I just wanted to get some input on the AEM water bypass, because I have it and it doesnt work at all for me and I wanted to know if anyone else had it or if anyone knows that is just garbage?

 

how do you know it doesn't work? did your car stall out after driving in the rain?

 

When I was NA I had one on my car for over two years without any issues, with the Nismo CAI.

Then again I never submarine'ed my car either, so I guess I didn't test it... lol

 

CAIs don't seem to do well with Zs regardless.

 

if youre worried about sucking up water dont buy a CAI

 

the water bypass valve in an ingenious invention that will save your engine should your filter ever be submerged in water. it is far from garbage. how can you even tell it is not working? what do you expect it to do... what are you talking about...?

a reference:

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/te...lve/index.html

 

My CAI is right up against my front bumper, it rained today before i went to work and the filter got wet. When i started my car it immediately stalled out due to the filter being wet, and i thought if it got wet the water bypass was saposed to let air in so it wouldnt stall out. I thouhgt that was the entire point of the water bypass. Maybe mine just sucks.

 

Just looked at your reference. I guess it does save your engine from a huge puddle or if you feel like driving into a pool but when my **** gets wet it still stalls out untill it drys itself out. I guess i was just looking for a way around this.

 

It happens more then you would ever imagine, especially with these superlow CAI's. I bought a hydrolocked VQ shortblock off ebay way back when. I know a local who hydrolocked his engine as well. **** happens, as they say.

And yes, the water BPV does nothing for you unless your filter is submerged, in which case it provides a path of less resistance for air to flow and prevents your engine from taking a big drink.

 

Well i guess im going to have to cut my CIA in half because it gets wet way to easily.

 

you obviously have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. first of all, if you have all of the liners in place, your filter should not be getting wet, unless you are driving through pools of water.

even if it hypothetically did get wet, it is not going to make your car stall out. having a wet filter would be like driving in a really humid environment. it is not going to cause hydrolocking. the filter will NOT suck any significant amount of water unless the filter is COMPLETELY submerged, and that is when the by-pass valve would open its gills and prevent water from being sucked up into the engine. read the article and understand what you are talking about before making assumptions.

 

Get one of these instead. The box is only open to outside air, partly re-using the OEM ductwork (which is pretty darn good to start with). Unlike the JWT, this is not significantly open to any warm air, and I don't have to dry it off or worry about sucking a pond of water. I'd have to sink the front end to the hood to do so, in which case I'd have more problems

 

+1, if you are really that worried about it, don't get a CAI. but don't call the water bypass valve garbage because it was designed and tested by someone that knows more than you do. if someone is willing to submerge the filter of their NSX in order to prove its effectiveness, than i am sure it is a quality product. i love my Nismo CAI and i am confident that it will not cause my engine to hydrolock. however, i do take precautions in order to ensure the safety of my engine, you just have to be smart about it.

 

i think what happened to you is what they have been saying. you thought the Z was thirsty and gave her a drink.

there is hope however..............check your MAF as sometimes that is the problem right there. take your intake apart and see if it is wet inside. if it is check the throttlebody..........if your throttle body isn't and you are a praying man then just let your CAI dry out clean and dry the filter and replace the MAF and you should be good.

otherwise you might turn from a praying man to a paying one...........Good Luck

 

I have seen a lot of hydrolocked motors from sucking water up into CAI's. The problem was SO widespread that AEM came up with the by-pass filter to stop the sales of their all important CAI from dropping to nothing, which was what was happening.

Having worked in a high end performance shop as a mechanic for a few years between my stints in high finance banking I changed a number of motors in cars what were hydrolocked from CAI's. You do need to hit a large puddle of water, but thats all it takes. If there is standing water in the road and a car hits it causing a wave to hit your car (we have all had this happen when a big splash of water hits your windshield and your blind for a second before the wipers clear it) if that wave hits your air filter in the CAI that would be more than enough to hydrolock your motor. Hitting a deep puddle and splashing a lot of water on the filter in a short period of time is also enough. Remember the combustion chamber at TDC is not very large, about 55-60cc on the VQ35, so 65cc of water would be enough to hydrolock the engine as water does not compress at all.

65cc of water is not very much at all, mind you that needs to be pulled into one cylinder in one combustion cycle but still it happens and quite often. Most motors had bent rods as the amount of water was not enough to break the rod, but many of them were pretty wildly bent and the cylinder walls scratched pretty bad. Worst case the rods broke and trashed the block. I still have a few of the rods kicking around with big bends in them, I never threw them out cause I thought they were odd looking.

 

i remember seeing a video clip of the AEM bypass gimic. It seemed to work, they submerged the filter and water sucked up the clear tube and exited the bypass filter like a waterfall. never seen it tested in person, but it seemed to work better than not having one.

If it will save your car in a sticky situation or not is another story, probably worth what it costs in peace of mind though.