Hi all,

I have read the reviews on cold air intakes, and still have a couple of questions.
Do any of you out there have any REAL-WORLD experiences with cold air intakes in the rain with Xb's?

I am still deciding between K&N, Injen, & AEM. Anyone with these intakes please let me know about the rain?

I suspect that the AEM will perform better vs the rain, (because it's Toyota approved?) and that the Injen looks the coolest because it's polished, and finally I beleive that K&N has the best performance on a dyno becasue i can actually find those numbers!

Appreciate any input folks!

Thanks,
Coop

as far as which brand will perform better, they all perform about the same. you wont see that much of a hp gain from an intake, its more of a necessary component in a 'system' meaning you need it to see gains if you were to add a header or exhaust. theyre all dependant on each other to produce their gains.

as far as rain, at stock height i cant see where there would be a problem with CAI. i dont own an xB so i cant say this from experience. i can, however, say that hydrolock is a problem that does exist in general. most people play it off and say not to worry about it. well thats how i thought about it but i ended up sucking up water on my integra and snapped a rod, sent one rod out of the oil pan, and one rod tried to go through the cylinder wall. luckily insurance covered it under comp.

hope this helps ;)

i had an injen on my old corlla, the filter was under the driver side headlight, it had a down angle so even if water came up it would not make it to the engine, i never had any problems, and drove in the rain fine. most companys have some kinda of system of preventing hydrolock

No problem with mine, that I can tell, from the rain. I have an AEM one, and live in SOUTH FLORIDA, where it rains from time to time...
I thought about that as well, before I got mine. And, like you, I figured the AEM one was the way to go, since it's TOYOTA approved.
Hope that helps.

i have thje cold air l type aem and have no probs. even if i opened up the fog light blank for more air the filter hangs down so not much water would get in .

the filter on my CAI (AEM) was down under my headlight just behind the blinker and also angled down. intakes create a stronger vacuum than i thought. anyways yeah you could always get a bypass valve. i ended up going with the AEM V2 myself. its somewhat of a blend between a short ram and CAI. it has different piping sizes and its supposed to get more air through harmonics somehow. im sure its all just a gimmic but oh well was worth a try.

Oh, and I just thought of this: I run my car through a car wash that sprays under the car, and no problems with that. I figure, if a direct spray that hits under there has no ill effect, then rain should not have any.

Now, if you go through a really deep puddle,(we get these puddles down here that can be quite deep, that's why I say that), then you might run into a snag.
Have not done that yet, so I don't know. Hope I don't. Has anyone done that?

you can always get the k&n CAI, and put an aem bypass in so you won't hydrolock. i haven't done it, but i can't see why it wouldn't work. if i'm wrong i'm sure someone will say something or blast me for it :)

the aem with the bypass can only be bought through dealerships. they are not sold aftermarket. the only ones sold aftermarket are the "l" pipe style aem c.a.i.

the aem with the bypass can only be bought through dealerships. they are not sold aftermarket. the only ones sold aftermarket are the "l" pipe style aem c.a.i.Good thing that I got mine at the dealer then. :D

Thanks for the replys!
What a great rescource!

I am leaning towards the dealer's AEM intake at the moment. I like the fact that the intake has better hydrolock prevention built-in and that it is dealer approved. I plan on installing a Magnaflow cat-back at the same time.
Thanks again,
Coop

dont buy it from the dealer. you are gonna get screwed. i got mine on ebay and installed it myself. easy self doing mod.. JMO :wink:

if you're not slammed on the ground, I wouldn't worry about sucking up water. If that's an issue, put a short ram on it...

I got the Injen short ram. I haven't had any problems with it in the rain. I've driven in some really bad rain storms and driven through some flooded areas and never had a problem. Hopes this helps in your decision making process.

-Z

Thanks for the replys!
What a great rescource!

I am leaning towards the dealer's AEM intake at the moment. I like the fact that the intake has better hydrolock prevention built-in and that it is dealer approved. I plan on installing a Magnaflow cat-back at the same time.
Thanks again,
CoopBy keeping it dealer installed, you don't mess with the warranteeeee.

