17
Oct
This means that if you drive into a puddle on the side of the road that water can go into your wheel well and get sucked into your cold air intake which can also hydrolock your engine. On most systems the valve installs along the upper portion of the inlet pipe.
You would need to have the entire filter submerged in water for your intake to suck up anything air is lighter than water if its partially submerged youll still get air albeit a reduced amount.
Hydrolock cold air intake. By and large the most common cause of hydrolock engines is water entering the air intake. More specifically a cold air intake system that is immersed in water is the typical cause. Air can enter the intake on any engine though whether its from driving through water deeper than the intake or submerging a running engines air intake in water.
Ok a ton of people are using this hydrolock scenario as an argument against a cold air intake. There are several reasons why this is really not a concern at all and I just wanted to quell this little witch hunt with the facts. To create a hydrolock situation you need more than just a.
You really would have to drive thru standing water to suck up enough to hydro-lock the motor. Ive had cold air intakes on numerous cars including one where the filter was not protected by a splash shield and never had any issues. Just avoid standing water.
FYI the water does not have to be very deep. Cold air intakes typically dont have any protection from the outside elements and would allow any water in the engine bay to get sucked into the engine. Cold air intakes are also sometimes put in the wheel wells of cars so that they dont suck in the hot air in the engine bay.
This means that if you drive into a puddle on the side of the road that water can go into your wheel well and get sucked into your cold air intake which can also hydrolock your engine. Yes they can but only if you can manage to completely submerge the intake filter really. You can get a bypass filtration system in case the filter finds itself underwater.
In reality though a cold air will not see any gains in hp over a ram air setup. So you can always go that route if you see fit. Best of luck watch those puddles.
You would need to have the entire filter submerged in water for your intake to suck up anything air is lighter than water if its partially submerged youll still get air albeit a reduced amount. And if youre driving through puddles that deep regardless of intake a 4x4 is more your style. Chances are you will be fine with a cold air intake.
When the rain is heavy before you hit a deep puddle let off the gas and put the car in neutral. We dont have the room for a bypass valve if you are really worried go with a short ram intake. Also I have heard that a bypass valve slighty hurts performance but who knows.
Ive been wanting to get a cold air intake for my RSX Type S but the Injen intake goes down into the bumper. Ive heard stories about cold air intakes causing hydrolock but Im wondering how big of a risk it really is. I live in Alberta btw so we dont get much rain but we do get a lot of snow.
Some cold air intakes also convert into a short ram intake so if you are worried about hydro-lock we recommend to switch to a short ram intake during raining season or other conditions that may cause your air filter to be submerged in water or water splashed up on your air filter. Hydrolock most commonly occurs in automobiles when driving through floods either where the water is above the level of the air intake or the vehicles speed is excessive creating a tall bow wave. A vehicle fitted with a cold air intake mounted low on the vehicle will be especially vulnerable to hydrolocking when being driven through standing water or heavy precipitation.
Roto-molded cold air intake systems feature a high-density polyethylene intake tube paired with an oversized oiled cotton air filter and either a steel heat shield or enclosed HDPE air box. Lightweight highly heat-resistant and ideal for highly specialized tubing designs and an appearance closer to the OEM engine bay. After reduced fuel economy hydro-lock is the second most common complaint with aftermarket intakes.
The cold air intake that came with your car is the best you will find for under about 1000. AEM AIR BYPASS VALVE AEMs patented Air Bypass Valve virtually eliminates the chance of hydro-lock in the event the filter of your AEM intake becomes submerged in water. On most systems the valve installs along the upper portion of the inlet pipe.
It shuts down induction at the filter when it becomes submerged. Oh and hydrolock from deep standing water and puddles. And when you are moving slow or stopped you get more of that incredibly hot air steaming up from the hot pavement.
The factory ECU will compensate for the additional volumedensity of the air - any gain would be temporary. UNLESS you change the tune or settings of the ECU. Usually a cold air intake with an air box provides an adequate solution.
The air entering is cooler and the air box gives air that is too cool a chance to warm slightly before entering the motor. However for racing applications a straight cold air intake may work just as well and in areas of extremely low temperatures such as Alaska a warm air intake works best. This high quality Bypass Valve air filter helps your engine intake to have consistent air flow and prevent hydraulic-lock.
In many cases when driving under heavy rain or wet floor aftermarket cold air intake will sometimes absorb water into the filter. Then the filter will be unable to have air flow.