The front bumper has air intakes next to the fog lights. These have plastic caps inside the wheel wells. The driver's side also feeds the air filter. So...

Will taking the plastic caps off of the back of these air ducts help with brake cooling? I did a search on cooling kits and saw the phrase mentioned but no references to a vendor. Any suggestions? Thanks.

It'll help some... as you now have more fresh air going that general way. If you really wanted to help it, you'd get some rubber tubing and run the air directly to the rotors to help focus the air where it is best needed.

Can I take these off by simply turning the wheel, or do would I have to take the wheels off?

Yup, turn the wheel and you will be able to reach them. They should just pop right out.

I took a broom handle and popped my own from the front of the car...

I'm guessing that this has caused no one problems from extra dirt or water? I figure the wheel probably picks up more than what could go through the ducts?

Had mine for 66k miles with no ducts... no problems.

I took them out yesterday. I just do not undertsand why the drivers side is vented, but the pass. has a solid piece in there.

I took them out yesterday. I just do not undertsand why the drivers side is vented, but the pass. has a solid piece in there.

Help prevent overpressurizing the airbox in the engine compartment. That airbox doesn't handle pressure well and will pop if you try to pressurize it.

So this brings up another question.

If I have an AFE CAI that is not a sealed box, will completely covering the drvr's side duct improve air intake and HP???

What does the AFE CAI look like? I don't think it'll necessarily help as it'll just be putting more air into the engine bay via the tube. If the tube went into a box that could handle the pressure then that'd be a different story.

If you're gonna track your car a lot and want better brake cooling you can buy cooling kits from Bimmerworld or Road Race Technologies.

The owner of RRT designed the cooling kit when he worked for Bimmerworld, so they are pretty similar.

The AFE is sweet, excellent quality. It has a heat shield around it, but not sealed. I'll check bimmerworld and rrt for a cooling kit. Thanks :)

The AFE is sweet, excellent quality. It has a heat shield around it, but not sealed. I'll check bimmerworld and rrt for a cooling kit. Thanks :)

Let me know how that goes. I might get the kit from Bimmerworld sometime soon. I might just get the hoses and flanges from them though and get the CF ducts from Turner.

I bought a slightly used Bimmerworld kit and installed it a couple weeks ago. I'm going to VIR on Mon. to try it for the first time. I'll give a report when I get back.

I'm keeping the hose from the fender well to the brake rotor off for street use and will connect it when I get to the track.

Here's a DIY Linky (http://www.biodan.org/cooling.html) .

Nice work. I love the gutter mesh it should complement the lower middle grill. After looking at the price for some hoses and brackets I was debating a DIY project. If it works I'll post results.

Also VIR rocks! Love the turns on the south course.

That DIY is someone elses... I can't take credit. I just used it as a guide for my install. :drink1

Help prevent overpressurizing the airbox in the engine compartment. That airbox doesn't handle pressure well and will pop if you try to pressurize it.

I own a S54 Z3 M Coupe (2002 model) and I've come across this thread after doing some searching.

I'm considering fitting an aftermarket brake cooling system and blocking off the brake duct in the front bumper from which the air-intake snorkel is located so that all the air entering the brake duct can only enter the air-intake system, rather than some of it passing into the wheel arch as it ordinarily does. The air-filter box on the E36 M3 is almost identical to the air-filter box on my Z3 M Coupe, so what exactly happens if ram-air in the air-filter box increases the pressure above 1 bar (14.7 p.s.i.) ?

I've already modified my air-filter box, because in the M Coupe there is a pipe inside the box which makes the air "reverse flow" and is therefore restrictive. Likewise, I've opened up the exhaust silencers and cut the pipe work inside to remove the "reverse flow" nature so that the silencers are now free-flow and straight-through. Now that I've removed the reverse flow design of both air-intake and exhaust silencers, the engine does seem to perform better and I'm hoping that directing all the air from the brake duct into the engine will improve performance that little bit more. Obviously, I don't want to create a problem for myself by over-pressurising the air-intake system if it can't take it. I would therefore appreciate the advice and experiences of others who might have had problems from doing a similar mod to what I would like to do.