Has anyone had any issues with water while running their intakes? I went outside today after a heavy down pour to inspect the engine bay(truck has not been driven all day at this point). I found droplets of water on the stock airbox and the inside the engine bay fender wall were a filter would be located on a intake system. The water had found its way in through the gap between the hood and the fender(which is understandable since it is not sealed). Would the filter not soak up the water that lands on it? Would it not then allow the little water on it to get sucked up into the engine? I have read that some say that a little water wont hurt because by time it reaches the parts it could hurt, it is vaporized. What about while driving? Wouldn't water find it's way around the headlight housing and then onto the filter which in my case would be sitting behind the left headlight? I am growing very concerned and was hoping for some better information then what little I have been able to find on the subject. I have seen some of the pictures out there for the 05 and up frontiers and I think they all had some kind of cool air box design that would protect it from the water coming in from around the headlight, but what about the gap between the hood and fender? Volant wouldn't have that issue since it has a sealed box. I have the 4cyl '04, so I am in a different boat then some. Thanks
1:30am central time zone
Raining. Mostly between a heavy and light rain. I decided to take the truck out because I have to make my decision by sometime later this morning if I am going to cancel my order or not. I drove for a little bit and checked under the hood. No water coming in from around the headlight, suprisinly. Took it out on I-565 and got behind a semi truck kicking up lots of water. Stopped under a bridge before getting onto my ramp(didn't want the water to have a chance to evaporate) and checked, suprisingly again no water from around the headlight. Drove back and got off at my exit and pulled into the chevron. Checked and again no water from around the headlight as I feared might have been possible. Still concerned for more trecherous weather, especially with severe storms with damaging winds and heavy rain. I go to class 30 miles away and work full time. Sometimes, I don't have the time to wait a storm out. I no my limits and wont drive if I don't think I can handle it though. The Tennesse Valley is known for some suprise storms.
The only water I saw was from the gap of the hood and fender. It did not accumlate. So it might have been from when it was parked, I don't know. It wasn't a lot at all though.
I would think that if you are driving your truck in the rain
the the wind force would be enough to blow it back and not let it get into your engine compartment.
This will be one more reason I am glad that I chose a Vol-
ant CAI over the others. Even if this is not an issue I won't
have to worry if it is or not.
I would think that if you are driving your truck in the rain
the the wind force would be enough to blow it back and not let it get into your engine compartment.
This will be one more reason I am glad that I chose a Vol-
ant CAI over the others. Even if this is not an issue I won't
have to worry if it is or not.
OkieScot
I'm curious about the noise level of the Volant. Since it's enclosed is it quiet?
The only data I can give you is that I know a guy who put a CAI in a Protege5 with the intake at the top of the wheel well and it managed to ingest water and wreck his engine. $4500 in repairs.
The dyno runs he made on his car before and after showed the CAI gave him 8 hp. So, that's $560/hp.
After the repairs, he went to a SRI and turbocharged his engine. The relief valve stuck and his boost went up to over 12 psi, at which point he blew the engine again.
The only data I can give you is that I know a guy who put a CAI in a Protege5 with the intake at the top of the wheel well and it managed to ingest water and wreck his engine. $4500 in repairs.
The dyno runs he made on his car before and after showed the CAI gave him 8 hp. So, that's $560/hp.
After the repairs, he went to a SRI and turbocharged his engine. The relief valve stuck and his boost went up to over 12 psi, at which point he blew the engine again.
He must be the guy the folks on Hee Haw used to sing about... If it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all!
I think I would have learned my lesson after the first engine went!
__________________ Paul... :-) 2005 Aztec Red NISMO LE 4X4 KC, Sliding bed Extender, Body Side Molding, Side Steps, GENTEK 50 Autodimming Mirror, License Plate Back-up Sensor, OEM Rubber Floor Mats, eXtang Trifecta Tonneau, OEM Nissan iPod Gateway, OEM Hood Protector, AirAid Intake, PowerAid TBS, and JBA Exhaust! I'm done... :-)Get Cash Rebates on your On-Line Purchases!
Interesting observations. I've had similar concerns, and actuall have seen water in the bottom half of the stock air box (which is retained with the AirAid), but have not noticed any ill effects. Years ago there was water injection systems that were supposed to increase HP and MPG, but they kind of went away (probably for obvious reasons). I think the water I saw was the result of run off from the gap between the fender and hood that you described. Or it may be coming from the fender area through the stock snorkel, but I doubt that. I may look into a rubber weather seal that can be accahted to that side of the hood or fender to minimize this from happening. The bigger concern I have is hitting a large puddle in the road that would send a wave of water into the engine compartment from the tire! I doubt if a few drops whould do anything, but a wall of water sure would!
