I am considering either the JCW intake (flap removed) or just replacing the panel filter with a Green or K&N in my '06 MCS. I would like to hear from anyone who is familiar with both and could tell me if they feel the JCW is worth the extra money. Is there a noticeable difference in low end throttle reponse or increased sound (3 to 4k RPM range) from the JCW over the panel? I'm looking for a slight increase in sound and improved throttle response. Thanks for any input.

 

Well worth in the car modification is a funny thing. It's all about how much your willing to pay for the modification. Like spending 225 on an oil cooler isn't worth it to some, but it's a nessesity to others. As far as intakes go i have an alta and love it. Now for the JCW it flows more air than a stock box with upgraded filter. But your going to get increased performance from either. Your probably going to gain around 4-6 HP and around the same in tourqe with the JCW, and around half that with the panel. Throttle response should increase slightly as your letting your car breath better. And if you want noise from the charger go with the JCW you most deffinatly will be able to hear the charger. And as far as i'm concerned $250 for more whine is well worth it, but I love engine noise.

 

JCW isn't that great. I had one for 2 weeks and then got rid of it. Depends on how quiet you like it, but then again if you want quiet just stick with stock. I thought I liked quiet until I got a taste above 4500 with the JCW. I loved it and soon I was driving so aggressively to always hear the noise that I was putting myself and others in danger. Not so great. I've been in a car with the ddm and I find it has the right amount of noise. go alta if you really want to hear it. I've heard the helix is quite nice too.

 

I had this similar delimma. I ended up with the DDM Works CAI. For the money vs. performance, looks, and ease of installation, it seemed to be the best value. I didn't chose the JCW because of the price. It seems steep for what you can buy in place of it. The question is if your willing to accept something that doesn't look like an OEM or something that carries that JCW brand name. Removing the flap does improve performance, but not as near as an Alta, DDM, or other aftermarket part. The opening behind the CAI is still small and surface area hasn't improved. Plus with the DDM, you get a foam filter, very similar to the Alta. There's a nice description here on NAM on the difference between paper, foam, and cotton filters. I recommend foam filters for the best performance and engine protection mix.

As far as sound, the JCW is very quiet at low RPMs but after the 4500, the whine sounds great. In comparison to the DDM, the whine is louder but even at low rpms, its not obstrutive or annoying. Only when you gun the throttle do you get the loud, sucking, whining sound. And it sounds awesome.

With either of your proposed options, you will get improved response. How much more response do you get with other aftermarket parts would be the interesting part. I went from stock to DDM CAI and the difference is night and day.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. Being as paranoid about warranty issues as I am I kind of like the JCW. However the "race" version (no flap) that I am looking at is not technically approved for the US I don't believe so who knows. I would suppose the odds of an intake causing warranty problems would be slim regardless. I like the idea of having no flap as I seldom am revving over 4500 RPM's anyway so I figure I would not get much benefit of the regular JCW intake with the flap. I would assume the Dinan would give me about the same results as the flapless JCW as well for about 50 bucks less.

 

IMO, the JCW is an overpriced, overengineered intake, that does not even come close to some of the other, aftermarket (GASP!) intakes on the market. I have the ALTA and LOVE it...even after 10k miles or so. Go with the least expensive, well made product you can find.

TJM

 

If sound was not a concern I would probably go with the ALTA but as a daily driver I'm looking for something a little more subdued. I agree the JCW is somewhat overpriced.

 

I had the JCW and took the flap out - for what I wanted at the time, it was great. Lots of people don't like it 'cause of the price, and that's fine, but it does its job, sounds great, and is a stock part.

Now I have the Dinan which is essentially the same thing without the flap - as a matter of fact, when the shop replaced my JCW when they were installing the Dinan kit, they were like, "sure you want to take this one off, it looks like a good one as far as intakes go". That's from an independent BMW performance shop.

As far as noticable differences go - I didn't perceive any performance gain with the JCW with or without the flap. When I put the ITG filter in and took the flap out, it definitely sounded very nice.

mb

 

Thanks mb, that's the kind of real world experience I am looking for. I can get the flapless JCW for about $250 and the Dinan for $200 so I guess it comes down to is it worth the extra $50 for the JCW. Why did you change from the JCW to the Dinan, just becuase it was part of the kit? Notice any difference between the two?

 

I changed to the Dinan because I got the kit, and I figured that the intake was a part of it, so why not just keep it all together. Also, the software is meant to account for the gain of that intake, so it made sense to me to make the switch.

I notice less intake noise now because of the exhaust, but I'm sure it's still there, just not at noticable. When the stock dinan filter is finished I'm going to replace it with a uni-filter (foam). One main difference between the two intakes is where they get their air - the JCW takes it from the flap opening, and the Dinan takes it from an open top corner of the box which sucks air from the driver's side cowl. The JCW inlet is in the same area, just a few inches lower. I feel like if I ever had the Dinan box out, I could cut a hole in it similar to the jcw, but I don't really know.

If you're going to pay 250$ for the JCW, just get the Dinan if you're planning on taking out the flap. The flap and its associated technology is probably what you'll be paying for, and you're planning on taking it out. Also, when you take out the flap, you need to make sure the vacuum line isn't open anywhere. It's not difficult, but it's a pain for unmechanical people like me.

mb

 

Where can you get the JCW intake for $250? I'm shopping around and trying to find that...