it's a non issue UNLESS the driver is just stupid.....i have to travel roads that flood a lot....i'm normally on one side and have to get to the other....they normally get about 14-16" deep.....over my door sills......with my AEM CAI and bypass valve, i've treaded it 4 times.......all 4 times, the filter was submerged completely and the bypass valve had to open...you can tell by the sound.....nothing came of it......granted i wasn't running but 15mph or so, but hitting 1 foot of water at highway speeds will usually lead to hydroplaning, which should scare you more than hydrolock.....i've seen a ton of tests....a guy offered his pristine NSX up for that one where they submerged the filter in an aquarium of water then ran it up to 3500rpm.......the valve didn't allow the water to travel but a few inches up the pipe......and the NSX has more airflow than do any of the honda engines that will normally use it, b16, b18, h22a, etc.......stock anyway....

 

just installed my SRI and it sounds great and if there is any additional power, I really can't tell too much. There is a little kick though. I think an SRI is more for show and sound. I can get the CAI extension later on next spring

 

well in the end it's a non-issue for me (mostly) living in So. Cal but who knows, what can happen. how about we come to the consensus that if you're driving with a CAI in a rainy place and don't have a bypass valve, that you might want to reinstall the stock airbox for whatever seasons in which the rain comes fiercest.

 

Well to clarify just a tad.... we mean VERY heavy rain. Like an inch in 10mins heavy rain! :eek3:

This past summer has been just about the rainest season I've seen in PA since I've been living here (12years?). I have a CAI, I've gone through plenty of puddles and been in PLENTY of "heavy rain" situations. No problems.

Only time I ever got water in my engine was when I wasn't paying attention while hosing off my engine and just happened to have the highpressure pointed right at the sparkplugs for a good 15 seconds. Couple of cranks and letting it air out for 10mins and it was fine.

I was extremely worried about getting a CAI and having water get in, I'm glad I got it. I'm really not worried anymore. I see now the bypass valve is more hype than anything.

 

AEM cai adds atleast 5 hp...not 1 or 2. Short ram = crap and waste of money. Bypass valve = crap and waste of money. These DO NOT work unless the filter is completely submerged.

If u arent a complete moron, you wont hydrolock with a cai if ur carful when the roads are wet. Just use your head. Also a cai will benefit you car even more when you add a full custom exhaust (meaning header, midpipe, hi-flow cat, and catback pipe and muffler)

 

I'd consider a AEM CAI or an Iceman if you have a 5th gen. If yo buy the AEM I would simply make a cut about the area of a short ram and use another coupling to keep it attached. If it rains bad you can do what I do and keep a spare filter in the trunk and swap it to a short ram in minutes. I only do it a few times a year at the most but it's insurance to not waste a motor.

Oh yeah another option is a Type S intake with either a K&N or Spoon drop in filter.

 

type s intake is large though.....i know it won't fit on 4th gen accords that have ABS, but not sure about the ludes....

 

well, i'm sure no one intentionally drives into puddles, but visibility in rain isn't exactly "perfect." not to say that i've ever done it, but i'm not gonna be so bold as to say only morons get into accidents (any kind of accident) because that's just asking for it.

5whp from a CAI? hmm. that sounds more like a marketing department than dyno results...who knows maybe you're lucky.

 

If you are unsure about road conditions and wether or not u can safely travel a road (ie: avoid big puddles) then dont try.

As far as the hp gains. I received significant noticable gains from my AEM cai on both my Si and VTEC 4th gens. I don't have dyno's but AEM does. If those dyno's were faked, I beleive that someone would have sued them by now for false advertising.

 

i've noticed a difference too after installing my CAI, but w/o a dyno i'm hesitant to say how much of a difference. i'm sure it's not the "15 instant ponies" that most ads proclaim. at least not on an otherwise stock H22.

insofar as weather: it's unpredictable, and sometimes unfortunate things happen despite the precautions... the best laid plans of mice and men...

i'm not on a mission to discredit AEM or their CAI, i'm just posing a hypothetical and analyzing the risks of said scenario.