N55 Turbo Side Intake Progress

mwpa71

Specialist
Sep 26, 2022
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So I attempted to install the Midnight inlet today, obviously should be a 5-10 minute job, especially with how much access I have.

I had even taken some ‘you, versus the guy she told you not to worry about’ comparison images which, of course, are hilarious.

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First thing that you’ll notice gets in the way is the oil feed line.
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So persuade that onto a different route, fine, not ideal, but fine.

Then it clashes with the chain tensioner pretty badly if you want it in the standard position.

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I have since filed and hammered some clearance into the inlet to get it somewhere close to the standard location. I will have to get the inside welded and ground back because I have had to file through all the weld on the outside and then some more.

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The tab/bracket to the head also didn’t have enough clearance.
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I will tidy this all up and get it to work, I’m just a bit pissed that the inlet just doesn’t fit right. I had already put a few hours in with a die grinder to clean the weld on the inside, and then a couple more gold taping it, and now I need to undo the taping to tidy up the clearance I needed to make. I guess the other option I could have done would be to cut off the bracket that holds it to the head and remake that, which I am going to have to do anyway, but then the fit to the standard clean air pipe would be even worse! If I was happy with it clocked over like that, I could’ve just lopped the bracket off and had that re-welded on.

Here are some images with the factory clean air pipe after my clearancing, it is bolted to the valve cover. You can see how off centre the bracket/tab bolt hole is.

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Here is the same setup with the Pure inlet. It fits better to the clean air pipe, but isn’t fully seated into the turbo. The bracket that holds it to the head also doesn’t fit that well, but it aligns okay I guess.

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I’m curious to know how other people’s fit! I will drop Midnight an email and let them know.

The Midnight inlet does clear an FTP turbo outlet, so that’s good at least. Am I expecting too much? Seems to me like there’s not a ‘perfect’ inlet on the market just yet.
I just received my MM inlet. I can't comment on fitment as yet.
What I can say is, the internal weld of the pipe (the main weld that joins the 2 halves) is pretty rough. There is a high buildup of aluminium that has sagged... its a tricky spot to grind down flat.
 

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CalvinNismo

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Nov 1, 2020
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Looks good, but am curious why the hose clamps and zip-ties?

I’ve put the cable ties on as an attempt to kink the ‘tail’ of the hose clamp to be tighter to the rest of clamp. Probably futile. I’ll snip them off before putting fluid in there for sure. It’s one of those things that probably (definitely) seemed like a better idea than it actually is.

I just received my MM inlet. I can't comment on fitment as yet.
What I can say is, the internal weld of the pipe (the main weld that joins the 2 halves) is pretty rough. There is a high buildup of aluminium that has sagged... its a tricky spot to grind down flat.

Yeah, it’d be nice if he back purged it. Mine was similar, I can’t remember if I posted up the before shots?

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And after a lot of fettling with a die grinder.
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mwpa71

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Sep 26, 2022
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I’ve put the cable ties on as an attempt to kink the ‘tail’ of the hose clamp to be tighter to the rest of clamp. Probably futile. I’ll snip them off before putting fluid in there for sure. It’s one of those things that probably (definitely) seemed like a better idea than it actually is.



Yeah, it’d be nice if he back purged it. Mine was similar, I can’t remember if I posted up the before shots?

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And after a lot of fettling with a die grinder.
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Thanks mate.
I had a go at fitting..omg, it's hitting on so many bits and pieces. I couldn't get it to go..I will build up some more patience and have another shot in the next few days.
 
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Richm240xi

Specialist
Mar 14, 2023
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Hey so I had a question for you guys, everyone here is teeing into the lower coolant hose that runs from the bottom of the car into the heater core in the firewall. Would there be any difference if we ran it to the second heater core line coming out the firewall? The one that tees into the bottom of the front radiator hose? Just curious because looking at the top of the car, it just looks easier to access and I would have the tee facing in the right direction obviously.
 

