After extensive R&D, we took some pictures today of our new MINI-S Cold Air Intake. The kit will be divided up into three "stages", though all kits will have the basic carbon fiber airbox replacement and ceramic coated downpipe. Dyno is in a week or two, but the butt-dyno says this thing SCREAMS!!!

Features:

-Carbon Fiber airbox cover which does not retain heat like metal covers
-ABS/Carbon Fiber grille scoops (CF will be an option)
-Ceramic coated 3" downpipe to block engine heat, .5" larger in diameter than OEM
-Ceramic coated 2" ram-air pipe
-High flow cleanable filter
-New grilles, with custom "Y" pipe that force feeds air into a secure fitting in the back of the Carbon Fiber airbox cover for a ram air effect. Can't show you pictures of that just yet.
-Aluminim plates which cover the voids at the top of the engine bay

And now, the pictures... (note the aluminum intercooler cover is a one-off, we have Carbon Fiber intercooler covers that look nothing like the OEM one coming out in a couple of weeks)
























More to come!!!

-Dan

dan@benferperformance.com
http://www.benferperformance.com

 

And the price(s)??
Is the CF intake cover compatible with any of the strut tower braces?
The height of the CF cover looks at least a quarter inch lower than the ECU plastic stock cover.

 

Pricing has not yet been set, and will probably wait until after the dyno. We are doing it in three "stages", each of which adds more HP in theory. We have to test that theory and make 100% sure this thing works before we give out pricing so that we don't get the cart ahead of the horse.

We haven't tried the CF intake cover with the strut tower braces out there, but we're working on our own MC/MCS carbon fiber strut tower brace that should fit no problem. The height of the CF cover is in fact about 1/4" lower than the ECU cover, so it should work with some of the bars out there if you use the "shorty" ECU covers or cut your ECU cover.

-Dan

 

That looks super cool! Must be expensive, but probably worth it for such a beautiful kit.

 

Wow, I can imagine those grill scoops must make quite an amazing difference when you get to the freeway speeds and above! :smile:

 

Nice !!!!!

I would like to see a pic of the Y pipe to see how truly sealed the intake is, also what size of filter will the kit include ?

 

Basically the bottom of the "Y" pipe is a rectangle shape. The back of the airbox cover has a slightly larger rectangle shape cut out, and there is gasket material around the edge. The "Y" pipe fits into the box, and the gasket makes the seal. From our testing there is no movement. I'll be posting pictures of the components of the kit outside the car later in the week.

The filter is (off the top of my head) 6.25"L x 5"dia with an inverted cone in the nose, so there is filter element in the direct stream of air as well as on the sides.

Regards,

-Dan

 

Dan,

I think you setup looks really sharp. I would be interested in the dyno results and price.

One question I have on the designs out there. Why do all of them follow the stock flow path? It seems convoluted. You have cold air coming in from the front of the car from the stock scoop. Why doesn't someone build a direct connection from the stock scoop by the front grill straight into the car. Kind of like a RAM Air.

Also, why does everyone go into expensive carbon fiber and certamic coating. It would be neat to just see a tube within a tube and filling it with a good cheap insulator such as air or glass. I would think that this would be as good if not better than carbon fiber and much cheaper (although not cooler looking)/

 

>>Dan,
>>
>>I think you setup looks really sharp. I would be interested in the dyno results and price.
>>
>>One question I have on the designs out there. Why do all of them follow the stock flow path? It seems convoluted. You have cold air coming in from the front of the car from the stock scoop. Why doesn't someone build a direct connection from the stock scoop by the front grill straight into the car. Kind of like a RAM Air.
>>
>>Also, why does everyone go into expensive carbon fiber and certamic coating. It would be neat to just see a tube within a tube and filling it with a good cheap insulator such as air or glass. I would think that this would be as good if not better than carbon fiber and much cheaper (although not cooler looking)/


Thx for the compliment, dyno and pricing coming!!!

To answer your question about design: I agree, it's a convoluded mess of bends. Think about where the filter would need to sit if you ran ram-air from the scoop (I assume you're not talking about the hood scoop that directs air over the intercooler, rather, you mean the stock air inlet for the airbox). Where would you put the filter? Filters need to be large enough that they filter particulates, while at the same time allowing as much air to flow as possible. To pack a filter "inline" with a ram air solution from the factory location, you'd need a small enough filter to fit - which wouldn't flow well enough. The second problem is that you're still dealing with that tiny opening in front - which isn't enough IMO for the MCS.

Our intake system not only opens up the back of the airbox for more air, while retaining the factory air inlet location; it uses ram-air in order to feed the motor, and it inreases the diameter of the air pathways to the airbox and the motor (while decreasing turbulence).

As far as why we use Carbon Fiber and ceramic coating vs. a tube within a tube... Do you know how much MORE expensive it would be to use air/glass as an insulator? We are using relatively standard manufacturing techniques to acomplish this CAI system. To use a tube within a tube would both decrease the inner diameter through which air flows, and/or not fit because of space constraints. The other thing is that glass retains MUCH more heat than carbon fiber. In the world of auto manufacturing, what you're suggesting is very a-typical, and would cost us a fortune to develop.

