Airbox Mod - Adding 'Ram Air' or CAI to front bumper of M-Aero!!! DIY

Adding 'Ram Air' or CAI to front bumper of M-Aero Grill!!! Help me figure out what all I NEED!!!

Okay, so here it goes:

I saw that post about the creating a tube to suck air from the brake duct...I don't think that would be as effective as sticking a larger tube into the bumper...but I want to take it one step further...


.

Found this off My 330i


To get the parts I need:

51 11 7 890 095 - Left Side Opening $15
51 11 7 890 096 - Right Side Opening $15
?? ?? ? ??? ??? - Left Side Brake Cooling $65
?? ?? ? ??? ??? - Right Side Brake Cooling $65
^^from Tischer.



^^ Brake Duct is Part #15

I don't even know if buying another set of brake ducts will work (for DIRECT inlet from front)

I pulled the plastic covers off, and it is mesh just like the center area...I was thinking of constructing something similar to the brake duct, and doing to to both sides so it looks even (plugging the passenger side of course...)


Connect this, or something like it from the Air Intake (i.e. second brake duct) to the airbox)

^PipeCrossShop

CSL Like Function, without CSL cost...or ugly one hole wonder...


To get an idea of where mine came from, I've been mushing over these links:


http://www.my330i.com/mod16.php#
http://www.thepipercrossshop.co.uk/accessories.asp
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=589170
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=578101
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=116138


I need a good gameplan for the right parts to install...I've already though about the whole "water/" debates...My friend's e39 pulls ALL the air from the fender, so its fine...I'll have mesh on there for bugs, etc...but further, I'll still be able to put the original cover on the bumper and cover everything up


What do you think?

i also modded the intake opening behind the kidney grills

I've just got the stock PFL front right now but I will post some info and pictures on working with that tonight.

if you want to do something like this, i would either just go with an intake like the ECIS or, if you really want to get the air from lower, go with a dinan and run it down behind your fog light area

Actually I am about to do what you describe to my car. As you can see I also have a 330xi!

I have the piping/tubing on order now.... I will post pictures of the project when completed. I already have the left side intake piece you found on that "my 330i" site.

Originally Posted by jason 77

Actually I am about to do what you describe to my car. As you can see I also have a 330xi!

I have the piping/tubing on order now.... I will post pictures of the project when completed. I already have the left side intake piece you found on that "my 330i" site.

Do you have any links to what you ordered and what your going to do?

I just am curious what will fit behind the grill to 'catch' air that will work well, and then what type of tube to get to go to the airbox...

So, I found something that will work for piping...


It's not long enough by itself (stretched its 1.5ft, but two, with a coupler...(or air duct tape) is 3 feet Math pays off!.

Its a 'pre-heater duct hose. Think: Mini Dryer duct...I got it at Fleet Farm, but can be pulled from any Mid 70's Chevy, or your neighborhood Delorean.

It was only $2.79 ...so I'd suggest just buying it.

So, now, I need to figure out what to put on the bumper end to attatch the hose to...any ideas guys? Quite honestly I'm thinking about a vaccum attachment...

I refuse to make this look ghetto, and it wont, I just need good input!

I went for the bling and ordered the Pipercross kit from ebay.co.uk. I'm sure yours will do the same thing, though. Good times. Yay for DIY.

I did it...

I put a hole in the corner of the air box (pretty decent...a tad oval like tho ). I put some black tape in there to seal it, which doesn't matter much, it DOES have a hole in the bottom for water drain anyway.

I took the tube and send it down into the bumper. It gets right to the grill, so all I will need now is some type of square funnel or similar to put in there...(I tried my shop vac adapter...and it would work...


It has the 'sound of a cone, but thats not what I was going for...If I was, I just would have got the cone filter and stuck it in there...



Now I want to look into modding that intake in the grill, but I have to be carful, cause its also a vent for the radiator...

Very cool, been looking for those vented bumper inserts to try something like this. Thanks for posting the Part No. Couldn't find it on RealOEM.

Thats a great mod, those are found on Euro 320d's. I picked them up a few months ago but haven't gotten them painted yet. Not sure about your car, but I have a 330 with sport package and the duct are already there, just covered up at the front by the original inserts. Check the front of the wheel for an opening and you may have it already too, not sure about xi's though.

Part numbers for the ducts are:
04 FRONT RIGHT BRAKE AIR DUCT 1 51718197928 $32.09
04 FRONT LEFT BRAKE AIR DUCT 1 51718230559 $32.09

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...75&hg=51&fg=75

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

So, I found something that will work for piping...


It's not long enough by itself (stretched its 1.5ft, but two, with a coupler...(or air duct tape) is 3 feet Math pays off!.

Its a 'pre-heater duct hose. Think: Mini Dryer duct...I got it at Fleet Farm, but can be pulled from any Mid 70's Chevy, or your neighborhood Delorean.

It was only $2.79 ...so I'd suggest just buying it.

So, now, I need to figure out what to put on the bumper end to attatch the hose to...any ideas guys? Quite honestly I'm thinking about a vaccum attachment...

I refuse to make this look ghetto, and it wont, I just need good input!

Thanks for the heads up on this man. I picked up the same thing from autozone. 2" inner diameter, about 3 feet worth for $9

Here's a pic




Edit - Installed it today, pipe fit great! Roomate talked me into getting a K&N drop in filter now to take full advantage of the extra air. I'm likely going to get some heat insulation soon to wrap the box in. Good mod, not to hard.

Well, it finally warmed up, so...I finished my RAM AIR mod...




done and done.

Not sure I understand. Your car already has a "ram air" right in the center below the hood line. Feeds directly into the airbox.

The lower air ducts are more suited for brake cooling (like my ZHP's mtech2 brake cooling ducts). I don't think you are gaining anything intake wise with these, but looks decent.

^I didn't touch the brake duct, and this mod will force air into the airbox...flying down the highway at 60mph...thats like 1-2 psi of boost!!!

I was thinking of doing this one day, looks good. Can you list the parts you used?

You have any problems with water?

^no, I really think this is a non issue. The day after I did this, it rained very heavily and I have a combined 4 hour drive for during a sales trip that day. Highway speeds and all, the air box was completely dry. Think about it, for water to get into the motor, the water will have to travel through the front tube, up about 18" of pipe, through the air filter and through the throttle body.

Unless you hit a 12" deep puddle and the entire vacuum the motor is creating is focused solely on pulling water through your intake, you wont have any issues.

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

^I didn't touch the brake duct, and this mod will force air into the airbox...flying down the highway at 60mph...thats like 1-2 psi of boost!!!

And unless you have 1-2 psi of air pressure in all the other intake ducts, all this pressurized will go in one duct and out the other.