I've been wanting to put a Defenders of Speed CAI on my R56 MCSa for a little while now, but I wanted to make sure I had all the information first.

I decided to call Crevier Mini this morning and asked how putting on an aftermarket CAI in my Mini would affect my warranty. They said that if I put the intake on, anything to do with the engine may be sketchy. For example, if I get a check engine light that wouldn't be covered. My SA (Marshal) said it would be on a case by case basis, and the most common problem would be some air leaks or something similar. At least they wouldn't void my entire warranty. He did say that an intake would be mild modification, and I don't really think it'll be too much of a problem. I gotta say I'm not too hot on spending $160 every time they need to poke about my car whether it be for a CEL or anything, and it seems a bit excessive.

My SA did say that a JCW CAI wouldn't have those problems (obviously), but the DoS is just so sexy . I suppose my question would be how do you guys handle it? Do you just swap your aftermarket CAI every time you go in for service? Anyone with experience with swapping out a DoS CAI for stock specifically? Or is it just not that big of a deal?

I suppose finally if Crevier is not all that friendly towards modding of any kind, what dealer do you guys go to in the Irvine area? Can you recommend a good SA?

 

I do not take my DDM intake off, and my SA (assume the techs as well) don't seem to care. I haven't had any engine related issues, only regular service and a squeaky dash/window dipper, so YMMV. It would take about 5 minutes to change back to the original one, I can't imagine the DOS taking more than 10 minutes.

Where is $160 every time coming into play? You aren't paying someone to install/reinstall are you?

 

Nah I wouldn't pay anyone to do that kind of work for an intake. I had a 2007 MCa before this one that would occasionally get some phantom glitches that would either go away on their own or I'd have to take it into the dealer to get it reset after they told me there was nothing wrong and it was just some weird electrical issue, so I guess my experience with these kinds of things is a bit skewed. My SA just said in the event that a light did come on, or any problem that may arise that is related to the engine, they would charge me the money to take a look if I had an intake on. Haven't had any problems yet, but it's sounding like I should go the "better safe than sorry" route and just swap them out whenever I take it in.