Aftermarket cowl filter covers

[martymil]

So I hate the look of the BMW cowl filters and they really look out of place.

I had these covers made up and they will be wrinkle finished in black.

The finish will look fantastic just like oem.

They are not cheap to make around 350 aud or 250 usd powder coated in black wrinkle finish.

Here is a raw version for now

It would take no more than 2 to 4 weeks to make and shipped to your door.



and the finished product

 

[martymil]

Btw these covers also stop water getting in when you wash your car.

That was the main reason for me.

 

[buster84]

For that kind of money you can buy the M3 cowl setup for your and retain the cooler non engine heat which is the main purpose of the cowl system. Those small filters are decent but your sucking in hot heat that reeks of engine smells.

 

[martymil]

The m3 filters dont fit without modifying the window washers or the bonnet

The m3 cowls dont seal against the bonnet so your still sucking the smells from the engine bay

If you have the factory alarm switch on the m3 cowls it doesnt line up with the boonet to tell it its closed

And no the m3 cowls and filters are almost double that with filters and you still have to modify the washers and bonnet holes and alarm switch which works out to well over 1k and closer to 2k once painting and welding is involved

Ive done both and prefer this way as it can be returned to stock easily if wanted

 

[The Convert]

I have the M3 cowel pieces and filters and it cost me ~$300 or so. If you use Mann filters and just put a black silicon hose nipple on the alarm switch you're talking about and you're done. There is no issue with washer nozzles, but you are correct that the upper seal doesn't make full contact everywhere. I'm in an e92 in case an e90 is different for some reason.

 

[The Convert]

 

[martymil]

Dont fit 135 either

I should have made it clear e82 chassis

 

[buster84]

The m3 filters dont fit without modifying the window washers or the bonnet

The m3 cowls dont seal against the bonnet so your still sucking the smells from the engine bay

If you have the factory alarm switch on the m3 cowls it doesnt line up with the boonet to tell it its closed

And no the m3 cowls and filters are almost double that with filters and you still have to modify the washers and bonnet holes and alarm switch which works out to well over 1k and closer to 2k once painting and welding is involved

Ive done both and prefer this way as it can be returned to stock easily if wanted

Dont fit 135 either

I should have made it clear e82 chassis

Not true.

E90
https://bmw.spoolstreet.com/documents/m3-cowl-conversion-for-e9x.48/

135
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1156251

 

[martymil]

Doesn't show you what he done with his washer
But you have to relocate them or modify the cowls other wise you will damage the bonnet when you close it

They actually discuss this on the first page on the 135i thread

And it doesnt seal against the bonnet properly so the smell still comes in through the vents

 

[megaman416]

Did you guys lose your front window vent function with the bms filters? Mine would barely blow air when I did... added the stock cowl back and it worked again.

 

[martymil]

Works fine for me

 

[FRNTHVY]

I can confirm that on my 1M the stock washer nozzles hit the M3 cowel and it did Flex the hood.

I used the mini washers and all is good.

 

[martymil]

Which mini washers, have you got a part number ?

 

[martymil]

Here is the finished product

 

[doublespaces]

That looks real nice for the people who went that route. The weather strip sealing on your modified cowl also looks good.

 

[doublespaces]

the smell still comes in through the vents

What smell are you referring to exactly?

 

[martymil]

Thanks i thought of doing something different than everybody else

The seal is original e92 m3 from my m3 cowl kit
that i have sitting around on the shelf

If you have leaking rocker cover gasket the oil smell

Mine doesn't leak and i prefer if i could smell it if it did as i would know something is wrong

The only one that totally seals of the engine bay is the original factory

 

[ShocknAwe]

I don't understand what's so bad about the OE cowling. It's functional and that's what's important in an engine bay.

 

[FRNTHVY]

Which mini washers, have you got a part number ?

61662755722
61662756194

 

[Xm-n54]

Who is running just the BMS cowl filter? Are people experiencing problems with water coming in the filters?