__________________ Paul... :-) 2005 Aztec Red NISMO LE 4X4 KC, Sliding bed Extender, Body Side Molding, Side Steps, GENTEK 50 Autodimming Mirror, License Plate Back-up Sensor, OEM Rubber Floor Mats, eXtang Trifecta Tonneau, OEM Nissan iPod Gateway, OEM Hood Protector, AirAid Intake, PowerAid TBS, and JBA Exhaust! I'm done... :-)Get Cash Rebates on your On-Line Purchases!
Interesting observations. I've had similar concerns, and actuall have seen water in the bottom half of the stock air box (which is retained with the AirAid), but have not noticed any ill effects. Years ago there was water injection systems that were supposed to increase HP and MPG, but they kind of went away (probably for obvious reasons). I think the water I saw was the result of run off from the gap between the fender and hood that you described. Or it may be coming from the fender area through the stock snorkel, but I doubt that. I may look into a rubber weather seal that can be accahted to that side of the hood or fender to minimize this from happening. The bigger concern I have is hitting a large puddle in the road that would send a wave of water into the engine compartment from the tire! I doubt if a few drops whould do anything, but a wall of water sure would!
I was thinking about taking some left over auto weatherstripping and trying to seal just that area too. This morning when I went out it was still raining and there is an area that I drive through all the time with poor drainage. It only gets bad when it rains non-stop like last night. I decided not to slow down for it to see how much water would get in to the engine bay. I really did not notice any more water then when I started. I'll have to do it again later just to double check.
an old mechanics trick to help get carbon buildup out of an old motor ws to pour fire the engine up, up the idle to about 1000rpm and pour water down the carb- not enough that it wouldnt keep running, but enough to slow the rpms down to 500-600 or so...
bottom line - it would take a lot of water to be pulled in through the intake to stall the motor, and that story about the car getting ruined that way seems to have a lot of missing information...
an old mechanics trick to help get carbon buildup out of an old motor ws to pour fire the engine up, up the idle to about 1000rpm and pour water down the carb- not enough that it wouldnt keep running, but enough to slow the rpms down to 500-600 or so...
bottom line - it would take a lot of water to be pulled in through the intake to stall the motor, and that story about the car getting ruined that way seems to have a lot of missing information...
Talking to a tech at my nissan dealership, he said that one of the ways for the water to stay out of the system was through the air box and by the filter. He said that the filter absorbs some of the water not allowing it to pass into the throttle body and into the engine. I'm just concerned because it seems that a lot of air is being SUCKED throught he filter and that the amount of air is eventually going to pull some water through. So I guess I want to know, how much is too much and for too long. From what I have been researching, some water does get into the engine through the stock intake system(Very little compared to what I would think would get through on the aftermarket intake.) So it sounds like some as you have said is ok. But, haveing water get in all the time during wet conditions (as small of amount it may be), when is it too much for the engine, in terms of lets say, it rains for 5 days straight? Water, again only being small amounts, coming into the engine for for 5 days straight in my eyes just can't be that good for the engine. I am asking all this because it seems that lots of people run aftermarket systems and the majority don't have issues at the time, but what about later on done the road, say 4 or 5 years from now. I want to keep my truck for as long as I can. Many of you will probably just say, if you are so concerned, to get it. I am leaning towards that right now. But at the same time, I would really like to have it for other reasons.
Generally it's submerging that you need to worry about. As long as you keep standing water below bumper level you should be fine. Ive had car CAI's that were much lower to the ground and have never had issues. Again, the key point is to avoid submerging in deep water, not rain.
Generally it's submerging that you need to worry about. As long as you keep standing water below bumper level you should be fine. Ive had car CAI's that were much lower to the ground and have never had issues. Again, the key point is to avoid submerging in deep water, not rain.
- Greg -
That's pretty much what I'm thinking as well! Besides, if you submerge the front of the truck with the engine running, your going to be sucking in water with the stock air box as well! Trust me, if air can get into the fender well to feed the air box, so will water! Also, most of the times when you hear of an engine being trashed by water it's because the cylinders have filled with water, and bent a rod or cracked the block during the compression stroke! Water does not compress like air! Again, this takes a lot of water. I've also seen engines that died after hitting a huge puddle (often this is more electrical related) and then the engine fire up with no damage after being allowed to fully dry out (this includes removing the spark plugs and turning over the engine with just the starter to ensure all water is out of the cylinders)! All these were extreme cases, like being places where a truck shouldn't be anyway...
