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      04-18-2011, 05:55 PM   #1
sootyvrs
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BMW 130i Simota Intake vs BMW Performance Intake comparison!

I posted this in babybmw forum but thought I'd share this with members from 1Addicts also

Simota Intake


BMW Performance Intake


I have had a BMW Performance Intake fitted to my 130i for a good part of 2 years now and I've been extremely happy with it in combination with my BMW Performance exhaust.

I did write a full review on 1Addicts also below for those who want to read it.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298593

Another source of reference for the BMWP one is gavsadler and here is his review

http://babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=18833

Last year Benis130i from babybmw purchased the Simota Intake for his 130i and got some very respectable gains with before and after Dyno's which was much more than I've seen from Dyno's of the BMWP ones that have been posted.

http://babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18214

Benis also did some rather tasty videos of his which sounded rather tasty indeed and I was seriously tempted to see how it compared to my BMWP one but I just couldn't justify paying £560 just to scratch that itch, especially if it came short compared to the BMW one!

Darknight130 from babybmw also purchased the Simota after owning a BMWP one and he was seriously impressed and here's a link to his review

http://babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18373

Then Consulten added his review of the Simota here with sound clip videos

http://babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=20205


Anyhow, both Benis130i and Darkknight130 have since sold their 130i's and I got the opportunity to buy Benis's Intake.. So thanks to Benis for allowing me to now compare the 2.

I will not try to go over old ground as the above reviews give plenty of info re. the 2 Intakes in isolation and will try and concentrate on the differences.

Construction and Quality
If you look at the above review pictures you will have gathered that the BMWP Intake is not a complete unit and it uses the existing Airbox but adds the other bits where as the Simota is a complete unit.



The BMWP one is only part Carbon Fibre where as the Simota one is completely Carbon Fibre. There wasn't that much difference in weight of the 2 (inc. airbox) to be honest as plastic is not exactly heavy anyhow. I must admit that the quality of the BMWP one is better as the Carbon seems to be made better as the Simota one seems a little brittle and the finish is not as perfect. The one I have is already showing signs of cracks in the finish but either way it does actually look better being all Carbon fibre.

One of the advantages of the BMWP one over the standard BMW intake is that it's quite a bit bigger i.e. Intake chamber and also the connection to the airbox.

I was rather surprised to see that the Simota one was a lot smaller than the BMW one and would go as far to say that it looked even smaller than the std. BMW one? My initial thoughts is that it may be all looks rather than go?



I guess however being a semi-open design is that it must be sucking it air from the open part of the airbox so perhaps the inlet opening doesn't need to be that large compared to the BMWP one.



Installation
Both are relatively easy and can be performed by anyone with some DIY sense and I would say that if I can install them then just about anyone else can also!

The Simota is a little more complicated as you have to remove the complete BMW airbox and disconnect a pipe that connects it. Then you have to remove the MAF sensor and then attach to the Simota. You also have to install it whole which makes it a little more fiddly. I did have a problem that after fitting, I couldn't close the bonnet after installation but found later that there was a cable that the airbox was resting on which I re-routed and all was fine. This shows that it's a tight fit height wise.

Also with me having the BMWP strut brace I had to put the Simota airbox lid resting on top of the brace as part of the lid just extends and is just for show. Tight fit but just managed it without having to resort to cutting it up or removing the brace



Performance and Sound
All my tests are taken from my Butt dyno as I did not perform any real before /after dyno results and the above links already have some nice charts for those interested.

The BMWP Intake for me provides a nice extra bit of torque at low to medium revs and gives a nice deep intake sound which really comes in strong around 3k revs. This sound gives great character when pressing on and riding the midrange (like a diesel) and this deep intake note continues all the way to the rev range. The power delivery is very linear similar with the std. Intake but with the subjective feeling that there is just more of everything.

As soon as the Simota was installed I was a little surprised that at lower and medium revs is that it's a little quieter than the BMWP one and it does give an impression that there is less there (power and torque). The intake noise of the Simota seems to have a higher pitch to the sound compared to a deeper note which changes the character some what. Which note you prefer I assume is subjective and down to personal preference.

What is noticeable is that as the revs rise, the Simota sound comes to life and you are rewarded with a nice intake roar and there is a feeling that the revs seem to be rising at greater velocity than before. Now there is a nice urgent "zing" to the top end and it does feel more urgent than when the BMWP was installed.

Again I'm not 100% sure if it's because of this higher pitched intake note that gives an impression of more urgency as the last 1k revs seems to just a little more manic than before! Here I'm talking around 6k revs so it's a very narrow band that seems noticeably different to the BMWP one which as mentioned before has the impression of being more linear.

So my conclusion is this.... The BMWP Intake gives the impression that it has more usable torque when driving within the mid-range and gives you a more deeper and louder sound within this rev range compared to the Simota but the Simota hits back with the impression that the engine is a little free revving at the very top end and provides arguably a bigger enjoyment fix when really on it!

I personally think that day to day driving the BMWP gets the nod as it provides a little more when not ringing out it's neck but the Simota gets the nod when really on it holding on to the last 1k of it's rev range.

Which one I decide to keep and sell is a little more tricky to decide so may be some time before I actually do something about it.....


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      04-18-2011, 07:46 PM   #2
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Well, whichever you decide on, send the other to Melbourne. I'll give it a good home...
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      04-18-2011, 08:22 PM   #3
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Well, whichever you decide on, send the other to Melbourne. I'll give it a good home...
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      04-18-2011, 09:39 PM   #4
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      12-05-2012, 05:56 AM   #5
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amazing comaprison of the bmwp intake, i guess the bmw pi price is justified as its the best intake in the market for the N52?

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