I've been reading about the possible danger of hydrolocking of the engine and such...

And being in CA, with little rain, it's not much of a big deal. However, I'm contemplating whether or not I should install the CAI... because so many people here write that the gains are minimal.

My Z is my only car, so if we do happen to have some rain... will I have to sit out and get a ride?

Sorry for the newb question.

 

From what I hear, the filter has to be submerged in water to actually be hydrolocked. I could be wrong. And the filter is right where the front air dam is, so that should be high enough to be out of harm's way. If I'm wrong, someone please let me know.

 

Your car would basically have to be submerged in order to get enough water in there to hydrolock. The intake piping goes up from the front bumper area so even if water splashes in there, it's very unlikely that it'll make it's way all the way into the engine, and the engine can take a little water, just not a lot, heh. You'll be fine, just don't drive fast through any deep puddles, and definitely don't drive through any puddles that are deep enough that the air filter would be under water.

-Sean

 

So... I'm not in danger as long as it's not too deep? Rain is okay? I guess I'm not too sure how much water will negatively affect the engine. I've read that if the intake is submerged in water, then it'll damage the engine. However, my thought was that maybe even a couple drops of water is bad for the engine, but it's just not enough to damage the engine???

Gosh, I am such a newb!!!

Oh, and do you need to take any special precautions when washing the car, besides not spraying water directly into the CAI?

 

I was at Torrance nissan today. Some poor guy had his Z all torn apart. Remember the scene from Risky Business when the Porsche dealer asks, "so, who's the U-Boat commander?" Well, apparently this Z was submerged, probably during the recent flash flood.

Bullish, you should ask Zxsaint about his experience with the Injen. My guess, I wouldn't worry about it unless you're going in seriously deep water that you have no business being in.

 

Well, I know Patric has the AEM CAI, and the INJEN one is positioned lower than the AEM, isn't it?

Oh, and I'm not too worried about deep puddles or anything... but since this is my only car, I'm just paranoid... Don't want to have a rain storm come, and be stuck at home because I can't drive my Z!

 

I've had two friends hydrolock engines with open-element air filter systems - one 300ZX TT and one Camaro Z28. Both nosed into deep puddles at intersections during heavy rain. Stay clear of standing water and you shouldn't have trouble.

 

You're not going to hurt your engine by getting a couple drops of water in there, it takes a fair amount of water. But as far as I know, your engine is basically toast if you manage to hydrolock.

-Sean

 

I installed my Injen CAI a few weeks ago, and I really like the sound improvement. Performance improvement is minimal at best
(I mean honestly, I can't feel 3-5 hp, can you!?).

A friend of mine's dad who works as a ferrari mechanic told me that the best thing to do if I somehow submerge the front end of my car in water is to immediately turn off the engine. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, if I am in 8" of standing water - kill the engine and push the car out of the puddle. There is very little damage that will occur in a split second of water entry, but you abso-freakin-loutely must kill the engine.

Not a whole lot of flooding going on in Long Beach. I figure I'm okay.

Good luck Bullish.

 

That was my Z you saw at torrance nissan.

 

Please describe what happened!

 

easy answer bullish... just buy a bypass for a few bucks and you're good. you can pick one up almost anywhere (I'm pretty sure the bypass fits AEM and Injen) and just have them throw it on when you put your CAI on. then if you go through water, no problem.

there's also quite a bit of discussion (or there used to be) on this forum about hydrolock. do a search. it was helpful for me cause I'm paranoid as hell too.

 

Oh geeze, so sorry man. Hope it comes together for you.

 

Actually, I read a couple posts already on the forum that the AEM bypass does not fit the Injen...

Sux.

 

You can also disconnect the upper part of the intake from the lower part (the part that is attached to the filter) i think you can even attach the filter to the top part of the intake as a short ram, i remember reading of a member who did this, can't remember who though..

DC- Long Beach has some crazy flood areas.. be careful! Especially by Beverly Plaza and parts of Anaheim, in the ghetto!

 

Sup LBC TRD... good to hear from you. It's been awhile since I bought those 18" wheels from ya.

If I make the intake a short-ram... I'm assuming I won't get as much power. Right? Do you have the traditional set-up, or did you short-ram as well?

 

BullishZ- How are the wheels working out? Did you ever get those wheels powder coated?

Yeah you wont get as much power since it's just a short ram, but when its raining its a much safer alternative since you probably wont need the extra couple of HP in the rain anyways.. and then when the weather improves just hook it back up to normal.. i've never used it as a short ram, but i remember hearing of some members who were a while ago.. i wouldnt think that so cal would get too bad for it to be that big of a problem

 

I researched the whole powder-coating process... and it's just too much of a pain. I'll just ride these out until the tires get thin, and get some aftermarket wheels.

I agree that we probably have the least risk of hydrolock damage, since we are in So. Cali... I think I'll just install it traditionally.

 

If you are truly worried about this mod, your best bet is to bypass this option. I can see you sweatin' during the next rainfall that occurs in your area... especially since you proclaimed that you are paranoid, as am I (Asians in general tend to err on the paranoid/conservative side of things).

I've already had my bad CAI experience with hydrolock on my old Civ, thus no CAI for my Z. But I am toying with the idea of the new K&N offering (forgot the name, but Jason@performance just reviewed it recently) or a Gruppe-S intake.

 

Injen CAI has been removed. OEM "Air Intake" back on using Injen chrome tube. Had to cut 1" off lower end of tube. Using K&N filter.