My updated setup, I am currently testing this big k&n with 70mm custom made elbow. Engine looks dirty, sorry for that (not anymore)

 

I noticed some of the pictures in this thread showed very dirty engine compartments. I wonder if it's due to the open hood scoop.

 

Or because we never wash the engine.....

 

Probably both of them

 

I guess its time to order up the parts for a proper intake system then... thanks for the feedback guys.

 

got a question for those who bought silicone parts... have you guys come across a website called Zenaracing?

i dont know how legite it is... the reason why i worry is because their joiners and tbolt clamps are free? im afraid to order from them...

 

hmmm... shipping and handling is 19 bucks... yet... still cheaper than siliconeintakes.com

worth it?

 

The webmaster probably forgot to update the prices. You should contact them directly for price quote.

This type of stuff happen all the time. When I was configuring my MINI back in January '08, the JCW floor mats were $0.00, so I immediately added them but only to see the price was updated two weeks later.

 

Finished last night. . .here r the pics. Lots of help from this thread, thanx to all for the good ideas and education

 

I also opened up the scoop as much as I could and put in soemthing to deter people from stuffing things inside like straws and napkins. . .luckily I saw the napkin when I came up to the car.

 

That looks really good. I prefer the metal elbow myself as well. Do you have a close-up shot of how it is joined at the MAF?

Really sucks people would do things like that (stuffing trash into the scoop). The mesh looks cool, what did you use?

 

That isn't metal. Could not find a silcone 90 deg elbow anywhere so. . .they had these parts in the performance intake section. The elbow is some hard plastic material which has its own clamp. It fit perfectly over the MAF and the green O ring. It has a nice snug fit and I can say that its working fine. I was worried in the beginning about heat but these things are made for making custom intakes and it does not get hot or leak. It was like $10 and the filter was about $40, filter oil and cleaning kit $10 plus tax about $70 total. The bracket I bought a long peice of aluminum from Home Depot, cut it with a hack saw and bent it and twisted it with two wrenches. Drilled a hole with a titanium drill bit slowly and attached it with a machine bolt and locking nut.

For the scoop I used some expanded metal screening material from home depot about $10 for a 2x3 sheet and cut it with tin snips.

 

where does the bracket mount on the car side? the stock airbox is only held on by 1 screw which is far from where the maf sensor is...

i want to remove the loser half of the oem airbox but im stuck thinking of ways to mount the bracket with the airbox removed.

 

tedbone... correct me if im wrong...

i believe its mounted on the intake manifold... the alta unit mounts their air box on it as well, you can always look at alta's cai instructions. Alta did a cool thing though, they put rubber around the screw between the intake manifold and the air box to give it some cushion.

on a side note... just recieved the trueflow filter and holy crap. this thing is freaking huge. the 5.5 by 9 inches is a lot larger than i thought... cant wait till silicone intakes restocks their inventory... by the time they restock the joiners... hopefully my car will be here!

edit::
ghosthound... i looked at a few post back and realized I got the same filter... hows it going? this is what i plan on doing when the car arrives...

i was planning on extending the 3" end of the reducer using a coupler. the reason for this is because if you look at altas or ddm street intake, the 90degree bend is longer going to the filter end than the MAF end. hopefully, with that side extended, it will sit nice and parallel with the stock bottom airbox. the metal mesh cage was a lot stronger than i thought so maybe, is it possible to use ziptie it to the each of the three mounts on the bottom air box?

this is all really hard to plan especially without a car but you think that would work at all?

 

the filter is working out great!

I actually just switched back to stock because im going to the dealership to get my clutch looked at... im only doing this because im just using the zip tie method and it looks too ghetto.

Im going to make the bracket after i get the car back, hopefully its something simple.

The way the stock box mounts to the manifold is weird... it uses 1 screw and the rest are just rubber plugs.. so there is no screw near the MAF sensor.. thats why im asking.

 

I just used one of the holes for the posts on the bottom of the box. I used an allen bolt, two washers and a nut. The only threaded hole is on the other side of the manifold and not very usable.

 

ooh! tell me how it goes and pictures when you are done! i need ideas

 

What have you done for the 335i? I'm interested. PM me. Thanks.

 

Hey, Just and FYI for everyone. I did a DIY with the 3 inch Universal Spectra cone inake filter and lost about 5 mpg with it. I took it off and switched back to the stock filter and ordered a K&N drop in filter.

Has anyone else noticed a drop in gas mileage? At $3.20 a gallon, the Phhssssssshhhh isn't that important to me. The MPG was a major factor when I bought my Mini.

 

I actually gained MPG. My car with the stock filter was about 30mpg, now I am doing about 33mpg. I use a AEM dryflow filter, that is 9 inch long and 3 inch neck.

Oh, and where are you located? Premium for me is about $3.73 a gallon

 

Sounds like you had better stop gassing it up to hear it sneeze

 

do you happen to know the size of the bolt?

 

when i made my bracket for my cai in used the 2 holes on the intake closest to the maf. i used a .125 x 1.25 x 6 pcs of Al that i drilled 2 5/6-18 holes in. i used the rubber gromts that the stock box used with 2 fender washer on the other side. that way when you tighten it up it would squwish the rubber and hold the hole thing tight. from there i made a braket that i welded to the one on the intake to hold the flitter. i will get some picks as soon as i can

 

cant wait for the pix!! sounds like a really nice setup you have going.

 

I guess I wasn't crazy (this is the M7 setup from another thread)...