JPuehl

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Jul 24, 2019
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Greater Seattle area (a.k.a. Zombie Land)
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2011 135i 1M clone N55e DCT
Hey so I had a question for you guys, everyone here is teeing into the lower coolant hose that runs from the bottom of the car into the heater core in the firewall. Would there be any difference if we ran it to the second heater core line coming out the firewall? The one that tees into the bottom of the front radiator hose? Just curious because looking at the top of the car, it just looks easier to access and I would have the tee facing in the right direction obviously.
Are you talking about for the coolant tank? If so I don't think it matters as it's just an expansion tank. I'm sure BMW did it the way they did because the line is available by the water pump / thermostat and the tank is right above the line.
 

Richm240xi

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Mar 14, 2023
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Are you talking about for the coolant tank? If so I don't think it matters as it's just an expansion tank. I'm sure BMW did it the way they did because the line is available by the water pump / thermostat and the tank is right above the line.
Yes that’s what I meant, and Awsome! Appreciate it, I think just to make it simpler for myself I’ll tee into that hose
 

Richm240xi

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Mar 14, 2023
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Hey guys so wanted to know if any of you Mafless guys were in the tri-state, looking to get a mafless tune really soon. Tried contacting Justin at twisted tuning a few times with no avail.
 
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AndyW

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Jul 17, 2019
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2012 BMW 135i
I don’t have any super useful to add like the current discussion going on. But thought I’d share some pictures of the Nelson hotside snorkel installed.

The part looks good. It’s a little fiddly to install since there are nuts you have to put on the backside of the screws and the space is tight. The pictures on their site have the part installed without the factory scoops, but decided to install them and they seem to work fine together.

My assumption was the rubber seal would seal to the hood but it doesn’t. I sprayed the seal with water and closed my hood and the underside of the hood was dry. Still, I believe it does its job of directing air to the filter.

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Bummer that doesn't seal, but, man...it looks good!
 

Richm240xi

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Mar 14, 2023
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Bump, still looking for someone that can do a mafless tune, if any of you guys have any recommendations, I’d appreciate it. So far no response from Justin or Shoup after 3 weeks. Thanks guys
 

CalvinNismo

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Nov 1, 2020
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Yeah of course. I am embarrassed to say the connector I am using is the opposite in terms of quality compared to mouser haha. But the one I have installed hasn’t caused any issues.

708Pcs 43 Kits Waterproof... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GN8TQYQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I know all the cool guys are running MAFless now, but just to follow this up, I have found out what the connectors are.

The connector that is on the engine harness is a Hirschmann 805-122-841. The connector that is part of the MAF itself is a Hirschmann 872-617-541.

Here are some photos.

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Thanks for stopping by.
 
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wheela

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Jun 4, 2021
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Richm240xi

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Mar 14, 2023
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Hey guys, so finally finished my mafless tune with David Shoup, very happy with the results! Only thing we can’t figure out, I have a slight stumble at idle where the cars rpm bounces around between 6-700 rpms, I’ve smoke tested the car and LTFT is within 3% so we’re not sure if it’s vacuum related or hardware related, no codes or timing corrections from logs. He recommended I try new plugs so gonna do that next week and hopefully get this car from 99% to that last 100%
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mwpa71

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Sep 26, 2022
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Hey guys, so finally finished my mafless tune with David Shoup, very happy with the results! Only thing we can’t figure out, I have a slight stumble at idle where the cars rpm bounces around between 6-700 rpms, I’ve smoke tested the car and LTFT is within 3% so we’re not sure if it’s vacuum related or hardware related, no codes or timing corrections from logs. He recommended I try new plugs so gonna do that next week and hopefully get this car from 99% to that last 100% View attachment 97123
Awesome!! Post up a datalog..
 

Richm240xi

Specialist
Mar 14, 2023
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Here it is, idle log
 

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