Hey guys, found the first issue / flaw with this intake, and I've contacted AEM about it already. The engineering dept has the info. I hope they are looking for a fix. I told them I must hear from them in the next 36 hrs on a fix, or I will have to post up about it, so others can make a better intake choice. I will keep you posted. Its nothing big, so don't freak out. If you've ordered one, leave it in the box until I hear back. If they dont contact me, I have a fix. I told AEM I'd give them time to remedy the flaw. So give me time. Thanks!

 

So did you give them 36 hours?

 

This time tomorrow, I will update. Haven't heard back from them as of yet.

 

Why 36hrs?

 

Because I would like to be fair to vendors on this site to remedy their faults.

 

Color me confused here, you're stating that your AEM intake has a flaw, but instead of discussing it you've decided to give the company an ultimatum. "Respond or I expose you." Really...really? First off, you're not the boss of AEM; they aren't spending their days waiting for their customers to bark orders at them. Two, all products have flaws (some more than others), companies deal with them all the time. The appropiate thing to do here is contact them and JUST notify them of the issue, nothing more. Giving them a deadline is not only ludicrous but also not your place.

 

I see what the OP is saying, but it makes more sense to say nothing rather than hint at a flaw without elaborating on what it is.

 

Look pal, no need to be an a**h***. why don't you chill a bit before you have a stroke. You have no clue what you're talking about, so don't speak about what you don't know, smarta**.

Here's the deal. Its not a big issue as I said, but it is an issue, and there are obviously enough people here interested in buying this intake that I will explain.
We all know the MCS and JCW has heat issues with melting scoops. Well, the air ram port on the AEM intake is of course...plastic. Poor R&D on AEMs part as it only took 30 miles to find its weakness. The portion of the ram port closest to the hood, droops into the scoop opening essentially cutting off 50% of the air intake. See photo:


This is why companies like DDM use metal.
Anyway, I talked to Ken a vendor on this site, and told him what was up. I told him to please find out if there was a fix ASAP, because I knew of several people here that were planning on purchasing it. And if they told me tough luck, I could at least give those interested a heads up. As I feel loyalty to the community, I didn't want to wait 2 weeks for a remedy. Hence the rush. I wasn't giving anyone an ultimatum. Anyway that's it. I probably shouldn't have said anything at all, but I only wanted to help.

The fix:


This is a 2 1/2" stainless clip that I cut all but 1/2" off one side.
You remove the scoop, and slip this over the sheet metal and under the upper portion of the intake port. I used 4 in various spacing. Worked like a charm.

 

Hey Mini4Tide, was this your fix or AEM's suggested fix? Did they even get back to you?

Regarding the fix, doesn't it damage some of your paint? Good solution but don't want to do additional damage if i don't need to.

Thanks in advance for the followup.

 

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I'm one of those keeping an eye on this intake so I'm definitely interested in seeing updates on it. I'm also waiting for the DoS dry filter so keeping an eye on both situations before making a decision.

Another question: on the scoop where it meets the filter housing, does it rest on top of the housing gasket or does it go inside the housing when the hood is closed? I was wondering if you think the seal there is tight enough to keep hot air from under the hood from seeping in, especially since the transverse engine on the Mini tends to rotate a little under load possibly creating a place where hot air could get in.

 

Hi, thanks. As for the fix, it was my idea. It scratched the clear coat under my scoop only because I didn't take my scoop off. 3 of my pegs on my scoop are broken and reglued so I didn't want to take it off and break them again. If you open the clip as you slip it into place, you'll have no issues.

As far as the "gasket", the opening of the ram rests on it. Bad thing about it is, when the intake is hot, the glue releases and it slides a little. Again, poor materials. Should have used a heavy clip in gasket like on the DDM, which I am in the process getting.

This is still a great intake, don't get me wrong. There are just a few flaws as happens with all new designs. I'm sure it will get redesigned if they want to keep selling it.

 

It does look like a great intake but you're right, seems like AEM is experiencing some new product design growing pains. I'm sure they'll get them fixed eventually.
Think I'll go back to waiting for the DoS. Hopefully they get their dry filters designed soon.

Thanks for the updates.

 

Looks like an easy fix to me. All they really need to do is add a couple of small runners in the scoop of their intake. That would add structural integrity and maybe even direct some airflow too.

