Hi, I ordered a K&N 57-1000 to install on my bmw. It should arrive by Thursday and needless to say I am pretty excited about the install. I haven't done much under the hood besides changing the oil and installing new hood shocks. on the inside of the car I was highly successful in installing a BSW stage 1 speaker upgrade I was very surprised at how easy that was; the hardest thing was putting the front mids in.... Anyway if you have any comments or suggestions to share regarding the install or how it will improve my convertible please let me know. thanks btw amazon has them on sale for $172
as a drop top it already has a bit of road noise. but will it make more noise all of the time? or just when I floor it?
Mostly the latter. It doesn't muffle intake noise like the OEM system, so you'll hear it sucking - so to speak.
Hey Damien - even if C.R. might sound like a bit of a joykill in this instance, I can vouch that in reality, he's not, ,so don't let your enthusiasm be dampened. The underlying implication of C.R.'s comments is that often the claimed performance or hp increases from bolt-on modifications are overstated, or in reality, nominal enough that they're only noticeable when measured on a dyno. But that doesn't mean you can't like or enjoy them or try things and decide for yourself. BMW airboxes are generally well designed, and ensure adequate supply of air sourced outside the hot confines of the engine compartment. If you're opting to replace your airbox with a K&N, eventually you might want to consider a shield to keep the air supply being drawn from the hotter underhood air. If you're simply replacing your stock air-filter with a K&N, I don't know if you'd notice much difference from the in-car butt-dyno perspective - but you can clean & re-oil the filter multiple times vs. having to replace it on a scheduled basis. (This is where everyone else can pipe in on every point that's negative or positive about K&N's, etc). There are countless ways to modify your car - for whatever you consider, use the Roundel for shopping and comparisons, as well as the net for insight as to pluses & minuses. If you want to get into basic maintenance tasks, get a Bentley manual which covers your car, which is generally excellent for showing and explaining how to do most minor and major tasks that one might tackle. Keep in mind that no one starts off being a guru - knowledge and insight comes from researching, learning, doing, building your experience base, and asking lots of questions along the way; ya gotta start somewhere, and having enthusiasm about your ride is a pretty good launch pad if you ask me!
Next I'd like to replace the exhaust system. Thank you CR and MGarrison, the install went perfectly. I learned more about my car and the new cold air intake looks great. The sound is needless to say unusual in the lower range rpms but it def. sounds like a mad cat when its pushed even moderately. The horsepower increase was small but noticeable; I've never thought to have it dyno run. would you gentlemen recommend an after-market exhaust system?
I like Super Sprint and B&B Tri Flow. You can get an SS from BMP Design and a B&B from Bavarian Autosport. www.bmpdesign.com www.bavauto.com Both are great, the B&B will be louder and more in your face.
