Hey I just installed a CAI and heard/read that water getting into CAI is really bad...well I was at school and it rained... I waited it out but there was water on the road n there was no avoiding it. My question is is it really bad to get even a tiny amount or is it only bad if you go through a pudle of water and have any of you had problems with water going through water? I dont have time and dont really want to be taking the CAI off everytime it rains cause thats time consuming and plus I need to car to comute between school and home.

Best advice i can give you is sell the cai and get a short ram, not worth the risk of hydrolocking for the extra 2 hp your getting over people like me with the short ram. and to answer your question now a light mist of water should not hurt anything, your intake has to actually suck up water and in order for it to do that it has to be somewhat under water. i sold my cai the first time i went in an unavoidable puddle and my engine died, luckily it didnt lock but it wasent fun for the 3 days it took to dry the wells out and finnally revive her after wondering if i was totally screwed. and the short ram sounds just as sweet and a good one is only like 90 new or 50 used. just my .02
joe

Thanks, I'll look into the short ram

or you can take my bypass valve off my hands for $25 shipped and you can keep the cold air without worrying about water

pics somewhere near the bottom of the page here
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/578236

Originally posted by cs82685
or you can take my bypass valve off my hands for $25 shipped and you can keep the cold air without worrying about water pics somewhere near the bottom of the page here http://www.cardomain.com/ride/578236

Indeed a bypass valve is the way to go. Keep that CAI.

yes sucking up water is bad .i used to have the same problem with sucking up water . then i made a aluminum plate . worked great never had that problem again . also it looks good and it cheap ass hell . dont get rid of the cai unless your going turbo
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="" border="0" width="1600" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

It is only bad when you completely submerge the filter under water (even for a split second). Slight spray on the filter doesn't do anything.

Hydrolock is far more expensive than you think. Especially for the piddly ~5hp you get out of a CAI.

Don't fck around. Get a shortram or go back to stock. Bypass valves, plates, or other methods of denial only work for so long.

just cut the CAI down to make a shorty

Okay. I ran a cai for 1 year with no problems. Mine was located in the same place as /\/\blue car/\/\ and I got pretty wet sometimes. Never did anything though. You need to LITERALLY submerge the filter and the vacume the engine produces is enough to suck water into the pipe and up to the throttle body.

It's happened but I think your dumb if it happens.

Keep the cai and don't really worry about it getting "wet" just worry about submerging it.

Originally posted by Blizare
It's happened but I think your dumb if it happens.

Well then that makes me dumb. Wanna see what 3 shattered rods look like?

FWIW, it was an iceman CAI, and 5" of water. I went back and measured. Not nearly enough to submerge even half the filter.

You DO NOT need to Totally submerge the filter to cause Hydrolock! Although a little spritz here and there wont hurt anything. Ive hydrolocked twice going through decent puddles at about 30 mph. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will burn right through and bog you down for a second and shoot a cloud of steam out your exhaust. Other times it could stall out on you and you can pull the plugs and crank the water out. But i wouldnt take that chance. CAI is not worth that trouble. I took a Sawzaw to mine and hacked it. Or you could get a bypass like was mentioned above.

Ok there are alot of people debating this situation however for the person who originally made this post, ask yourself 2 questions
1) no matter who says what or how long they have had this or that the fact that you are running a cai means a. you have about 3 extra hp than you had before you put it on Literally. and there is a (chance) might be today, might be tommorrow, might not be till next year or might never happen at all but because you have it your chance of hydrolocking your engine is 50/50 you might you might not thats it. there are things you can do to change that a little and i believe if you add a bypass valve your hp will match that of a short ram because i wiuld think the valve would slightly effect hp.
question 2) are you willing to take the risk over so little? i was hard headed too and here in florida it rains like hell and i never had a single problem driving in monssons here and my filter was exposed and rain would get at it going 90 down the highway from the air hole in the front nose and i never had a problem so you couldnt tell me nothing than one day it started rainning out of nowhere and it was a hard i cant see two inches in front of my face rain and i hit a puddle, a low puddle maybe a few inches but ill tell you this the car died instantly and i got out and looked under the car, the cone was not under water just the very bottom was barley touching the surface of the puddle and it was enough to suck it up. everyone is gonna have there opinions on this matter but i sold my aem cai on ebay and got enough money to buy a short ram aem and still have some change left.
so basically with the cai theres always that chance, without it there isnt, and with all the mods i have i didnt notice a difference in performance and the sound is almost the same.

