You just said how unlikely it was. Heavy at first, tapering to light. That's not heavy for a full three hours.

 

Heavy for 2, light for 1. Still, you aren't answering the question in context.

 

That's because in my 18 years of driving experience I have NEVER driven in three hours of heavy rain.

 

I drove my Z with the Injen CAI (filter element is in plain view when looking at the front of the car) in the rain with no problems. The oil of the filter helps repel water too.

 

Same here, but there's no pleasing the paranoid nay sayers.

 

lol, has there even been a case of hydrolock on the G's or Z's?

Paranoid people should leave their cars stock and deal.

 

I appreciate everyone's input on this. I'm not paranoid, I just wanted to get more info in case this something to be concerned about. Nothing wrong with asking a question.

 

I wasn't referring to you when I said "paranoid".

Here's the thing...everybody talks about rain possibly causing hydrolock with a CAI, but no one can attest to it first hand. There was a guy that hydrolocked his G when he tried to drive through deep standing water. He submerged his air filter and the engine ingested water.

 

While a seemingly rare occurance, I heard of twelve hydrolocked VQ engines over the last two years and have personally seen the damaged rods and/or pistons from three. I don't believe any owner admitted they submerged the air filter, in fact most reported they drove through a "shallow puddle". That said, I had a Place Racing CAI (similar to Injen, AEM, NISMO) on my Maxima for years, drove from San Antonio to Houston through one of the worst rain storms in history and never had a problem. Go figure... lucky I guess.

 

When I had my Injen CAI on I drove through very heavy rain several times with no probs whatsoever.

 

lol, I've seen a good video of a car trying to drive through a shallow puddle, it floated away...

 

Hydrolocking is real. It's a real concern.

I was in the passenger seat of my friend's RSX-S during heavy rain when he was going up a hill and down the hill. As he was going downhill, there was a huge puddle that he hit. The water did a tidal wave action and completely swallowed the car. Next thing you know, the car sputters, stalls and dies out.

You don't have to cross a river to hydrolock. Just a small wave of water that gets sucked into the intake will destroy your engine. There will be heavy rain wherever you live one day in your life, and that one time is all it takes for you to wreck your engine. "I've had a cold air intake and I never hydrolocked during rain" stories aren't going to protect your engine. It's effectively saying the same thing as "I've had unprotected sex and still haven't gotten AIDS nor have gotten her pregnant" It's bound to happen.

If you must, get a bypass valve for the intake, as for the rest, you're better off staying away from it, especially for a G35 coupe. The gains are minimal, and all you are is paying for the sound and maybe 4 HP difference. And if that sound is worth wrecking your engine for, then by all means be ready to shell out for a new engine. I do agree though, if the rain is always soft where you live, you won't be hydrolocking anytime soon, but for others, the threat is real.

 

I agree 100% a small wave of water getting sucked into the intake will destroy an engine, but I don't live in an area where small waves of water occur often.

 

I'm a bit confused...

does the bypass valve help if your filter is submerged?
And does having a bypass have any drawbacks, if not why would someone NOT have a bypass valve with their cold air intake?

I've never had cold air, just bought my 05 G35 6MT and i was thinking about getting cold air..... i'm still not sure, down here in Miami we got loads of rain summer time, and puddles are EVERYWHERE, call my pariniod but i love my new baby and wouldnt want that beautiful engine to go to waste.

 

If the filter is submerged the engine will pull air through the bypass filter.