Yesterday, I had to travel back and forth from NYC to NJ with all the heavy rain. I had to go through at least 10 puddles of water. Everytime I go through I pray to God that I don't get stuck. When I arrived home, I opened the hood and touch the tube and air filter of my AEM intake and it was soaking wet. But surprisingly the bypass was still dry. :wow: I think the 40 dollar investment is definitely worth it.

 

mine's always soaking wet...........and no bypass valve. i think the TL has a benefit cause where the filter sits, its enclosed. other cars dont have it closed off like that. and i think u have to sit in a puddle and have the whole filter submerged to suck up water

 

Wouldn't taht suggest then that the water never even reached the bypass valve? Because if it did, the foam should have been soaked also.

 

I drove home from the South Bronx yesterday and ran my car right through what seemed like a moat to get on the pkwy...I don't have the bypass valve and my car is running fine.

 

I remember NSXNEXT had to go through a big puddle of water. And when he checked his car. His Bypass valve was actually soaking wet.

Everytime I drive in rain, my filter is always dripping wet.

 

Yup, I see it as a $40 insurance policy. Maybe it's all in my head, but to me it's worth every penny.

 

If it was installed properly and was far enough from the filter head then it shouldn't. Either way, I still stand by my statement that if you are going to bypass a CAI, that you should really just have a Short Ram to keep your engine cleaner.

 

not to burst anyones bubble, but i think, and again i state i THINK that the bypass valve is a waste of money....if anyone has ever experimented with this.....you will know what im talking about...the bypass is ONLY useful when you put the WHOLE filter under water.....you can turn on your engine and spray the filter as long as you want with the engine runnin and chances are you will get VERY LIL water in the engine but that DOESNT do anything .....water is boiled in the combustion process and is turned into steam a compressable gas......only way to hydro lock an engine is to fill the cylinder with complete water on its compression stroke.....even in the heaviest of rain in any state you can drive with the cai in the conceled space the tl has and be fine.....only problem is if you hit a puddle hard enough and totally dump a filter in a lake...or something like it

 

 

Not to add fuel to the fire...but my beef is NOT with the idea behind the bypass...but how poorly it works. If it worked perfectly...as in the valves opened ONLY when they are supposed to, then I'll think about it (although you'll still have negative performance issues).

Problem is they don't work 100% work as advertised, and prematurely lets unfiltered hot air in (which is exactly what you don't want in the 1st place). The sad part is that it's only one of the many other design issues that needs to be addressed before I even think about getting one myself.

I hate to be a broken record...but if you want an intake and not worry about hydrolocking...then what you are really looking for is a Short Ram.

 

now im new to this so wats the performance and other differences (significant) between the short ram intake and the regular CAI?

 

Sounds like a SEARCH is in order. But to get you started...

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ight=short+raM

 

I just had my CAI installed about 2 months ago now. Everyone told me to get a bypass valve but I didn't listen to them. I really thought it was a waste of money. For New Years I drove from Long Island, New York to Atlantic City, New Jersey... when I was driving back home it started to rain furiously. I mean it was really raining hard, as I was driving it felt as if the whole highway was a huge puddle. I drove through many big puddles so I decided to pull over and check on my filter. But guess what guys...

A Bypass Valve is a waste of money... My car survived a 3 hour drive through what was one hell of a storm... Now i know not to be so afraid to drive in the rain...

Anywayz... doesn't a bypass valve bring down your performance.

 

I understand that some people choose to not install a by-pass valve... but I'm not sure how said people can say it's a waste of money. It's a $40 part. A $40 insurance policy which protects a $6500+ engine. So you sacrifice $40 and maybe 1/2hp. Big deal. All you need is that one puddle or one soaking splash to get water in your engine and you're done. Everyone makes it sound like the by-pass costs $100+ and you loose 7 of the 8hp you gain from a CAI. Personally, I'd rather be safe then sorry.

