[M2-BM35i]

Hi All

I have '15 M235i and I can't seem to find the airbox stock flow diagram / config showing where the air is feeding in from - ie is the flow getting fed from outside? can anyone help with this as it appears to be blocked and feeding from the engine bay

Otherwise I found this AFE scoop which can be installed & a front grill port on the side - can anyone recommend it? it appears to open up for cool air into the engine bay area

Thanks

[mdputnam]

Here is the stock N55 intake diagram:


Looking down on the engine the you can sea the top of the intake muffler (ie the box that has the air cleaner) on the left (driver's side)

In your picture you can see the grill (part number 15) where the intake snorkel begins:

[LiuC]

lets look at this in points.
1- intake on a NA car isa bit different than a intake on a FI car.
2- Although in both NA and FI the air is being "sucked" in by the engine the factory restriction of intake poses a larger effect on NA cars.
3- if you put a boost gauge on a NA car the gauge will constantly be at a vacuum, only when you wide open throttle the gauge will go to 0( in witch case its actually 14.7 psi atmospheric pressure)
4- what this means is that if your restriction in the intake system is too much, the vacuum in the engine is only so strong to let the atmospheric pressure to be pushed in... therefore the freer the intake system the more and quicker you make power. hence some times you see the "RAM" intake on muscle cars stick out the hood, it allows air to be quickly " ram
5- so lets look at FI car, the intake on the FI car matters bit less because you have a mechanical pump (turbo) forcing the draw of air and pumping it into the engine.
6- with that being said, the restriction also matters in the FI car, but more on the side of "how fast you will reach the boost you need" and "how hot is the air thats being forced into the engine".
7- so this is where the why lots of after market intake yeld little to no gain at moving speed on this car... take a look at the BMW design above and look at the path of travel, when you slam on that throttle, the fresh cold air gets sucked by the turbo from the front of the car through the grill into the tubings pass the filter and into the turbo.
8- because its a closed box design, and air travels from the least resistance, it won't try to suck from the engine bay because the box is the large restriction therefore it will suck air form the opening at the front of the vehicle.
9- so weather you ram that air in or its being sucked in, it will yield next to no difference.

10- however that being said, if you do happen to like the noise an Open filter intake makes like the magnum from aFe. then this scoop will have a huge effect.

11- now here is why, with the open filter design there is no longer a box restricting the air to be drawn solely form the front of the car, it will draw air from where ever its easiest, aka the surrounding (hot engine bay air).

12- what this scoop allows, is for the air to be rammed form the grill vents into the engine bay with the forward motion of the vehicle, to where the air filter is.

13- the fresh cooler air hopefully will surround the area of the intake and that cooler air will be drawn in, instead of the hot air surrounding the engine.

14- so all in all the larger filter on these open box filter is less restriction due to larger filter surface area, but more prone to suck in hot air (heat soak) thus the scoop should help lowering the intake air temp resulting in a over all better performer when vehicle is moving.

15- other wise I would suggest a better filter and stick with stock system.

sorry for the point format, I have trouble organizing my thoughts some times. hope this helps !

[Drpoomanchu]

Originally Posted by M2-BM35i

Otherwise I found this AFE scoop which can be installed & a front grill port on the side - can anyone recommend it? it appears to open up for cool air into the engine bay area

Thanks

I had not seen this yet. It looks nice. I pulled my front grills today to install double slats and I also took some pics. You would just need to pull the drivers side grill to access. If I can find a vendor on here I may buy this and install next week.

[LiuC]

Realistically you can ghetto reg it.... aFe scoop I reacently purchased cost 100 cad after shipping... it's meant for the 335 and 435 series and it didn't seem large enough for the 235, since 235 have smaller grill, so the scoop didn't extend out as far compare to the larger grill 335/435. I may end up custom make a mold to line some CF to make a larger scoop for fraction of the cost...

[Drpoomanchu]

Originally Posted by LiuC

Realistically you can ghetto reg it.... aFe scoop I reacently purchased cost 100 cad after shipping... it's meant for the 335 and 435 series and it didn't seem large enough for the 235, since 235 have smaller grill, so the scoop didn't extend out as far compare to the larger grill 335/435. I may end up custom make a mold to line some CF to make a larger scoop for fraction of the cost...

