Any problems with Rain Ingestion with Air Intakes?

[SSBUSDRVR]

Getting ready to order a CAI Intake.
Was in between Rotofab and CAI but like the idea of ceramic coating and insulation to keep heat down so going with a CAI. Last summer BIL blew the engine in his C5 Vette after leaving my house to drive home in heavy rain. The Shop said it was due to water ingestion/ aftermarket intake.

[greenmachinedriver]

it is always a danger with cold air intakes but the filter sits pretty high. if water was deep enough to cover it you would have biger problems.

[2010SSRSM6]

The corvette's intake is in a different location, ie, draws air in from a lower point. It isn't uncommon for a C5/6 vette to suck in a ton of water and kill over. I've seen it here in Cali twice already this year. I haven't seen a CAI for the Camaro that I would worry about yet. Now, TT's on the other hand........

[Hired Gun]

There will be no problem unless you try to turn the car into a boat.

[cab2g]

The CAI brand intake pulls the air from roughly the same place as the stock intake, but the area from which it pulls air is much larger. If you have water that high on your bumper, then you're screwed anyway.

[The Stig]

I am running an Injen CAI (filter sits right behind the driver side fog light) and I have yet to run into any problems, but if you are really worried about it you could always get a hydro-shield for the filter.

[GoldBowtie]

Originally Posted by cab2g

The CAI brand intake pulls the air from roughly the same place as the stock intake, but the area from which it pulls air is much larger. If you have water that high on your bumper, then you're screwed anyway.

I'm not worried about driving through deep water ---- but would the water that gets "airborn" or "heavy mist" that occurs as you're driving in rain at, say, 65/70 mph get sucked in past the CAI filter, since there are less "obstructions" than the stock set-up? Or does the oil in the filter keep water/mist from getting through?

[Rockin the BlueSS]

i have a ADM race CAI (very similar to the design of CAI) with an additional scoop to direct air into the filter on my daily driver... never had a problem and i drive in all conditions... you should be fine so many people have them that if there was a problem you would know about it by now...

the only ones that may have to worry are the ones that have the filter that come all the way down to the bottom of the car... even then it would take a foot of water to cause problems...

[calbert1999]

I've had a fastlane CAI in my vehicle since last spring. Sits, low down in the front fender so gets' the nice cool air. I've driving in rain, tornados and anything else you can think of. If a good quality product and installed correctly it shouldn't be ingesting amounts of water to blow your engine.

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by cab2g

The CAI brand intake pulls the air from roughly the same place as the stock intake, but the area from which it pulls air is much larger. If you have water that high on your bumper, then you're screwed anyway.

This. The only systems you have to really be careful with on these cars is the long tube systems like the Injen or Pipeline.

[fugimo]

If you are worried about water getting into your engine with aftermarket CAIs, next time you wash your car, pull the filter from your STOCK CAI and see how much standing water you have in there, that will remove all doubt about aftermarket ones.

I had washed my car and checked my filter and when I removed my filter, I had about 1/2" or so of standing water in the bottom of the stock CAI, that had me convinced that an aftermarket CAI should not have any problems (considering most do not have a bottom to hold water) with water getting into the engine, especially the long tubes, since the short tube did not suck the water out of the stock CAI through the filter.

[SSBUSDRVR]

Thanks for the replies Yeah won't be driving through any lakes. LOL Should have clarified it a bit more.

'm not worried about driving through deep water ---- but would the water that gets "airborn" or "heavy mist" that occurs as you're driving in rain at, say, 65/70 mph get sucked in past the CAI filter,

Was thinking more along the lines of what GoldBowtie just mentioned.
Sounds like a non issue. Thanks again.

[Cbrenthus]

Originally Posted by GoldBowtie

I'm not worried about driving through deep water ---- but would the water that gets "airborn" or "heavy mist" that occurs as you're driving in rain at, say, 65/70 mph get sucked in past the CAI filter, since there are less "obstructions" than the stock set-up? Or does the oil in the filter keep water/mist from getting through?

Water mist is not an issue. An oiled filter will keep most out, but even if you get some water in your engine, it will basically blow through. The worst that usually happens here is a blown maf. Heck, I run a heavy breather on my hd which is an open cone filter sticking out the side and been caught in downpours with no problems.

Hydrolock is the killer, but that occurs when a full shot of liquid water gets sucked up into your engine, turning your cylinders into fishtanks. But, the filter has to be fully immersed in water for this to happen. As mentioned, most cai for the camaro use the stock location. The reason cai can cause this is because on most cars a cai relocates the filter to the bottom of the engine compartment rather then the top.

[Baltimorejohn1]

Originally Posted by calbert1999

I've had a fastlane CAI in my vehicle since last spring. Sits, low down in the front fender so gets' the nice cool air. I've driving in rain, tornados and anything else you can think of. If a good quality product and installed correctly it shouldn't be ingesting amounts of water to blow your engine.

Interesting