I'm going to be getting a CAI next week....

FinalSomnia · Post by **FinalSomnia** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:52 am

It'll have red piping, of course, cuz that's what my theme is.

Anyways.

I'm thinking about getting the AEM CAI because i can't find a bypass valve for the K&N. Anyone know if someone makes one for the K&N, because that was my first choice....

Thought I would ask.

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:11 am

bypass valves usually reduce the gains from the cai.. because of the restriction they create

FinalSomnia · Post by **FinalSomnia** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:27 am

even so, better safe than hydrolocked. This is mah daily driver.

TheNumberOneD · Post by **TheNumberOneD** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:24 am

i may be stoopid..

but the aem bypass can work with any of em...

maybe..

white2000neon · Post by **white2000neon** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:23 am

The AEM really doesn't stick to far down in the fender well. I DD my car with a CAI and never had a problem. You just have to watch out for deep puddles.

MoxHair · Post by **MoxHair** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:56 am

white2000neon wrote:The AEM really doesn't stick to far down in the fender well. I DD my car with a CAI and never had a problem. You just have to watch out for deep puddles.

X2

Mr Josh Zombie · Post by **Mr Josh Zombie** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:50 am

Get the K&N if that's your first choice. That's what I run and I never really have problems. Given, I don't drive my car much, but still.

Don't be dumb and you'll be fine.

rannox · Post by **rannox** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:10 pm

Try not to drive in the rain if possible,

And if you are in the rain and your car starts loosing throttle. Stop driving.

This was happeing in my friends focus the other day, but its stopped raining so it ended up being fine. (he has a ram air intake and a slightly bent hood, so its probly different, but just a warning)

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 1:16 am

dont drive in the rain?? well since its his dd, thats not gonna work

this will not happen in your neon, unless you decide to take it water-crossing... lol... no but seriously.. most of us run our intakes all year long.. no problems, whatsoever..just don't go hammering through any massive foot deep puddles.. if you can't avoid them.. hit the clutch in if its a stick.. so the revs drop... either way.. i bet you won't find one person on here that had a problem with hydro-locking from daily driving in rain.. your safe man.. its got a filter on there, that would turn the water to mist if it ever did slash the filter enough, and your motor would just evaporate it off.. i have heard of more people hydro-locking with the stock air box, then i have with a CAI...

welchspro · Post by **welchspro** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 2:49 am

I've been fine with my AEM in the rain, i ran a bypass valve for a little bit, but it felt so weak while i had it on.

WykedHellFire · Post by **WykedHellFire** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:57 am

not to sound dumb or anything, but what exactly is hydro-locking? when the the engine shuts off do to the water?

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:08 am

top end tries to compress the water its sucked in.. instead of air.. and the valves, and lots of other stuff in the head, bend or break..

Frizbe · Post by **Frizbe** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:13 am

gilly02le wrote:top end tries to compress the water its sucked in.. instead of air.. and the valves, and lots of other stuff in the head, bend or break..

Please tell me you are joking.

FinalSomnia · Post by **FinalSomnia** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:45 am

Yeah, because water does not compress the same way air does, it fills the cylinder, creating great amounts of stress on the engine. This is in turn can destroy the connecting rods, piston, the head, the head gasket, etc.

The only other alternative is to make some sort of housing for the CAI, but that's the reason the old one is going away.... Again, this is my DD, and I live around mostly hills so it's pretty hard to have this area flood... But that doesn't mean there won't be standing water someday.

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 12:30 pm

OH My God.... So Exactly what i said... the engine TRIES to compress water, And valves get bent and broken...lol what i said was perfectly accurate.. what did you thnik i was saying the car runs on water or something lol.. i know water doesn't compress.. i took bio/chem in high-school.

had this happen to my dads van couple months ago when we had flooding here... water was so deep vehicles were making waves.. one of them swept into the engine compartment and the stock intake system sucked it right up, like 8 bent valves in the head once it was removed.. luckily there was no damage to the block..

OverDrive418 · Post by **OverDrive418** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 1:51 pm

Never heard of hydro-locking because of rain. It rains a lot here in FL. and I have an opening in my bodykit right at the intake and never had a (knocking on wood here!) problem with water intake. As long as you don't drive into standing water (which is never smart anyway) high enough to get sucked in you should be fine.

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 1:56 pm

yep exactly.. you won't have to worry about normal rain giving you any problems.. but like we said.. dont hammer into any big puddles..or you might be S.O.L.

Frizbe · Post by **Frizbe** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:14 pm

gilly02le wrote:OH My God.... So Exactly what i said... the engine TRIES to compress water, And valves get bent and broken...lol what i said was perfectly accurate.. what did you thnik i was saying the car runs on water or something lol.. i know water doesn't compress.. i took bio/chem in high-school.

had this happen to my dads van couple months ago when we had flooding here... water was so deep vehicles were making waves.. one of them swept into the engine compartment and the stock intake system sucked it right up, like 8 bent valves in the head once it was removed.. luckily there was no damage to the block..

It is not the valves that bend, it is the con rods like Final said.
There is a big difference in replacing a head and replacing the con rods and such.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:40 pm

I drove in the rain a couple weeks ago when it got really bad with hail. On the highway I noticed a difference in throttle, but i let off and parked under a bridge for a while. It doesn't have a bypass valve and i've been good for a long time.

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:30 pm

8 bent valves as proof. the bottom end was completely fine...

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:32 pm

Frizbe wrote:
gilly02le wrote:top end tries to compress the water its sucked in.. instead of air.. and the valves, and lots of other stuff in the head, bend or break..
Please tell me you are joking.

I'm not seeing anything wrong with that statement Frizbe. Bottom line, there is way too much pressure in the cylinder...valves trying to open can definately get bent. I've seen valves bend from hydrolocking before as well. And yeah, connecting rods bend too, but your statements are kind of whack. It's not like the rods are the only thing that can possibly be damaged.

To address the initial question, I would also recommend not messing with a bypass valve. I've driven my car as my daily driver for over 2 years with an AEM....and through many a VERY heavy rain. The only thing I try to do is not hit any huge (Like 4 inches deep or more) puddles with the left side of my car.

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:17 pm

thanks quicksilvr... i didn't see anything inaccurate about my comment either..lol

FinalSomnia · Post by **FinalSomnia** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:12 am

Lol, I was just clarifying more for Frizbe, I wasn't contradicting you, Gilly. Either way:

Hydrolocking FTL

Not massive amounts of engine damage, top end OR bottom end FTW

Etc.

gilly02le · Post by **gilly02le** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:14 am

True true. i'll just hope that's a situation i'll never have to deal with!

WykedHellFire · Post by **WykedHellFire** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:52 am

gilly02le wrote:True true. i'll just hope that's a situation i'll never have to deal with!

I agree.