Okay, I'll just keep my mouth shut then. No point in e-bickering about something that is totally avoidable.

im wondering if you guys could clear something up for me: what if somebody was running a high compression engine? in my opinion, a CAI would be crucial for that type of setup. i remember reading a post somewhere about a guy who was dyno-tuning an all motor setup and claimed that the engine was "knocking like a screaming whore" or something like that. He put on a CAI and it significantly dropped intake air temps and helped with the detonation problems. I dont know but could this be a reason somebody would choose a CAI instead of a short ram? Using a short ram for this type of setup and retrieving air from the already hot engine bay would be a no-no. Correct me if i am wrong. I also read somewhere that detonation is caused by improper timing curves. How are these two issues related?

i got an ebay CAI, cut about 2 inches of it off so the intake tube goes straight down, no turning towards the wheel...its about 6-7 inches off the ground. takes 10 minutes to do, you still keep the "cold" part of it, and no worries about water, problem solved..if any1 needs pics lemme know, but as i said its very easy..all ya gotta do is just cut a little :dark

I'd just invest in a bypass valve. I got an AEM one on my AEM CAI, came free w/ car :) You can find them on eBay dirt cheap.

Thanks all really apreciate the responses

Its simple bypass valve. I had a short ram and all I managed to do is suck up heat from headers. install CAI do it smart and add a bypass on the top bend. If you manage to suck water in the bypass you would have water over your hood at which point your screwed anyhow +).

Bypass valve on ebay for under 20$ or you can buy one from just about any CAI manufacturer. I run one on my Weapon intake and no troubles at all.

i use the AEM short ram intake, and it never sucks up water, even in the shittiest weather conditions which occur often here in northern ohio...

i've heard you can buy cut out sheetmetal kits to make an intake box at autozone? it will keep water out of that section...

also if u have aftermarket headers and dont want the short ram because of it gettin hot air from the header, just buy some exhaust heat wrap tape from autozone and you'll be set

Originally posted by talonman_NT95
i use the AEM short ram intake, and it never sucks up water, even in the shittiest weather conditions which occur often here in northern ohio... i've heard you can buy cut out sheetmetal kits to make an intake box at autozone? it will keep water out of that section... also if u have aftermarket headers and dont want the short ram because of it gettin hot air from the header, just buy some exhaust heat wrap tape from autozone and you'll be set

Lol, of course not. Your car would have to be almost underwater for a SHORTRAM intake to hydrolock...

:nuts

Id like to see the pictures, if possible, of the cut intake you are describing...

Bypass valve fo'sho' It's a $30 piece of mind. Water, unlike air, doesn't compress very well.

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah, stop argueing. First off yes you do need to have the filter completely submerged in water and sucking really hard, because the water has to travel straight up quite a good distance as well. Small puddles not a problem, rain directly hitting it not a problem. There is moisture in your engine at all times do to condensation so a little water is not going to do anything. If you are driving through a gigantic puddle then of course there is a great risk but you shouldnt be driving through 5in plus puddles anyway, in any car. I had a cold air intake on my car for over a year in the winter even in NEW ENGLAND and i had no problems. If you see a huge puddle that is up to the bottom of your bumper or more go around it. If there is no way of avoiding it let your foot off the gas when you go through it. I would not get the bypass filter i have heard horrow stories of it breaking off and getting sucked into the engine. AEM even did a test showing how the intake had to be completely submerged in water and sucking hard to hydrolock. Anyone who drives through a puddle higher then the bottom of there bumper and is jamming on the gas is an idiot. Just look out for deep puddles and dont step on the gas if you have to drive through them and you will be fine.

