Best Intake for N55 (BMS or Injen )

[jamj0911]

Hi want to ask about what is the best intake for a 2012 135i N55, i have 6 months with my car and i wanna bought an intake , i read a lot of threads but i still confused about what is the best

Thanks a lot

[chopper817]

This is my opinion.
I don't like either one. Because there is nothing sealing off the filter from sucking in the hot air under the hood.
And sense hot air is less dense, it seams like a waist of money to me.
Afe is on the right track for the n55 but still not sealed off. If they would include the filter box with a sealed lid then I would pull the trigger and get one.
So, sense I don't really like the options out there, I went with an afe dry drop in. I'm happy with it, for a drop in.

[Aries932]

I have had both the Injen, and the BMS intake. In fact I still have the Injen intake sitting in my garage.

I would take the BMS intake over the Injen for a couple reasons.

1) The Injen is about a 45 minute install. The BMS intake is a 5 minute install. I always take everything off of my car when I take it into the dealership, because I have heard of BMWNA reps flagging cars that look like they could have mods for further inspection.

2) The BMS intake seems like it would have a LOT better flow blowing into the intake. The reason I say that is that the Injen intake only uses one of the front scoops, while the BMS retains the stock box utilizing both front scoops.

3) The BMS intake filter is about twice the size. I could be completely wrong, but it seems to me that the more area you have on the filter the more air it can potentially pull in.

[Golden3ye]

Originally Posted by chopper817

This is my opinion.
I don't like either one. Because there is nothing sealing off the filter from sucking in the hot air under the hood.
And sense hot air is less dense, it seams like a waist of money to me.
Afe is on the right track for the n55 but still not sealed off. If they would include the filter box with a sealed lid then I would pull the trigger and get one.
So, sense I don't really like the options out there, I went with an afe dry drop in. I'm happy with it, for a drop in.

I have considered trying to build some sort of heat shield for my BMS one.

[AnooooOH]

Originally Posted by chopper817

This is my opinion.
I don't like either one. Because there is nothing sealing off the filter from sucking in the hot air under the hood.
And sense hot air is less dense, it seams like a waist of money to me.
Afe is on the right track for the n55 but still not sealed off. If they would include the filter box with a sealed lid then I would pull the trigger and get one.
So, sense I don't really like the options out there, I went with an afe dry drop in. I'm happy with it, for a drop in.

+1

I`d love to see a closed version!

[M135]

Originally Posted by chopper817

This is my opinion.
I don't like either one. Because there is nothing sealing off the filter from sucking in the hot air under the hood.
And sense hot air is less dense, it seams like a waist of money to me.
Afe is on the right track for the n55 but still not sealed off. If they would include the filter box with a sealed lid then I would pull the trigger and get one.
So, sense I don't really like the options out there, I went with an afe dry drop in. I'm happy with it, for a drop in.

But that is all pre-FMIC air which is cooled anyway--so why not suck in more air hot or not and get it through the FMIC to cool?

[MilehighM3]

The intercooler cools the air, but if it starts 20-30 degrees hotter, it's still going to end up that much hotter. The cooler the better. The theory that more air is better, even if it's hot is retarded. I'd like to see some true flow analysis from an independent tester showing that either intake even provides more air than stock, especially with a drop in. The N55 intake is pretty free flowing from the factory, especially at higher road speeds. With the stock configuration, the air is forced in and has no where to go. With any open intake, that ram air set up is garbage. The air comes into and straight out of the engine bay, taking the path of least resistance. Under throttle tip in situations, the air box is pressurized and rams the air straight into the turbo. With any open intake its purely scavenging at all times, causing a throttle delay and increased lag.
Keep the stock box with a drop in filter until there are greater developments in the intake for the N55.

[Warriortogo]

AFE stage 2 intake! Good performance in responsible price

[ken1137]

So, I have the Injen DCI on my N54 and might get one for my new N55. I have not experienced any issues. All this talk about heat soak and hot air...why does the ER Racewerks Time attack car win races with the Injen DCI? If Injen's DCI sucks in too much hot air and causes problems they shouldn't be winning races.

[bdoooh]

I had a bunch of points to spend on Amazon so I picked up a BMS intake for my N55. I just got it in today.. gotta say.. I can't really feel the difference. But it was also 90 degrees out.. I really didn't feel anymore power but also not any less or anymore or less lag. I can hear the turbo a little bit more.. but that's about it.

I imagine this would just be a nice supporting mod for the future.. *shrug* my 2 cents.

[chopper817]

Originally Posted by Bmw135er

The intercooler cools the air, but if it starts 20-30 degrees hotter, it's still going to end up that much hotter. The cooler the better. The theory that more air is better, even if it's hot is retarded. I'd like to see some true flow analysis from an independent tester showing that either intake even provides more air than stock, especially with a drop in. The N55 intake is pretty free flowing from the factory, especially at higher road speeds. With the stock configuration, the air is forced in and has no where to go. With any open intake, that ram air set up is garbage. The air comes into and straight out of the engine bay, taking the path of least resistance. Under throttle tip in situations, the air box is pressurized and rams the air straight into the turbo. With any open intake its purely scavenging at all times, causing a throttle delay and increased lag.
Keep the stock box with a drop in filter until there are greater developments in the intake for the N55.