__________________ Paul... :-) 2005 Aztec Red NISMO LE 4X4 KC, Sliding bed Extender, Body Side Molding, Side Steps, GENTEK 50 Autodimming Mirror, License Plate Back-up Sensor, OEM Rubber Floor Mats, eXtang Trifecta Tonneau, OEM Nissan iPod Gateway, OEM Hood Protector, AirAid Intake, PowerAid TBS, and JBA Exhaust! I'm done... :-)Get Cash Rebates on your On-Line Purchases!
Thanks guys. Like I said, I want to keep this truck a long time. I had the intentions of doing the same with my 01 elantra, but after wrecking it twice, being a imature teenage, I couldn't do it. The car just wasn't the same and started having lots of issues.
As far as the truck, I am just really concerned with stuff like this here and want to be sure that it wont ruin the engine because of water in years to come.
I don't have my Volant CAI yet. It is supposed to ship this
week. I'll let you know as soon as I get it installed.
Okay you guys, You are making me nervous about ordering a CAI now. I went out and looked at my stock
air intake and it takes air in the space above the wheel well. The inner plastic fender separates the wheelwell from
the area the intake draws air from.
I cannot see that any intake stock or aftermarket would be able to ingest enough water into the system to create a problem. Having said that, I also do not see how the in-
takes would be able to draw a whole lot of air from this
area either.
I guess it does or the dyno test Reverendbiker did on the aFe would not have shown a hp increase.
Well anyway, I feel better about putting my Volant CAI on my truck now.
I don't have my Volant CAI yet. It is supposed to ship this
week. I'll let you know as soon as I get it installed.
Okay you guys, You are making me nervous about ordering a CAI now. I went out and looked at my stock
air intake and it takes air in the space above the wheel well. The inner plastic fender separates the wheelwell from
the area the intake draws air from.
I cannot see that any intake stock or aftermarket would be able to ingest enough water into the system to create a problem. Having said that, I also do not see how the in-
takes would be able to draw a whole lot of air from this
area either.
I guess it does or the dyno test Reverendbiker did on the aFe would not have shown a hp increase.
Well anyway, I feel better about putting my Volant CAI on my truck now.
OkieScot
FWIW,
I wrote the guys at weapon-r, the only company that makes one for the 4 cyl 98-04 to my knowledge, they responded with these two emails.
"We offer only short ram style intakes to prevent the engine from
injesting large amounts of water. A cold air style intake places the
filter and end of the intake tube down low in the engine compartment,
exposing it to the possibility of pulling up water when you hit
puddles and flooding. Our short ram intakes mount the filter high in
the engine bay, usually the same as the OEM. This keeps it clear from
hydrolock. Though there will always be a bit of moisture underhood in
wet driving conditions, this is not enough to damage the engine.
This is under normal driving conditions, and does not necessarily
apply to off-road conditions, such as river fording."
-and-
"General rule of thumb is that unless the filter itself is submerged for even a second in water, then you are okay. If you are still worried, inspect the are behind the headlight after a heavy down pour, or better yet, take a hose to the front of your car. Then check just how much water remains on the air box and engine compartment. The amount of water that remains is unlikely to enter the engine in an amount large enough to do harm."
I wrote them with concerns about the water issue. After recieving these and reading stuff all over the internet, reading stuff that you guys have posted on this thread, and checking the water entry for myself, I am now confident and am going to go through with my purchase( I think). <--I am going to take a garden hose to the front of my truck right now to see just how much water gets trhough the front end, then I will most likely go through with the purchase. As for the previous test I have done last night, nothing notiecable has made it through. NismoFrontin' has a heat shield that goes with his filter, I think I am going to buy one of them and angle it to gaurd against the entry of water from the gap of the hood and fender.
Sorry Gerald for helping raise concerns to you. I feel so much better now about this issue and I don't think that I am going to be worried anymore. I personally think, (though not knowlegdable in this subject) that you are best protected with your Volant CAI because of the box being sealed. One thing I checked last night was inside the fender through the holes inside the bay. Yes, it was wet in there, but when I put my finger in one of the holes to inspect the intake opening of the stock system, it was dry. I'll post pictures in a few minutes to show what I am talking about. I don't think you will have anything to worry about.