 

It would be interesting to see a dyno between a bypass valved CAI and a non bypass valved CAI to see how much hp is loss. Personally depsite not having a bypass, I am still scared of hydrolocking. I think I'm gonna switch to the CT icebox when it comes out. Reason for me not putting on a bypass valve is that I didn't want to lose the hp and second I read the tests that Sports Car Compact did in which they submerged the entire filter. While proving that the bypass valve does work, it doesn't prove anything in real world conditions.

 

My point exactly...then why NOT a short ram instead? As I posted above...I have no beef with the idea behind the design...but the execution in real world conditions (valves opening prematurely for instance). Of all senior members on this board, I would of assumed you have read many of EricL's posts on the subject.

P.S. (not directed to you juniorbean)
Why does it seem that most bypass users chant the benefits of it like a mantra, yet totally ignore the possible side effects that it can have?

Would I recommend a bypass? No. Would I even recommend a CAI setup for most users? No. Although I have a CAI setup myself, I think for future cars, I wouldn't install an intake setup unless I can visually inspect the filter media through the engine bay for proper maintenance.

 

I have the bypass valve and very happy with it.

 

I heard that the bypass valve robbes power Is that true?

 

Well, on the argument of short/full CAI the only problem with short is that it is sucking hot engine compartment air, and it is really loud. So my question would be why short ram at all?

 

Because essentially that's what you're getting if you install a bypass to a CAI, but worse. AEM states that an addition of a bypass valve robs power (in an ideal situation), but the main consern should not be from the loss of power, but of the valves opening up prematurely.

There has been many debates about performances of CAI vs short ram and that the main benefits of the CAI is launching from a stop (since no moving air is going through the engine). Installing a bypass adds "turbulence" on the pipe (even the stock accordian intake adds turbulence...that's why pipes should be smooth...and that's why GOOD filter heads have velocity stacks vs generic ones that doesnt), which essentially lowers the volume of air going in, and further minimizing the performance differences of a CAI vs a Short Ram.

What does this mean in a real world scenario? In the end what you are left with is a short ram that doesn't properly filter out "dirty" air. You can't honestly tell me that the foam filter is 100% effective, since to even be considered as a real filter, it must be properly oiled and checked, and even so, I'm almost 100% certain that it cannot even come close to matching the filtration performance of the main head.

As I've said over and over in other posts...If you are worried about hydrolocking in the first place, you might as well install a short ram instead so you can at least have proper filtration. If a short ram is too loud for your taste, then add an inclosure and make it into a custom icebox (or buy the real one). Either way...CAI should be reserved for enthusiasts that knows all the do's and don'ts. If you have any doubt...then a CAI is not right for you.

 

Yup, so you pretty much proved my question, why short ram at all... either do full CAI or not.

Good points about the smooth pipes.

 

FULL CAI meaning just that...no bypass valves.

 

Let's just clarify a few things so I don't come off sounding like a jerk in my last post.

Imagine yourself as an IT manager...except instead of managing the company network & computers, you are managing a fleet of cars. Just like in the IT industry, there will always be individuals that just doesn't know any better. The engineers can take care of themselves most of the time, but it is the marketing/finace people that worry you, since they produce the most amount of trouble tickets (no offense to those in that field...but it's true).

Now take someone that has NO clue when it comes to cars. They ask for advice on what is the easiest way to increase performance that is also the best bang for the buck. This scenario happens to me all the time, problem is that when something goes wrong...sure enough YOU will be the main person they go to. You can warn them all you want, tell them the do's and don'ts, but as I said before...there will always be people out there that just can't listen and break things from improper maintenance because they just happen to "forget".

Would I recommend a CAI to this type of person? HELL NO. How about a CAI with a bypass? :wow: EVEN worse, since more things CAN go wrong...from dirty engines (from improper bypass filtration), to pieces of plastic finding its way to the throttle body from improper installation (ever heard of the thrase "keeping it simple"). Some of these people I can't even trust to properly change their oil at the right inteval, not alone instruct them how to remove/reoil the filter head after 15k or so miles later.

Not to come off as a jerk...but if newbs even have to ask "what type of intake"...then you KNOW a CAI is not for them. As a responsible IT-Manager...your job is to not only to find ways to increase office productivity, but to often times protect them from themselves.