I just returned to Baltimore from the first meet of the Delware Valley regional club in Philadelphia. The drive was a blast, even though we lost the group at a traffic light near the end

The drive back to Baltimore, about 100 miles, was made in a raging downpour, at speeds ranging from a 10 mph crawl to over 90. I drove through pouring rain, large puddles, splashes thrown up by cars in front of me -- every conceivable test (except a flood over the front of the car) of the threat of water getting through the AEM filter and intake pipe into the engine.

No problems whatsoever. My AEM install was done by the book, without the water inhibitor or whatever it's called installed. I have the Coastal Metals grille over the cut-out phony vent on the passenger side, so plenty of rain water was no doubt getting into the space where the filter sits behind the vent.

So if you've been fearful of water getting into the AEM, don't worry. If you drive through a 12" deep lake or large puddle, maybe. But not under most driving conditions you will encounter in the rain.

 

Rick, that's great to hear! I'm seriously considering a CAI after experiencing an obvious and significant increase in power for 2 winters in a row. I realize that it's impossible for a CAI to give us a 32 degrees F intake air temperature in the summer, but it made me realize how much our cars can benefit from cooler air.

Your testimony to how well the AEM CAI weathered the rain is very helpful in helping me decide. But If AEM offered a complete package for the S2000 with an "Air Bypass Valve", I'd buy it in an instant!

 

It was interesting to test the performance of the car with the AEM intake in place as compared to before (with the RM). In the past, I had to drive as hard as possiblle to keep up with other hard driving cars ahead of me. Today, I was pulling on the cars ahead of me, at least when I tried. It makes a definite improvement, IMHO.

 

Rick, any idea how soaked the filter was after the trip?

 

None. Without getting under the car, loosening the flap under the filter, and inspecting the filter, it's impossible to know. But the front of the filter, which faces the vent, has a unfiltered surface. All the filtering surfaces are on the sides, so they're protected from a direct hit of water. If it was wet, it doesn't matter much, since everything functioned normally.

 

Water spray can force the oil and dirt on the filter into the intake. I think you should check the condition of the filter before you say there was no problem from driving through a downpour.

 

I've had an AEM CAI on my Teg for about 55,000 miles. There really isn't a danger unless you drive through deep water and submerge the filter. Although AEM now has the device to prevent hydrolock as well, even if you submerge the filter.

Good point however on the water spray forcing the dirt through the filter. My filter on the Teg is completely sealed off from direct spray in front of the passenger-side wheel well. If water can directly hit the filter it could become an issue.

 

I don`t think it`s worth the chance.

Ryan

 

There's no way any spray is going to get on the filter, given the way it's oriented in the space relative to the Coastal Metals grille. The grille will defuse any spray or splashes. Worst case is water droplets reaching the outside of the filter. It's positioned higher than the grille and it touches none of the surrounding surfaces.

I was in worse case driving conditions last night and I do not have the least of reservations about taking the car out in them again.

On the risk/reward ledger, the deck for the AEM is stacked heavily on the reward side. In fact, I think water ingestion is a non-issue.

 

Rick

There have been plenty of blown motors with the use of CAI's on plenty of different kinds of cars.

The issue exists - it's just how you minimize it by avoiding standing water. The addition of the AEM valve will also minimize risk.