by Riss Racing

They plenums are high temp coated. The heat is not an issue. Your OEM plenum is plastic. To increase flow by not having to use such thick walls like we would with platic. We made it out of metal.

BTW, after looking further, it looks like the scoops are plastic.
(Although I have since been corrected that they are indeed metal. They sure look a lot better then the plenum. Ill leave the rest of the post in its original form.)

How exactly are you going to "increase flow" when the limiting factor would be the "plastic" scoops that are the only input into your metal plenum?

[dmailloux]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

Well, there's a rather quick way to figure out if you opinion translates to fact. I believe Injen has Dyno numbers for their intake. I would love to see some independent dyno numbers for the Riss Racing Intake + the 2:15 Industrial Engineering class project plenum.

Even if it is better, I could make the same thing myself with sheet metal from Home Depot, some tin snips, a rented welder, and a can of Rust-O-Leum.

What a dick! LOL I think I scared my neighbors with my maniacle serial killer style laughter.
The scoops are indeed metal, same as the plenum.
On a more serious note: Lets not make this thread into what it shouldn't be-- A bash Riss Racing Thread. I'm sure Anthony, Adam, Daniel and Co. put time and effort into this product, while it may not be up to your standards (or mine for that matter) lets (both you and I) try to keep our posts less opinionated and make it more... 'matter-of-fact' I guess. I have nothing against the Co. and if someone else orders it and is happy with it good for them. Its just not my thing.
I'll hop off my soap box now.
-Dan

[Riss Racing]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

BTW, after looking further, it looks like the scoops are plastic. How exactly are you going to "increase flow" when the limiting factor would be the "plastic" scoops that are the only input into your metal plenum?

The scoops are metal not plastic.

Our products also hold records for....

135i Fastest ET & Hightest DYNO
335i Fastest ET & Highest DYNO

We appreciate your feedback. Thak you!

[tkbr0wn]

"less opinionated and make it more... 'matter-of-fact' "???

So are you saying that the only thing on this thread should be dyno results from someone who ran a back to back comparison pre and post plenum?

This sure would be a boring place if you were in charge.