1. the foam broke off, so i ripped the rest off

2. it split in two pieces, so i had a 50/50 short ram and cai thing happening over here

3. it doesnt work properly to begin with

4. i think the rubber piece is supposed to line up with the corresponding outer plastic ring pieces, of course this one does NOT, when you can tell it is supposed to.

5. I have driven over 2 puddles of nice-size standing water, and no problems since i have converted back to a normal CAI setup.

6. I cut a 3" piece of rubber off of my K&N filter and used that as my "elbow" to join the two pieces of intake together into one, with two screw-clamps....HUGE difference in power now, and I can actually feel the car pulling, versus before.

7. This piece of shit is either going back to A. AEM, inc or B. the trash where it belongs.

8. These are my opinions only, and I posted the pics of what it looks like now. If you dont like it, _|_


















I think it's supposed to be a ONE PIECE, but as you can see I have a 3-piece, hahahah

biggest piece of shit i seen in my life, next to those ricer washer lites :P hahahah

So what do you suggest mike for a CAI?

Hrrrmmmmm good question... Well, currently I am using this BRILLIANT new device I have come up with....I think most people can asertain this marvelous device known to man. I think I will call it.. "common sense" :P

If it's raining or I see some flash flood warnings...just remove the lower part and convert to short ram. Like who the hell are you gonna race in the slippery rain anyways? lol


I dunno mang, I just wish someone would come up with a better solution than that waste of $50, imo.

The bypass valve works without a doubt if the filter is submerged - it's only meant for extreme cases when the entire filter is under water. In just partial rain, your engine shouldn't be sucking up water even if the filter is wet, because it's not sucking that much air. It's only for when your car has no choice but to suck up water (if the filter is completely submerged), then the bypass valve lets is breathe through there instead. Mike, I would try to send that one back to AEM as it is completely falling apart. Sometimes, when it's raining, there are certain streets that are flooded even though it's not raining that hard. That's when it's scary, and I'm not about to jump outside in the rain and try to convert my CAI into a short ram that hits the hood. It's easier said than done, especially with the filter (I can't get the filter out unless I jack up my car or go on a driveway at an angle since the bumper is too low to get it out).

When I had a CAI I never had a bypass thing on mine. I dont think they were invented back then when I bought it. I live in a very rainy state and I never had a problem. I hope no one ever drives their car in enough water to submerge the filter. There would have to be like 12 inches of water on the ground and if thats the case grap a paddle and take a canoe to work and leave the car at home.

haha good point dave, I'm gonna try and send it back to AEM, see what they say about it.

personally, after seeing those pics... i'd rather have the sublime cd in the backround then one of those pieces of sheeeeit. :-)

Just more proof that the AEM bypass valve is a waste of money that could be spent on better things...

They have made newer ones since then.....mine looks a little different than Mike's on the inside. Mine was also made very strong. Like mentioned above, it's made for when the filter is fully submerged and does in fact work. I witnessed it at a car show where they submerged it in a 10 gallon tank of water. Also, AEM had a recall issue with the first ones they made....don't remember the dates though.

You would have to be insane to be driving an Eclipse in water deep enough to fully submerge you CAI. Even though accidents do happen, how do you not see that much water?

AEM had a bad batch of the valves going around but they didnt want the bad comp name and did nothing about it.. i forgot when but i knew they had it

they are junk i would of told you guys from day one..

i guess they work

but how many times is the filter like we all said submerged?
ive had my iceman cai for 1.5 years now and i live in rainy ass fl

and it has been fine.. i have gotten the filter wet and then went off adn drove many times.i think everytime i wash the car i get it wet

that little bit of water will not hurt.

aem pfft

hehe.. Iceman all the way!.. }>

Does the bypass valve decrease performance? I know you get more with the CAI, but lets say you get 8 HP with the CAI then you add bypass valve do you get 6 HP?. I kno those numbers arent right, but just used em as an example.


1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 10th Anniversary Edition
- Weapon R1 Atom Bomb Exhaust
- Super White Hood Lights
-----Future Mods-----
- AEM CAI
- AFX UDP
- Eibach Sport Lines 2" Drop
- Tokico Blue Shocks
http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=1&a=55649

I would say that your numbers about right. They said on a review of the AEM bypass valve that you loose about 1-2 hp and some of the deep sound that you have without the bypass valve.

he's rite imo.