So why is everyone so anti-CAI?

[der affe]

it is LTW that way too. ^^^^^

i purchased a heat shield from KA and put it on my car. i however have a far from stock set up. when i bought the car it came with the filter hanging in the breeze with no means of support and i rigged something temporary that ended up staying for around 2 years until i finally did something about it. it took some customization to get it to work. NONE of which is HIS fault. the FORD MAF and the way the Dbilas intake set up is different from stock so i knew what i was in for. i have since opened up the hole more so i can fit just the cone filter in side of the heat shield, not the MAF and filter.

the end result was that i was able to lean it out 3-4 clicks on the piggy back on the idle setting and 4 on the high side. more power, better gas mileage, still sounds great.

my pic didn't work, one more time

[scottyp]

when i bought my 325is it had a cone filter with heat shield. makes the exhaust drone more and lost me some low end torque, thats about it. put the stock box back on noticed more torque instantly.

[der affe]

it is LTW that way too. ^^^^^

i purchased a heat shield from KA and put it on my car. i however have a far from stock set up. when i bought the car it came with the filter hanging in the breeze with no means of support and i rigged something temporary that ended up staying for around 2 years until i finally did something about it. it took some customization to get it to work. NONE of which is HIS fault. the FORD MAF and the way the Dbilas intake set up is different from stock so i knew what i was in for. i have since opened up the hole more so i can fit just the cone filter in side of the heat shield, not the MAF and filter.

the end result was that i was able to lean it out 3-4 clicks on the piggy back on the idle setting and 4 on the high side. more power, better gas mileage, still sounds great.

[chucko]

Just swiss cheese the stock airbox like Porsche does...you get the sound and heck maybe a placebo-like effect of going faster.

K&N drop-in filter is something I've been meaning to do.

This what you're talking about?





I saw this mod on the UK forum but I didn't think it was that popular here in the states. It's supposed to help the sound but not much more than that.

[smonkbmw]

ive never seen a dyno on a cai for a m20. ive only heard random bs, nothing conclusive. i ran a open filter on my ETA pre and post chipped and noticed no difference. makes noise and the motor seems to rev up faster, but that doesnt mean power. I put the stock airbox back in with a new filter and it feels more torquey but again, who knows there is no conclusive evidence. just random BS.

if you want to make power in your e30 either build a turbo kit or step to the plate and put a 24 valve in.

[NC325iC]

thats a nice drawing but it says nothing

[kamotors]

everybody always says how putting a cone filter on with out a shield is going to lose power because its sucking in hot air, and I agree with this 100%. If your going to just run a cone filter you aren't going to see any gains even when you ARE moving. I was surprised to see how little air gets past and around the headlights. If hot air is losing power then wouldn't cold air be a good thing? Simply routing air from an open spot in the grill gets air about 10+ degrees cooler than the stock airbox setup. The E30 isn't some special car that isn't effected by cold air. Cold air is always a good thing.

[Tree18is]

I think the m42 is a grenade with the pin pulled... with a CAI (which I have) makes it sound like a fuckn sewing machine hooked up to 220 for about 20 seconds..with a chip at 6800 oh MY GOD does it sound horrible.. Im looking for a stock box at the junkyard, Besides.. my flowmaster sounds fuckn sweet!

I also wish there was a Chip that had the same gains without the bullshit 7k redline.

whats the injector hopup? I didnt even know there was one.

[SpecM]

I cut up my stock airbox (just the bottem, left side, and front), and I'm sure it causes a little power loss (prob not much), but it sounds pretty good and was free.

[kishg]

But that's the point I'm attempting to make. There still has to be some gain, right? Now I know E30s are nowhere near race cars but even a couple HP/TQ is better than nothing for a few bucks, isn't it?

It's just dawning on me that if I want to do anymore upgrades, it's gonna involve redoing the top end or adding a turbo. Two things that are very pricey and time-consuming, not to mention another project, which I don't need right now.

I'm thinking about doing this along with 19lb. injectors that I've already bought and an upgraded Mark D chip for 19lb. injectors.

just do injectors/chip. there are dyno results out there showing net losses from running cai. if any gain can be made, its probably not worth it.

[M42Technik]

Just swiss cheese the stock airbox like Porsche does...you get the sound and heck maybe a placebo-like effect of going faster.

K&N drop-in filter is something I've been meaning to do.

[Asbradley21]

My dad's m42 has a CAI in it.
My m42 has stock air box.

My m42 has noticeably more power.

They just don't do much. They can be a hindrance if anything if done wrong. If you're going to do it. Do it right with and use the CAI kit from Kamotors.

[DCColegrove]

They sound nice - that's something!!!

Those filter housings with the shroud and cone in the middle (like a jet engine) do sound downright evil...

[dandingo]

...but you won't see much of a gain from a CAI.

But that's the point I'm attempting to make. There still has to be some gain, right? Now I know E30s are nowhere near race cars but even a couple HP/TQ is better than nothing for a few bucks, isn't it?

It's just dawning on me that if I want to do anymore upgrades, it's gonna involve redoing the top end or adding a turbo. Two things that are very pricey and time-consuming, not to mention another project, which I don't need right now.

I'm thinking about doing this along with 19lb. injectors that I've already bought and an upgraded Mark D chip for 19lb. injectors.

[e34john]

The stock one does the job pretty well, the stock filter element isn't very restrictive while still doing a good job of filtering out particles. The only thing they really do is give some nicer sound. Not against one but I have better things to do and I will do this mod once I get everything else done and it should complement the other mod nicely rather than trying to get anything out of just getting a CAI.