I am not trying to bash or anything, but IMO, I think that the bypass valve is a waste of money. Scare tactics work wonders on consumers. If your car is so far into water that the water is up to the bypass valve, your car is screwed with or without the bypass valve. I used to have one myself and regret doing it. When I got my Z, I definitely chose not to get the bypass valve when installing my Injen CAI.

 

Actually, bypass valves came about because of the fact that people had hydrolocked their engines in very wet conditions with a CAI. It does not have to get submerged in water for this to happen. If water splashing from your tires or someone elses was injested that could potentially be allot of water. You would be surprised the small amount of water it would take to hydrolock a small engine. The bigger the engine the more water it would take for this to happen. Personally I would take the risk too. If I had a 4 cyl with a CAI I would think hard about it, but you don't hear about it happening often enough for me to really worry about it. If you live in a rainy climate or one that tends to see large amounts of rainfall in a short period of time quite often then maybe it is a good safety measure.
My 2 cents,
Tony

 

I wouldn't buy one without it. I had a AEM CAI on my old SI and I was always paranoid. It might not happen often but it has happened and I would n't want to risk my engine.

 

why not just get it? It doesn't hurt performance to have it and it is a good insurance measure for your engine just in case you get a lot of water in the filter...

that's just my 2 rubles...

 

I agree. IMO, it's a waste of money. To hydrolock your engine you either need to have it way submerged (read: flood) to enough of a vacuum so you engine just doesnt stall, or just be a complete idiot.

 

thanks for the info on the by pass valve but where car i get one at?