[raia]

those of you with CAI, do you have a bypass valve? are they necessary?

i've only had one person tell me they absolutely are, but he thinks he knows everything. however, i've had several people tell me they are not necessary. the guys at the import shop here say not to buy one, and shit, they're the ones trying to sell stuff. also, one of the guys was saying not to get one because it could do something to the engine, but i don't remember what he was talking about. plus he was saying the only reason water would really be a problem is if the whole filter was submerged anyway, and you would need to drive into a serious puddle for that one.
i've also heard that AEM sent out some notice that the bypass valves don't even work? i don't know about all that, i just read that somewhere...no real verification.

anyway, if any of you have any comments or know anything from experience let me know. i just had my intake installed this evening and i'm just wondering if i need the bypass valve or not.

 

[iridium130]

I think Chris should field this one but I'll put in my $.02

Bypass valves are NOT absolutely necessary, but they are good for a piece of mind. You won't F up your engine unless your CAI is fully submerged in water causing hydrolock to your engine.

I think the thing that AEM sent was a recall for some of the bypass valve, as some of the foam or something was loose and would get sucked into the engine which was not good.

Some people claim HP loss w/ a bypass valve, but I dunno how significant it'd be :dunno:

 

[avengerjr]

those of you with CAI, do you have a bypass valve? are they necessary?

to answer your questions - yes i have the aem bypass valve. no i don't think that it is necessary. it came with the cai that i purchased. i don't live in a place that gets a lot of floods, so it really is of no use to me, just kinda piece of mind that it is there in case the need should arise.

 

[autoxCLS]

Just to give you a side-note, I recall a discussion where an individual with a stock CLS drove it into a flooded area. The water reached no higher than the wheel well, but he hydrolocked his engine.

A bypass valve only protects you if the filter is COMPLETELY submerged. AEM did a test with the owner's NSX and would submerge and then raise the filter from a tank of water. Never hydrolocked the engine with the bypass valve.

 

[X3.2clsX]

I do not have a bypass valve but some people say its not necessary. Whenever I drive in the rain and I see some puddle I get very cautious about driving through water puddle. So yea if I did have the bypass valve then I think i won't feel any worries about hydrolocking

 

[NightHawkTypeS]

Guys ... no its not completely necessary and yes it does rob a little power... but the horsepower loss with a BPV -vs- without a BPV is less then the standard deviation of consecutive runs with it.. Basically meaning its a non-issue being that it is less then 1 HP and the fact that ~$40 dollars of insurance protects your from over $8K in damage ... thats about .005% of the cost of potential damage... see the light yet>?

 

[BlackShadow]

I installed the bypass valve with my AEM CAI just for a piece of mind. I rather spend $40 for it then paying for a whole new engine.

 

[Infamuz]

I installed the bypass valve with my AEM CAI just for a piece of mind. I rather spend $40 for it then paying for a whole new engine.

Just sell your POS TL!

 

[Got Rice?]

Better safe than sorry. It rains here alot...and all the hills create gigantic puddles. So having that bypass helps prevent :bash:

 

[avengerjr]

I retract my previous statements about me not needing one.

Damn, I drove through a fucking river the other day. Since they are still doing a lot of construction around my subdivision, they have all the drainage places stuffed with shit to block them from getting all the construction crap. Well when it rains as much as it has lately here, 5+ inches at a time it seems like, that really backs things up.

I was driving home from work and was alright with the roads until I pull into my subdivision and my eyes nearly flew out of my head the water was so high. I kid you not it was half way up my door, I could have rolled my window down and touched the top of the water level. I have no where else to go, except try to get into my driveway...so off I go into the river. I went extremely slow and actually had to use my garage as a guide to get in my driveway b/c the water was about 7ft up onto my property from the street level. But I made it just fine and no problems with the engine or intake or anything.

Made my thankful for my extra little amount in the purchase price of my CAI :bigok:

 

[NightHawkTypeS]

I retract my previous statements about me not needing one.

Damn, I drove through a fucking river the other day. Since they are still doing a lot of construction around my subdivision, they have all the drainage places stuffed with shit to block them from getting all the construction crap. Well when it rains as much as it has lately here, 5+ inches at a time it seems like, that really backs things up.

I was driving home from work and was alright with the roads until I pull into my subdivision and my eyes nearly flew out of my head the water was so high. I kid you not it was half way up my door, I could have rolled my window down and touched the top of the water level. I have no where else to go, except try to get into my driveway...so off I go into the river. I went extremely slow and actually had to use my garage as a guide to get in my driveway b/c the water was about 7ft up onto my property from the street level. But I made it just fine and no problems with the engine or intake or anything.

Made my thankful for my extra little amount in the purchase price of my CAI :bigok:

Aheemmm cough cough grun grun cough coungh... LOL an ounce of prevention.. LOL who's your daddy now !! LOL BWAHAHAHAH

 

[avengerjr]

Aheemmm cough cough grun grun cough coungh... LOL an ounce of prevention.. LOL who's your daddy now !! LOL BWAHAHAHAH

hmmm...I never had no beef :dunno: :sqnteek: :drink: :beerchug: :angel:

 

[NightHawkTypeS]

hmmm...I never had no beef :dunno: :sqnteek: :drink: :beerchug: :angel:

LOL I know but every few months I have to beat my chest a lil lol

 

[BlackShadow]

Just sell your POS TL!

Whatever...that's why you keep telling me that you want to get rid of your POS CL-S.

 

[BlackShadow]

I retract my previous statements about me not needing one.

Damn, I drove through a fucking river the other day. Since they are still doing a lot of construction around my subdivision, they have all the drainage places stuffed with shit to block them from getting all the construction crap. Well when it rains as much as it has lately here, 5+ inches at a time it seems like, that really backs things up.

I was driving home from work and was alright with the roads until I pull into my subdivision and my eyes nearly flew out of my head the water was so high. I kid you not it was half way up my door, I could have rolled my window down and touched the top of the water level. I have no where else to go, except try to get into my driveway...so off I go into the river. I went extremely slow and actually had to use my garage as a guide to get in my driveway b/c the water was about 7ft up onto my property from the street level. But I made it just fine and no problems with the engine or intake or anything.

Made my thankful for my extra little amount in the purchase price of my CAI :bigok:

This should be made into a sticky for all who is debating about getting a bypass valve.

 

[mattg]

i have no bypass valve, and i live in portland, or. it rains like hell here. + my car sits lower than most cl-s. you have to have common sense. bypass robs hp. "f" the bypass.

 

[Got Rice?]

i have no bypass valve, and i live in portland, or. it rains like hell here. + my car sits lower than most cl-s. you have to have common sense. bypass robs hp. "f" the bypass.

1-2 HP. To me...thats worth the sacrifice.