Does an air intake system suck up water and ruin the engine?

[Jinterpreter]

So i took my new z to the dealership to ask a few questions regarding the warranty.
I told them that I'm willing to performance tune my car little by little and asked a service tech whether it would void the warranty.He told me that it will void it and explained about a case where an air intake system sucked up water into an engine and destroyed the engine.
he also said that an intake is notoriously known for sucking up water.
Is this at all true?

I really want to install hks intake and hks silent exhaust system but i also don't want to risk ruining the car.

[hoisumguo]

a Cold Air Intake has the possibility of sucking up water depending on where it is mounted, and if it does so and hydro-locks your engine will void the engine warranty.

If you are talking about the HKS reloaded intake it is not a CAI nor is it mounted anywhere that should be sucking up water.

ie. warranty doesn't cover if the user sucks.... sorry bad intake pun

-Hoi

[Scotty001]

Possibly - take some time and do a little research here on SRI and CAI. Use the Google feature of the search. Also do a little research on "Warranty" to include Magnuson-Moss warranty act. A lot of different opinions and answer.

The primary fear is with a CAI which takes in air from the bottom of the car but is protected by the bumper.. Do the forum searches and you will get a lot of information.

Edit: Yea that Hoi... Hooligan...

[Jinterpreter]

I see now. Thanks for the feedback. Going into research mode...now.

[lldsandsll]

Firsthand experience, I had a cold air that sat low. Got stuck in flood waters from a heavy rain. Water got sucked into the engine. Water does not compress, therefore when the engine tried to turn over, all the rods snapped in half. Had to make an insurance claim.

A short ram intake has less of a chance of becoming submerged. Any intake you use needs to consider a few things. First, can the filter get submerged? Cold airs sit very low and can be. Once the filter is submerged, your intake becomes a drinking straw. Think of it that way. A short ram sits much higher, so it has less of a chance. Second, even a short ram can still ingest water. If it is angled upwards, and water gets in, the water can travel down the tube towards the motor. If you use a short ram, make sure any water sucked up can flow back out by ensuring the pipe is angled downwards. Third point, a cold air can be modified by adding a bypass filter much higher up the piping. If you do this, a submerged filter will cause the intake to breathe higher up from the bypass valve, greatly reducing your chance of ingesting water.

In summation: buy a CAI with bypass, or use a short ram.

[TurboKits.com]

Exactly! Our BLF CAI is a modular intake which can be converted to a SRI for anyone who lives in an area of normal flooding or you can easily install a Bypass valve right at the SRI to CAI extension and use the bypass valve as a safely net.

Originally Posted by lldsandsll

a cold air can be modified by adding a bypass filter much higher up the piping. If you do this, a submerged filter will cause the intake to breathe higher up from the bypass valve, greatly reducing your chance of ingesting water.

In summation: buy a CAI with bypass, or use a short ram.

[lldsandsll]

Originally Posted by TurboKits.com

Exactly! Our BLF CAI is a modular intake which can be converted to a SRI for anyone who lives in an area of normal flooding or you can easily install a Bypass valve right at the SRI to CAI extension and use the bypass valve as a safely net.

Great kit for all of those reasons.

[varg]

I've had both kinds on previous cars. This time I went with a Takeda intake as I live in an area with regular flooded roads. If you do go for a Cold Air intake, you need to be aware that you can NOT drive through a deep puddle or flooded area. When you install the filter make a mental note of how low it actually sits. IE you can't do THIS!

[Monkey]

Hondas are great... lol wonder how far he got...

[ArtJDM]

If you get a cold air intake, get an AEM bypass valve. Most bypass valves negate any gains you would get from it over a short ram intake, but the AEM one keeps the intake sealed until the it becomes a vacuum. I have the Black Label Fabrication Cold Air Intake and it's amazing. I imagine the Takeda Intake has similar results without having to run a bypass valve. If the Takeda was out when I bought my intake, I would be torn between the two.