Drop in filters?

[jibaholic101]

so after going in loops about whether or not to get a DCI, i have decided against it at least for the moment since i dont have a lot of power mods yet. maybe later down the road i will get a DCI, but not quite yet since i think the stock closed airbox is actually a good design. so i have decided on a drop in filter. should it be oiled? what brand? i have been looking at macht schnell, aFe, and K&N

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Find that GIAC helene vs. BMS filter dyno chart and post it there.

Mike

[jibaholic101]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

Find that GIAC helene vs. BMS filter dyno chart and post it there.

Mike

i will look, but helene doesnt make their filter any more

[jibaholic101]

found some links

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132028
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=filter


what about the BMS?

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Found the dyno

.

[jibaholic101]

what does no lid mean? no filter and no lid?

[BMW-driver]

My advise?

1) Aftermarket drop in filters are a complete waste of money...
2) Any aftermarket air-intake system other than stock, is a complete waste of money..

Your car will drive worse.

have fun though!

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by jibaholic101

what does no lid mean? no filter and no lid?

It means the lid was off, which gives similar performance to a DCI.

Mike

[BMW-driver]

... "Air Filter Dyno Testing - Round 2 - K&N vs Helene vs ITG vs BMC vs BMS vs Stock

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 2 of testing is finally complete. Round 1 of testing can be found here. This test included a few more filters and was performed slightly differently from Round 1. Another variable to consider is the ambient temperature, which was a toasty 94* during today's testing. The temperature during Round 1 was much cooler (60's if memory serves correct).

Filters tested: Stock, ITG, K&N, BMC, Helene, BMS

Test Vehicle: 2008 335xi E92 6AT with JB2 and no secondary cats

Test Procedure: Each pull was done in 3rd gear. Repeated 4th gear pulls on this load-bearing dyno causes overheating even with the factory oil cooler installed and plenty of airflow in the dyno cell. RPM sampling range was from 2k to 6.8k. Boost was sampled from the BOV vacuum line, and AFR was sampled at the right-side tailpipe using an Innovate LM-1 wideband. The vehicle was warmed up to the point of the oil temp gauge being 3 hash marks short of 250* for the first run to begin for each filter. After each run, the car was allowed a few minutes of cooldown until the oil temp again read 3 hash marks short of 250*. Four runs were done on each filter. The best run for each filter is shown below compared to the stock filter (stock is the solid line). Underscoring the impact of heat, you'll see that the best run for nearly every filter (save the BMC) was the first run. The other runs, grouped by filter, are also found below. Ambient temperature remained between 91* and 94* during the entire test with humidity at 32%.

Conclusion: Under these conditions, none of the aftermarket filters outperform the stock filter...."

[MFIZZLENYC]

I just Got a K&N Drop In filter Sounds A little Better and you can Hear the Turbos more.... as for HP increase ??????

[Si-M240i]

I have the Helene filter. I got it from a distributor in the US about 3 months ago.

[jeremyc74]

The bottom line when it comes to filters is this:

There are two ways to increase flow through an air filter:

A - Increased surface area
B - Larger pore size (less filtering)

With a drop in filter, the only way A is possible is if the stock filter is poorly made to begin with, and has significant wicking around the edges, which reduces the overall surface area. BMW's factory filters don't have that problem.

That means that if an aftermarket air filter is actually showing power gains, it's letting larger particles through. Personally I'll accept the loss of a couple of HP to keep the crap out of the turbos.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

The bottom line when it comes to filters is this:

There are two ways to increase flow through an air filter:

A - Increased surface area
B - Larger pore size (less filtering)

With a drop in filter, the only way A is possible is if the stock filter is poorly made to begin with, and has significant wicking around the edges, which reduces the overall surface area. BMW's factory filters don't have that problem.

That means that if an aftermarket air filter is actually showing power gains, it's letting larger particles through. Personally I'll accept the loss of a couple of HP to keep the crap out of the turbos.

The number of filter pleats and depth are a major factor as is the filtering materials used.

Mike

[WhiteOne]

If the filter flows more air then it does not filter as well.
If it filters better, it will flow less.

[BMW-driver]

Just replace on a regular base (45,000 miles?) the stock filter, no costs at all (35 USD?). Thats all. The car will perform excellent!