This was my chief concern with the bypass valve, why would cold air go through the trouble of come from the long end of the intake, if there was a much easier way through some simple foam in the middle of the pipe.

We do not experience much flood conditions for me to really be "scared" into installing one. Depending on how low your car is, I believe as long as you don't hammer the throttle through a standing 8-12 inches of water, I doubt hydrolock would be a very big risk.

Out of curiousity, where did you cut the intake piping to install your bypass? The farther away from the IM you install the "valve", the less of a short-ram effect you will get, however, at the same time, the more "risk" you are to hydrolock.

But really, if you are going to be in 3+ feet of standing water, I really doubt hydrolocking the engine will be the only thing at risk.

K&N has water "jackets" called "drychargers" that are designed for the filter element which can give you some protection against water entering your intake. However, again, with things like this, you are introducing less favorable intake flow, and serves to reduce/defeat the gains of a cold-air-intake.

I hope this helps.

(Cliff's Notes: the drycharger was originally designed for watercraft applications where K&N also offers performance filter elements for things like boats and seadoos.)