Thanks! I will have the intakes in stock Monday. Keep an eye out here for some exciting things from MINI-Motorsport soon!

Randy
randy@mini-motorsport.com

 

>>I don't think there would be a problem with dremeling out a large rectangle. That partition supports the weather stripping across the back edge of the bonnet, so I can't really see that there is a strength/stiffness reason not to open it up.

I opted to do just that, Dremel it out using a router bit. The downside to this approach is that it was messy. Spent a while vacuuming the dead space area. You have to be sure that any intake holes are covered. I used duct tape to cover up the openings and it is also not a bad idea to cover up an other openings that you see. If I did it again, I would put a couple of layers of duct tape on the front and back of the area that I was cutting. This would probably help contain some of the debris. You do have to be careful about the brake lines, especially in the right bottom corner if you are facing the dead space. I inserted a small piece of 1/8 inch would, kind of like paneling thickness, back there to be safe.

The placstic is very soft. You might even be able to cut a square with a good razor. I used one to clean up after the Dremel.

The grin factor from this modification is priceless. No doubt it is a supercharged engine. It will be interesting to see if there is any HP gained cuz it sure sounds like it.

Now we need to make a little scoop to mount in the driverside grill area.

Motor On!

 

Thanks to Randy and all his hard work ! I think the modification makes some sense but, in looking at pic that I tried to post on the "cooper S filters available" post, how would this modification actually increase air flow? The coolest available air is going to be in front of the vehicle, obtained from the "snorkle"...right? Does this modification defeat the purpose of the snorkle? Wouldn't the air at the back of the "box" be hotter? Any numbers to support this modification?....Or is it just a "seat of the Pants" feeling. Would love to know...

 

Good questions. The air that this mod brings to the airbox is actually cool air from the intake in the cowl. It is forced into the area at speed. It does NOT prevent airflow from the snorkel. You can only do this mod with an aftermarket filter, and if you loooook at the diagram and picture a Madness intake in place of the factory airbox, you can see that the snorkel is providing air from the front, and the filter can draw additional air from this fresh air inlet in the cowl.

There haven't been dyno runs yet, and even if there are, it's going to be hard to replicate moving airflow, but I have seen the highest boost pressure recorded so far with this mod. That would indicate that it makes a positive pressure difference in relation to available mass airflow.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Randy
randy@mini-motorsport.com

 

Beautiful write-up Randy. Thanks for taking the time.

The interesting thing about this, is that you've just equalized (in terms of amount of air available) the rogue and BMP intakes.

I wonder if BMP would consider extending their heat shield all the way back and simply providing a hole saw with the installation kit? :smile:

I'm curious since you can't tell from the photos--is there a drain at the bottom of the cowl area for water?

Jeff

 

Guess its time to get out the roll up my sleeves and get out the Dremel. Santa left me an aftermarket Mini-Madness filter in my stocking and I guess I should give my Mini S the best "lungs" possible...Deep Breathe.....Ahhhhh...

 

Randy,
Does the intercooler cover have a function? Aside
from blocking the air flow to the intercooler???
Talk to ya Monday...
Mike..

 

the plastic cover attached to the intercooler forms a seal area for the rubber grommet around the hood interior surface surrounding the air scoop. Without the plastic part, the scoop air would not get directed through the intercooler fins. in fact the plastic cover has a secondary mini-scoop to better distribute the air to all the fins.

 

Randy,

I was all set to order a BMP intake from you, but now I learn you can't do this mod with the BMP, is that true??? Hope not, want to use the BMP strut bar, but want the benefit of the cold air intake of this mod.

Thanks,

John

 

John,

To the contrary, I think this mod helps the BMP the most. One of the problems with the BMP is the intake area available for air induction, and this mod provides more fresh air right to where the BMP intake is open - the rear.

Order when ready!

Randy

 

Thats what I thought you had said before, but then a couple people told me I was out of luck.

I'll be ordering next week.....you get my BMP order, but still to decide on sway bar, unless you are gonna carry the RDR too?!

Thanks,

John

 

John,

Hang out until mid-February on the swaybar - that's all I can tell you or else I'd have to kill you

Randy

 

Well, I made my air box into swiss cheese. The whine of the supercharger is a lot more pronounced :smile: . As far as gaining more power, I was just able to zoom around the block real quick, tomorrow will tell more. It's basic math, more air = more power.

I too was lazy and just removed the BMP intake and hole sawed the plate in place. I used a piece of tin between the brake lines and the plastic to be cut to protect the brake lines from the drill and saw. Worked fine. I also sawed two holes on the top part of the plate for more air flow. That area is not directly in under the cowling opening so I figured it would stay dry in wet weather.

