Active Autowerke's Intercooler - *DETAILED REVIEW*
How we got here !!!!

Well, many of you have followed my ''Stock Intercooler - AIT Analysis'' thread. For me this began as a review of the BMS tuning tool which has become an incredible part of my car, then it turned into a ''hey let me look at AITs on the stock intercooler'', now it lead me to get a new intercooler. For those that didn't read my AIT analysis for the stock intercooler, here is the link:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242657

The bottom line is the stock intercooler gave AITs over 156 degrees F and performed horribly! It heat soaked almost instaneously and in my opinion absolutely must be changed on every 335 that is considering performance and longevity.

Well, I was faced with the same questions every one of you will be faced with. What is the best intercooler on the market? What else besides the intercooler needs to be replaced? Can I accept cutting? Is the cutting easy? How hard is the install? What is the best bang for buck? This is the situation I was facing.

I bounced around a lot, but decided on going with the Active Autowerke Intercooler. Why? Actually a lot of reasons:

- Active Autowerke has a stellar reputation in the BMW community.
- It is the largest intercooler on the market.
- The kit is very complete including a full replacement of the very poor pre-
and post-intercooler piping. The passenger intercooler piping is HORRIBLE!
- Comes with a shroud to funnel air to the intercooler on all sides. It actually
has a new shroud even to box off the bottom of the intercooler.
- I was willing to cut, if it mean the best intercooler for me. (I will let you
know whether the cutting was easy or hard.

Let me elaborate a bit on some more of the technical specs that people may be interested in:

1. Largest Intercooler on the Market.
2. Bar & Plate Design
3. 88% Increase in Volume Over Stock. If my calculations are correct that
means it is 32% larger than the closest choice.
4. Stock Intercooler - 9 Rows ... Active Autowerke Intercooler - 17 rows!
5. Pressure loss - less than 0.5 psi.
6. Approx 90+% efficiency. (Will give exact shortly)
7. Nearly 100% increase in facial area over stock. (Will give exact shortly)


So, let's look at the Active Autowerke Intercooler.

Packaging

Active Autowerke clearly takes pride in their products and that is obvious from their thorough packaging. Everything was very carefully packaged/protected and arrived in perfect condition to my door. Honestly, I was shocked at how big the intercooler was! The package includes:

1. Intercooler with Mounting Brackets
2. Top and Side Shroud with Seals (All Crinkle Coated Black)
3. Intercooler Underpanel (All Crinkle Coated Black)
4. Mandrel Bent and Polished Left and Right Intercooling Pipes
5. Three Silicone Hoses (2.5'' x 3.0'')
6. One 90 Degree Bend Silicone Hose
7. Eight #40 Hose Clamps
8. Four Hex Bolts
9. 8 Hex Nuts
10. Active Autowerke's Licence Plate Frame
11. Instruction guide on CD

Unpackaged Items:

Again, I have to say the product is stellar. The intercooler is just huge! The welds on the end caps look incredible. The end caps, top, and bottom of the Intercooler are all polished to a high shine. The IC piping is mandrel bent and also polished and shined like a mirror! Finally all the shouds are black crinkle coated with a very nice Active Autowerke logo on the center. The pictures really show it all.

Installation:

Normally I would do a very detailed install guide here, but the AA installation CD is extremely thorough. Actually, it is 35 pages long and the single most detailed instruction guide (with pictures) that I have ever seen. It even includes torque specs for stock parts that are loosened.

Here is a link to the guide:

http://www.activeautowerke.com/pdf/product07a.pdf

Since it is so detailed I will cover a few key points. You do have to remove the bumper. Is that hard? No, no, and no! Actually it takes 20 minutes. There is a pretty good DIY here:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...y+front+bumper

Did I hit any snags? None. Just remember to unplug your fog lights.

Should you jack the car up? It is really optional. I just drove up on ramps just to get a little more room, but I don't think it is required to be honest.

