my new air intake came in today

[ghost528i]

i bought it off ebay last friday from this ebay store called track racing. it only cost me $50 after shiping. i just finished puting it on. i think my car is at 200 hp or really close to it now, cause i can feel a difference in my take off and engine response.

[Faux Don]

you need a big heat shield, otherwise that thing is sucking in hotter air than your stock box.

[ghost528i]

what do u mean?

[philsans5]

if your air intake is open like yours is (hell, most of ours) it's sucking in the hot air under the hood. From the radiator mostly. Your car will still make more power than a stock box, but you could get more if you shield it into it's own little compartment. Basically, the colder the air coming in the more fuel you can burn efficiently.

[ghost528i]

would it be easy to build somthing like that?

[philsans5]

you could probably buy one. But saving money is a good thing. Nice ones are thin aluminum (best ferrous metal to disperse heat) with some carpeting to make things look clean. They usually have a weatherstrip moulding along the top to seal aginst the hood. So step by step:
1:Make your self a template out of card board. multiple pieces would be easiest, and you can tape them together to get the big picture. Just take your time, and make the trims as precise as possible. Follow along the bulge of in front of your shock tower all the way to where your fender is mounted.
At that point, 90 degree bend towards the radiator. Home depot should have some thin aluminum to use. Not too thin, but the thicker it gets the harder it is to work with.
Or find some one close that already has one to copy!

[ghost528i]

ok thanks i will look in to it

[philsans5]

If you want to see pictures, just yahoo "air intake heat shield", you'll get 1000's of pics. good luck!

[95325is]

you could get one at ecis looks nice btw i bet it sounds awsome

[Johnnyscene]

my dinan cai runs all the way down to the bumper and when it rains it sucks becuase the filter gets all soaked and dirty

[SiGmA_X]

My understanding was unshielded intakes produced less hp and just changed the sound, no? OP, a better mod would be to make a sheild and get a M50 intake manifold as it flows a LOT better then your M52 intake manifold. Search eBay, can be had for under $100. I can source you one if you need it, PM me.

[itsabimmerthing]

Yes, get a M50 manifold, much, much more flow! Get a nice heatshield, looks trick, and doesnt cost too much. If I am not mistaken, you can get them made of carbon fiber. And if I am not mistaken, carbon fiber has better heat dispating properties than aluminum as well.

[SiGmA_X]

What Matt said makes sense. My alu (black) intake tube was hotter then all hell today, when it was over 100F outside. I would guess that a CF shield would work better then aluminum as would a CF pipe. I guess there IS a reason to use them as my engine heated up in UNDER 1minute/1mile with +100F temps! (First time I have been with my car in extreme temps.)

[itsabimmerthing]

Defintly, CF is very good at losing heat. CF intake pipes work wonders, and is the reason I will have one. There is no drawback, its sexy, functional, and durable.

[bustaj]

Check out www.ecisbmw.com and buy a heatshield from them. It's makes a lot of difference.