gents, I'm taking your advice and will spend my money elsewhere.

BCRedliner, now you have me thinking about something else now....

I have the aftermarket tune BUT I just had to re-flash my tranny with SSS Progman to clear up the hard shift from 2-1st gear I was experiencing... this reflash I did a few nights ago would have not affected the aftermarket tune I paid for years ago would it? they are different modules of the vehicle if I'm not mistaken. And truth be told, my tranny seems snappier now after reflash.
So now I'm wondering if I did do the Dinan tranny software for a facelifted e53, maybe THAT tune would not negate the aftermarket tune I have.
Perhaps I'm wrong in my understanding though...

I can think of no reason the engine tune would be affected by the transmission re-flash. To be sure, before purchasing Dinan transmission software I suggest you call Dinan and see what they say.

Hi guys. So I was driving this weekend d with my Torque app on my phone open and I was watching the air intake temp as driving. While driving it stayed same temp as outside but as I came to stop lights I noticed the temps climb from 12 deg C to 27 deg C after 3 mins stopped. I was testing to see how much the CAI with a full metal shroud would heat up as vehicle sits with engine on.
Now I wonder if anyone has tried the same test on factory air box and seen if air intake temp increased in it too?
If factory air box does not cause air intake temp to heat up as much as this Dinan CAI has then I see less benefits to the CAI yet again.

I would expect that the air temp would increase with any system. I would be surprised if it didn't. CAI is for performance. Doesn't matter what happens to air temp idling at a stoplight.

:iagree:

Everyone one of these intake methods draws from the front of the vehicle. The air intake temp is effected by the hottest thing in the area, the radiator. The fan wash is moving air thru and out of the engine bays outlets. At idle the whole area around the front of the car is effected +- 3/10 degrees, if not more (I will have to go and test air temps one day). On hot days it seems like 50 degrees just walking by one running.

When moving, the temps settle down to atmospheric as the cooler air pushes thru the intake system. No one measures heat soak at idle on performance. The M5 board recommends moving the IAT up stream to get the most performance off idle after heat soak, as the read and react from those sensors is not instant. For the X5, I would drive and enjoy the new intake sucking sounds coming from the engine bay.

The Dinan CAI is one of the mods I would like to do, just on the eye candy level. Nice fit and finish compared to others on the market. The prices accordingly reflect that.

I know the heat causes other things in the engine bay to heat up by conduction, but I wasnt sure if the factory air box somehow was able to help keep the IAT cooler at idle...
My worry was that the temp at take off/accel from zero after sitting for a minute (say in traffic) was too warm and harming the acceleration of vehicle with the CAI and its full shroud (as full as it is, there are still some gape air could seep into the shroud/CAI) where as the factory airbox is fully enclosed...

thanks guys for your feedback. I will stop watching the Intake Air Temp gauge now/worrying over nothing.
I do surely enjoy its sound not. Took some getting used to, but I enjoy its rumble.

So I have the Dinan CAI with full shroud installed on my 2005 4.4i. I believe the shroud was for a pre-facelift model X as there are many cut-outs/holes with rubber grommets for piping I do not have in my 2005.
On the side of the shroud facing the engine, there is a hole and rubber grommet that I taped over to avoid warm/hot engine air to invade into.
I have now removed the tape covering that approx 1" diameter hole and have since reinstalled the down pipe from the air intake cowl to direct air flow into this hole and potentially into the CAI. From looking at pics on the net, I'm noticing no one else runs the air cowl's down pipe to side of shroud, making me believe some people may not have this hole.
I'm debating on actually cutting a larger hole in the side of the metal shroud and extending the down pipe into this hole to provide even more ambient temp air flow into CAI. Has anyone else done this?
Or do people just cover off the hole, if they have one on their shroud, and be happy with it?

Call Dinan, they did the engineering, design and testing. Input here may be interesting but that's about all.

Mine has the hole and it is utilized. My guess is the same CAI covers several models and configurations and if Dinan was concerned about it they would have had something in the kit to cover the holes not used on a particular model configuration--reiterate guess.

The performance of the CAI is maximized by the engine software. If the change in airflow is significant from stock the performance contribution from the software could be compromised--at best logical.

I just snagged a brand new in the box (D760-0530) :)

Nice find!