I read that article Shao posted on hydrolock, really interesting but last night i was driving back from Sydney and it was really pouring down and i drove pretty quick because i wanted to get home fast, only hit Lift a couple of times

Now the thing is the car got back alright no problems, this morning it started fine no problems and drove fine all afternoon, but i popped the hood early this morning and i noticed a streak of fluid (like a mix of water and oil) beside the AF sensor on the CAI. Now that is pretty far up the pipe and i was wondering if water had been sucked up that far, but if it had the engine would have BANGED and died, right? In Shao's posted article it said you will need certain amount of water to enter the cylinders to cause significant damage. I drove through a few puddles on the freeway which made me aquaplanne at 120km/h but don't think the pod would have "dunked" in the water.. Can anyone describe how much water is really needed to damage the engine?

LOTS, your pod would have to be basically have to be under water, even then it dont seem to pose to much of a problem, just ask mark.....

I have also managed a 3 hour motorkhana in the POORING rain up at gympie with no foglighht in and the TD pod filter hanging out the bottom with no worries what so ever.

As northy said - Just as Mark .....................screaaaach....SPLASH! !@#$%!

take off the maf sensor, and touch the inside of the piping, see if u can pick up any dirt or sign of water going in. As far as I know, its not that easy for water to go in. You need to basically drowned the pod for it to absorb water in. Besides, the pod filter is oiled based and that would make it even harder for water to go in.

Marks car was about 1 second away from hydrolocking.

I should have taken a video of the water we poured out of the intake manifold after it was removed from the engine. He was lucky that all the water that was sucked in was trapped in the bottom of the intake plenum and didn't make it all the way to the combustion chamber.

I've got 3 other mates in Brisbane that have lost motors due to their CAI's. All 3 bent rods after getting a gutfull of water through the filter. One was even using a stock airbox with just a cold air feed to the box.

The way I see it, it's simple

More Air.
More chance of water getting in.

The Filter may be oiled to disburse water, but if water is continuously on the filter surface (such as driving in rain for a prolonged period), with suction from the engine (And remember that it does suck in air strongly), eventually moisture/water will get through it's just a matter of time. Not enough to cause hydrolock but enough to shorten engine life long term because of things such as moisture polluting the engine oil etc.

Like many modifications which alter the original manufacturers design/specifications, you're more likely to run the risk of engine damage.

I've hydrolocked a 135 hp 2cyl 940 cc Jetski, trust me you don't want it happening with a 4cyl car engine.

Its very simple, know your modification well, take note of its limit, and be careful on the situation where damage could happen.

after lucio installed the injen cai to my car today
drove home in the rain.
dont know where your pods are
but mine is smack bang on the right hand side hole of my veilside kit

anyway was a little worried
but got home did a quick check
and no problems

Hmm, i guess it will take a fair bit to cause major grief but like someone mentioned it can dilute the engine oil a little if the pod constantly sucks up water droplets, that's why i think we change the engine oil every 5-10,000kms

-But still prevention is better than cure.. when it rains drive slow (NO LIFT)! **slaps myself on the wrist**

-after the drive or if drove over big puddle let the car drain off any excess water, and test your BRAKES too.

-the following day or immediately (depending on weather) park the car out in the sun for a bake to dry it off

Z

What are you on zee??....everyone knows that EVERY car is a V8 in the wet......time to get that rubber spinning

Driving in the wet is good for honing skills, if u can be smooth and get traction swiftly in the wet, you're good to go hard in the dry.

true. good for fine tuning the organic traction control

speaking of prevention... is there anyway to prevent water from entering the piping of the CAI? (that is the piping leading into the airbox)

may be a stupid question but im curious... any particular things?

im making a custom CAI so itll be made from near scratch...

With CAI you won't have an air box....

Get a bypass valve along the pipe like the one in the picture (thanks shao)

yer since there is so much controversy regarding pod filters suckin in hot ait from under the engine bay, ive decided to customise a stock airbox and have a 2nd cold air feed from somewhere in the front... (as well as an upgraded bigger stock one)...

and have a pod filter in the airbox... sound good or?

any other suggestions would be appreciated...

There is no point IMO having a POD if your going to put it into a box. Just leave the POD in it's standard position when installed and look after it.

If you really want to air to travel shorter, then I'd be looking into a short ram system where your POD would sit nearer where the stock air box is and fitting a 'useful' bonnet scoop..

yer the airbox will be in the stock position, but there will be another induction from out of the front of the bumper...

So you're moving the intake entry from behind the headlight to behind the front bar?
You're not putting a pod on there as well are you???

ok my plan was fairly simple...

pod filter in a stock airbox
upgraded stock air feed
another feed from front bumper...

wots wrong with this idea? it stops hot air from being sucked into the pod? sounds logical to me?

If your that worried about getting your filter wet in the rain then don't put it on.

I've had my CAI on for over a year and have driven in driving rain and have never had a problem. It takes a bit of common sense and not looking to drive in the gutter full of water. You would have to drive in a substantial depth of water to submerge the filter and then to get it to suck it up.

As Rollamods said Marks car was only seconds away from sucking it into the combustion chamber but he hit a seriously big deep puddle and at speed

Drive according to the conditions and the road, be smart and wallah!! No Problems

Yeah but your defeating the purpose of having a pod/CAI if it is stuck up the top of the engine bay where all the hot air is.

There really isn't too much you can do with the stock air pipework, and for all the trouble it sounds like you are going to be going through for the little gain you will probably achiev, you should just go a standard CAI system of whichever brand you desire, and look after it.

As SILVABULLIT stated, drive carefully and don't go looking for puddles (or lakes) and you'll be fine...

Do you know that MUGEN air intake kit for INtegra Type R, is a pod inside a box with cold air feed? It's the best intake there is for the integra type R.

i notice my car is so smooth when running under heavy rain with the cai
the acceleration is great
i notice a difference when i drive in the rain

but the bad thing is
i also notice it drinks alot of fuel than usual

anyone experience the same thing?

It's only normal that your car now drink petrol more than it was, more air requires more fuel to balance out its ratio. Afterall, that's how the car makes more power.

On cold days, especially raining days, air is colder, and perhaps the pod is now sucking in mist from the water due to rain. Mist is created due to extreme air suction of water passes through the filteration. That would makes the air even colder.

One risk with the CAI is that little sharp rocks can puncture or tear the pod filter, breaking the mesh leavin a small hole. That would mean bugs and bigger dust particles can enter the intake chamber and into the engine. If you look at your pod you will see how many little sand particles it had filtered out due to its location down low, i have some pretty big sand particles stuck on my pod.

damn nature!
y cant it leave our cars alone

Nature could ask us the same question

My pod is actually torned at 1 side. made a mistake when I install it. Surprsingly, the intake pipe's internal is still clean No dust whatsoever.