So i just wanted to let people know my story and how i fixed the CAI. I bought the intake from NAM and have it on my car for 8 months. So one day im under the hood and i realize the metal part of the intake has 2 halfs and the welds have snapped and its starting to separate. I immediately remove it to get a better look and i snapped a few pictures to send to alta. I get a response a few hours later that says to give them a call and talk to john. So i give him a call and he wants the pictures now too. I send them over and he agreed that it was a faulty piece. He asks me to send the metal bracket back to them. The only problem is i live in FL and they wanted $12 for ground to oregan aprox. 7 days. Then he says once they get it he will promptly ship a new one. Well i cant wait 14 days and pay $12 for a bracket. So i politly decline and ask him if there is any way he can send me one then i will ship my old one back. He says sure for $55 he would ship me a new one and when my old one got there he would refund the $55. Well im unemployed at this point and cant have over $60 tired up for 2 weeks so i decline that offer also and decided i will weld it myself. Then i realize welding may not be the best option on aluminum so take a look at the before and after photos of my fix.

 

The same happend to me and they told me I installed it worng or it was touching somenthig!

 

Hi guys,
Sorry to hear you had issues with our intakes. Please PM me directly so I can try to help you both out. As with any part install always make sure you have adequate clearance from the firewall, strut braces etc......but sometimes the part just fails! DEFINITELY want to keep your MINIs rolling!

 

x3 mine broke in the exact same spot.

I think it is hitting the firewall when our engine tilts backwards under heavy acceleration.

 

Mine is worst know, I installed the NM torque arm bushing and when I turn on the a/c the base sounds like a chicken!

 

I think i just lost a few brain cells.


Can you rephrase that in english?

 

It's good to see I'm not the only one who's bashed their head against a wall trying to deal w/ Alta customer service over defective parts.
For anyone wanting to buy one of their intakes, they've got an aptly named sale
I think Fernflex is just saying it rattles worse now w/ the stiffened engine mount. eg. idling w/ the AC on sets a bad resonance.

 

Well its annoying I can see that and I hope it doesn't happen to me but 12 bux isn't a big deal to get a new part and 55 that will get refunded is not really a bad deal either. You did a good fix but what if that fails Alta might not replace next time cause you tried fixing it yourself. But hey WTFE if it makes you happy go with it.

 

Thanks!!!!

 

Hey all,
Thanks for the concerns about the airbox. Being new here I did a bit of research as I was concerned about the quality of the airbox (I have one on my clubman). Looking at ALTA sales since the R56 airbox was first produced, we have sold close to 1000 airboxes with 4 coming back with cracks in the weld. Less than a day after the original post I did ask the OP to PM me to get this taken care of....no PM yet!! N1tro I know how much you loooooove ALTA parts....I would put our customer service and quality against any major aftermarket company. There isn't a week that goes by that we don't send SOMETHING back to a supplier/manufacturer because it doesn't meet QC. This is why sometimes we have parts on backorder. If ANYONE EVER has problems/issues with ALTA parts PLEASE PM me or ADAMSALTAMINI . Thanks guys!!

 

+1

 

i just did the CAI intake. my only complaint, and i'm not sure if it should be at alta or mini. you will need some bizzare sized torx head to take the MAF housing off the airbox. alta didn't mention it in the list of stuff you need before you get started, or MINI for using these bizzare fasteners in the first place! i had to get a torx head off an Iraqi tank reapir kit to get the drain plug out. damn you MINI and your torx heads!!!! other then that it was great. piece of cake

 

LOL @ Iraqi take repair kit. Way to improvise!!

 

I usually do not get involved in this but this is funny. I stopped buying from you because all the parts I have ever gotten from your company has been defective. My fault of course. But not as defective as your customer service.

 

Why would i pm you to fix a problem that i already talked to you about over the phone and through pm. I have already fixed my intake and im sharing my solution with many others that have had the same problem.

 

Sorry for the confusion! You havent talk to ME about this specific issue. If you would like to PM me with your contact info Id like to chat!

 

Im sorry for the confusion. It was chris that i pmed along with adam and i talked to chris on the phone afer waiting 5 hours for him to get back from lunch and return my call. You guys had your chance to help me fix the issue and you didnt so i took matters into my own hands. Now im simply sharing my solution with many others that have been unhappy with your product.


if you want to chat you need to pm me. because as far as im concerned the customer service was terrible, and im upset because i had always heard you guys were the best.

 

don't feel too bad mate, I have over 70 pm's on here back & forth w/ Adam & almost every other person at Alta trying to get my defective downpipe returned. I've even got messages Adam & others cc'd to me bitching out other Alta reps for not returning my calls. Average time to get a call-back was measured in weeks, not hours, so they must be improving things.

 

I wouldn't say 5 hours to return a phone call is really bad customer service, most websites and companies basically have the "expect 3-5 days for a response." Tire Rack took 2 weeks to answer an email with a simple question about hubcentric rings. 5 hours seems pretty good to get a phone call. But I do realize a concern about your transportation is extremely stressful. 12 bucks doesn't sound like a bad deal to get something fixed, especially since it sounds like you weren't the original buyer in the first place (I could have read that part wrong).

But on the other hand, I've had a really good experience with Alta. I've sent them emails at 11 PM before and had emails back by 11:15. To me Alta has had probably the best customer service I've ever had with a company.

Good luck with getting everything fixed, I'm sure they really want their customers to be happy.

 

well $12 and 2 weeks of not being able to drive a car is something for someone who is unemployed to worry about.

 

I understand your frustration. Did you not have your stock airbox you could have put back on? I know I have a HUGE shelf at home with all my OE parts that I keep just in case. Im going to PM you.

 

yeah, i didnt have the stock airbox and you guys still wouldnt send me one. i couldnt go without a car for 2 weeks. so i drove around rattling for 2.5 months before i decided to fix it myself.


O well its solved now i just hope this idea will help others with their broken intakes because apparently there are a bunch.

 

My Mini mechanic checked my Alta CAI yesterday when pulling off the Alta boost tubes. Welds had broken. Part was installed correctly but apparently did not fit properly so pulled apart. So this serves as a helpful public service reminder for NAM members to check their Alta CAI welds.

 

Believe it or not. Those rivets that I put in only lasted 3 months. They broke also. Now I put much bigger rivets in. Let's see if those hold.

 

The problem is that under power the engine tilts back. It presses the filter bracket against the firewall fairly hard. Since the bracket is mounted to the engine something has to break or bend. A bracket re-design could solve the problem.