 

Apologies, wasn't trying to be an ***, but I've worked in customer service before and I've had to deal with customers calling with similar complaints ("there is a problem, fix it now"). You wouldn't believe how inundated a company can become when they release a new product. Trust me, if you are having a problem with your intake they've probably received dozens of similar complaints. Nevertheless, giving a company a timeline to fix an issue amounts to nothing.

 

i hope it doesnt keep melting!

 

Only time will tell...

 

Just received this from AEM. This is a great company with great customer service. Those who have ordered, be assured that AEM will be standing by their products.

Hello David,
*
First, thank you for contacting us directly about this issue.* Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
*
Please note that although we did not encounter this issue after extensive in-vehicle testing here, we already have a permanent solution in the works.* It will be ready for production release within the next few weeks, not months.* Also, I’ve reviewed this problem with our Chief Engineer and we would like to ask you participate by allowing us to send you a 1st Article sample of the revised design as soon as possible.* We’d like to ask you to install the new scoop in your MINI Cooper S to see that it works without issue.* We will then inspect your scoop for any material issues.
*
In the meantime, please rest assured that underhood heat was the primary focus during our R&D of this cold air intake.* That’s why we selected a more costly high-temperature polypropylene-based composite specifically for this 9-0397 hood scoop.* This was also based on our years of experience supplying OEM’s with intakes and filters to meet their stringent long-term durability standards.* We knew that other materials, like ABS and cross-linked polyethylene plastics, could not survive the heat generated by the Mini’s high-output turbocharged engine.
*
Although we are going ahead with the revision to stiffen the scoop, we are also investigating our inventory of hood scoops for any quality issues or material variation that might cause this problem.* Maybe you received a bad part somehow.*
*
As part of our R&D process, we completed weeks of thermal testing on 3 vehicles equipped with thermocouples and DAQ’s (Data Acquisitions Systems) to record temperatures at several critical areas of the engine compartment.* We focused our attention near the turbocharger and the hood scoop inlet.* The final result is that our composite hood scoop does not transfer heat to the incoming air the way our competitor’s sheet metal intake scoop does.* So there is no “toaster oven effect” with the AEM intake.* Our intake also runs much cooler than the stock intake.* When combined with our lower restriction synthetic AEM Dryflow air filter, this creates a denser air charge than stock, allowing for optimal ignition timing and creating more power.* Please see some of that data in the attached AEM-21-699 R&D Summary Report.* Please feel free to share this report.* It will be available in our AEM product website very soon.
*
Our next step will be to confirm a delivery date with our molder so we can ship the revised scoop to you ASAP.* Ken will keep you posted.
*
Best Regards,
Bruno Porro
OEM Performance Parts Engineer
AEM Induction Systems
Hawthorne, CA

Intake improvement:


I just want to thank AEM's representative, Ken who is a vendor here. I really appreciate your help and service.

 

So, should those who have already ordered return it for an "updated" version? Or should we roll the dice? It's nice that they are going to send you a revised copy. If we experience the same issue will they do the same thing? I know that you don't have the answer, but hopefully, we can get an answer from Ken......

 

I'm sure they will. Let's see if its a good fix first. I also asked them about water issues and the gasket slipping around issue. Hope to hear back soon. I'll keep you posted. Please be patient.

 

Well, heard back on the water issue. The dry filter AEM uses is hydrophobic and did not allow water to enter the intake tract during testing. They also make filters for GM, and GM has very strict intake standards when it comes to water in the intake. They also said that the speed at which water enters the ram port, that it evaporates or dissipates before it even reaches the intake. So good news, so far!

 

Holy Crap.... Go DDM or buy DOS.... AEM didn't know about the heat? We all know about the heat....

 

Nooooo. They knew about the heat. They said they didn't have an issue with their testing ram sagging. They are fixing this as we speak. I will update when I receive the revision of the RAM port. If its anything like the rest of this intake, it should be top notch.

 

Any updates on this?

 

Still in revision. New revision test scoop is supposed to arrive today. I'll keep you posted. Its not a fast process to revise these things.

 

Yep. I was the prototype on this intake. I told them about this issue as well as the seal not holding. My car has been with them since last Tuesday measuring up a couple of fixes (one being the warping). I pick it up this friday. I'm still very very happy with the support that AEM has shown with this product.

Also, Bruno is a great guy. Rode with him in his Super charged jag while he drove me to Enterprise to pick up my rental. This guy knows his stuff!