Next, the install is clearly covered well in the DIY, but I do want to touch on the parts that people I know will ask. Cutting? Hard?

Cutting

Yes, you have to cut. This will cause you to jump, but please read on. You have to cut two things and that is it. You cut off the the stock hoses that feed the intercooler and the plastic shroud in front of the intercooler. First let me cover the stock hoses that need to be removed. In case you are thinking of re-using them on your new intercooler, here is the passenger side hose that connects to the intercooler!

Hmm, I wonder if that is going to cause air flow issues? I am shocked BMW uses that hose to connect the intercooler to the plumbing! Here is what you need to use to cut the clamp off and trust me it is simple even for a novice. Remember it is only the clamp that needs to be cut, so it can easily be reinstalled with a new clamp you can buy at any auto parts store

Now on to the shroud. The plastic shroud has to be cut, but before you jump let me explain. The plastic shroud is the piece that funnels the air into the stock intercooler. It is simple plastic and you can see it if you look where the ''plastic bars'' are behind the lower center grill. I was worried about this, but it really is simple. Active Autowerke is very detailed in what needs to be cut, but here is a picture

Cut it with this:

Again, this is simple to do and any novice can do it. Can the shroud be returned to stock? No, but the piping can be reinstalled and the stock intercooler can be reinstalled. The cutting is simple and the benefits are enormous.

Since the Active Autowerke intercooler has a shroud on the top, sides, and bottom it seals and funnels the air into the intercooler just like that stock shroud did. Active Autowerke did a phenomenal job with a very snug and sealed fit.

I wanted the largest intercooler after what my AIT testing showed, so some easy cutting was definitely acceptable to me. I sincerely think there is no way a dealer could void a warranty because you put a more efficient unit in your car. This does nothing other than run your car cooler and work the turbos less to produce the same boost.

Time to install is about 3-4 hours depending on how fast you want to work.

One thing of note, cutting that shroud gets rid of those rediculously ugly plastic bars that intersect the middle of the intercooler. Many have cut those plastic bars just to get rid of their ugly look. The are of no importance whatsoever to the stability of your bumper as they are not even connected to it. Well, here are the after installation pictures.

Comparison of Stock Intercooler to Active Autowerke Intercooler

Actually this is kind of telling. The stock intercooler is tiny, with [u]plastic end caps[/b] and simply flimsy. I was actually shocked to see cheap plastic end caps on it! The Active Autowerke is larger, taller, and about the same width. The end caps are polished aluminum versus cheap plastic. I think the pictures tell the story.

Performance:

One thing that is important in the design in an intercooler is to get the maximum size without increasing lag. I feel no noticeable lag difference between the stock intercooler and the Active Autowerke intercooler. To me this means the size is correct and I know it will be perfect for those that upgrade their turbos down the line.

The car pulls so much stronger in long gear pulls. 4th gear is night and day different from when I had the stock intercooler in place. So many report a car flopping at high rpms and this is where you will feel a whole different car. The difference is really dramatic to me and you will see why when I show you the AITs. I have not dyno tested it, but if an intercooler's job is to decrease the temperature of the air entering the engine (AITs), then this intercooler gets an A+++. Wait until you see the difference!


Conclusion

Active Autowerke created a top notch product and addressed every single issue with the stock intercooler. It address the efficiency problems, pressure loss, it is a bar & plate design, 88% increase in volume over stock, replaces horrible stock intercooler piping with mandrel bend pipes, shroud, and all hardware necessary. The instructions are top notch. Finally, the truth is the look of the intercooler is unsurpassed. I cannot imagine a better product.

If anyone is interested, Active Autowerke does have special spring pricing in the Group Buy Section.

Of course, you probably want to know the results to my AIT testing now with the AA intercooler? I will post the AIT analysis soon, but it is nothing less than incredible.

For a MORE DETAILED write-up with pictures:
See
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4759317#post4759317