does anyone drive all yr round with a cai? i was just wondering if anyone has had any problems with sucking up water? i am debating getiing a cai or a wai, personal experiences welcome. thanks
I don’t have my AEM CAI yet, but I ordered one last Friday for my Altima, which is a year-round driver. I didn’t find any stories of people having problems from normal winter weather, but that’s no guarantee. I’d be curious as well…
However, I’m not anticipating any issues, or I wouldn’t have ordered it.
Scratch that … found one article just now:
http://www.dubsinthebuff.com/forum/everything-technical/192-cai-salt-snow.html
It was Volkswagon Jettas, so I’m not sure if their CAIS are closer to the ground, but everyone seemed to recommend going back to the stock intake for the winter.
Just get a CAI, and switch to stock intake for the winter.
+1 to that.
omg how many times is this question asked… the chance of it sucking up water is like 1/10 like who really drives into big puddles…
I am going back to stock intake for the winter. On the Altima it is close to the ground, and for my SE-R at least, right behind a vent in the air dam, so when it is raining heavily it is pretty easy to suck water in. :vom: On the way back from the meet on the 30th I had to keep the revs below 2200 rpm because it was raining so hard water would get sucked in at any higher rpm.
Are there any ways you can shorten your CAI, like take sections out to bring it closer to the hood? I’m guessing my CAI will be identical to yours…
Yes, I suppose u could, you would need to get a short section of pipe I think. There is a section that bolts onto the MAF section, then a rubber reducing coupling that the main intake pipe is inserted into and screw clamped, so you would need a short (maybe 2" ) section of intake to insert here and attach the filter element to.
Just get a AEM air bypass valve. It goes inline with your piping, and if your filter ever gets submerged it will open up and still let air get to your engine. That way you can run your CAI all year round and will never hydrolock your engine.
i know people who drive all year round with short ram intakes. they never have a problem
Big difference between short rams and actuall CAI’s.
i have heard way to many horror stories with CAI’s, which is why i would take a short ram over them, like in the rain hitting a puddle and it sucking up some juice into your engine and you can finish the story with your imagination.
had a cold air on my last car. filter was behind the bumper and had no problems with it at all, water wasnt an issue, and neither was winter air. u just gotta clean it alot. its worth the money
I’ve been running an AEM CAI in my Sentra since last fall and I’ve had zero problems with it. (its my daily driver).
yah i have had my CAI for almost a year now and i have had no problems with it, kept it on in winter and all. i reccomend it forsure
well i had a CAI on my old civic and because it didnt scope down to the ground… i made it out of this huge down pour that we had in toronto a couple of years ago … but im sure if it one that bent to the ground i would of been fcuked other than that never had a problem and that was my year round driver
Over the weekend I’ve talked to 2 mechanic friends: 1 is a Honda mechanic on my hockey team, and the other is a Dodge mechanic who’s nearing retirement, and I asked them both about their thoughts on CAIs.
Both said that hydrolocking is such a non-issue that it’s not even worth worrying about. The only hydrolocks that either has seen is from drivers going nearly upto the windows in puddles, and still trying to drive through. Neither has ever seen one due to any type of aftermarket engine mod.
I guess you never know for sure what can happen, but I trust both these guys, and it’s enough that I’ll probably leave my CAI on year-round (assuming the damn thing ever arrives)
My CAI came in yesterday, and I spent part of the afternoon putting it in. I have to say, my first impressions are pretty good. The sound is definitely noticeable, and there’s some pep (although there’s always been decent power).
I’ve posted a pseudo-how-to article on my own website, but are there any sections in the forums here dedicated to “guides”? I can re-post my article there if anyone’s interested.
thanks alot everyone, i am going to go with the hotshot cai, when i get back from the philippines, i am gonna get one ordered. and use it all year round, cause when u think about it, thats what a car is for driving and having fun peace
thanks again