my injen cai came in today and i was wondering. when you install the injen cai the head filter is right behind te grill on the right side. well once you have it in, and lets say it rains and the car in front is splashing alot of water, wouldnt that suck in the water? can anyone answer this question?

 

yes it could.
sigh...https://my350z.com/forum/search.php

 

there have been people who have driven it in the rain and have had nothing bad happen. i think it was during october, we had a real bad thunderstorm and i drove an hr and a half to get home...the filter was soaked but i pulled the filter off and the inside of the lower tube was dry(go figure)...needless to say, i ended up taking the lower tubing off and currently run it as a popcharger. i was always worrying about the rain hydrolocking my engine.

 

I have driven in the rain so it is safe. Just make sure you avoid large puddles like the plague.

 

I drove my Prelude with Cold air for 4 years and now I've had the Injen Cold air on my Z for 4 months, numerous rain storms (It's FL) and haven't even gotten close submerging the intake. In order to do damage you have to sink the filter in a puddle and let it sit there long enough to pull water into the engine. Just beware of puddles and you will be just fine.

 

That is why I went with the NISMO CAI...it has a water diverter.

 

I actually submerged the filter ALL the way in a big storm in jersey a few months ago in the Z. Car shut off, ALL the warning lights came on, wouldn't start for like 5-10 minutes. after it started back up, the engine sounded all funny and i thought i was screwed. the check engine light and VDC-OFF / SLIP stayed on the whole time. The next day, all the lights went off except for the CEL. I reset the battery and voila, all lights went away. Car drove fine afterwards. If i could submerge the filter (not recommended though) and still have the car running perfectly, a little rain will not harm it whatsoever. The oil on the filter would block the water from entering the piping i'd assume. Also there is a long way to travel for the water to actually reach the engine bay, so your risk is minimal. Just be prepared to clean or replace the filter after 15k miles in the northeast, mine was absolutely disgusting when i finally replaced it.

 

a small amount of water wont kill the engine; I mean a few drops; 10ml at most probably; so any minute amounts of water that do manage to get up there; and through the tube; into the plenum and dont evaporate into the air by then; will get evaporated instantly on detonation; and be fine.

the problem comes when you suck up ALOT of water; something which would require the filter to be atleast mostly submerged(not splashed; SUBMERGED, as in you just drove through 6-9inches of water.) then your screwed.

Ive never once heard a hydrolock story where the guy didnt say he drove through a huge puddle. a little common sense goes a long way; the filter is on the drivers side away from the side of the road where the deepest spots of the puddles always are.