CDA air filters

Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:35 pm

Does anyone have this on there car,if so any chance of pics...

Are these any good, how do they differ from other air filters and how come they cost so much...

Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:58 pm

They sound good but aint worth the money imo i just put it on as i had it and it was easier than fitting the airbox after the engine swap.

Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:59 pm

If I were you I'd save your money mate. The OE air intake system s perfectly adequate.

If I were doing anything like that I'd only go as far as buying perhaps a "performance" panel filter (I say that a little sceptically)

A clean panel filter is absolutely fine.

What you have to remember is BMW AG spent millions of marks in R&D to optimise airflow etc....

Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:01 pm

I had one for a while, Awesome howl at top end but left a flat spot down low. Keep the standard system and enjoy the torque curve

Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:35 pm

blackcountrybimmerman wrote:If I were you I'd save your money mate. The OE air intake system s perfectly adequate.

If I were doing anything like that I'd only go as far as buying perhaps a "performance" panel filter (I say that a little sceptically)

A clean panel filter is absolutely fine.

What you have to remember is BMW AG spent millions of marks in R&D to optimise airflow etc....

I agree, i had a k&n panel filter in my 325i's standard airbox.
I also carefully (not randomly!) drilled the bottom half of the airbox which seemed to help with the sound a little without affecting preformance....not that fitting an air filter to a standard engine makes much difference! lol

Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:43 pm

blackcountrybimmerman wrote:
What you have to remember is BMW AG spent millions of marks in R&D to optimise airflow etc....

i dont believe this idea. almost all manufacturers spend many millions developing does that mean nothing can be improved upon? or is it just bmw that dont compromise between various specifics needed to sell road cars? compromising between power, noise,economy etc?

Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:51 pm

fuzzy wrote:
blackcountrybimmerman wrote:
What you have to remember is BMW AG spent millions of marks in R&D to optimise airflow etc....
i dont believe this idea. almost all manufacturers spend many millions developing does that mean nothing can be improved upon? or is it just bmw that dont compromise between various specifics needed to sell road cars? compromising between power, noise,economy etc?

OE is always a compromise. As you say they have to balance, economy, performance, warranty costs etc.

Genuine question... What do Subaru and Mitsubishi use on there WRX and Evo models? Do they use cone filters etc?

But with all performance stuff there is always a payoff. In the case of this CDA filter it creates a flat spot. OE gives a smoother torque curve.

Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:54 pm

Just take a look at the YB engine. Just over 200bhp out of the box..... but nowadays, even 20 years on there are engines producing in excess of 500bhp???

So yes, you're right that things can be improved. But with an air filter the gain is negligible for the price you pay.

Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:28 am

a decent air filter ie a k and N appolo or CDA is only as good as the cold air feed it gets!

colder air = denser packed oxygen = more performance! don't expect it to up it by anything more then 5-10 BHP Tops but its mainly throttle response and noise!

Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:26 pm

so is this why some people take out a beam light so that they can modify it to get cold air sttraight to the air filter....

Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:26 pm

SHAKEELE30 wrote:so is this why some people take out a beam light so that they can modify it to get cold air sttraight to the air filter....

correctomundo! that is indeed the reason why!