[Dark_Knight_335]

Mind you, your results will vary based on outside temps and humidity, and this is nowhere NEAR a controlled and scientifically driven test, but figured I'd share this with the class. Here we gooooooooo!

Phase one is with BMS intake installed:

Pics go as follows:

Started up at 71 degrees this am with 56% humidity.

On a cold start: 63 degrees F.
Fully warmed up: 86 degrees F.

Later this afternoon it rose to a balmy 81 degrees with 42% humidity.

Never "cooled down", still driving!
Fully warm: got up to 120 degrees F.

Will the stock air box temps be any different? Let's find out in an hour or so!

To be continued....

[Jsoboti]

Originally Posted by Dark_Knight_335

Mind you, your results will vary based on outside temps and humidity, and this is nowhere NEAR a controlled and scientifically driven test, but figured I'd share this with the class. Here we gooooooooo!

Phase one is with BMS intake installed:

Pics go as follows:

Started up at 71 degrees this am with 56% humidity.

On a cold start: 63 degrees F.
Fully warmed up: 86 degrees F.

Later this afternoon it rose to a balmy 81 degrees with 42% humidity.

Never "cooled down", still driving!
Fully warm: got up to 120 degrees F.

Will the stock air box temps be any different? Let's find out in an hour or so!

To be continued....

The anticipation is killing me! Also,
Doesn't the volume of air also play a role here. Even if the BMS runs hotter, it may provide more air overall. There must be some point where the two curves intersect and we get the optimum mix of both. Anyone a math major on here??

[Dark_Knight_335]

*DISCLAIMER* My results here are to be taken with a grain of salt. My intention is not to bash BMS intakes, or tout the retention of your stock intake (hell, I even used a foam oiled drop in instead). This whole thing was simply intended as a fun experiment (with a little work thrown in for humility and testing my ability to remember how to uninstall and reinstall the damn thing too) to see which intake setup had the edge, however interesting the results were (and they were, at least for me.) Some might review all of this, thinking to yourselves, "no shit Sherlock, I could have told you that!" Some may claim the differences are negligible- and they are indeed! Others might be amazed, or at the very least intrigued.

I would also like to say that my primary concern was which had the lower IATs, because for me, less heat translates to better performance in most case scenarios. Heatsoak BAD.

OK kiddies, and the conclusion. Stock intake back on...the things I do for you guys!

Temp is 84% with 32% humidity. We start our trip with an IAT of around 92%, mind you the car is far from cold, but it hasn't run in over 3 hours. The temp climbs, and climbs, and climbs

The interesting thing was, IATs dropped significantly when cruising at highway speeds, averaging about 106 degrees on my 30 minute cruise, ranging from residential speeds, to well, warm up speeds

By the end of my trip I was steeped in 117 degrees, a WHOLE 3 DEGREES COOLER, YEAH YEAH, but that is still less than 120 degrees with the BMS intake, and it was a whole 3 degrees hotter, albeit earlier there was higher humidity, more "dense" air I suppose.

IATs really didn't drop all that much when cruising at highway speeds with the BMS, presumably because I'm simply sucking in more hot air from the engine bay, as opposed from the inside of a closed intake box with somewhat of a heat barrier around it with the stock box.

In my experience, although it was a bit of a pain in the ass to do, I came to my own conclusion: BMS might sound pretty cool with that turbo spool, and the jury is still out on any HP gains to be had that you might feel, but it seems, when it comes to IATs, it seems the stock air box was lower, even if by a small amount.

Pics for your enjoyment. I wonder if anyone else will do what I did and share their findings.

[Johnny Boost]

So based on what you've seen, would the best bet be a larger filter like BMS that sits within a box(cold air intake)? So you're getting the best of both worlds. And the aftermarket intakes have been shown to provide slight gains on tuned engines. There's dynos on the BMS website.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Yep- there appear to be HP gains, but the higher IAT's for me aren't worth it.

Exactly, that would be awesome.

[GR1P]

Thanks for your time man but there's a couple things wrong with your experiment.

In a turbo car, the air sucked through the intake is compressed and heated by the turbo before being cooled by the intercooler and forced into the engine. That means that any air (hot/cold - intake/stock box) will be super heated by the compressor.

The proof of that is shown in your 3 deg. result which is negligible. This tiny difference could be caused by a handful of things related to temp/pressure, fmic heat soak etc.

In a naturally aspirated car, it's an entirely different story.

As far as the intake goes, if your fbo and running higher boost it will show some gains as the turbo can suck in air more freely.

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

lol all this and the BMS intake was 3 degrees warmer during cruise? You realize it moves a much higher volume of air than the stock air box right? Even if it was 20 degrees warmer you'd still wind up with more power at higher boost levels. Turbos don't operate well under intake vacuum.

Mike

[MadToy]

I believe the 3* difference was once he stopped and let it steep. Cruising difference was 106 vs. 120.

A better test though would be a WOT pull IAT comparison. That would most likely show much less difference. For cruising, hotter is actually better.....

