BMS cowl filters (pictures)

[SfValley335i]

So I got the BMS cowl filters when they received them... Install was simple, filters fight snug and didnt need the screws but I put them on anyways, rather than lose them.

Ive noticed people on e90post and others are worried about water getting to the electrical parts and causing damage. So I did a water test... Washed my car and watered the windshield for a good 5 minutes with a steady stream of water.

I tried with the wipers up and down. With the wipers up some water was able to find its way on the engine cover. However with wipers down engine cover was dry.

here are some pictures, I recommend this for everyone. Only recommendation I have is triple check your ecu box and make sure its sealed completely! Especially the side near the firewall.

[TZANIDO777]

Just ordered a set for my car, thanks for the review!

Do you think anything can be damaged back there if a good amount of water finds its way in?

[SfValley335i]

Originally Posted by TZANIDO777

Just ordered a set for my car, thanks for the review!

Do you think anything can be damaged back there if a good amount of water finds its way in?

No danger I could see on the n54, I dont know about n55's.

[135Pats]

I really don’t see all the concern over on E90 over these. Your DME box is either water tight or it’s not, there is no in between. If it is not water tight, a light rain or even morning mist will work its way in…You don’t need a hurricane for that to happen. If it is water tight, what’s there to worry about? People are over-thinking this way too much IMO. My car has been snowed on, rained on, tropical stormed on, washed dozens and dozens of times over the last year + without the cowl; zero issues at all. The cowl is garbage.

[Freon]

Meh, only takes 10 minutes to remove the cowl.

The factory filters are carbon infused to help remove odors, are a lot larger, and cannot ingest water into the passenger compartment due to how the cowl is designed. You are sucking hot engine bay air in traffic and at low speed in general. You're removing the air seal for the engine bay, which may affect airflow through the engine bay. In fact at speed, air may be pushed from the base of the windshield (generally a very high pressure zone) down into the engine bay. It could affect cooling and the effectiveness of the radiator and radiator fan, or even affect the aerodynamics of the car.

It only takes 10 minutes to remove the cowl. I guess for a race car if you're trying to save weight it makes sense, but I'd still be worried about engine bay pressure, cooling, and aerodynamics.

I think it's a lazy hack.

I have no comment on the ECU packaging. Haven't really look at it enough.

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by Freon

Meh, only takes 10 minutes to remove the cowl.

The factory filters are carbon infused to help remove odors, are a lot larger, and cannot ingest water into the passenger compartment due to how the cowl is designed. You are sucking hot engine bay air in traffic and at low speed in general. You're removing the air seal for the engine bay, which may affect airflow through the engine bay. In fact at speed, air may be pushed from the base of the windshield (generally a very high pressure zone) down into the engine bay. It could affect cooling and the effectiveness of the radiator and radiator fan, or even affect the aerodynamics of the car.

It only takes 10 minutes to remove the cowl. I guess for a race car if you're trying to save weight it makes sense, but I'd still be worried about engine bay pressure, cooling, and aerodynamics.

I think it's a lazy hack.

I have no comment on the ECU packaging. Haven't really look at it enough.

All valid points, mine was just about the concern over water entering the DME box, I think it’s far over-stated. I am going to leave mine as is, with the cowl off, but HVAC filter + those two plastic lids left on. Seems like a decent compromise. I plead complete ignorance regarding air flow under the hood being altered without the cowl, but after a year of driving without it, I feel comfortable saying nothing crazy is going on.

[brusk]

I'm hoping somebody will do proper temperature tests on this. I don't see the temps going up as the frontal pressure area while driving are going to outweigh anything that tries to hit it from behind. Racers have been doing this kind of thing for years, remove the rear hood seals and sometimes even jack up the rear of the hood to allow more hot air to escape.

[bmw0bsession]

Picking these up tomorrow from Terry, I will do the same test for you guys on my N55

[Juggernaut135i]

Just installed mine. I'm checking it after every drive. Still figuring out how I want to mount the wires hoses and plastic thing. Any pictures of how you guys did it would be great. Sorry to bring up an old thread. I did notice heat waves coming out which obviously means it's sucking in hot air through the cabin. But down in Florida it's either windows down or A/C on. I'm also gonna have my vinyl wrap guy wrap the ECU box in black for looks and extra protection against rain and dirt.