I bought two Mann CUK3139 cabin microfilters from Amazon.com for $36 delivered to be installed in my 2005 545i.

Here's how they compare to OEM BMW:


MANN BMW


MANN BMW




Huge difference between the two in terms of the number of folds in the fabric. The BMW has a good 25% more than the Mann filter.

So, I weighed them to see if there was a difference:

Mann: 196 grams

BMW: 244 grams.

So, with this item, there is a clear difference in quality between Mann and BMW.

I will be ordering either Mahle or BMW next time. Mann comes up WAY short

 

Were your BMW filters just out of the car? Maybe the BMW filter had 48 grams of micro debris in it?

In all seriousness though it not the amount of folds or the weight, its the ability of the filter to remove small particles. Think your furnace filter, the cheapie always has a lower MERV value (Minimum Efficiency Rating Value) of like 7 vs. the real good filter at 13. I guess I would want to see some airflow tests before dropping that much more on a BMW or Mahle filter....

 

I replaced my OEM's with Mann filters a few weeks ago. At almost 80,000 miles, it was my third set of microfilters. The first two sets were OEM's and personally, I can not feel the difference between the two brands.

The old OEM filters that I threw away recently look as good (or better) than the new Mann filters that I replaced with. I bet if I cleaned the old ones, put them back and reset it, I can probably get it to register for another 100,000 miles. Of course, you can expect the count down (from 100,000 miles) to rapidly go down to 30,000 miles or so within days. In any case, that would be at least another year worth of usage.

In my conclusion, if you live in a non dusty areas and your car cabin does not have the stinky smell, there is really no need to replace them. You just need to open them up, clean them and reset it so the I-Drive can stop giving you the annoying warning.

 

You are correct Mr Paran! The filters you buy at auto parts stores are not the same even though they have the same name Mahle, Mann etc. Not even the Charge Air Cooler is the same from Behr OEM vs Service. These are considered service parts and they do not have the same requirements that the OEM parts that come on the car do. Now, the question I'm having is, OEM that comes on the car versus OEM from your local BMW dealer's shelf, are they the same? I'll have to check into this, because I am not 100% sure. But I am 100% sure about the "OEM" parts you buy at E.G. Advance, Autozone are not at the same filtering level although MUCH better than a non OEM.

 

I don't know guys.

It appears to me, that Mann is NOT an OEM - BMW quality product. (Look at the number of folds in the fabric. (A carbon impregnated fabric will always (God willing!) weigh a whole lot more than any crud the filter traps.)

244gms. vs 196gms. (25%) would mean a whole lot of "crud" in the filter.

I think that Mann is screwing the DIY mechanic on this item.

Does anybody have a comparison between Mahle and BMW or Mann?

I do not expect to feel a difference between the two, but I can see and verify that the BMW microfilter is vastly superior to the Mann filter.

Yet, Mann markets itself to the DIY mechanic as an OEM-BMW alternative.

All I can say to that is: "Mann is full of sht as their product is NOT better nor equal to BMW's."

Funny thing, is that Mann may be actually making the BMW filter, and the DIY filter, but their marketing message to the DIY market is pure BS.

All I know, is that I will NOT buy Mann products in the future,

I will stick with Mahle or BMW unless Mahle is proven to be like Mann; marketing themselves as a BMW-OEM alternative, when they are not even close in reality.

 

Mann is definitely targeting the DIY mechanic, as they are not even close to OEM-BMW quality.

25% difference in weight and carbon impregnated fabric material is NOT close nor comparable.

My "gut", as a 20 year Mercedes owner, told me that Mann is "lower quality", but I never bothered to investigate it.

Well, now I know.

Mann is NOT OEM-BMW quality. (I don't care what they say to the DIY mechanic through their marketing campaigns.)

Pelican Parts tells me that Mann is :"excellent quality";

Really?

How so? (In rebates or commissions back to Pelican?)

 

Mann and Mahle make the oem filters that came in the car originally. They also make service parts and aftermarket parts. I assume service is the same as oem. Aftermarket is not. It only has their name but its not the same part. I've been to both of these suppliers in TN and during the discussions they told me this. In fact that day mann was running aftermarket. I had been under the impression that all were the same. BMW can't control what these suppliers sell to aftermarket with the companies name logo on it. My guess if you buy it at the dealer you would get oem but not from autozone etc. but then again, who is controlling the dealer and where they are procuring their parts....?

 

Interesting.

I reread the Amazon.com reviews which are just hogwash as folks claim that the two are identical and exact replacements.

So, it looks like the "weight" is the best parameter you have to measure against:

BMW 1.4 lbs.

Mann: 11.2 oz

Mahle 7.2oz or 6.4oz

Who knows. It looks like BMW is the only true source for this item.

 

In looking at the pictures once again, it also appears that the BMW has more carbon content than the Mann product.

25% more folds + more carbon = an entirely different product.

caveat emptor!

 

What it boils down to is it's just in a OEM box from a OEM supplier but not a OEM part. I am under the impression that the dealers get their inventory from BMWNA which then would be a service part of same quality. But then again, who controls the dealer that they actually do this? What prevents them from ordering aftermarket parts from OEM? Since they are independently owned. I am pretty sure they wouldn't do this though...