PDA

View Full Version : big mouth cai


stizkidz
10-21-2005, 07:12 PM
I just installed the complete big mouth kit today. I like the way it works but I am a little concerned about how low the air filter sits. It is extremely exposed to the elements. If I am out driving and it starts raining, this filter is defi itely going to get wet. I am also worried about hitting puddles. Anyone else running this filter kit have any input?

Keller
10-21-2005, 10:42 PM
A valid concern.

I'm told that water ingestion during rainstorms was one of the reasons ATR discontinued selling their original cold air intake, which placed the filter down near the intercooler scoop. Water isn't compressible. So sucking a lot of it into your engine is a bad idea...

I still have an one of those ATR systems. But don't drive through bad weather. Save for the yearly storm at the GS Nationals... :winkgrin:

You'd have to ingest a fair bit of it to really create a problem.

stizkidz
10-22-2005, 06:37 PM
Rediculous. I posted this last night and what do you know... I wake up this morning to go to work and it is POURING RAIN. The filter was definitely wet when I got to work. I tried to avoid as many puddles as possible but it still got a bit wet anyway. I am pretty upset about this as I just spent $200 plus several hours painting and installing this kit. I am extremely worried about sucking up water. I know it will take alot to cause engine damage but I fear that I may have already ruined my MAF by sucking water through it (the elctronics are directly in line). Not to mention that this cannot be good for a brand new $50 filter...

I really don't know what to do...

Bayentethene
10-24-2005, 02:20 AM
You might want to check out the following link: http://www.aempower.com/product_intake.asp?subCatID=3
I've seen a video of this thing, and it actually works quite well. Might be a good investment if you want to avoid hydrolock... :yesnod:

Just my two cents.

corsair231
10-24-2005, 03:10 AM
I've had one on my daily driver for over 2 years without a problem. I think elemental exposure is not a concern because it uses such a tall filter. The neck is far enough above the road that water would have to be over spindle deep before you would suck enough water to cause hydrolock. (Ever try to drink thru a straw with a hole in it?) Even if the top (bottom as installed) would be slightly submerged the K&N filter flows well enough that the heavier water should stay and the rest of the filter should flow enough to handle the engine's need unless you are trying to go wot (in a flood, why?). Also the filter is located just behind the air dam which should prevent most water from hitting high enough to be picked up during everything but monsoons and it is in front of your tires so they shouldn't throw water on them either. If it does pick up a little splash it should not be enough to hurt anything plus it might even cool the intake charge a little bit. (free water injection :loll:)

Keller
10-24-2005, 09:36 AM
unless you are trying to go wot (in a flood, why)
Hydroplaning across the water! :tup:

But seriously folks...

The old ATR unit placed the filter horizontally, and at a lower point. That might have been part of the problem. Plus, they didn't use a K&N filter. They used one of their own design. An aluminum frame with a foam element pulled over it. I opted for a K&N instead, myself.

shorti28
11-06-2005, 10:18 PM
before my tr I had a nissan 300 zx twin turbo and I had 410 hp with a cai way low right into the wind rain puddles and the car never even missed a beat and I would take it out and ring out the water it was soaked but water doesn't flow through air thick enought that engine temp won't evaporate it.( unless you submerge the filter completely. Think more like an alky/water mix doesn't hurt anything people even use water injection. The filter actually separates water to A mist just like a nos nozzle. (somewhat in theory) minus the pressure. Anyway in my car I never had a problem and I even drove through puddles cause my street floods and the car was everyday driver and it never ever stumbold or dropped idle.

Doc
11-07-2005, 08:52 AM
If the filter gets wet or splashed that's not really an issue at all. It won't harm the filter. The only possible "problem" that I can think of is that you may need to clean and re-oil it more frequently. You could consider getting a K&N "outerwear" cover for your filter. It's basically a cover made from a water-repellant Nylon that helps keep water and big debris out of your filter. I've used them for a long time on ATVs and motorcycles and they do work well for extending the service interval of your filter.

...of course, that's as long as you don't acutally submurge the intake pipe and suck straight up water into the engine. But as Corsair said, you'd have to be spindle-deep for that to happen. I wouldn't worry unless you like to drive through foot-deep puddles!