Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyE92
As others have noted, a dyno test with the hood open does not replicate what happens in the real world with the intake sucking in hot air from the engine compartment. That's thought #1.
Thought #2 is that BMW engineers do things for a reason. They are not dummies. Maybe that reason is something that you don't care about (intake noise, engine longevity, etc.) but they just don't do things a certain way for the heck of it.
Thought #3 is the most important, and I'll explain that with an anecdote:
Many years ago I was at the track talking to a guy who worked for Ford SVT. He had worked on the Lightning project, IIRC. I asked what he thought about K&N and other such filters, and why they are not OE. He replied that Ford [and all manufacturers] spend millions of dollars to get the maximum horsepower out of their engines. "If a different filter would make a difference, don't you think they would be using it?"
In my mind, the same applies to all of these "cold air intakes" which are, if you think about it at all, are actually the opposite. What they are is $12 of plastic that is sold for hundreds of dollars, making some guy very, very happy.
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The last point is a very good point. If it was "free" power, they probably would have done it already.
To be more specific though, the engineers probably want to balance the intake characteristics - some intakes perform better at low flow while others perform better at high flow. Most likely they will design an intake to complement the engine. Aftermarket intakes can potentially change that characteristic, which could be good if it fits your use-case.