hey guys,
i have a dual air intake from needwings and a mesh grill. I went to the car dealership the other day and the employee there said that if I drive it while it rains, the air intake will suck up the water and it will break the engine. I was wondering if it is true and what can I do to avoid it. If I put covers, the engine wont have any air or would it works? thanks
ben

 

I drove 30 miles in a torrential downpour the very day I installed my single CAI, no problems, and I'm talking about having to pull over and stop twice because the rain was so heavy.

When I got home, first thing I did was pull the grille and have a look, because I too was concerned.
The filter was perfectly dry.

What I think happens is this : the rain does get on the front and top of the filter, but because of the increased density caused by this, the majority of the air is pulled through the bottom and back where it is still dry.
But then, as usual, I could be wrong.

 

As usual, your dealer guy dosen't have a clue.... I live in Oregon where it rains once in a while and have had the Needswings DCAI on my car for well over a year (maybe 2).... NEVER any issues with driving in rain of any level to date.....

 

I've driven in monsoon rains with my dual CAI with no problems. I've even raced in the rain.

Les

 

You should be ok. Some people actually use water injection to cool their pistons.

 

I've had a needswing CAI for about two years now with no issues. Rob sells a mesh sock you can install over the filter. My filter was getting dirty from the dirty water from the car in front of me when driving on the highway due to the mesh grill. It took care of the problem.

 

I know of only two incidents of Hydro lock being reported on our Crossfires.
One was right after I joined the forum in 2008 and I cannot recall the post. It was on a stock engine set up.

The other was my own which was on a custom CAI with the intake placed in the Fender box and the inspection cover leaked.

No Needs wings instalations have reported Hydrolock issues. If you compare the stock set up to the NeedsWings, Rob's unit is actually less likely to have the problem. This because the filters are first in the system. I would concur with Alaxfire's conclusions. See post #2.

Near as one can tell, you are more likely to have an issue with a stock set up, or an improperly designed unit, than a well proven NeedsWings.