That was a big deal to me, seeing as I don't want to screw that up. Hope you enjoy it.!

i haven't seen any xBs having problems with their cai but a friend of mine drives a wrx and almost had his car hyrdolocked. i dunno how a car can "almost" hydrolock, but his radiator was also smoking because too much water got in. just drive carefully in the rain, and don't go for a swim in your car, like my friend basically did.

the dealer option intake has a smaller hp gain than the aem L pipe intake, too long , too many curves , and the bypass hurts performance. and as far as warranty they can only void it if they can PROVE that the installed part caused damage. which
1. and intake cannot damage a car and
2. they couldnt prove it if it did!

the dealer option intake has a smaller hp gain than the aem L pipe intake, too long , too many curves , and the bypass hurts performance. and as far as warranty they can only void it if they can PROVE that the installed part caused damage. which
1. and intake cannot damage a car and
2. they couldnt prove it if it did!Don't think I can agree with all of that.

I know that my Box gets better performance then it did, and my dealer told me that if I had got a aftermarket one installed, it would indeed void the warranty on the car. Who knows if that is pure BS; I'm just repeating what they said.

oh it's bs they like to throw hogwash around , and i'm not saying that the aem snail intake is worse thatn stock but it does yield a lower hp gain versus the L pipe aem .

Don't think I can agree with all of that.

I know that my Box gets better performance then it did, and my dealer told me that if I had got a aftermarket one installed, it would indeed void the warranty on the car. Who knows if that is pure BS; I'm just repeating what they said.

I have the Injen Short Ram. I bought it online from ptuning.com. I had it installed by my friend who is a Scion Certified Technician. We installed it in one of the bays at Scion of Irving. Along with my DC Strut Bar and Tanabe DF210's. Thanks Scott. :D

It's good to have connections. If you're that worried about it, keep your old intake box and put it back on before taking it in. Simple as that.

-Z

I just got my xb not too long ago I dont know much right now on scion tuning but I also have a Subaru WRX with a K&N typhoon CAI on and it is awesome and makes the car sound good also. The only thing you have to worry about when it comes to a cold air intake is completely submerging the filter in water.

oh it's bs they like to throw hogwash around , and i'm not saying that the aem snail intake is worse thatn stock but it does yield a lower hp gain versus the L pipe aem .

It is definitely NOT worse than stock, I noticed an immediate gain in power with the AEM and the sound is nicer, deeper.

The only thing you have to worry about when it comes to a cold air intake is completely submerging the filter in water.

I would not be worried about this It looks like the bottom of the filter is ~ 8" above the ground, and extends upward about 4" then there's the whole bypass thing.

I love the AEM CAI, definite performance gain.

oh it's bs they like to throw hogwash around , and i'm not saying that the aem snail intake is worse thatn stock but it does yield a lower hp gain versus the L pipe aem .

It is definitely NOT worse than stock, I noticed an immediate gain in power with the AEM and the sound is nicer, deeper.

The only thing you have to worry about when it comes to a cold air intake is completely submerging the filter in water.

I would not be worried about this It looks like the bottom of the filter is ~ 8" above the ground, and extends upward about 4" then there's the whole bypass thing.

I love the AEM CAI, definite performance gain.Yeah! I agree! :D

I think it's da bomb. Or it's da snizzle de izzle. Or it's keen. Or it's neato. Or it's cool.

Any of those.

Could not be happier with it.

I have to say "THANKS" to everybody too, for their responses. I bought the factory AEM and it's still sitting in a box in my basement waiting to be put on. I figured since I've only had my box for a little while too, I'd see how it runs then install the AEM CAI and see if there is any difference. Now I'm sure there will be. !!! I was worried about the water thing too, cause all it does here lately is rain.

I saw 7" in one day in Sept. and 3" the other day and 1" today. :cry:

BTW, I bought mine at toytaparts4u.com and it was like $200 less that the rip-off dealer wanted.

We got 1" today, It's the first day I've had mine on, but I did drive through some deep water with no problems (I live in the worst city ever as far as drainage goes.) I hope you like yours. I am sure you'll be happy.

Glad you got it! PICS! And let us know when you put it in...What you think then, that sort of thing...

I drive in the rain w/ my xB all of the time and I have the Injen short ram. I have the Injen CAI in my Matrix Xr and have no problems w/ it either.

