I hope your not talking about this one...Its a ebay "BO BO Deluxe" and i slapped a WR sticker on it...thing of beauty it be...

 

Ha Ha That is beautiful

 

I still have to disagree with you guys, and its hard to believe that just rain will make you hydrolock. I tested out how much water will creep in through the hood using a Power washer, and ABSOLUTELY NO WATER gets in from the hood, that is because on the side below the hood there is a 2 inch rail that catches water, keeping it from dripping down into the filter. It has done nothing but rain for the past 2 weeks in my area, and i mean HEAVY thunderstorms, and i have had no water there. I mean like i said, the only realistic way is if you drive through a huge puddle at fast speeds. And that would be your stupidity anyway.

 

I still have to disagree with you guys, and its hard to believe that just rain will make you hydrolock. I tested out how much water will creep in through the hood using a Power washer, and ABSOLUTELY NO WATER gets in from the hood, that is because on the side below the hood there is a 2 inch rail that catches water, keeping it from dripping down into the filter. It has done nothing but rain for the past 2 weeks in my area, and i mean HEAVY thunderstorms, and i have had no water there. I mean like i said, the only realistic way is if you drive through a huge puddle at fast speeds. And that would be your stupidity anyway.

 

To each his own, but I will DEFINITELY disagree with you on this one man! I'm **** about keeping my car nice so everytime I wash it myself I pop the hood and wipe all the water spots out of the engine bay and check to make sure my CAI filter isn't soaked. Just so your aware, that "rail" will be slopeing down to the front towards the headlights, and will have to stop eventually. The filter sits down behind the headlights, with a nice hole right over the top of it between the battery and headlight units. If water doesn't get in under the hood then where do all the water spots come from...where do the beads of water come from that are on my filter after I'm finished...where did the water trails inside my CAI pipe come from when I went to clean it out when I cleaned my filter? And, yes, this is from the pressure washing system from the DIY car wash places.

Don't want to step on your toes too much but this is not true "ABSOLUTELY NO WATER gets in from the hood" and could cause some new people make mistakes which is not cool.

 

^^ X2.

We're not talking about rain, we're talking large vehicles passing by & throwing tidal waves of water across your hood or into the front grille. Re-read Phlame217's post and the one after it.

You can't simulate this with a powerwasher. Maybe if you and 5 others each dumped a large cooler full of water into the hood gap at the same time ...

No one is saying it's smart to be driving around when the streets are rivers. It's about the false sense of security that some people may have about aftermarket bypasses and hydroshields.

 

water isn't inherently bad for an engine...too much water is.

case in point would be alcohol/methanol injection. usually a 50/50 mix of whatever and water. one is used as extra fuel/power, while the water is used to suppress pre-ignition and lower intake temperatures.

technically, a bit of water will turn to steam and just clean the inside of your engine.

 

Doesn't water expand when it turns to steam? hence raising compression? so by CLEAN do you mean it cleans pistons and rods right out of your engine...

 

Bluemeanie, water is not good in your engine period. If its in your gas tank in small amounts it will harm your injecters after a while with that steam. and especialy if its sucked in through the intake which is what we are talking about. That will kill your engine.

 

^ lol @ both of you.
Mugetsu, Menace- Correct, water in excess amounts is of course bad.
Menace- This (either way you look at it - injected intentionally or sucked in by the cai accidentally) would be coming in thru your intake and mixing in the combustion chamber,not thru the injectors via the gas tank.




What is water injection?

Water injection is a technology that is nearly as old as the car itself. However, like many automotive technologies, it has waxed and waned as fashion has dictated. Water injection has the ability to suppress detonation, allowing the use of higher cylinder pressures. It is easy to control and relatively simple to install. In times of tight emission controls, decreasing fuel octane and rising petrol costs, water injection is one of the best ways of controlling detonation. And it has another major advantage over taking other approaches - the 'fuel' is available at almost zero cost!

How it Works

Water injection is used to suppress detonation. Detonation occurs when the flame front does not burn progressively across the combustion chamber but instead explodes into action. This causes a massive and sharp increase in combustion pressures which can damage pistons, rings and even heads. Detonation can sometimes be heard as a 'tink, tink' sound coming from the engine.

Water injection works in three ways. Firstly, when the water is injected into the intake system prior to the cylinder head, the small droplets absorb heat from the intake air. Water has a very high specific heat rating (it can absorb lots of energy while only slowly increasing in temperature) and so the intake air is initially cooled. Next, the small drops of water start to evaporate. Water has a very high latent heat of evaporation (its change of state absorbs a lot of heat) and so the intake air charge is cooled still further. Finally, when the remaining water droplets and water vapour reach the combustion chamber, steam is produced. This acts as an anti-detonant and also keeps the interior of the engine very clean, so preventing the build-up of carbon "hot spots".

Water injection was first experimented with in the 1930s. At the time it was discovered that detonation could initially be prevented by enriching the air/fuel ratio. As cylinder pressures rose still further and that approach ceased being effective, the injection of water into the intake air stream was found to prevent detonation. Interestingly, the detonation remained suppressed, even if the air/fuel ratio was then leaned-out. This occurred because the excess fuel was being used to cool the combustion process. When water replaced fuel in performing this function, less fuel was then required.