 

Very nice.
Will yor CAI comply with California air quality standards?

 

It will be submitted for CARB approval shortly. We expect approval in 3-6 months.

Regards,

-Dan

 

Looks good BFP!

>>but we're working on our own MC/MCS carbon fiber strut tower brace that should fit no problem

oooooh I cant wait for that! You can never have too much carbon fiber

 

technical question: the design seems to go to great lengths to increase the Ql of the intake path, except for the airbox to cowl connection - looks like the stock baffle was just roughly cut out, and the CF airbox is not flush against it. Is there a reason for this gap?

 

lol, thx rfibanez...

Check out a picture of the BMW E46 CF strut bar we're selling... The MINI one will look different, but it'll still look schweet!

 

>>lol, thx rfibanez...
>>
>>Check out a picture of the BMW E46 CF strut bar we're selling... The MINI one will look different, but it'll still look schweet!
>>
>>

dude. That's just art!!

 

>>technical question: the design seems to go to great lengths to increase the Ql of the intake path, except for the airbox to cowl connection - looks like the stock baffle was just roughly cut out, and the CF airbox is not flush against it. Is there a reason for this gap?

Because cold air travels through a Y shaped pipe that attaches to the grille, and directly into the back of the box at the bottom of the "Y", the space between the box and the firewall (baffle) is not important. Picture a tube coming out of the box on the back, sloping up, and fitting the form of the grille at the top.

-Dan

 

so will stage 1, stage2, etc. be different sized scoops, pipe, etc. or a reduction in parts, (stage 1, minus hoodscoop, gaskets, stage2 hoodscoop included, etc)

 

>>so will stage 1, stage2, etc. be different sized scoops, pipe, etc. or a reduction in parts, (stage 1, minus hoodscoop, gaskets, stage2 hoodscoop included, etc)


Something like that. What you see is the full kit. Stage one will have at minimum the carbon fiber box top, the ceramic coated 3" downpipe, high flow filter, etc. We're still finishing the parts lists for all 3 stages, and nothing has been finalized.

-Dan

 

Dan.....
Congrats on another fab product from BFP

peter horvath

 

>>Dan.....
>>Congrats on another fab product from BFP
>>
>>peter horvath

Thanks Peter! Just trying to catch up to M7, although I'll leave the genius work like turbocharging/supercharging, ceramic titanium brakes, and space age bushings to you!

Regards,

-Dan

 

Well done guys , look forward to seeing those pieces in person soon. Randy

 

BFP,

Do you have any pressure figures for those scoops at different speeds? How about pressure drop between ambient and the throttle body? An inexpensive Magnehelic gauge can do wonders for product development like this:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...amp;topic=8631

 

>>
>>To answer your question about design: I agree, it's a convoluded mess of bends. Think about where the filter would need to sit if you ran ram-air from the scoop (I assume you're not talking about the hood scoop that directs air over the intercooler, rather, you mean the stock air inlet for the airbox). Where would you put the filter? Filters need to be large enough that they filter particulates, while at the same time allowing as much air to flow as possible. To pack a filter "inline" with a ram air solution from the factory location, you'd need a small enough filter to fit - which wouldn't flow well enough. The second problem is that you're still dealing with that tiny opening in front - which isn't enough IMO for the MCS.
>>
>>Our intake system not only opens up the back of the airbox for more air, while retaining the factory air inlet location; it uses ram-air in order to feed the motor, and it inreases the diameter of the air pathways to the airbox and the motor (while decreasing turbulence).
>>
>>As far as why we use Carbon Fiber and ceramic coating vs. a tube within a tube... Do you know how much MORE expensive it would be to use air/glass as an insulator? We are using relatively standard manufacturing techniques to acomplish this CAI system. To use a tube within a tube would both decrease the inner diameter through which air flows, and/or not fit because of space constraints. The other thing is that glass retains MUCH more heat than carbon fiber. In the world of auto manufacturing, what you're suggesting is very a-typical, and would cost us a fortune to develop.
>>
>>
BFP,

My thoughts were enlarge the opening at Point A, put a custom air filter element in the opening and route it directly to D. Have two tubes, one within another, very similiar in diameter to each other, just maybe a few mm difference, just enough to allow a thin barrier of air to shield it from the engine compartment heat. This would be somewhat of a ram air design and reduce the mess of tubes. Although the intake at A may be more prone to picking up garbage from debris at the front of the car. I was also thinking of having Point A as large as the larger tube, but only the inner tube going to the supercharger. This would allow air to flow between the two tubes, promoting even better heat shielding. This couldn't cost too much money. Although the customer filter may be the most expensive piece, it can't be expensive as your setup, which I am guess will probably be in the $300 to $500 range, with all the carbon fiber, ceramic coated tubes and chrome heat shielding.

 

Sweet looking cold air set-up. Very nice looking strut brace. I went to your website and couldn't find any info on the vent scoops. So here's afew questions; When will the vent scoops be available? Can just one be purchased (drivers side)? What is the cost for the vent scoops? When will the brace be available and at what cost?

Thanks,

Rory

 

dgszweda1,

I had to move the image so it broke your link. Here's the image you referenced: