:::: WARNING - COLD AIR INTAKES ::::

[g0ast]

Considering how another person has been claimed victim to cold air intakes (TrickyAveo's thread: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2439), and my personal experience (g0ast's thread: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2439), I feel it necessary to post a tiny little warning about the risks of cold air intakes in Aveos but as well as any car in particular, as my previous warnings in the past have not really come across, I'm forced to get a little more serious... (Mods if you feel this would be of some benefit to the community, please sticky...)

BE WARY USING A COLD AIR INTAKE IF YOUR CAR WILL EVER ENCOUNTER RAIN
Cold air intakes, while having a small advantage performance wise when it comes to getting more, less restricted and colder air into your engine, comes with an extreme risk of quite easily sucking in huge amounts of water at a moment's notice when going through any water hazards, this would include: rain, snow (after it melts), car washes (especially if it's an automatic car wash where the engine still runs), floods, and large dips in roads that can contain water (particularly hazardous at night when you can't see it)... Cold air intakes, upon closer examination, are nothing more than expensive and oversized bendy straws, that aside from sucking in air, are very thirsty as well, and for more than just fuel...

Those who have such a thirsty device are at extreme risk for catastrophic engine failure and/or irriversible damage and/or wildly expensive repair costs due to replacing any number of car systems including: The battery (due to being shorted), starter motor (shorted), crankcase (water damage), pistons (water damage, particularly with piston rings, springs, and valves), any metal in the engine that gets heated up from combustion (water + hot metal = quick cooling = warping/weakening), spark plugs, sensors, fuel sprayers (all from water/partculate contamination)... Any combination of those damaged parts could possibly cost anywhere between $1000-$3000 and up to three weeks of waiting...

The point is that CAI's are NOT designed be safe, they are made to improve performance. The stock filter/intake system are designed to keep your engine safe and water free, changing it out for a CAI removes such protection from you. In particular risk are people who have such a CAI but their filter is a cheap wax/paper filter, while effective at stopping sticks, leaves, bugs and the rare squirrel looking for a hiding place, cheap (and I mean cheap stuff, like $5-$20) filters are not effective at blocking extremely small particulates from the engine, particulates like that can drastically sap the performance of your engine, and slowly choke your engine from the inside.

Again stock/OEM airfilters are designed to do their job, protect your engine from dangerous materials at the cost of performance, and looking at the choice, I would much prefer the safer choice up until the point where I can have protection and performance (like K&N).

[melficersx]

This can also happen with GOAT users as well. Especially when travelling in the rain, behind a car, that trails too much water. As g0ast said: "...aside from sucking in air, are very thirsty as well..." I say this because after driving through rain I check under my hood too find that i have water in my fkextube for my GOAT. But since my filter is kick ass, it keeps out all H20.

So yes, once again as he said. USE A REAL FILTER (with your bendy straw)!!! Dont go with some cheapy crap to save some cash because you will have water where you will never need it and end up effing yourself over.

[Kinkyllama]

I still always have a hard time believe this. My filter sit’s a few inches from my tire and there is NO wheel well. I’ve driven hours and hours through HARD rain (Arizona monsoons) in sometimes water up to the bottom of my car at a stand still. Whenever I get home after this I check my filter and it’s always dripping with water. Still haven’t had any issues. I’d still take this warning seriously though, just thinking about how many factory cars I’ve seen still get flooded out in our monsoons.

[Kinkyllama]

Also AEM has the bypass valves that seam like they work pretty well. Look it up.

[g0ast]

I was in a monsoon when my event happened...

It's not the rain that kills you, it's the unknown, unseen, "take a wrong turn" type of puddles that do it. I was taking a little shortcut one dark night just after it was raining heavy, and I went down a dark intersection and it was about 1-2 feet deep (I mean the water almost went into my car through the door when I opened it).

So when I first drove to it, when I saw it I was like "ah sh*t" and I hit it at about 10 mph, 2 seconds later my engine just froze up.

So technically no, rain isn't the problem, really sneaky puddles are

[gse_turbo]

thought you guys might like some of the pics from my resent buy...

this why a filter in the fender well is a BAD IDEA!!! check out the rust


and this is why rubber couplers of any kind are a BAD IDEA!!! especially ones from the Home Depot

[mikedudley17]

nothin like suckin down rust particles thru ur intake LOL

[Ravenne]

So it seems a cold air intake should stay off my list of 'things to do' then?
A friend suggested it, but after reading this, I'm having second thoughts. Especially out here where we get snow 6 months out of the year.

[mikedudley17]

just use a bypass as well. or theres always a sri. i personally didnt like the cai on my car.

[AVE0SAM]

i liked my cai but its a pain to get to the filter and your have to watch for rust....