I see a lot of people recommend the DDM intake, but in the hours of reading through threads I have not read why. Is there an advantage over the aem that justifies the cost?
Also it looks as if the DDM uses the stock piping, wouldn't the aem have the advantage in that area?

 

The AEM induction kit uses strong thick plastic because it doesn't absorb heat like metals do, with that said the AEM wins in my book. You'll lose some bottom end torque though, I would use the stock airbox because it's not at all restrictive like some think. I had an AEM system for five months and switched back to stock and never looked back!

 

Why did you get rid of your aem? I'm looking at them because of the fact they put the hood scoop to use, and it will help with some cold weather issues(possibly).

 

I picked the AEM primarily from a price standpoint. I too was looking at both of the intakes since they both utilized the hood scoop. Going from an R53 to the R56 I was slightly dissapointed to find the scoop wasn't really functional. Also I like the thick plastic scoop as opposed to the metal one used by DDM. I wanted more protection for my outside hood scoop (it was already starting to warp). It also included the turbo heat shield and was still a less expensive system than the DDM. Lastly, the N14 inlet tube is weak silicone. I wanted to upgrade the air inlet. AEM intake you get a nice powercoated inlet tube. DDM uses the stock inlet.

With all those considered it made my choice very easy. Don't be fooled though. Like Systemlord said, the stock intake isn't that restrictive to begin with. So you will not realize any real top end gains. You will get a pleasant intake sound. It'll be more throaty when loaded on heavy accel. The powerband will be slightly more level but nothing that you'll notice from the seat of your pants.

 

It's actually an interesting story, I recently had my Mini completely repainted because someone backed up onto my hood scratching the hell out of it, so I went ahead and told my insurance to paint the entire car and that I'd pay whatever is remaining. When I dropped off my Mini I made it very clear not to install the hood scoop plastic grill and showed them the AEM intake mounted under the hood. So a week and a half go by and I go to pick up my Mini with my GF and we go for a cruise down a mountain highway.

So I'm hammering it through the turns and after a short while we both notice there's some nice torquey bottom end when accelerating and I'm like, "where did this extra performance come from." I pull over to have a look under the hood and what do you know, those idiots had done exactly what I told them not to do. They installed the grill into the hood scoop blocking off at least 65 percent of my AEM hood scoop.

I had a crazy idea just for experimentation, I grabbed one of my t-shirts and stuffed it into my scoop completely blocking air from coming into the AEM induction scoop. Right away I noticed even more of that bottom end torque, I was blown away!! I left my t-shirt in there for about a week rethinking my next move, I even thought about just using the AEM airbox without the induction scoop.

Then what would happen if I installed my stock CAI, I drove around for another week before doing so because I wanted enough time to evaluate the difference. At this point the induction scoop was coming for good, I just wasn't sure about the airbox. I decided to install the stock CAI after driving around with the AEM airbox without the induction scoop. After installing my stock CAI I NEVER looked back, sold the AEM system on eBay for $250.

This entire experience wasn't my own making, I never would have had this experience had the the paint & body shop did what I told them not to do, in the end I'm grateful to those idiots!

 

I talked to a mechanic today that knows Mini's really well. He told me to stick with the stock setup and just put in a better "drop in" filter. He said the stock setup delivers cooler air than the systems that use the scoop. Now I'm not sure what I am going to do....

 

My advice is put your money where it will matter, you would notice a much bigger difference from a Forge DV (Diverter Valve). The Forge DV made more of an impact in throttle response than my $900 dollar Borla S-Type Exhaust! Another area is ditch those RF tires as there too heavy, you would get much better handling switching to a non RF tire.

You won't notice a much difference getting an intake or exhaust without a tune, money better spent on suspension and performance tires along with lighter weight wheels! Take it from me because I've been there and done both intake and exhaust, little to no difference without a tune. If I had it to do all over again I'd still get the Borla exhaust because I have plans for it later.

 

I was only looking at the intake for a possible fix for some cold weather problems. The more airflow you can get the better some of the condensation will be cleared out(in theory anyway). I don't need suspension or anything. Also the warranty I have requires the run flat tires to be used.

 

Are you sure its not your car insurance that requires the RFT? I can't think of any reason why an extended warranty would care whether you were running with RFT?

There are millions of cars out there driving with normal wheels and tires.

 

Part of the warranty I have covers tires. Instead of having "road hazard" coverage on each tire I buy my warranty just covers them. If something goes wrong or I get a leak they are replaced for free. So since run flats are original equipment that is what I have to use.

 

Also there is no way we would give up the run flats, we live in the middle of nowhere. If my wife would get a flat she could possibly be stuck for awhile. With the run flat she can make it home. There is no cell phone service to call for help up here, so the run flats come in handy.

 

That's a very different story, then RFT are for you. Your situation is the reason RFT were invented.