taken from personal experience the by pass is worth every penny i have one in my ride and its proven to be the best safety mod u can get. i've driven in some very poor areas where the water backs up and with my car so low i did get water in the pipe. my car started to make a werd swooshing would then a gurgling sound. i pulled ova and pop'd the hood the bypass was wet but that was about it. my filter was totally soaked. i made it home just fine w/o any worries. i even pop'd off the whole intake system to see if any water got passed the bypass valve and none did. if ur ride is low just get it cuz u never know where u gonna drive one day for me its everytime i drive out to 5town or far rockaway in queens for some1 else it could be outta state. just get it