UK 135i with RR intake and scoops fitted (Review)

[Si-M240i]

Well the guys at at Riss Racing shipped my bits to the uk:

Air intake with large K&N Cone filter
Scoops to ram more lovely air ito my engine
Plenum - still to come, but ordered.

Well the fitting was easy for all of it. The scoops are about a 15 minute job, the air intake was probable closer to 1 hour, but that was due to having to remove the OEM air box before I could fit it.

I had a different bracket for relocating the Power Steering reservior than the one shown on the web site and this took a bit of playing around and an email to Riss to establish how/where it fitted.

Well I got it all fitted and to help with clearances etc I used hot water on a couiple of pipes to "flex" them into better positions to allow for the large air filter to fit with clearance to components around it. That done, it is all fitter and working well.

Test drive. Well to start with I got about 100 miles on it with various driving situations to get the ECU to "adapt" to the easier to get air and I can report the following changes from my OEM Air box with an ITG Foam filter fitted.

Throttle response it slightly sharper and more responsive.
5500 RPM upwards has more urgency and power seems to build for longer. This is most noticable in 2nd and 3rd gear.

It's harder not to slip the wheels in 1st gear and quite easy for them to spin on the change to 2nd gear. If the road is cold or even slightly damp then I get wheel spin and a bit of rear end "squirm" on the change to 3rd gear too:headbang:

all in all the car feels brisker and more of a sense of urgency and power builds all the way to the red line without tailing off now.

I can't wait for the plenum to arrive now so I will get more cold air directed straight at the air filter.

Oh, did I mention the noise ???? On the motorway cruising no difference, but give it some welly and the improved sound of the induction roar and some turbo noise is so addictive you can't help flooring it all the time.

Another thing some of you may be interested to know re: temperatures. I have been for some hard drives and got the engine nice and hot and even after doing a few minutes cool down driving before I stop, when I feel the intake and filter they are barley luke warm to the touch.

A couple of pics:-

[turbobum]

Originally Posted by Si-135i

...but give it some welly and the improved sound of the induction roar and some turbo noise...

How loud is the "induction roar" and "turbo noise"? Do you have to listen for is, or is it obviously heard in the car?

[Si-M240i]

Originally Posted by turbobum

How loud is the "induction roar" and "turbo noise"? Do you have to listen for is, or is it obviously heard in the car?

The turbo noise is only slightly increased. The Induction noise is more pronounced, so you don't need to listen for it, it is noticable the first time you plant the throttle.

[Riss Racing]

Looks great! I see you have one of the new coated intakes

[Si-M240i]

Originally Posted by anthony@rissracing

Looks great! I see you have one of the new coated intakes

The finish on it is great, I didn't realise they were different before. Being quite a smooth finish will make it easier to clean and less likely to get any ingrained dirt.

Any dates on the Plenums being shipped yet ?

Si

[ichiban]

Thanks for the review, i have my in transit right now. Can't wait.

[audi2bmw1]

i cant get over the price of this intake...it does look super cool but really an intake is an intake...with the new plenum that will help with directing the airflow over the filter...for the 319 the plenum should be included since the stock one is worthless with the install of this...nice marketing tho

[Si-M240i]

Originally Posted by audi2bmw1

i cant get over the price of this intake...it does look super cool but really an intake is an intake...with the new plenum that will help with directing the airflow over the filter...for the 319 the plenum should be included since the stock one is worthless with the install of this...nice marketing tho

You could modify the standard one easily, but if you want as much air flow as possible to make the most of the intake, it's best to get thew one designed for the purpose.

It may not be the cheapest intake, but the quality is fantastic and it makes a noticable difference.

[Riss Racing]

Originally Posted by ichiban

Thanks for the review, i have my in transit right now. Can't wait.