[snaimpally]

Interesting! Thanks for posting the info. As Mike mentioned, IAT is but one factor. If the BMS intake increase the amount of air sent to the engine, even it has negligible impact on IAT, the intake would be worth it.

Afe has an intake that is placed inside a box so that it doesn't suck in the hot air in the immediate surroundings. You might want to check that out.

[g2BMW]

is there a comparision of the volumetric efficiency of BMS intake and stock?
I think what OP might be trying to say is since IAT is part of the equation in making power especially with Forced induction; higher IATs will negate the HP or might even out the higher flow of the BMS intake, might as well stick with the stock.
Doesn't the timing gets pulled as IATs creep up?

[Dark_Knight_335]

I knew I was going to get shit for this.

I was not disproving anything with the BMS intake.

All I was simply doing was citing the differences between the two that I had observed during this period of time of swapping between the stock and the BMS- nothing more, nothing less. I even said, this was nowhere near a scientific test, and I wasn't playing favorites. I know the differences were negligible, hence posting my results.

Can somebody please explain to me these questions for education's sake?

1) How is hotter air better when it comes to performance, when heat soak is the number one enemy of performance times, and why is every intake manufacturer and their mother touting their product delivers more cool air into the system for better performance? Are they all wrong?

2) Why is it that I have a wavering idle with the BMS intake at start up, and my idle is smooth with the stock air box? Doesn't seem to affect the car in any negative way, but it is annoying when I have to tap the gas to get rid of this condition.

I'm simply trying to learn more, and I did this little experiment in an attempt to satisfy my own curiosity and simply shared with others.

GR1P, and the others, thank you for your feedback- it is appreciated!

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by g2BMW

is there a comparision of the volumetric efficiency of BMS intake and stock?
I think what OP might be trying to say is since IAT is part of the equation in making power especially with Forced induction; higher IATs will negate the HP or might even out the higher flow of the BMS intake, might as well stick with the stock.
Doesn't the timing gets pulled as IATs creep up?

This is what has be perplexed. If cooler, less dense air equals better performance in the industry, how is sucking in more dense, super hot engine bay air increasing it? Just trying to learn

[aren93]

I ordered the aFe Magnum FORCE stage 2 cold air intake system. I'll let you know how it is once I get it installed.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Cool - looks similar, but in a closed box form? Thanks aren! So, the general consensus is- put the BMS intake back on because your performance will be better in every way and STFU? LOL

Ooohh, this one from aFe is closed, AND it claims to adjust the sensor for optimum boost levels. Interesting! Anyone own it? My only concern would be my Dinan flash, which is already adjusting boost etc. Hell maybe ANY aftermarket intake will cause me trouble with the Dinan flash, now that I think about it. Maybe I should steer clear, or ask my rep.

http://afepower.com/shop/details_new...L&&brandID=112

[aren93]

Originally Posted by Dark_Knight_335

Cool - looks similar, but in a closed box form? Thanks aren! So, the general consensus is- put the BMS intake back on because your performance will be better in every way and STFU? LOL

I think so lol and as far as the cold air going into your engine bay or whatever, its dense but once it gets inside there, it gets hot expands and therefore you have a lot more air which is better right? I'm no expert, just seems like how it works. You should get a dyno of stock intake and bms lol. And Wow I never saw that intake..up to 43hp gain?!

[e36addict]

Why doesn't anyone just cut a hole in the hood and run the BMS intake upside down? This seems like the best fix. Ram air is the ultimate solution.

[LGCubana]

Cold Air Intake is almost always a misnomer. The only semi Cold units are the ones that either segregate the cone from the engine bay or positioned in front of and mounted low, in respect to the engine block

And as already stated CAI is relative to naturally aspirated engines, not one with a blower that is fueled/heated by exhaust gas

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by LGCubana

Cold Air Intake is almost always a misnomer. The only semi Cold units are the ones that either segregate the cone from the engine bay or positioned in front of and mounted low, in respect to the engine block

And as already stated CAI is relative to naturally aspirated engines, not one with a blower that is fueled/heated by exhaust gas

Very good!! So if I understand you correctly, the turbos are powered by a hot air system in any event, and the BMS is just producing more of that air to increase the overall performance, albeit at higher boost levels, as opposed to a non-turbo system, which depends on colder air to elicit its better performance gains?

[aren93]

Cold air=More air=Increased Performance?

[Dark_Knight_335]

I am glad I made this thread, as it seems to be generating a think tank of what it is our forced induction cars really need to reach their full potential, at least when it comes to air intake.

[MadToy]

Until someone shows conclusive proof at a drag strip, I'll continue to run my stock air box. I've yet to see proof that the stock box can't flow the necessary CFM our tiny turbos can muster.

A stationary Dyno, without the proper airflow running through with a closed hood, means nothing IMO.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by MadToy

Until someone shows conclusive proof at a drag strip, I'll continue to run my stock air box. I've yet to see proof that the stock box can't flow the necessary CFM our tiny turbos can muster.

A stationary Dyno, without the proper airflow running through with a closed hood, means nothing IMO.

I'm thinking so too sir.