I have heard a lot about ep3 and cold air intakes hydrolocking going over puddles and driving in the rain. I wanted to know if there are any cai that are very good and arn't know to hydrolock. People have told me to stay away from aem and short ram intakes, so does anybody know what is a good cold air intake? New to the Ep3 world but im learning!

 

A cold air intake is more prone to hydrolocking your motor because the filter sits low. If you completely submerge your intake you will hydrolock. Honestly, as long as you drive smart and don't go swimming in the EP you won't have any issues. I've had an AEM CAI for 15 months, and the only time I sucked up water was when the car was slammed and I stupidly drove into deep water.

 

Read the FAQ...hydrolocking is more common than you think.

Is a 3-4HP increase really worth the potential consequences?

Short ram intakes are fine and will only suffer HP loss when you are sitting in traffic on a hot day. Once you get moving everything will be fine.

 

ive seen that aem is the worst for hydrolocking ive put a injen short ram on my ep3 and it works great sounds good and ive never had problems with it getting wet or even getting overly dirty i would wrap it with header wrap though

 

People do stupid things. All I'm saying is that if you aren't slammed, and drive smart it won't be an issue. So many people are afraid of them because they read all the Chicken Little stories from dumb mistakes that resulted in a dead motor...

Depending on your other mods, that CAI may net more than a 3HP gain over an SRI. And yes, for me the increase is worth it. All a CAI means is that I can't drive through a puddle more than 6-7" deep (which I wouldn't do normally anyway...).

 

There is no way you can possibly know about all roads, especially at night, if there is standing water or not on the road. No way.

Running a CAI is like rolling the dice, but the payout is minimal, at best. Especially on an EP3 where HP numbers aren't that impressive with an intake.

That $200 may end up costing thousands in repair bills. The reward is hardly worth the risk.

 

I have had my CAI on for like 9 months surviving the rainy seasons and snow of Oregon.


I just avoid puddles and seem to be doing fine. You can also by the BYPASS from AEM for it for like 50 bucks.

Or be like me. I am planning on buying a short ram to run in the winter and then throw on a CAI in the summer. Worth the extra money to be safe.

 

Just man up and get the CAI. I've even auto'xed my cai in the rain. No problems at all.

 

yea i live in oregon too, portland to be exact. i got a short ram and it works perfect..

 

SRIs are fine. The throttle response improves. When I had an SRI on mine, it would fly through the first two gears. Now I have a hybrid intake (Comptech Icebox) and it doesn't fly through the gears as quickly, but it feels as though I get more power through the first two gears than with the SRI (maybe just my "butt" dyno). I will tell you though that with an SRI on an EP3, when you drive in the rain or through puddles, the front left tire will toss water up onto the filter of the SRI which will make the intake make weird noises. I personally like the Icebox since it pulls cool air like a CAI, but will not hydrolock since the filter is still in the engine bay inside a box that 1) protects the filter and 2) looks stock with the exception of "Comptech Sport" on it. The Mugen intake is also an awesome intake (it is very expensive) since it works much the same way, but it pulls air from the front grill area instead of underneath like the Comptech, either way it is cool air and the filter is protected. Since the stock EP3 intake pulls from the front, you can just hollow out your stock box and get similar results. Just a few ideas.

 

Take it from me, i like in utah, the 2nd driest state. it never rains.

last september, we get a big rain storm for 5 minutes, i went over a dip and hydrolocked my b20vtec with an aem cai.

You never know when or where it can strike.

 

ya i dont take the chance...

i had both sri and cai on my ep3 and i would just rather sacrifice the 2-3hp rather than f'ing up my car

 

I live in Orlando Florida guys and I am having this problem, I thought at first it was water hitting the exaust, and for some reason felt that the transmission was going lose, but only in the rain lol, I just learned this week about hydrolock...now I know most want to "man up" and get the CAI, but I had a 91 Corvette and 2007 Crossfire already ~ the Si is nice, always wanted one, but it is already slow, I don't need to "man up" anything, I just want an intake that is safe in the rain, its my daily driver and only car, I can't afford a new engine, especially since my 2005 has only 28,000 miles. Now that summer is arrived, we get massive rain almost everyday...can someone direct me to a good, yet affordable intake??? I was thinking of the PASSWORD carbon fiber one, thats my limit spendings lol but I do like DC(my exhaust brand, and I love it)...help please?

 

just get it!
2-3 hp and your car will sound better too.
Just don't sell ur stock intake and if you want to take it out in the rain then but the stock one back up and run it like that.
thats what i did for 2 years in my eg and i had no problem. it made my bay look cleaner too.

 

dont drive through a lake and keep your splashguards in and you wont have to worry about hydrolocking. i have a cai in my daily and i've driven in plenty of rain storms where it's just pouring and not once had a problem. sure the filter gets wet but that's nothing to worry about.