Hydrolocking from cai's on HR motor
 

I have been thinking about getting cai's but im a bit worried about hydrolocking, can someone give me some info on this? The cai's i have been thinking about getting are Injen's

Heres the way i look at it: hydrolocking from a CAI doesnt happen that often, but is the extra 2 or 3 horsepower worth the the small chance that it will happen?

Well put Mike.

If you typically drive through water that is several feet deep, I would suggest that you steer away from the intakes.

I agree, if you live in an area with that type of water problem, I would stick to these:

The filters are located above the opening in the front bumper. You would have to sit in a 2-3 foot puddle to suck in water. I have been driving my car through all of the rain in FL over the past few months and its fine.

edit.. hyrdro lock happens.. read below posts lol

The way i see it is CAI's don't have any advantage over a short ram intake other than torque.

CAI's create a small bit more amount of torque compared to short ram intakes..

but on the other ram air style intakes will have a better hp increase at higher rpms compared to a CAI

we all know the 350z doesn't really gain that much power from an intake filter.. so why spend so much money on it..

The fact that a ram air style intake is much easier to assemble and disassemble is another reason why a CAI isn't really a good idea..

so the question is.. when comparing a CAI to a Ram air intake

if it cost more money, takes more time to install and clean, and doesn't give a higher horsepower rating.. why would you even want one

The only advantage a CAI has is a slight increase in torque

It happened to me. Parking lots are the worse. Plus i was living on an island with tropical weather. Hit a one foot or less puddle and the engine died. Injen CAI FTL luckily no engine damage just need new plugs. Honestly the CAI sounds cool but other than that it actually seemed to make me loose low end power. VQ engine BTW.

Other than that the inside of my plenum/throttle body looked like azz after running the injen for a year. I wouldn't suggest cone filters if there so much more effective why are they not OEM? I mean look at our stock airbox its not a cheap design like some I have seen.

i will never own a cai again.

Long story short:

-Cruising
-All of a sudden flash flood
-Cruising up hill
-Hill turned into a river
-Water though CAI

wait.....

i didnt hydrolock, granted i hit 6k trying to get out of the stalling engine.

BUT i did suck up enough cool water to touch my hot head and warped many many valves. Jumped time. Motor siezed. Screwed car. Cost more then it was worth to fix.

How i have z and couldn't be happier

I had an Injen CAI in my Z for 4 years. Not a single problem and live in Puerto Rico, here rains frequently my Z was daily driven 70miles round trip with it and the Injen sits low in the grille exposed. My Z has the engine plastic under tray I guess it helped a little but is a matter of taking care when driving in the rain.
A coworker on the other hand had a CAI on an Altima and in our parking lot his car shut down (I saw it and he though he has a submarine in the way he was driving) luckily for him it was a matter of taking the sparks draining the water and changing oil.

But as stated;

Is it worth the risk for a couple of horses?

I latter changed to a stock box/K&N drop in and bumper duct and power difference felt was -0- ,as matter of fact I felt better throttle response with the stock box.

Most agree stock box is the best...

Thanks for all the info :)

You won't hydrolock the car driving in heavy rain.

You will hydrolock it due to driving through a big-ass puddle you didn't see caused by the heavy rain.

The extra HP is not worth the peace of mind.

Lol the chances of it happening are so slim, it doesn't even warrant discussion unless you live in a flood prone area. Like someone said earlier, even the CAI's in the Z sit 2-3 feet off the ground and you'd have to drive through a small pond to have it happen. Water splashing on the intake filter isn't going to hydrolock your motor...

go for k&n drop in filters......about $110-$120 or so for both...

as opposed to $350 - $400 for aftermarket intakes....+ keep warrenty

Fix'ed.

DO NOT use K&N crap filters. Get ones that you don't need to oil. The AMSOIL filters have a better flow rate & catch more debris.

I've had an injen cai for abuot two years just bought a k&n sock that goes over the filter and bam!! issue gone But a also live in sunny cali:cool: But i mean it looks good and sounds great but its up to you bud:thumbup:

if you get a bypass valve for your cold air intake you wouldnt have a problem with hydrolocking...aem sells them.

the intake has to be submersed in water to hydrolock. Small amounts of water won't hurt...just think of a water injection system on cars.

I drove for 6+ years with a CAI on my accord that sat only 5" off the ground. I live in the country on dirt roads, indiana snow and hella rain in the spring. Never had a problem and put 287k miles on that car. (over 100k on that cai)