I"ve only seen a handfull of aftermarket parts made out of carbon fiber that did anything other than make the manufacturer tons of money. Most of the stuff that goes under the hood as a bolt on has such a small weight difference that it's really more cosmetic than anything else. And your experience with the intake on your car shows that cost and performance can be highly uncoupled..... Glad you like what you've got. Matt
yeah, took me a while to get the right set up, and of course it wound up being the cheapest haha, go figure.
does anyone have ant suggestions on a intake system for a 05 325i, i dont have a terriblely large amount of $ to spend on this so im looking at about a 400$ limit
i would get the john conforti intake http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=JCINTAKEE463252001 or an afe http://www.modbargains.com/product.aspx?pf_id=afe_BMW_E46_CS both are amazing intakes, but the conforti filters as low as 10 micron sized particles from the air and afe only filters as low as 20 micron, and according to the turner motor sport page 10-20 microns is the most damaging to your engine.
Some comments on octane... if your car has a knock sensor, worse gas can actually cost you more per mile than higher octane gas. This is because when the knock sensor hears the onset of detonation, the ECU will pull timing. This kills power and gas mileage. So, check out if your car is knock sensor equipped, then if it is, log some mileage with premium, and some with lessor gas. I think you'll be surprised at the difference! The newer the car, the more likely it's cheaper to run the car on premium (if it calls for it) than it is on regular because they are tuned more "on the edge" than older cars are. FWIW, on the supercharged Mini, there is an increase in the cost per mile when using regular over premium, even though the gas costs less. I haven't tested this out on the turbo engine, but I'm guessing the results would be the same... Matt
the same amount as an AFE, i just ment all cotton gauze filters like K&N and the ones AFE and all other cotton cone filters. they filter as low as 20
thanks. and a guy i work with said i should get one of those confonti shark injectors, but it says to use 91 octae gas, do you know if anything will happen if you use any lower gas
it wont run as smoothly, you wont get the right results form the injector, and you can get engine knock, so if you dont want to buy 91 or better i wouldn't buy one, but they are amazing so if you dont mind spending on the gas go for it, i love mine. shouldn't you already be using 91 or better in the 2.5 liter anyway?
i try to but between my car and our other four it kinda adds up to get it everytime so i end up getting the 91 about every other time or so
I thought the E46's require 91, nothing less? I know that if you run the wrong kind of gas in your car, it can cause detonation, which is really bad for the engine. That's what happened when I put 87 gas in my car by accident right after I did a chip swap, so I was still getting used to putting 91 in the tank. Under load, you'd hear pinging from the engine if this was the case...
hey im looking at the confonti or the afe intake but i dont a really loud car so before i buy either one does anyone know where i can find a sound bit of it online?
I looked around and most are charging around $350+.... But if you go to the K&N website and search for dealers, you can find the kit running cheaper than you think. I think I saw buy on line at $285 + shipping... for me in Hawaii, it was like under $10 for shipping. Of course I took the cheap route, but saves $$$$. Checkers Auto parts quoted me $285+ tax, pay first and they order it... takes about 3 days. 57-1001 Price: $285.29 57-1001 Product Specifications Product Style: 57 Series FIPK Estimated Horsepower Gain: 11.46 HP @ 6030 RPM Type: Gen II Replacement Filter: RC-4630 CARB EO Number: D-269-31 CARB Exempt: See Application Link Below Weight: 8.8 lb (4 kg) Product Box Length: 23 in (584 mm) Product Box Width: 14.25 in (362 mm) Product Box Height: 12.13 in (308 mm) Kit Number 57-1001
57-1001 Price: $285.29 57-1001 Product Specifications Product Style: 57 Series FIPK Estimated Horsepower Gain: 11.46 HP @ 6030 RPM Type: Gen II Replacement Filter: RC-4630 CARB EO Number: D-269-31 CARB Exempt: See Application Link Below Weight: 8.8 lb (4 kg) Product Box Length: 23 in (584 mm) Product Box Width: 14.25 in (362 mm) Product Box Height: 12.13 in (308 mm) Buy on Line from K&N The 57-1001 will fit the following vehicles: 2005 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2005 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - EU; E46 2005 BMW 330CI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2004 BMW 330XI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2004 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2004 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - EU; E46 2004 BMW 330CI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2003 BMW 330XI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2003 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2003 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - EU; E46 2003 BMW 330CI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2002 BMW 330XI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2002 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2002 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - EU; E46 2002 BMW 330CI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2001 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2001 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - EU; E46 2001 BMW 330CI 3.0L L6 F/I - US 2000 BMW 330I 3.0L L6 F/I - E46
I am by no means an expert, but I've done alot of research and received much advice from others on the board. With no disrespect to anyone else, I suggest that you go with either the Conforti or AFE intakes. I also have a 05 325xi. They are about $100 bucks more than the K&N, but I do not believe the K&N heat shield is any good....from what I hear. I am about to get the Conforti Shark and then the Conforti intake. Can't wait!
Right on ppimpinella!! the AFE has a great heat shield its all aluminum. The conforti is nice too for sure because it has a better filter than any other intake out there. it filters lower micron sized particles than your standard cotton k&n filter.
rcryder i found a video with that heat shield you have in your pictures earlier and its made by signature motoring and im thinking about buying that from them along with either a k&n cone filter or if you can just buy the conforti filter that http://www.signaturemotoring.com/
I know you can buy replacement filters for the conforti but I think the way they fit onto the conforti system is that the filter end is a male piece and the tube is the female end, where as most filters are the female piece and the tube goes into them as a male piece. Now thats just my assumption form studying the pictures. They have a replacement filter for sale on turnermotorsports.com, you could always email them and ask how it works and if it would work on a general application.
well i looked at both and the signature motorsports one with the k&n filter would run me about 200$ and the conforti on turner motorsport would be about 400$ with shipping, so would you suggest going with the conforti and pay more or do you like the signature one better? or i was also thinking since the heat shield on the conforti looks plastic do you think the signature heat shield would work with the conforti system