Originally posted by eclipse7782
Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah, stop argueing. First off yes you do need to have the filter completely submerged in water and sucking really hard, because the water has to travel straight up quite a good distance as well

.

Jesus Christ. Johnny come lately telling us we're idiots. It does NOT need to be completely submerged and you don't have to be "jamming" on the gas either. O/P Disregard his statement. Like AEM is really going to show test results if they were anything besides helpful to the sale of that product, which happens to be one of their best sellers. Let me guess, Their test conditions were with a car sitting still in a puddle of water, when in reality most of us who HAVE experience with hydro lock were hmmmm moving. And if you need to be told to take your foot off the gas when traveling into a puddle at any rate of speed, you shouldn't be licensed. You know what, never mind....Not fucking worth it...Fucking morons around here.

Let's end this now.. For anyone who HAS ever hydro locked, what were the conditions during you engines demise?

Mine- Twice driving slow 30-40 mph, hit several 2-3 inch puddles that eventually stalled the engine. Sitting in the middle of the road stalled, tried to crank it over and locked it up. Filter was never submerge in either situation.

NEXT..

Originally posted by CustomGS
Jesus Christ. Johnny come lately telling us we're idiots. It does NOT need to be completely submerged and you don't have to be "jamming" on the gas either. O/P Disregard his statement.

Hahahahahahahahaha! Word.

EDIT:
When you consider the total displacement of the engine is 2.0L (actually something like 1997cc) that is the absolute MOST water you could get into the engine. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure you just have to get maybe a quarter-inch of water in one of the cylinders to do damage. That's perhaps a shot glass worth...

Simply put, if you're worried about it enough to post this question, then don't get one. Buy a short "ram." No point in endlessly debating a product that will, at best, give you eight horsepower. It's a pipe with a filter on the end of it. Deal with it.

Thanks.

Wow everyone is so tough online, your like those people in chat rooms that come in talking shit to everyone but your some scrawny dude that has been in 1 fight and your mom called the other kids mom to complain. Just shut your mouth seriously, what difference does it make if you take your foot off the gas when going through a puddle??
Your foot on the gas is going to cause your engine to be sucking in more air and sucking up any water. Your foot off of the gas is going to mean that water is going to have to travel 30 some odd inches straight UP into your engine. Think of it as a straw the only way you are going to get the liquid up is if you suck on the straw, you can submerge the staw in liquid but it will only go as far up in the staw as the depth of the liquid. You shouldnt be driving through a massive puddle in the first place. See all these idiots on the news stuck in massive puddles there morons do a 3 point turn and find another way. I take my foot off the gas when I go through puddles all the time the car doesnt jerk or spin out of control, so what i have angels guiding my car?? If you are going through a puddle that is so large you have to creep through it then its your own fault for getting hydrolock and your a moron for doing it twice.

Looks like we need to have basic grammar and spelling lessons over here :rolleyes ...I seriously don't know how some people make it out of grade school. I apologize to the mods for being off topic :cheers

Originally posted by eclipse7782
Wow everyone is so tough online, your like those people in chat rooms that come in talking shit to everyone but your some scrawny dude that has been in 1 fight and your mom called the other kids mom to complain.

Niiiiice. Everyone who knows what they fuck they're talking about is just tired of seeing kids with "that'll-never-happen-to-me" attitudes posting "Drove through a big puddle last night and now my car doesn't run. What do I do?"

Originally posted by eclipse7782
Just shut your mouth seriously,

Superb demonstration of leading by example. Bravo.


The only thing more gay than discussing intakes (which are damn near pointless) is arguing about them to this extent.


The bottom line:
Is the risk worth the potential gains? I say no. Maybe I'll just dyno my car this winter and compare my engine with the stocker, a hacked stocker, a short ram, and an AEM V1. Maybe then there will be a useful thread on the subject, here.