I wondered why they don't list the 235i as a compatible vehicle. This makes sense now. I did not realize the grills were bigger on the 335 and 435. Well then, maybe i wont buy one. They should offer some sort of extension for the M235i.

[Drpoomanchu]

LiuC Do you have any pics of this scoop to show how effective it is on the 235i ..?

[bryan_G01]

i installed this AFE scoop.

It hardly did anything, I also had to cut it to make it fit since it hits the bar behind the grill, than use gorilla glue to hold it in place since it didn't line up with the mounting points.

[Drpoomanchu]

Originally Posted by bryan_f22

i installed this AFE scoop.

It hardly did anything, I also had to cut it to make it fit since it hits the bar behind the grill, than use gorilla glue to hold it in place since it didn't line up with the mounting points.

Thanx for the insight, did you notice any change in IAT or spool sound outside the car. If not, I will just throw my double slats in and forget about it. I have a Dinan intake and sealed the airbox, not sure what kind of difference this would make if any.

[LiuC]

Originally Posted by Drpoomanchu

LiuC Do you have any pics of this scoop to show how effective it is on the 235i ..?

Mine is still being shipped, I will upload image, effectiveness testing and modifications I m doing as soon as I get it.

[XutvJet]

The afe scoop fit my M235 with no modification. Getting it in there was a bit tight but fit fine. You remove the intake grill, install the scoop, then reinstall the grill. The grill will hold it in place.

[Bee Pee]

OP

Big fan of AFE scoop and AFE dry drop-in filter - ran it for more than 2 years.

My intake mods went like this

1. Stock 3 months
2. Stock airbox with AFE drop in 2 months
3. Mppk airbox with AFE drop in 2 months
4. Stock airbox with AFE drop in and AFE air scoop 2years
5. Current - Dinan cai with AFE air scoop - 4 months onwards

Best bang for the buck was nr 4 - via JB4 app I could see IATs were lower than before and PWM was also lower. Throttle response/pickup improved too.

With Dinan CAI -more cash but then improved IAT, PWM and throttle response further and with added noise.

BP

[bryan_G01]

realistically, it doesn't do shit.
I also have the dinan intake and wrapped it in gold heat tape, also doesnt really do anything.

[M2-BM35i]

Hi guys
I'm Still not too sure if it's worth the install due to mission of removal of front

Just took a pic of how it looks now, and it's actually blocked -is this right?

This must be affecting the intake, where do I get the vents like above

[M2-BM35i]

Originally Posted by M2-BM35i

Hi guys
I'm Still not too sure if it's worth the install due to mission of removal of front

Just took a pic of how it looks now, and it's actually blocked -is this right?

This must be affecting the intake, where do I get the vents like above

Pic now attached...

[mdputnam]

That's interesting. Now the question is do you have parts 12 and 14? You can get a flashlight and look down from the top of the air cleaner box or take a picture with the flash using your cell phone.

[M2-BM35i]

Thanks - will check it out and send photo's asap!

[M2-BM35i]

Okay,

I had a good look and part 12 is there, but couldn't not see part 14 behind the black steel frame that part 12 goes into...

Personally I think that it ends at part 12 and it is sucking air in from behind the headlight

[JP's M2xx]

I just bought a M235ix convertible Saturday and now I am curious, going to look later tonight!!!

[mdputnam]

Originally Posted by M2-BM35i

Okay,

I had a good look and part 12 is there, but couldn't not see part 14 behind the black steel frame that part 12 goes into...

Personally I think that it ends at part 12 and it is sucking air in from behind the headlight

The only option I could think of is to take out the closed "door" next to the steel frame and look.

[bryan_G01]

that should not be blocked, at least on mine its not blocked, it has the plastic mesh screen.

Thats where the cold air enters from.

[M2-BM35i]

Originally Posted by bryan_f22

that should not be blocked, at least on mine its not blocked, it has the plastic mesh screen.

Thats where the cold air enters from.

I'm going to have to get behind there and see what is going on as it is most likely pulling hot air in from behind the light in the engine bay ( as suspected )

Just wish it was easier to get front grill off, some way of unclipping it without the fuss of removing all the bolts etc...