I'm right on the verge of biting with a dual CAI, but have a slight concern. As it seems to be raining here permanently at the moment I'm a bit worried about the position of the filters in front of the rad. I'm totally convinced the NW CAI is a great product and the guys in the States have seen some fantastic results from it, but also alot of the states don't get our rainfall. I don't want to hydrolock the engine, as happened to someone recently. My car is a daily driver year round (apart from in the snow, when it's competely unmoveable!), so has to embrace the wet stuff when it decides to grace us!

Any input would be most appreciated.

Also, looking for a set of illuminated sills, if anyone knows of any.....

Regards, Andy

 

I also know somebody who hydro locked their engine due to water intake through a CAI. It wasn't a Crossfire, it was a Honda Civic Type R. I personally will stay well clear of them.

 

What is "hydro locked" do you mean the engine seized? It would need a hell of a lot of water going in to do that, and with a filter on the end of the intake under the bonnet I cant imagine how it could happen - or have I miss understood?

 

Water is incompressible. It was a 2 litre engine, therefore only 0.5 litres to fill one of the cylinders. Add to that it will get heated so will expand therefore not requiring all 0.5 litres to fill one of the cylinders. The piston rises on the compression stroke and hydraulically lifts the cylinder head. When the piston is at the top of its stroke there's very little volume left in the combustion chamber so therefore you don't need the cylinder full of water to cause hydraulic lift. It wrote off the engine in the case of my mates.

Renault 19's were notorious for this as their air intake was low down and entering a deep puddle was enough for the engine to suck in the water.

 

I live in the tropics and we see lots of heavy rain. As long as you keep the filter oiled and clean, and you don't get caught by a wave caused by a truck or something, you should be alright. I still get nervous but mine passed the tropical downpour test many times now. If your still nervous you can buy one of those socks they sell for added insurance.

Les

 

Also, with the Needswings dual CAI, the filters sit in front of the rad, between the rad and the grille, so are quite a bit more exposed.

Bazzer - the XF cylinders are only a fraction over 0.5 litres each - I'm guessing that something even less than 50ml of water in one cylinder would be enough to bend a valve!! Given the current climate, that's a strong possibility!

Veloci - The fact that you run one in your climate is bringing me back in favour, I'm sure your storms are far worse than we have here, even though it does seem to be raining constantly at the moment! Although getting hit by a tidal wave from a truck or a bus is a distinct possibility! Do you have any experience of the 'socks'? Are they 100% water tight and do they inhibit the intake of air at all?? Sounds like a promising compromise!

Thanks for all the responses!!

 

I've never used the socks myself so I don't know. They are for extreme conditions and I imagine they restrict the air flow. I would put them in the glove box for when the weather is not fit for travel. I've gotten caught 3 times far from home (race track) and had to drive 60 miles at interstate speeds in a deluge. I'll admit to being extremely nervous but nothing bad happened ..... well the lights fogged up a bit. I've heard of cars hydro locked here but all were from being foolish or hit by a huge wave of water. Here all the streets have 2 names, one when its dry and we just put "Rio" in front for when it rains. So Calle Tartak becomes Rio Tartak.

Les

 

Ha ha love it! I was in Mexico during a couple of 'showers' and was amazed at how the streets could be turned into rivers in 10 minutes! I'll investigate the socks further, as I'm really sold on the NW dual - an extra bit of power is always good and I'd love my S/C to sound a bit more like an S/C!

Thanks everyone for your kind input.

Andy.

 

these are the water resiitant socks...
K&N DryCharger filter cover

we are ingesting the air from the same location as the factory system through larger tubing = less vacuum normal driving than the oem system. we have been through ~ 500 cai's so far on the crossfire without seeing any issues through both our own testing and also from customers. IMO you would need to submerge the car in ~ 18" of standing water to have a issue, although you would have the same issue with the oem system at that point. i wouldnt run or sell the cai kits if we didnt believe in them

outwears (the company that makes the socks for k&n) claims a 1cfm decrease in airflow due to the covers while the filter is in the 600-700cfm range. i have not confirmed this on the flowbench but i may next time we get the bench fired back up.

for the covers, i do run them on my car as of this spring, not for the water prevention but rather to keep the filters cleaner longer. it is an outer shield stopping the bugs from getting stuck in the filter pleats.

 

btw, we do have a few kits in the UK, ill have to do some digging to pull those guys up but im sure i can find a few UK guys that wouldnt mind you emailing them to discuss.

 

Needswings, thanks. I've been very impressed with everything I've seen about you guys. In fact it was me who sent you the email a couple of months back about the shipping. I would be really grateful if you could put me in touch with anyone in the UK, but will probably give you a call in the next few days. (You have a couple of other bits I want too, I'm after some illuminated sills, and see you hhave them.)

Regards, Andy.

P.S. Do you sell the socks too??

 

The dual draws air in each tube at 1/2 the rate and velocity. Hydrolocking is not going to happen in a SRT.

Everyone talks about the engine, pardon me but the supercharger will atomize the water long before you get a SLUG of 50 ml or so. Water injection is something many of us have used and it takes an enormous amount of water to "put the fire out" or fill the cyclinder. I have not seen it happen and do not know of one recorded experience, though there are the friend of a friends neighbor's cousin's son.........

If you drive into a BIG pot hole youll have other issues to be concerned with. ENJOY< WOody

 

Thanks for the personal response Waldig, I've read many of your pioneering threads and very much respect the quality of knowledge and information you provide. With what you have achieved, your personal endorsement is all I needed.I was pretty much sold on NW before - I know where I'm going now!! Regards, Andy.

 

I don't think the supercharger will atomize the water, more the water will atomize your supercharger. Air is a compressible fluid, water is not.

Aquamist is a very fine mist of water and usually an alcohol mix. Water entering the intake is a very different matter. A head gasket failure can cause the cylinder not to fire.

With standing water on the side of the road, it can be very difficult to judge its depth on an unfamiliar road. I have hit puddles whereby the water spray engulfed the windcreen so I'd imagine a fair ammount of that water also engulfed the engine bay. Manufacturers house the air filter in a housing for a very good reason.

Mine is an everyday user on all road & weather conditions which is why in my scenario I would not use one. If mine was a dry weather runner and a garage queen then perhaps I would consider using an open ended air filter.

 

Well I'll go a little further. I ran a solo 1 event in the rain ..... no a downpour. I reached 75 mph on the straight with huge puddles of standing water. I didn't bother to film it because it was raining too much to continue racing and they let us go out and play in the rain since we couldn't race. I'll see if I can find a picture but for now here's a run during a break in the rain and before it starting coming down hard.

Les

YouTube - Ecotract in the wet Agosto 22,2010

 

I found a picture so you understand how hard it was raining while tearing around the track. Yes, I ran in it too. By the way, that 350Z has a Vortech supercharger and over 400 hp at the rear wheels.