Ted954

Hi,
I'm very new here, and I wasn't sure where this thread should go. Two days ago, I installed a Cold Air Intake on my new CL Type S. The installation went smooth. No problems.

The cone air filter sits horizontally behind the fake air intake where fog light used to go (they don't have them in the '03s). Acutally the filter is protected from all sides, but it certainly isn't sealed in. That's where my concern comes in.... What about water, rain, etc? Doesn't that get sucked up into the engine?

I know about the valve that can be installed, but isn't that only good when the intake is actually submerged? I'm concerned with plain old rain splash and regular puddles.

Does anyone have experience with this? Should I be concerned? I live in South Florida, and though we don't have snow, it does rain quite often. I'd appreciate anyone's help and advice. Thanks, Ted PS.... have I voided my warranty?

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I'm going to move this to car talk since it's really not a Comptech part you're referring to.

To answer your question, the simple answer is that you can buy an AEM by-pass valve which will prevent water from being sucked up into your engine.

In reality, the odds of getting watered sucked up are very low. The filter would have to be completely submerged for that to happen... and if that was the case and the water was that high you'd probably have other things to worry about .

For $45 you can get piece of mind. If you asked 100 people on this board if you should get one... half will say yes, half would say no. Personally I did just for the extra protection.

As for the warranty, you did not void anything. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act say in part that the dealer would have to prove, without a doubt, that the warranty in question caused the failure. So if you were having tranny problems, they couldn't blame it on the intake. If you had water in your engine.. then maybe they could .

Scrib

When I bought my AEM CAI, I installed the bypass filter. Then it broke, which didn't make me too happy. So I just connected the two CAI pieces with a silicone hose connector.

Having had the bypass and now not having it, I don't really see a point in having it. As JB said, the chances of sucking water is extremely low. You'd have to drive through a lake or something. I've cleaned the CAI filter once and it wasn't dirty at all. What does that mean???

The filter is tucked in really well in the bumper, really protecting it from the elements. While the CAI may get "wet" it's not a concern that your engine will be damaged.

I dunno... The bypass is a cheap POS if you ask me and while yeah, it's functional design seems good, it's not really something I'd trust in terms of durability. It has been proven to stop water from entering the motor, but you really gotta be a dumbass to submerge the WHOLE bumper of your car to suck water in.

I'd pass, but that's just me.

Just my $0.02

spdy0001

Actually the bypass doesn't work unit the whole filter becomes submerged, at which time since it can no longer suck air from the filter it gets it from the bypass valve.

Think of your motor as a large vacume cleaner so during light rain you can drive your car normally but under high rain if you keep your revs low then you can prevent water getting sucked in because not much vaccum is being created.