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Does the bypass valve only come into play when the filter is submerged in water? If you drove through a puddle and water splashed onto the filter, would the bypass valve be needed for that as well?

I'm curious cause I live in Seattle and it rains a ton here. I will probably never get stuck in a situation where I will submerge the filter in water but there is a good chance I will drive through some puddles. Is the bypass valve necessary/helpful for that or can water even reach the filter if you drive through a puddle? My car is at stock height with stock tires btw.

I want to drop it eventually so will lowering your car effect how the water reaches the filter (if it can reach it at all)?

I want to pick up a CAI soon but I wanted to know the answers to these questions first. If you could let me know what you think or let me know of any experiences you've had I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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CAI sit down by your bumper so water will get into your intake if you hit a puddle of something, and the bypass valve keeps the water out, unless you want water in your engine...... but ya and if you lower it , you will need the valve , but you should be ok at stock height for a little bit, but when you drop it , you will need it

 
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i recommend the bypass valve for ALL cold air intakes regardless of where your at.

 
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I'd say just keep the filter oiled a lot, that should keep splashes of water out. I'm not sure $45 for a bypass valve is worth it, besides I thought there was a post about AEM recalling them, i could be wrong. anyhow i live in new england and have had mine CAI for a year now with no problems.

 
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I'm currently living in an area where drought is the 2nd worst in history. CAI bypass for what? Water? WTF is water?

 
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Thanks guys for you thoughts!

There was a recall about a year ago I think. They fixed the problem though so all the ones you buy now will not be defective.

Sweet, looks like I'll pick up a CAI with the bypass valve then. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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Yes the bypass valve is a life saver. Its rained 5 inches in 2 hours saturday night and cars were stuck everywhere in Birmingham. That was the deepest water I have ever had the ol civic in. Without the valve i'd be stuck with a bent rod in the rain.

 
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hahah texas is droughty sometimes, but when it rains , IT RAINS!!!!!!

 
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We've had drought conditions for about 4 years now. I've driven in 1 occasion with absolute downpour and minor flash flood (same storm) and nothing happend. I heard that the bypass valve actually decreases what little horsepower you get out of it.

 
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the bypass valve only works if you submerge the filter will not protect against splashes but if you keep the filter oiled and dont try to go through any deep puddles you SHOULD be ok[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG] or you can just be reall safe and get sri!

 
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how?

 
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I read it in a magazine, Honda Tuning or something. If I knew how I would've mentioned it [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG]

 
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Here's what I say....air bypass valve is a big joke! It only works if your filter is submerged which well if your dumb enough to submerge your filter in water (persay driving through water covered roads) then you deserve to get water in your engine! The other thing about how everyone worries so much is splashing water. Most if not all the water will just soak into the filter and go nowhere. A little tiny bit of water isn't going to hurt anything if it even gets all the way up there. It's just a gimic to make people buy to feel safer just like stock car alarms on most cars. If your really that worried about it don't drive in the rain and if you have to and its bad then just keep your RPMS low and never just pound on the gas. Thats really all there is to it because that bypass valve is not going to do a thing.

 
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the bypass valve only works if the pressure in the tube changes i.e. total submerssion i though

 
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Oh, ok. So that's what I thought, only when it is completely submerged in water. Splashing water on it won't change the pressure. Gotcha!

Maybe I'll just go SRI if I'm that worried about it.

There isn't a huge performance difference between the CAI and the SRI, is there?

 
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What Runaway Soul said about losing hp power is right. If you buy one, it decreases some of the horses you gain...i'm currently thinking about buying one but on the other hand i might not drive at all on really rainy days because i want to keep the HP i gained and for $45.00 isn't quite worth it. I have AEM cold air and live in Sac, CA.

 
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[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]

 
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Ok here's the deal with the bypass valve. It's pointless I had an AEM CAI and it rains hard in IN when I first got it I had the bypass valve on it and it was good one time when I was stupid and just didn't avoid a puddle, but now that I know what to look for ie big puddles in the street you just avoid them even if that means taking a side road.

As for the performance issue the dyno tests show on our car that without the bypass valve you can get around 5 hp not whp just hp, but with the bypass valve in and depending on where in your intake you place it you will only get 2hp. so basically you're paying 250 bucks to get 2hp and be safe or account for stupid moments or pay 200 and get 5 and just have to drive a little more careful. I just recently replaced my CAI with one without a bypass and my car sounds better and the power is not much but noticeable. That's my 2 cents

 
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i have had my cai for about 6 months and i dont have a bypass valve. i have drove in the rain and i have no problems. Just be smart and dont drive through a lake of water