Hey guys I just installed a nismo CAI and apon further reading on the forums in regards to hydrolocking with an AEM intake...or any CAI for example hydrolocking is a realistic problem/

Now mind you, I do have the bypass valve on the nismo....how safe am I? is it basically bullet proof now?

Chris

 

from what ive read even that isnt enough. There was a guy on here that got hydrolocked in the rain with the nismo cai and bypass.

 

CRAP- that scares the isht out of me, how big is the risk? should I just use the piping as a short ram instead? mount the filter on the end of the top tube were the bypass is now? how would that affect the sound/performance fof it?

Chris

 

No bypasses can change the fact that all CAI's have a greater chance of hydrolocking. When winter rolls around, just swap in your stock intake or short-ram piping....all it takes is 10 minutes

 

I know it's possible to hydrolock with or without the bypass. That being said, I have an aem cai without the bypass and have been fine for a while now (approx. 3 years). I have driven in extremely heavy rain to the point where I'm ramming into puddles and my windsheild wipers can't move fast enough to provide a visible windsheild. I was worried at one point but haven't had the slightest problem yet so I'd say you're pretty damn safe with the bypass. My car is pretty low (on coils) and the front portion of my undercarriage protector, the part that goes from the front most bolts to the bumper, has been chopped off by me (for body kit reasons). I also have a jp type n front bumper and my cai cone is exposed behind a huge hole in the bumper... So I'm pretty exposed to any water on the road or in the air...

 

I drove around in the nismo w/o the bypass and it was fine. I didn't go through flooded areas but I was in somw pretty extreme downpours.

That being said, I forsee getting into trouble if I was in a flooded area, but then again, I don't take those types of risk with my Z.

 

This is an old topic.

To sum it up, unless you submerge the filter in a large puddle of standing water, you're fine. most filters don't allow water through the element at all with just drops sprayed on it. If you have your fender splash shield liner still on the car, don't worry about unless you come to a flooded intersection or something like that. It's not a huge issue to be honest, and although there are horror stories out there 99% of them are due to being silly in wet conditions, not having splash shields installed etc... And in any case, you SHOULD NOT be driving through flooded intersections anyway! lol.

 

It takes more than you think to hydrolock a motor. I have the Injen dual intakes and with my amuse bumper they hang down into the opening about 1/2 inch. And I live in FL so I have driving through a TON of rain over the last few months and I am fine. I have even felt the filters after driving in the rain and they are wet to the touch. You literally have to submerge the filter and rev hard enough to suck water through the filter and up the intake pipe to the motor. If you are that worried about it then switch to a SRI.