+1

[chopper817]

Originally Posted by ken1137

So, I have the Injen DCI on my N54 and might get one for my new N55. I have not experienced any issues. All this talk about heat soak and hot air...why does the ER Racewerks Time attack car win races with the Injen DCI? If Injen's DCI sucks in too much hot air and causes problems they shouldn't be winning races.

i dont know anything about their car, but i would think that if they are racing it, it should have bigger turbos and then i would imagine that they are requiring more air than the drop in could allow to flow threw efficiently.

[bdoooh]

I haven't done any testing or logging on the 135 but back when I had the Mazdaspeed3 there was this same debate. I did some testing there.. With a open filter intake, the IATs when the car was moving due to the air being forced under the hood.. they were only about 10 Celsius or less than ambient. When the car is stopped is of course when the IATs start to climb but in the stock air box it's going to be the same way.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Injen N55 Intake picture provided by Ufuk

[MilehighM3]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Injen N55 Intake picture provided by Ufuk

[IMG]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-gd6o...310.1575308835[/IMG]

Holy thread revival for an old platform with no new developments. Just to show a poorly developed, cheaply made part? A part that's been on the market for years on top of that.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by MilehighM3

Holy thread revival for an old platform with no new developments. Just to show a poorly developed, cheaply made part? A part that's been on the market for years on top of that.

this is a car forum, part of its use is to share pictures of car parts.
You personally do not like this part, but a lot of other people do. Its actually one of the most popular parts.

A customer shared a picture of his new intake, instead of creating a new thread just for the picture , i would rather post it on an already created thread.

If you do not like it, you can ignore it and go on with your day. When you posted about it, you contributed to revive the thread as well by pushing it to the top of the page.

[MilehighM3]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

this is a car forum, part of its use is to share pictures of car parts.
You personally do not like this part, but a lot of other people do. Its actually one of the most popular parts.

A customer shared a picture of his new intake, instead of creating a new thread just for the picture , i would rather post it on an already created thread.

If you do not like it, you can ignore it and go on with your day. When you posted about it, you contributed to revive the thread as well by pushing it to the top of the page.

Appreciate your input. Comparing a thread bump of nearly 8 years to one around 12 hours is about as qualitative as the intakes contribution to the N55. Neither the engine nor this intake make me miss anything about my 135s. Cheers.

[JPuehl]

Just my $.02 on "the best intake" based on my experience. I have both the BMS intake and a dry drop-in filter that I have done several back-to-back 3rd gear pulls and compared the logs and have seen almost no difference at all. Nearly identical IAT changes, timing, rpm rate of acceleration, WGDC, AFR, and boost level. The only difference I was able to consistently repeat was that with the BMS intake the boost level dropped off quicker than the OEM airbox with the drop-in. I always used 12 psi as my reference and the BMS always dropped below 12 psi about 200 rpm sooner than the OEM airbox. Butt-dyno and everything else seemed and felt the same between the 2 intakes. Had I known this I would have saved my money and not bought a different intake.

I'll try the back-to-back comparison when I finish the PS2 install. My initial guess is that the PS2 will need more air, but I'll see.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by JPuehl

Just my $.02 on "the best intake" based on my experience. I have both the BMS intake and a dry drop-in filter that I have done several back-to-back 3rd gear pulls and compared the logs and have seen almost no difference at all. Nearly identical IAT changes, timing, rpm rate of acceleration, WGDC, AFR, and boost level. The only difference I was able to consistently repeat was that with the BMS intake the boost level dropped off quicker than the OEM airbox with the drop-in. I always used 12 psi as my reference and the BMS always dropped below 12 psi about 200 rpm sooner than the OEM airbox. Butt-dyno and everything else seemed and felt the same between the 2 intakes. Had I known this I would have saved my money and not bought a different intake.

I'll try the back-to-back comparison when I finish the PS2 install. My initial guess is that the PS2 will need more air, but I'll see.

It's good to see people sharing data. I'm curious as to why you would lose PSI with the intake. Boost is a measurement of restriction. Lower PSI may actually be a better thing. You want the engine to use the air coming and get it through the engine and out the exhaust efficiently. Perhaps the efficiency of the intake lowered the PSI. Just a thought. Any mathematician or physics experts, feel free to take over LOL.

[JPuehl]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

It's good to see people sharing data. I'm curious as to why you would lose PSI with the intake. Boost is a measurement of restriction. Lower PSI may actually be a better thing. You want the engine to use the air coming and get it through the engine and out the exhaust efficiently. Perhaps the efficiency of the intake lowered the PSI. Just a thought. Any mathematician or physics experts, feel free to take over LOL.

I agree that it doesn't make sense. I plan to do some dyno pulls after the PS2 install and will compare the OEM w/drop-in to the BMS. This will be the only real way to tell the "difference" if any.

[katsooba]

Still no solution for a short mafless intake? Or even a maf relocation option with the filter sitting right on top of the inlet?

[JPuehl]

Originally Posted by katsooba

Still no solution for a short mafless intake? Or even a maf relocation option with the filter aitting right on top of the inlet?

+1