[SemtexGT]

Hello!

I have an M340i but I'm writing here to get more answers from people.

From what I've heard aftermarket filters/intakes put the turbo at more risk of being scraped by sand and impurities like this in the air.

I want to get opinions from people who have been running aftermarket filters/induction kits and if they had problems with the compressor part of their turbos or heat soak?

I'm looking to get an MST intake for my car, which has this little heatshield around the cone, so I presume is better for heat soak.

What are your opinions/experiences? Would be much appreciated!

[Mr. 340]

Performance filters are typically less restrictive, and less restriction means less filtration and thus more airflow. Don't worry about impurities in the air, as long as you have a filter you are fine. MST is a great intake, one of my personal favorites due to its enclosed design. I personally use to run the BMS intake but noticed major heat soak, I went back to stock intake and dropped in a AFE dry air filter and it has been phenomenal so far.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by Alan340

Performance filters are typically less restrictive, and less restriction means less filtration and thus more airflow. Don't worry about impurities in the air, as long as you have a filter you are fine. MST is a great intake, one of my personal favorites due to its enclosed design. I personally use to run the BMS intake but noticed major heat soak, I went back to stock intake and dropped in a AFE dry air filter and it has been phenomenal so far.

Not necessarily. You can have the same filtration with more surface area to get more airflow. That's why filters have wrinkles in them instead of just being flat. Less filtration would only be the case with a low quality intake, but brands that are discussed on here like Injen, MST, Dinan, etc. use quality filters with huge cones that have more surface area than the stock panel filter.

[JD11937]

As long as you have a filter you are fine. It does seem to be settled knowledge now that the stock intake actually works best from a heat soak / performance perspective. I personally use the bms intake and don't have heat soak issues but I'm not often sitting in traffic. Intakes will also give you more turbo sound.

[Mr. 340]

Originally Posted by kern417

Not necessarily. You can have the same filtration with more surface area to get more airflow. That's why filters have wrinkles in them instead of just being flat. Less filtration would only be the case with a low quality intake, but brands that are discussed on here like Injen, MST, Dinan, etc. use quality filters with huge cones that have more surface area than the stock panel filter.

Yes you are correct. I was referring more to drop in filters.

[IMS-340C]

Bro if there is a chance of sand or dust passing through the filter you should be worried more about the engine as those particles will get into the engine as well.

Originally Posted by SemtexGT

Hello!

I have an M340i but I'm writing here to get more answers from people.

From what I've heard aftermarket filters/intakes put the turbo at more risk of being scraped by sand and impurities like this in the air.

I want to get opinions from people who have been running aftermarket filters/induction kits and if they had problems with the compressor part of their turbos or heat soak?

I'm looking to get an MST intake for my car, which has this little heatshield around the cone, so I presume is better for heat soak.

What are your opinions/experiences? Would be much appreciated!

[Skyhigh]

The simple answer is - "it may"! It doesn't have to, but it may. Unfortunately though, you would not find a definitive answer to that question by asking people with aftermarket filters how their engines and turbos are doing. If they answer that they have no issues - that may mean they have no issues YET. And if they did have engine/turbo issues - it is very difficult to prove (outside of a professional laboratory ad a technical investigation) that it was the air filter which contributed.

This said - unless you are running a (serious) tune OR are after a slightly modified engine sound, IMO (and that of many others out there, who have ran tests) aftermarket filters are a waste of money. You will not gain anything, just potentially increase the wear on the engine and turbo. And it is not unlikely that you may end up with a suboptimal airflow too.

[SemtexGT]

Originally Posted by Skyhigh

The simple answer is - "it may"! It doesn't have to, but it may. Unfortunately though, you would not find a definitive answer to that question by asking people with aftermarket filters how their engines and turbos are doing. If they answer that they have no issues - that may mean they have no issues YET. And if they did have engine/turbo issues - it is very difficult to prove (outside of a professional laboratory ad a technical investigation) that it was the air filter which contributed.

This said - unless you are running a (serious) tune OR are after a slightly modified engine sound, IMO (and that of many others out there, who have ran tests) aftermarket filters are a waste of money. You will not gain anything, just potentially increase the wear on the engine and turbo. And it is not unlikely that you may end up with a suboptimal airflow too.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I was having a craze for that *swoosh* turbo sound, but I got over it now hehe.

I think I'll turn my eyes to some quality exhausts for the car. Thank you again!

[Skyhigh]

A good exhaust is worth so much more (both from a sound and performance perspective) than an intake. Just my 2 cents. I personally was never a fan of the whoosh sound...... a bit of a 1990s trend, at least where I come from.