rdsandy

I noticed today that my bypass valve is cracked along the circumference of the outer edge.

You wouln't notice it unless you peel back the gray foam filter ring (which I did).

It doesn't seem to let in any air because the hard pipe holds it in place.

I don't like the idea of those pieces possibly sucking into the engine. I think I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow and buy a 3" piece of hose to replace the valve until I find out if it can be repaired or replaced.



Does anyone know if there is a warranty on this part? I sent an email to AEM but no response yet.

Anyone else have this problem?

TIA

EricL

Call AEM.

In the meantime, you could just get a section of 3" hose and get that thing away from the engine where it could do some damage.

I still have my original AEM bypass in a box. I don't know if it's worth the time to sell it with shipping etc. I think it's a piece of junk (Attention: I own the device and tested it and I'm not impressed. It's just my opinion of it).

Here is something that I found and soopa said he's (1) using it, (2) found it first, or both 1 and 2. Check the thread and ask soopa if you are considering it.

This looks to be better built with a REAL frame made out of metal (not wimpy plastic).

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...ghlight=bypass



And, the link to their page -- again:

LINK: http://www.rtec-usa.com/home1.htm

EricL

You should see how it lets in TOO much air when its brand new and "working properly"

I tried sucking on the unit -- fresh out of its wrapper -- and could get the flaps to open with a slight inhalation (I was holding one end closed with my hand and breathing through the opposite opening.) I was dismayed to see so much air coming in with such little pressure differential. This means the unit will let in a TON of hot engine air under WOT.

Others have had the unit “come apart” – just say no!

JokerABC

Hmm, that design looks pretty good. I don't even fool with a bypass valve.

rdsandy

Hey EricL,

Thanks for the link. I just bought one. They look much better than the AEM plastic. Same concept as the AEM, so I don't even want AEM to fix or replace mine.

nvpscore

mine was broken too, my dealer that purchased and installed it for me, replaced it immediately and got pissed at AEM, was the 5th one they replaced that month, and it was only half way through the month. Its all covered under warranty. You may be even able to fight for the new metal ones.

Nick

Shawn S

Where did you buy it and how much ???

I didn’t see an area to buy from via the above link.

Thanks,
Shawn S

I am RobG

ok the bypass valve is a waste of 50$. A-your not gonna hydrolock your engine unless the cone is fully submerged in water. Even if its halfway underwater, it'll suck from the top half of the cone and the water will just sit in the bottom. B-They tend to blow up another reason why its useless. C-our intakes are on the drivers side so you dont even have to worry about puddles on the side's of the roads. D-our intake is in front of the wheel and above a splash guard so that also adds protection. Unless you drive in an area with 1-2 foot deep puddles, you dont need it.

Shawn S

Let’s not go down that road again.
If someone wants a bit of extra protection for their car then so be it.

I measured, and the tip of my filter is only about 9” off the ground so you definitely don’t need “2 foot puddles” to hydro-lock the car.

Shawn S

I am RobG

1-2ft puddles. your cone is 9" off the ground plus what the 6 inches for the cone so more than a foot.

rdsandy

The valve debate is mute for me. I already has my pipe cut so a valve is going in. I tend to agree with "I am Rob G" about the need, but if anything every happened to the engine, the first thing the dealer would be crying is that "you didn't have a bp valve, so you must have sucked up water", before even checking it out.

As to where to buy it Shawn,

check out,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...s&userid=ppi-r


$60 shipped.

Jens H.

Just my ten cents worth of experience.We have had a few customers who we will not name who have had the misfortune of replacing engines due to hydrolocking.Something importnt to remember here to all the doubters,an engine can cost you upwards of 5000 dollars!!!!.All tests ever performed on the AEM and similar valves have shown it costs less than a single horsepower!!!! The cost is about 50 dollars on average for this device.But hey it is your money and I can assure you the mechanic would like 5000 much more than 50.
Something else to consider.I am sure none of you would intentionally drive your cars through standing water.However it is that puddle around the sharp corner late at night in bad weather that you did not see that will be the one that will kill your expensive engine.If you think I am kidding I assure I am not.A friend blew his expensive fully built engine to bits late one night .He told me it was after a pretty good rainstorm,but the street drain was clogged and the puddle was around a sharp bend in the road.Before he could react he was through the puddle but his engine made ominous sounds thereafter.A subsequent teardown revealed the awful truth.No safety device is perfect but considering the alternatives I would advise you to install this thing.By the way I have one in my cars as well.Jens

Shawn S

Thanks for the backup Jens.

Obviously I wouldn’t INTENTIONALLY drive my car into a lake, but I still like the extra protection if I come across a deep area of water in a storm like described above.

Shawn S

PS… Thanks for the link rdsandy

Scrib

I'll certainly take a 50 dollar valve reducing HP by 1 versus a $5000 paper weight if the motor were to lock.

