PilotChris

After pulling in tonight I popped the hood to check my AEM (just installed last weekend). It had been raining for a couple of hours now and I had to drive home about 15 miles. There was no standing water, but the streets were far from dry. I do not have my bypass valve installed yet. When I reached down under and felt the bottom of the tube that goes off into the passenger side bumper it was fairly wet. I then reached as far as I could into the small compartment where the filter is and noticed that the piping in there was damp. I wasn't able to actually check the filter itself. Should I be concerned about this or should I just drive normally in the rain and just aviod big puddles which could completely submerge the filter. I'm just worried about hydrolocking my engine with the AEM and want to know what I should and should not do when driving in the rain.

After I get the bypass valve, should I still use be really (overly) careful in the rain or just drive it as I normally would in any rainy condition.

Thanks!

s2slow

don't have to worry

ExOdy

The bypass valve is junk.

MacGyver

Of COURSE the tube was wet...if there is any moisture at all on the roads, your tires are going to kick it up into a mist and it'll end up on just about every part of your engine bay. Is it something to worry about? No way! Do a search as I've posted on this way too many times to count, but water mist in your intake is no different than the water misting systems people put in for FI applications.

Gernby

You really should avoid deep water all the time, regardless of your intake. It really takes a special effort to hydrolock the engine.

damcgee

Yes, from what I understand, gernby is correct. You should be concerned about actually submerging intake. And I agree with exody, if you're going to install the bypass valve, you might as well not even have a CAI except for sound only, it basically negates any gains.

stena

Why is the bypass valve a junk?
It appears that its good to have a CAI only if you live in a place where it never rains.Right?
In my country when it rains i have to go over lakes on the road it seems like its better if i put a water hose in the air intake cos the water then will be cleaner,hha ha.

PilotChris

WOW, the bypass valve really causes a decrease in the gain that you get from the CAI??? Does anyone have any dyno charts or anything to prove this? I heard it took a little, but was not even noticable.

Maybe since it's our dry season here in FL, I'll wait til summer (when it rains everyday) to put it on.

Utah S2K

You need to consider what hydrolock is.....and most folks don't know. In short water does not compress (remember the belly flop when you were a kid?). If the combustion chamber is SATURATED with moisture then during the compression stroke the volume cannot be compressed. The result is bent valves and other uglies. It takes a lot of water! The key to driving in weather is to keep your RPM's (and hence airflow and moisture content) low. As others have stated the bypass robs power and does not fully prevent hydrolock conditions. Most who have suffered an event will admit they were in a major storm parked agaisnt a curb with high water. Use the search function as Mc G said and you'll learn a lot.

Utah

Nobody

Got PRM?