Hey guys. I know I recently posted a post about suggestions for a CAI. Now I'm serious about getting one and before I do this, I need to be safe with this. I live in Illinois where it rains sometimes, and during winters, I will be driving, and there are blizzards and snows here at times. With a CAI, I will get a bypass. However, will the bypass protect against everything including winter snow and slush? Or should I just get a short ram to be safe?

 

If you're sucking up slush - you shouldn't be driving. A bypass should indeed work. Its not likely to hydrolock when raining unless you go through a huge puddle at WOT - if you just get a little water in your system, it'll evaporate before it causes any harm. I suggest you not to drive your prelude in the winter - but if its your only car, you should be fine. The only way you're going to suck up harmful things is if you're going FAST - hopefully, you wouldn't do this in the winter anyway. If you're just mildly driving, most likely, you won't suck up anything.......i say go for it. I will do the same - i live in Indiana (hey we're naighbors son!!).........I don't have a bypass and i don't think i'll need it- but i'm also not driving my lude everyday - only in mild to low conditions.

 

Alright, thanks. I'm definitely going to get a bypass just to be safe. Just wanted to be sure that my engine would be okay with a CAI in any weather conditions as long as I'm driving at normal speeds.

 

hey, for Illinois, especially further north, i would go with a K&N drop in filter. you get all the benefits without the headaches.

 

A bypass will negate most of the gain you get from the intake. I advise not to use one.

You will not hydrolock your car if you keep the inner fender lining in your car's fender wells....unless you drive your car down into a lake or a flood.

Advise from a Prelude owner that has hydrolocked before; take it how you wish.

 

So a K&N drop in filter without a bypass? Are you sure a bypass negates power gained from a CAI?

 

hey dont know about you guys, but I live in Minnesota and the weather fu***n sucks up here, I got a short ram.... and I advise you to do the same. I had a CAI but changed it to short ram ... dont really see that much power difference. With CAI you have to be very carefull how you drive and where you drive... and thats something I got sick of doing..... go with a short ram bro, nothin else you have to worry about.

 

i hydrolocked mine and i live in arizona... gosh... theres just a couple bad streets that got hella flooded in like a 30 foot span.. the rest was dry (well relatively with just some rain coming down pretty lightly)... anyways drove thru it and boom. found out that the dude i bought the car from removed the fenderwell to get to the cai filter.
i installed an air bypass valve. havent tested it persee but the first thing i did was really get on it and i honestly couldnt feel a difference in power. the idea is it works like a straw with a hole in it. the hole is above water, and then when you try to pull water thru it the hole is the path of least resistance so the air comes in there instead of where water is coming in. unfortunately i had to slice my pipe right down the middle of the AEM logo.. at least if i find myself on a flooded street i wont have to panic.
good luck with whatever you choose.. some say ram air works better than cai anways but in the end go with what you like.

 

Well, I just popped the hood a bit ago and looked thoroughly around the intake and underneath the chassis. I found a few holes at the bottom, below the intake, but they were just for draining. I even poured water down around the intake to see how it flowed to the bottom and it took a while for it to drain, so it appears extremely hard to actually hydrolock.

So I'm thinking of going with an iceman CAI, no bypass.

 

Thanks guys.

Also, even if, say, I do hydrolock, what would I do?

 

hydrolock is when you get a bunch of water in your engine instead of air. obviously your engine cant compress water the way it can air so your pistons come to a dead halt really fast. some cases itll just kill your engine, youll have to tow it home, drain it, change the oil. in my case a piston rod broke and put a hole in the engine block in 2 places... and shattered some internal parts. i basically replaced the entire motor.

 

I realize I would have to drain the engine, but how exactly is that done?

 

by k&n drop-in filter, i mean the k&n replacement for your stock filter. not any kind of intake system. thats what i have, makes a little more growl, improves gas mileage, and you get a 1.5hp on the "butt dyno"

 

we hydrolocked our prelude sr-v, when it happened they towed it and they rebuilt the engine..
it was a situation where we either get in a accident or we get into the puddle.. lol

 

If you get a CAI and the pipe sits a little to low for your comfort, you can always cut it to suit you. I just installed one ( went from short ram to CAI) and the pipe was just a little to low, so I cut it down a bit and rigged it to sit higher in the fender. Now the filter is just after the stock intake hole.
good luck
-B