This is my first post and I am already going in reverse, so hello to everyone and thanks for all the help I have gotten before posting!

I purchased a 2005 Cooper recently (love it!), and I am in the process of making my Cooper quiet as possible (due to a hearing disability, opposite of deafness), I love the look and handling of the Cooper but I need to keep the sonics on the mitigated side. I noticed today after reading threads here for comparison, that the previous owner installed a CAI from aFe, I have tried in vain to search the appropriate keywords to find the OEM air intake parts and "air box", but to no avail. What are the correct keywords so I can find thread to go from CAI to oem?

Can anyone point me to where I would find pricing and availablity of OEM air intake parts? Or possibly know where I can find them used on ebay or here?

I appreciate any help you can give, I will also be making a before and after sound measurement and sound clip posting of sound barrier and vibration reduction installs as I progress so others can determine the effectiveness of such noise solutions. I have already ditched the runflat tires for a very quite set of Falken 912 that have reduced road noise greatly, now i need to keep the intake growl down (no matter how pretty it sounds) before I can get started comparing before and after cascade audio noise barriers.

thanks in advance!

 

I called the Mini dealer today and found that I indeed need at least an airbox, which they say includes the air filter part # 13727529258 , at a cost of $108.81 and in stock! Now i need to use the exploded view to see if there were any other parts removed in order to install the aFe intake.

 

Post some pictures. A great number of people on the site can identify any missing parts you'll need to replace.
Is it an MCS or justacooper? Go here:
http://www.realoem.com/
Follow the links for your year/make/model, and you'll find everything you need. (I think it's under "Fuel Preparation system").
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It may be cheaper to trade the intake with some one local. You might even be able to make a couple bucks on the deal. Ask your local club they may know some one that wants to swap.

 

if you would be up for a trade, give me a pm. i have a complete stock setup with a near new alta drop in filter.

 

put up a wtb section a lot of people will sell the stock parts for little or nothing usually 20 + shipping so like $35 or so lock stock and barrel

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I am going to see the local Mini dealer tomorrow, to make sure the airbox was the only part removed in order to install the CAI. I should record a sound clip before and after to show what the CAI does against a stock intake .

 

Well the swap is completed, although i still need a bracket that my Mini dealer somehow decided they did not need to order (thanks!), but it is solid enough, the bracket looks like redundant support.

Here are the sound files of before and after, afe and oem. The sound files are not normalized, so you can hear the volume differences and the recording was done with a Apple laptop recorder, using Logic audio and an Apogee interface, the mics are AKG 535 and Oktava mk012..No Eq...here are the files!

#1 is the afe
#2 is the stock oem

http://www.barberelectronics.com/afe.mp3

http://www.barberelectronics.com/oem.mp3

 

Well, maybe it's me, but the difference is pretty minor. I'm wondering if gluing some sound-deadening material to the outside surfaces of the oem airbox might knock it down a few db's.
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The overall difference in volume is about 2-3db, with the largest gains at 200hz, above 1k there is no measurable change, below 125hz there is nothing the analyzer can see. From a subjective listening point of view, you can hear it and feel it, making the playback of the sound files louder can help hear the difference. I can't really notice any drop in hp either.

 

Glad to hear that you are happy. I would be interested in taking the old intake off your hands to give it a try. Please pm me, I could not pm you. Thanks in advance.

 

"I can't really notice any drop in hp either."
Yeah, according to Der Abt and his extensive dyno testing, the change in horsepower is almost insignificant. Some minor improvements in throttle response and of course the change in sound -but that's what you're trying to get rid of. What frequency range is the most bothersome for you? The higher range may be a little harder to block I'd think.

 

High frequency can be blocked by just about any deading material (however human ear hears them more clearly) lows are much harder to stop as they pass right thru things and are omnidirectional