I have the K&N Typhoon and accidently went through 6"+ deep water 2 nights ago.. thankfully (to my surprise) nothing happened.

FYI - w/ 2" drop.

As someone mentioned (and it's true), the only way to get hydrolock is to COMPLETELY SUBMERGE your intake in a deep puddle of water. Just rain and random drops of water will not harm your cars engine.

So what exactly is hydrolock you ask and why does it only occur when the intake is completely submerged?

Hydrolock is a condition when the intake ingests so much water that it literally fills a cylinder on your engine with water. This would happen when the engine is on a downward stroke towards bottom dead-center (BDC) and the intake valve is open (intake stroke). Once the valve closes and the engine is rotating into it's compression stroke, that's when you have problems. Because water is a liquid, it cannot be compressed like a gas (vapor). Something's got to give. Usually a rod.

As I said, this can only happen when an intake is completely submerged, because this is the only condition that creates enough vacuum to fill the cylinder with water. Little drops of water inside your cylinders will do no harm. Heck, there are already tiny drops of gasoline vapors in the fuel/air mixture your engines breath. Also, water injection is one way that some use to prevent detonation in high boost turbo applications. A little water vapor won't hurt anything - only danger is a fully submerged intake.

If you have an AEM intake with the bypass valve, you will not be able to harm your engine, even if the intake element is completely submerged. The bypass valve was designed with preventing hydrolock in mind. You will not see a difference in performance between versions of CAI with or without the bypass valve.

I had a '99 Civic Si that was really low to the ground. The intake was about 6-8 inches off the ground with my long style AEM CAI. The intake was in the fender, just in front of the tire. I did not have a bypass valve installed. I never had any problems in the rain, or even moderatly sized puddles. As long as you kept moving at a moderate speed, the panel that protected the intake (basically the lower front fender liner) would act like the bow of a boat and prevent the inside of the fender from completely filling with water (and possibly making me prone to hydrolock).

Bottom line. Do not worry about hydrolock if you have a bypass valve on a low mounted CAI. If you do not have a bypass valve on a low mounted CAI, do not drive through puddles deep enough to completely submerge your intake. In general, do not worry about the random droplets of water entering your intake. They will do no harm, even if they do actually enter your cylinder (unlikely).

For the guy who said his radiator was smoking from what he claimed was from ingesting little droplets of rainwater - sorry. That's not what was causing the smoke and in fact it was probably steam you were seeing from water on your radiator from the rain and boiling off causing steam. As I said before, a small amount of water vapor in your air/fuel mixture will cool your engine, rather than overheat it.

We got it? 8)

If you have an AEM intake with the bypass valve, you will not be able to harm your engine, even if the intake element is completely submerged. The bypass valve was designed with preventing hydrolock in mind. You will not see a difference in performance between versions of CAI with or without the bypass valve.



wrong check out performance statistics . the bypass lets air enter the air stream and currupts flow

Wrong. The difference is minimal, I didn't say there was no difference. You will not see the difference by the seat of your pants. Sure if you have a dyno, you may be able to see that huge 2-3 hp difference, but that equates to about a mouse fart in the 1/4 mile. Overall will still see a noticable gain from the CAI, valve or no valve.

Yo, hotbox05, I plan on looking you up when I move to Vacaville in April to do some work on my xB!

-Proto

oh but of course i am always up for makin money doin what i love.

I've had the Injen short ram on my box for about 13,000 miles with no problems. It rains an awful lot here in 'Bama. You will not have any water issues with the Injen. Plus, from the dyno tests I've seen, it makes more HP than all the others. You will notice the improvement in acceleration and it makes a throaty growl at wide open throttle. Adding an intake is the biggest single improvement you can make on this engine without going to a blower/turbo or nitrous. The factory header and exhaust flows pretty decent. Adding a cat back alone or header and cat back will not gain you as much HP as the intake will. I highly recommend the Injen short ram.

Sounds like fine advice. Check out the power hungry section for HP dyno results. Injen looks good.

Ingen IS short ram is the way to go for an Xb. You get cool air from the bumper well, it doesnt sit too low, and no twisty turny piping. That said all intakes are pretty much the same... pretty