BMW S58 Intake Upgrades – M2, M3, M4

Intake upgrades are one of the most common engine modifications for good reason. They’re cheap, simple, and effective. While the S58’s factory intake system is efficient at stock boost, it becomes restrictive as you begin adding power and boost. It’s easy to understand why it becomes restrictive as the 3.0L twin turbo inline-6 is able to make an impressive 700-750+whp on stock turbos. In this guide, I discuss BMW S58 intake upgrades, power gains, sound, and cost.

Aftermarket Intake Designs

There are three primary designs for S58 intake upgrades that we classify as:

• Closed intake (airboxes)
• Open intake
• Front-mount open intake

The biggest differentiation here is open vs closed intakes. A closed intake is the standard OEM design where the filter is housed within an airbox. Airboxes help muffle engine and induction sounds, but can be restrictive to airflow. On naturally aspirated engines, they also help shield engine bay heat and carry cooler air thru the filter.

On the other hand, open intakes delete the airbox and simply use cone filters that are open to the engine bay. This allows for maximum airflow and sound. However, it exposes the filters to warmer engine bay heat at idle and low speeds. As such, they may sometimes to referred to as “hot air intakes” rather than cold air intakes.

Fortunately, on turbo engines, intake air temperature (IAT) at the filter is virtually irrelevant. The air travels thru incredibly hot turbochargers, where air further heats as it’s compressed. The charge air is then cooled by the intercooler. IAT at the filter has very little impact on the intercoolers ability to cool the air to a given temperature. That’s all beside the fact that once you reach ~30-40mph the air within the engine bay is cycling so quickly that it’s very close to ambient temperatures.

Front-Mount Air Intakes

In summary of the last section, open filters on a turbo engine truly don’t impact IAT after the intercooler (the air temperature that actually matters). However, that didn’t prevent companies from designing S58 front-mount intakes. These dual cone intakes typically mount behind the front “grilles” – or whatever you call the things on the G80 M3 and G82 M4.

Front facing intakes can help deliver slightly cooler air to the filters at idle and low speeds. However, they won’t do anything notable for performance or power. In essence, the S58 front facing intake upgrades are primarily for aesthetics. Otherwise, in my opinion, they’re not worth the additional cost and hassle of installation.

Benefits of S58 Intake Upgrades

• 5-15whp gains
• 5-10wtq gains
• Turbo spool & induction sounds
• Cleaner engine bay

Again, the S58 factory intakes are efficient at stock power and boost. Without tuning or other mods you may not see any hp gains. However, once you begin modding and demanding additional airflow, the stock airboxes start becoming restrictive. It’s typical to see power gains in the ballpark of 5-10whp with a tune and basic bolt-ons. Pushing the OEM turbos to the limit or running upgraded turbos is where you can potentially see gains of 15+whp.

Open intakes will also free up a lot of turbo and induction sounds. If you’re looking for quiet intakes then opting for closed intake designs is likely the better bet. Lastly, intake upgrades not only look awesome but can also help make future maintenance simpler. Removing the bulky airboxes allows for easy removal of the dual cone intakes in the future.

Best S58 M2, M3, M4 Intake Upgrades

With intake designs, benefits, sounds, and more out of the way, it’s time to discuss some of the best BMW S58 intake upgrades. Please note – this is far from an exhaustive list. There are tons of great intakes available and there isn’t time or space to cover every single one. Instead, I am focusing on a few dual cone intake upgrades that offer a great balance of performance, price, and quality.

1) BMS Dual Cone Performance Intakes

The BMS G8x dual cones intakes are an open-design that mount in the OEM locations and delete the airboxes. They’re available with a matte black or gloss black finish and either red or blue filters. Burger Motorsports saw dyno gains of 17whp and 10whp on a G80 M3 with their JB4 tune and E30 fueling.

For $499, the BMS S58 intakes are a quality product that deliver impressive power gains for a great price. In my opinion, this is the best intake for the S58 as it’s simple, effective, cheap, and looks excellent.

Price: $499-599

Buy Here: S58 Dual Cone Intakes

2) BMS S58 Front-Mount Intakes

Burger Motorsports’ front-mount intakes are virtually identical to their normal OEM-location intakes. They’re still the same basic design with 3.5″ mandrel-bent aluminum piping. The main difference is that the filters are re-routed to sit behind the grilles to allow for the coolest possible air at all times. Again, the IAT at the filter doesn’t have any significant impact on performance or actual IAT entering the cylinders.

Their front-mount S58 intakes come in at $799 for matte black or $899 for the gloss black finish. I’d recommend saving the $300 and opting for the stock-location intakes. However, if you like the aesthetics of the front facing design then these BMS dual cone intakes are a great option.

Price: $799-899

Buy Here: BMS Front-Facing Performance Intakes