I stopped by a mini dealer yesterday and asked him if it was ok to remove the noise maker....

for some reason he said he didn't now what it meant and asked if i had an after market intake? haha

but then i told him it was a tube that pushes sound,or air towards the firewall (am i correct?) He said if i did that the cel light would turn on. Is this true? He said sense california has such high emission standards the cel is very sensitive.

 

Well do yo plan on replacing it with an aftermarket BOV? If not then you'll tear stuff up cause it needs something to vent the extra air out.

 

He is an idiot. These jerks at the dealer know about as much as the AT&T guys when you call them.

Your cel light will not come on. It is not connected to anything that can cause a cel.

It will not affect emissions, in fact the smog check guy will not be able to tell if you removed it or not.

IT IS ONLY FOR SOUND IN THE CAB, THAT IS ALL, NO OTHER USE OR CONNECTION. MOST DEALER PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS AND HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT. I EVEN CALLED THE PARTS GUYS AND THEY COULDN'T FIND IT, I HAD TO SEND THEM A DIAGRAM SO THEY COULD.

Sorry to yell.

Porthos, we are talking about the Noise Maker, not the Diverter Valve. The noise make DOES NOT VENT ANYTHING, IT IS SOLID.

 

Hell man I don't know, it has to have some kind of venting system or recirculating valve. It does something other then make noise.

 

.... are they serious??? they don't know what the noise maker is??? i mean yeah you can go without it... but no it literally is exactly what it sounds like... it just vents excess boost, it's like a diaphram BOV... there's no vacuum line or anything..... if you have an open air filter on ur car you'd hear it a lot.. but there's no real performance gain... hell i don't even know what boost it holds before releasing... there has to be some kinda limit... the only way that that "noise maker" would be functional is by blovking off the recirc valve on the turbo itself (alta has a block off plate), that will take away the ECUs avility to vent boost under situations like DSC cutting power... by doing that you require the car to work off the boost through the noise maker... which by that point you should have an aftermarket BOV so it works correnctly or more efficiently.

ps this is my personal opinion... i have no idea the performance values of the stock noise maker.... i'm sure someone else knows the exact specs for it, but technically speaking there's no performance gain from a BOV... just helps save ur turbo from dredded compressor surge

 

It is not a BOV and it is not a diaphragm. it is a tube that comes off the cold side boost tube. at the end of the tube there is a black plastic device, this does not vent. It is has a empty cavity on both sides and a solid wall in the middle there by only allowing sound vibrations through. what it does do is allow the sound to travel through to the fire wall.

There are no performance specs because it is not to add performance. It is not a BOV, the equivalent to a BOV that the stock mini does have is the Diverter Valve or DV. The noisemaker is not the DV or the BOV which we dont have (unless you add it)

The new 2010 Mustang GT has a tube coming from the intake to the cab to bring in the sound, so do Jaguar XK's. These are to enhance the sound from the engine. nothing more.

 

I was actually wondering about the BOV vs. Soundmaker thing myself. Is an aftermarket BOV a good investment for performance? Does it sound the same or different?

 

There are many threads about the benefits of a BOV. You will basically get better boost recovery. If you upgrade your turbo it will be a smart choice it can help with the life of your turbo by preventing blow back or turbo surge or whatever its called.

The stock "noisemaker" that is how it is listed as a part. makes very little noise at all. A BOV will make a big cool noise, but you will get close to the same noise with an open filter intake like NM, or ALTA. You can also get the forge BOV adapter plate and turn your stock DV into a BOV. It wont be as good as a real BOV but it will make a noise similar to one.

No you will not see much or any performance gain from a BOV, but they are still a good idea for safety and boost recovery.

 

Ok so my question is to this noise maker, if does not vent excess air what does? A turbo vehicle needs either a recirc or a bov or you would sent excess air the wrong way into the turbo. Now if BMW figured something out to go around this then fine but it seems like a waste of money to have it there.

 

The diverter valve...

Has nothing to do with the "noisemaker." Chakraj explained it perfectly.

 

Where is this diversion valve aka gots to be the stock BOV

 

The diverter valve is located on the turbo itself, right under and next to the turbo inlet tube. it is a black valve attached to the turbo. It is a recirculator valve or Diverter Valve I have heard it called both. Not sure the exact part name.

 

I was just wondering so where would an aftermarket one go? Right where the recirc is on the turbo or by the TB?

 

Will someone please send me a picture of this noisemaker thing. I took my car in to get the oil changed, and now, it seems quieter. It's not as much fun to drive. Am I just getting used to it, or did someone take my "noisemaker". I know my car had this in the beginning, but now it doesn't growl like it used to.

 

#13 in this drawing, at the firewall:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...06&hg=13&fg=20

 

The noisemaker is #13. If you remove it, you should take #10 - #17 off and plug the hole in #8.

 

Bought one of these from Clint at DOS last year ... cheap, efficient, and plugs the hole that NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

 

I couldn't agree more. The noisemaker is just useless fluff.

 

Once the noisemaker is removed, what does the car sound like? More exhaust noise? A lot less cabin noise or not really?

 

Maybe 10-15% less noise; I noticed similar noise-reduction in the cabin when I changed-out the runflats for real tires.
I spent the $30 mostly because I'm an engineer and I was removing a hole in the intake where it wasn't useful (or somewhat hindering).

 

Most of the aftermarket BOVs I have seen are installed at the connector for the factory noisemaker. You then have the option of installing a block off plate at the turbo where the factory DV was.

 

I have to ask...Im sure I already know the answer.

My MCs sounds like it has a "whistle" from the noisemaker when shifting (it was amplified after installing the alta intake).

Now, it definitely isnt the sound from the DV, because my friends JCW doesnt make the noise. And its not the whistle from WOT because this is during shifts....is this normal?

 

Anyone know the I'D' size of the pipe that comes off the intake tube (start of the noisemaker) !??? I'm sure I could make a block

 

I'll know tomorrow morning when I do my CAI installation.

 

The ID of the factory noisemaker should be about 1.25"