I am RobG

if i do hydrolock my engine, its getting flatbedded to my house and stock airbox is going back in and i'm going....i dunno what happened i hit a puddle and bam the engine stopped..sorry

Jens H.

Rob G
You ofcourse can try this approach but don't be surprised if you get caught.Dealers are always on the lookout for things for which there is no rhyme or reason and most of the time the culprit get's caught.By the way warranty fraud is crime as is insurance fraud.Most insurance companies will cover this sort of damage and this is how all the cars we have seen were repaired.Jens

I am RobG

well now that my plan has been exposed i probably will get caught. Otherwise my friend did that in his maxima and got a whole new engine. so can't hurt to try.

Shawn S

I’m definitely going to look into getting the bypass valve discussed above.
The AEM one I have on my Xephyr CAI is almost 2-years old and I’m starting to worry about it.
The foam on the outside is starting to get hard and I’m concerned it may start to ingest some if it’s called into play.
When I had it apart the other week for filter cleaning/charging it looked OK, but I’m still concerned.
The one above looks like it actually has a filter element in there so there’s no harm if it opens occasionally.

Shawn S

Jens H.

Never hurts to look Shawn.I like that metal oe,will have to talk to the powers that be to see if we can sell that one here as well.Jens

EricL

AEM tells different stories depending on who’s doing the talking….

The loss from turbulence is around 1-2 hp (no big deal -- right?)

To bad you lose more power from the flapper valves that open way too easily (Remember, I have one sitting here.)

What they don't tell you it how much hot air it sucks when the engine bay is very hot. The valve is open during WOT and dilutes the incoming air stream with hot air. I ran a temp test at one point and the temps in the area near the bypass were close to 200-degress on a 80- to 90-degree day.


I have the unit, so I have no stake or agenda in "selling" people on something else (I have the AEM CAI and the bypass is sitting in the box).. However, a 3" hose can be added during warm months to reduce the heat intake and power loss. IMO, AEM did a very poor job of designed the unit from a maintainability and flexibility standpoint.

If you notice, AEM does NOT publish the specs of their units with the bypass valve on. And, in a typical dyno setting, the hood is up and the hot air that would rise up and out would normally be trapped. The biggest impact on having the valve would be during an extended idle on a hot day or staging at the track with the under hood temps getting nice and toasty.

Also, interesting to note that people have "junked" (hydro locked) CLS’ with stock factory intakes!

EricL

Jens, I would hope you look into the unit. You guys seem to have a good nose for good products. The frame and design of the AEM unit is not up to spec and they still break and come apart.

What good is the bypass unit if it breaks and allows tons of dirty air to come into the engine? I'm not even mentioning the bits of plastic that would come flying into the engine.

They could have used an aluminum frame, like the other unit. And, if they were really clever, they could have designed the original unit to work with and without the bypass with no cutting. There are better ways to keep from ingesting "junk" into the engine via the bypass valve (long story).

EricL

It's more than 1 HP...

There are ways to deal with this...

See my postings near the end...

Ever wonder why AEM never shows dynos of their system with the unit?

And even if they did -- I could "rig" the experiment to show 1-2 HP loss or tons of loss...

rdsandy

Update on the RTC "bypass" valve.

As far as I can see this unit is NOT a bypass valve.

Unlike the AEM unit that has rubber flappers to not allow air through until a certain DP is acheived, this unit has no such animal. No matter how lame you think the AEM rubber flappers are, at least the intent is there to prevent leakage. There is no mechanism to prevent full flow through this valve.

It has a ss screen and a foam inner element, that's it.

To be fair, the unit was never advertised as a bypass valve, but the description of operation would lead you to beleive that it had the flappers.

"The ILAF is designed to take in large volumes of air with a sudden thrust of the gas pedal and will safely level off and switch to your standard air filter as you coast on the highway."


The word switch was what made me think this would be like the AEM bypass (with flappers).


Bottom line if you put this unit in, you probably negate the whole point of the CAI.

I'm going to call AEM and get my bkoken valve fixed or replaced.

The RTEC is my new paper weight.

Shawn S

Thanks for the update rdsandy.
Interesting observation. Glad I didn’t order mine yet.
I really don’t see what the need of this thing would be if it isn’t meant as a “BYPASS” though.

Just guessing here, but maybe the filter media is really restrictive whereas the primary cone filter will be the path of least resistance during normal driving.
When covered with water the air would be drawn through the upper filter instead.

I’m gonna research this more before I order. Let me know if you find any other info.

Shawn S

rdsandy

Shawn,


The filter media is not restrictive at all. It's basically the foam of the outer part of the AEM held in with SS screen.

This unit would definitely protect you from hydrolock, but so would a 1" hole drilled in the side of your intake pipe.




If you look at the ads and web page, you can see some bias towards "rice" in the true sense of the word. "Looks good but does it add any performance?".

BTW, I know you had mentioned an interest, that's why I wanted to get this post up ASAP.