This has major implications for both emissions and fuel economy at high engine loads. In fact Saab on some of their recent turbocharged cars has used water injection at high loads in conjunction with leaner air/fuel ratios to reduce emissions output and improve fuel consumption. To put this another way, at high engine loads it is possible to reduce the amount of fuel being used, replacing it with water without sustaining any loss of power!

quoted from http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_107970/article.html

 

Bluemeanie you bastich you don't have to laugh at me, i was just messing with you. Water/Meth injection of course, so... to you...

 

Bluemenie, you obviously concocted fact with fiction to make your point. First, we are not talking about after market water injection systems. I would never put that in my car nor would recommend for anyone else to. The long term detrimental effects that your engine will endure far out weigh the short term benefits. Since they've invented intercoolers those things practically disappeared. Not to mention if it malfunctions even slightly say bye to your engine.

Second, what we were discussing in this thread was water entering your engine through your intake. Now, if as little as 50cc enters your intake and gets to the cylinder your engine will not be able to compress anymore and will bend your rods, shatter pistons, etc.

Third, regarding the fuel injectors, if there is too much water in your gasoline and not enough detergent (cheap gas), the water will assist in creating build up on your fuel injectors. When tiny drops of fuel vaporize around the injector nozzle, they leave behind trace compounds that can buildup over time and restrict the nozzle opening. Water vaporization intensifies this effect.

I hope you do a little research before just reading aftermarket water injection articles.

 

lol.

A. Fiction? What "fiction"? I am failing to see any fiction in my post.

B. I was initially replying to this post... about rain water as well as all the other posts about using a heat shield as a splash guard to evectively stave off hydrolock from minute droplets of water.

...and I specifically said that "water isn't inherently bad for an engine ... too much water is."

C.You're the one who brought up water in the tank ... I never said anything about whether it was harmful or not, only that it wasn't the topic at hand.

D. Take a deep breath and relax, I wasn't attacking you. However, I have been building cars, both race and restoration, semi professionally longer than you've been legally allowed to drive. Thanks for all your help deciphering all the "fiction" from non-fiction none the less.

 

I brought up those points to establish that water IS bad for the engine, no matter how it enters the system. Once again, ss little as 50cc can lock up an engine, though thats an estimate for a 2.0L, so our 2.4L is slightly more. Case in point, our modern engines were not designed to handle water. Now, if you want to throw the aftermarket injection system theory in there, here we go. It will rust the inside of your combustion chamber over time. I know you will probably reply that it actualy cleans the inside of your chamber, and that it does, but in the long term it will do more harm than the little benifit it brings. It's not worth to use injection as a means of cooling and octane boost. Last, I am glad you've been building cars for so long. I am however surprised at the fact that in all your time you have failed to establish a correlation between water and corrosion. It's normal for the chamber to have a little rust, water however exacerbates effect. I will not even begin to try to explain what may happen with a slight malfunction of your system. But hey, to each is own.

 

Ok, truce.

You are very correct about long term corrosion but this thread isn't about the long term effects of water injection or moisture. It's about short term and immediate hydrolock.
I was simply pointing out the fact water is used in certain applications and that people needn't be so terrified of cai’s and hydrolock to the extent that they are. I’ve sank an unmodified FJ Cruiser past its air box in a river on Toyota’s dime. I had no trouble with the truck what so ever. There is nothing special about its air box or its seals either. I just didn’t stop half way thru and let water rush in.

I think the simple point that everyone needs to realize here is that a by-pass is not the be all end all savior nor are those filter bags and that rain coupled with normal driving is not likely to harm anything so long as the original splash guard, hood seals and false grill are all correctly in place. Just don’t be stupid and soak the filter, thats all.

 

hydrolocking isnt just from water splashing on the filter. It happens when you run into deeper water and submerge the filter. And if you think that plastic on the bottom of the car is even close to watertight... then slap on your CAI, drive into a deep enough puddle and post up the noise your car makes and the cost to replace the engine :D

An engine can handle very small amounts of water in the intake, but at a point it will hydrolock. I have placed a vacuum line in water to help break up carbon deposits before. Again, a small amount and carefully done.

The splash gaurds do almost nothing for this. Yes, you have to drive into a deep puddle, but it WILL happen (and has happened to tCs already and has been posted on forums, one here recently actually).

 

Most cars do not "need" a bypass valve if driven in a smart fashion, but things can happen, and it only takes once. So basically this thread was worthless to start with. If you think you will never get into deep enough water to hydrolock it, then that is great. But to think that the splash guards and hood seals save you is incorrect 100%.

 

They do keep it clear from road spray tho and that is what they are meant to do.

 

I drove 125000 miles in my last car with a cai and no bypass, year round, pouring rain, snow, you name it. I personally never had a problem but I'm not about to say there is no way it could happen. It's all about minimizing risk. Avoid the puddles and creeks and you'll usually be fine.

 

oh hell... 2-3 more people who snorkled up water in thier CAI on a tC... but of course.. getting a bypass is un-needed and ridiculous

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...725037#2725037

And road spray doesnt hydrolock a car, submerging the end of the intake does... which splash gaurds dont prevent.