? Cold Air Intake .. vs Hydro lock?

[National Newb]

Was thinking about getting a cold air intake for my 87 GN... most that I have seen drop the air filter down in front of the drivers right front tire....

Has any one had a problem in the rain :frown: with these???? It looks like one nice big puddle would cause water to get sucked right in = very bad...

I have seen this happen to my friends crown vic... after driving through a rather deep puddle very fast... engine hydrolocked and seized...

I know that we spend all this money on high priced intercoolers to drop air charge temp,,,, and would get great gains from one... just afraid...

Any coments and pics would be greatly welcomed!!!! THANKS!!!

 

[blackmonte]

I would say for a daily driver just use a open element k&n, I have a cold air on mine but has never seen a drop of water.I am sure if you hit a big enough puddle of water you could suck some water up .

 

[BlackMetal]

Would have to be a very deep puddle to worry about that. Rig up a little shield on the side that faces the tire if you're that worried about it.

 

[Adam Connell]

Im going to be straight 100% honest with you... You're friend is either made up, or a ****ing moron... You CANNOT hydro lock a car from driving through a puddle... Plain a simple. The engine is designed to move at least it's own volume of air through itself each revolution, there fore if it was a 4.6l V8 it would need to take in well over a gallon, or 8+lbs of water to lock the thing up. Not to mention that on our cars, the turbo would get it first, locking up the compressor wheel....

Plain and simple, "cold air" if you can call them that, intakes dont hurt ANYTHING. Ricer Myths are for retards.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Been selling cold air kits for quite a while now and never had a customer hydrolock a motor. Got HUNDREDS of my kits out there. I did my own real world test years ago when I drove back from a Turbo Regal show that used to take place in PA. 5 hours in solid downpours from PA to CT and car didn't miss a beat. The rain was so bad I had to continually slow down to 35mph on the Merritt Parkway to wait up for a friend who had a T-type with original tires who kept hydroPLANING.

 

[corsair231]

You can hydrolock an engine. But the only time I've seen it done by sucking up water was a friend playing in a flooded parking lot. I'm talking up to the middle of the doors deep on his four wheel drive truck before he did it though. It was done through the factory intake setup as well.

I've been through flash floods up to the hubs with my d/d T with a big mouth c/a with no problems. The c/a kits use a huge filter. I doubt that water was over the bottom(top) of the filter (with a k&n, water really won't hurt it, just wash and re-oil) and it would have to cover the whole filter up until the piping begins before it could pull any water. Just think of trying to drink through a straw with a hole in it. The water is much heavier than air so the air moves, the water doesn't. What your friend did was by driving through the water fast he made a wave that brought the water up to the piping where there was nothing but water to pull into the engine. In normal driving any little water that actually gets splashed onto the filter that may accidentally be light enough to make it into the airflow will be turned into a mist by the time it hits the combustion chamber, acting like water injection.

The homemade c/a and the ones with the opening on the airdam may be another story but most of the better ones I've see have either baffles, vents, or drians that prevent the siphon effect required to pull water into the engine.

 

[scottyb]

I've had a cone hanging down there for 7 years in a daily driver and driven through plenty of frog stranglers. You would vitrually have to submerge the filter on water for it to pull enough up.

 

[TR87386]

You certainly can hydro lock a motor if it is a big enough puddle. Messing around in a buddy's saturn hit a monster puddle after a monson rain. He was WOT when we hit it = 1 bent rod . We pulled the head and there was not much water in the hole but enough I guess. This was also done through the factory intake.

 

[National Newb]

Thanks!!

Thanks for all your replys...

I will be getting a cold air kit now,,,I very rarely drive in the rain,, but on the occasion of partaking in a "Toys for Tots Run", I just didn't want a problem on the way back if it started to rain.....!!!


Thanks all!!!!!!!!!