Afe stage 1 vs Afe stage 2

[Dtownwolfpack]

Hi guys, not sure if this has been asked numerous times so pardon me if it has. I am ready to upgrade the stock intake and I started looking into the afe intakes. Stage 1 cost $425.00 at turner motor sports while the stage 2 cost only $325.00. What am I missing here? Why is stage 2 cheaper? Normally when you go up a stage to upgrade it cost more, but it sounds like a totally new system with all new parts compared to stage 1. Can someone please school me as to why this is? I really want to buy one of this and I am assuming I should go with stage 2 but need to know why it's cheaper. Stage 2 I assume should get better performance numbers correct?

Thanks

Dtownwolfpack

[az3579]

You're not really going to get a big performance difference regardless of which one you buy. Just don't want you to be disappointed.

[san]

I spoke to ecstuning regarding the noise and they said stage 2 would be louder as it is not covered... Whereas stage 1 is covered with an aluminum heat shield...


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[NoVAphotog]

You're not really going to get a big performance difference regardless of which one you buy. Just don't want you to be disappointed.

+1

Having tried a couple of different after market intakes (aFe Stage 1 Pro5R Dry and the GruppeM) I'm going to say save your money. There is no "upgrading" the stock the airbox on these cars. Unlike other cars (e.g. forced induction vehicles) out there our stock system actually does do its job very well. BMW knew what they were doing when they designed it. Those two intakes do absolutely nothing for performance. You are better off saving your money and getting a drop in performance filter. The only two that are sort of...SORT of worth it are the GruppeM or the BMW Performance one solely for sound and look, respectively.

I don't mean to sound harsh, I was in the same boat awhile ago looking at intakes...I just have come full circle in thinking that a lot of what sells them is marketing and the "groupthink" on forums from some other guy's ass dyno.

But to answer your question, you want to go with the one I listed above, it's the "good/newer one" and comes with the heat shield covering, and looks a lot cleaner in the engine bay, probably why it's a little more expensive. aFe Stage 1 Pro5R Dry.

[cakM3]

The only two that are sort of...SORT of worth it are the GruppeM or the BMW Performance one solely for sound and look, respectively.

this....

[slater]

i believe the shark injector/conforti tune helps make the most of an aftermarket intake, someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

i'm running the aFe Pro Dry S (the covered one) and besides the sound, which is awesome, i do feel a bit of a difference power-wise when switching between it and the stock intake. my car has the shark/conforti tune.

peter

[poke08]

+1

Having tried a couple of different after market intakes (aFe Stage 1 Pro5R Dry and the GruppeM) I'm going to say save your money. There is no "upgrading" the stock the airbox on these cars. Unlike other cars (e.g. forced induction vehicles) out there our stock system actually does do its job very well. BMW knew what they were doing when they designed it. Those two intakes do absolutely nothing for performance. You are better off saving your money and getting a drop in performance filter. The only two that are sort of...SORT of worth it are the GruppeM or the BMW Performance one solely for sound and look, respectively.

I don't mean to sound harsh, I was in the same boat awhile ago looking at intakes...I just have come full circle in thinking that a lot of what sells them is marketing and the "groupthink" on forums from some other guy's ass dyno.

But to answer your question, you want to go with the one I listed above, it's the "good/newer one" and comes with the heat shield covering, and looks a lot cleaner in the engine bay, probably why it's a little more expensive. aFe Stage 1 Pro5R Dry.

+1. I ran the Gruppe M and the sound was AMAZING, however I did not really notice any gains. I have headers on my car and with the stock air box, the power felt more noticeable over the Gruppe M.

[cakM3]

As both Botond and Daniel have mentioned, you won't get much power gain with just the CAI.... the aFe and Gruppe M will give you more sound than the stock intake... I have gone from the stock intake, which is already very good, to the aFe then to my current Gruppe M intake. Out of all three I love having my Gruppe M CAI the most. I wouldn't change anything but I love having my Gruppe M solely for the sound it makes. Having this and my UUC Corsa TSE3 exhaust is absolute perfection as far as I'm concerned :thumbsup

[az3579]

i believe the shark injector/conforti tune helps make the most of an aftermarket intake, someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

i'm running the aFe Pro Dry S (the covered one) and besides the sound, which is awesome, i do feel a bit of a difference power-wise when switching between it and the stock intake. my car has the shark/conforti tune.

peter

Maybe a couple of hp on a dyno chart, but nothing that will affect real world performance. Keep in mind, at this point you've just spent an estimated $700 on mods for a couple of hp. The negligible increase isn't going to win you any races. Not worth it, IMO.

The sound though is a very different story. :thumbsup

[slater]

Maybe a couple of hp on a dyno chart, but nothing that will affect real world performance. Keep in mind, at this point you've just spent an estimated $700 on mods for a couple of hp. The negligible increase isn't going to win you any races. Not worth it, IMO.

The sound though is a very different story. :thumbsup

botond, i have a very sensitive butt-dyno... :)

fortunately i picked up both items second-hand, i think i paid around $400 for both. so not bad. the intake was purely for noise, and for $200 i was OK with that. the top end does feel a bit better with it and the tune together... i see 6800rpm on a regular basis.

peter

[Dtownwolfpack]

botond, i have a very sensitive butt-dyno... :)

fortunately i picked up both items second-hand, i think i paid around $400 for both. so not bad. the intake was purely for noise, and for $200 i was OK with that. the top end does feel a bit better with it and the tune together... i see 6800rpm on a regular basis.

peter

Thanks a lot guys! I really value all your honest and very well thought out opinions. Just from everyone mentioning the awesome sound that you hear when one is installed makes me want to dive in and try and experience that. I think that I've also made up my mind that I want to pair that with the Jim Comforti Shark Injector. It seems like a good match. So the combo will be Afe Stage1 pro dry with the shark injector. I already have the Remus throttle responder so all in all I think these will be a good match.

Anyone want to sell me an Afe and a shark injector? Lol

Let me know. I'll post it on the classifieds as well.

Thanks guys!

Dtownwolfpack

[squashman702]

I'd go stage one, the stage two I ordered a few months ago didn't fit with my Xenon's- don't know if it's due to my retrofit, but it's something to keep in mind.

[Dtownwolfpack]

Dave,

Thanks for the tip, how do you like that combo on yours? Is it as intoxcicating as when you first drove your zhp? Does it bring it back to life so to speak? That's exactly the combo I'm going for. Any info from you would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Primo

[kowww]

I'd go stage one, the stage two I ordered a few months ago didn't fit with my Xenon's- don't know if it's due to my retrofit, but it's something to keep in mind.
That is odd, I have a stage two and it fits just fine with xenons. Went for the stage two since I was able to pick one up for less than half of retail.

The noise is great!

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[squashman702]

Dave,

Thanks for the tip, how do you like that combo on yours? Is it as intoxcicating as when you first drove your zhp? Does it bring it back to life so to speak? That's exactly the combo I'm going for. Any info from you would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Primo

The extra noise is nice, and the car felt a little snappier after the Conforti tune. I don't really remember the stock feel to be honest- I don't think I had it more than a month before I started modifying it. I can't leave anything alone haha.