Thanks for the free horsepower Randy, keep it coming.

 

>>Randy,
>>Does the intercooler cover have a function? Aside
>>from blocking the air flow to the intercooler???
>>Talk to ya Monday...
>>Mike..

The plastic cover acutally has a deflector to route air evenly over the front part of the intercooler as well as the rear. Without it, you would have much more of the flow going over just the rear of the intercooler. It also provides the seal that jlm was speaking of.

Randy

 

yeah, we were looking at that little deflector over the intercooler today and it does appear to direct airflow over the front of the intercooler. I'll be putting my cover back on. Bummer, it looked so nice with it off. I honestly don't think it's a big deal either way, as we did a full day at the track on Friday and I didn't notice any difference.

 

Given the amount of room on the other side of the intercooler, it's ability to be efficent is in doubt.

Clearly if the intercooler was in a different location, with more free flowing air across it, it would be more effective. Perhaps an upgraded intercooler in a better location will come out in the future.

 

Got to really try out the airbox hole mod. It made a big difference in acceleration. The car seems to run smoother too.

This is best mod I've made so far. OK, so it's only the 3rd performance mod, but it was the best. It makes the BMP intake kit really work a lot better.

Next will be the Magnaflow then it's off to the handling dept, non-runflats, springs and sway bars when the cash presents it's self.

Cha Ching!!

 

Thanks Randy, I just completed the work on the intake. Your instructions were very helpful. While I was working on the car I had an idea which I wanted to share. I made an aluminum plate for the intake and drilled the 2" holes in that. The aluminum is now finished with hammered metallic paint. Here's a picture...

:smile:

 

Great mod! I have one question concerning all-weather cars: how do the filters deal with the additional moisture that the extra holes allow into the airbox? I drive in all weather, and I don't want to risk introducing moisture into my intake plumbing. Any thoughts on this?

 

On my offroad racecar, the K&N filter was out in the open. It was my experiance that unless it took a major direct hit of water and mud, moisture didn't cause a problem.

The filter sits well back of the cowling. Moisture would have to be traveling with the air to get to it. IMO a lot of water would have a hard time getting that far.

Just think of it as water injection

 

I agree with Rory, the vent in front of the windshield always had the potential for water to get into the dead space between the bulkhead and the filter box. BMW must have a way to drain it somewhere. I don't believe water can get anywhere near the filter, besides when I was doing my mod, I saw a drain hole in the base of the filter box.

Graham :smile:

 

I think if anything these holes allow the air from the front coming in (as normal) to just have a place to exit the engine. So speed of air coming in from the front, will flow at its highest rate, enough for the larger air filter to deal with. I'm sure with the holes there also, that there is the start of a vacuum just at the base of the windshield where the slots are behind the airbox. I'm sure this creates more pull out though the holes, then air being drawn in though them.
I might just stick with the K&N stock filter replacement. Still not sure what I want to do.

 

I just read through this entire thread any maybe I missed something. Is there a reason Randy that you didn't just remove the air filter out of the way and use a dremel or rotary saw tool and cut a single large round hole? Looks like you took half the car apart to just take that piece of plastic out to cut. Was it simply a case of being cautious so that you didn't end up damaging or cutting the wrong thing?

Furthmore, has anyone thought of modding this plastic and the pollen filter cowl area so that an actual scoop and PVC pipe could be placed to actually force air into the air filter area? I guess water could perhaps become a concern at this point however.

Cheers,

Paul

 

>>
>>I just read through this entire thread any maybe I missed something. Is there a reason Randy that you didn't just remove the air filter out of the way and use a dremel or rotary saw tool and cut a single large round hole? Looks like you took half the car apart to just take that piece of plastic out to cut. Was it simply a case of being cautious so that you didn't end up damaging or cutting the wrong thing?
>>

The reason you don't want to Dremel is because the brake lines are about 1/2" behind the area you need to cut. It's not worth the risk.

 

>>Furthmore, has anyone thought of modding this plastic and the pollen filter cowl area so that an actual scoop and PVC pipe could be placed to actually force air into the air filter area? I guess water could perhaps become a concern at this point however.
>>
>>Cheers,
>>
>>Paul
>>
>>

Yeah, I am hoping someone will come up with a ram air intake. A scoop will probably force more air at higher speeds. I think if it`s only a scoop without any PVC pipes then water should not be a problem.

Paul.