Hydrolock anyone??

[fern2021]

Ok. I know I hear a lot of people here choosing a SRI instead of a CAI because you are worried about hydrolock, which is an understandable concern. But has anybody actually experienced it or know anybody who has with a properly installed intake? I mean, the car was designed with cold air induction in mind.

[ImTheVoiceOfGod]

A buddy of mine did...... granted he passed out drunk while driving and ended up with his foot on the gas in a 2 1/2 feet deep pond.......

[Asif22]

Yes it was through a series of pipes in which water would have a hard time gettting through...Also it draws in air from the fender area

[firmhonda]

Well first off, welcome to the site man.

If I were you I would get an sri, especially with the way that we see such crazy rain from time to time here in Ft. Worth. Off the top of my head I can't think of anyone that I personally know that has hydrolocked, but I know that there was a thread here a while back about a guy that hydrolocked his fg2. It was so long ago that I don't remember where it is though.

Offtopic question, do you go to school around here? Feel free to just hit me up via PM to talk.

[dragonzsoul]

lol the car's stock cold air intake? what cold air? by the time it gets to the engine through the maze of tubing, it'll be hot!

[ErichPryde]

the stock intake is NOT a cold air intake. look directly to the right of your battery, you'll see a hose there. that's where the air is actually drawn from. here's a good diagram of what our intake tract looks like (bottom picture):


however, it isn't a hot intake, either. the plastic of the tubing doesn't heat up much.

as for hydrolock, a H22 hatch here in Wichita did yesterday. other than that, I know of three members that have hydrolocked... At least one of them was trying to file it on their insurance.

the risk of hydrolock is low if you watch out for large quantities of water. just remember that you can't drive through flooded streets, and make absolute certain that if ANYONE else drives your car, they are aware of this and just as concerned about it as you are.

[AllShowNoGo]

Originally Posted by ErichPryde

the stock intake is NOT a cold air intake. look directly to the right of your battery, you'll see a hose there. that's where the air is actually drawn from. here's a good diagram of what our intake tract looks like (bottom picture):


however, it isn't a hot intake, either. the plastic of the tubing doesn't heat up much.

as for hydrolock, a H22 hatch here in Wichita did yesterday. other than that, I know of three members that have hydrolocked... At least one of them was trying to file it on their insurance.

the risk of hydrolock is low if you watch out for large quantities of water. just remember that you can't drive through flooded streets, and make absolute certain that if ANYONE else drives your car, they are aware of this and just as concerned about it as you are.

i know the diagram labeled "STD" (the second picture) is what the stock intake looks like for the Si's, but lets say we're washing our cars with a somewhat powerful water sprayer and im cleaning the space/line between the fender and the hood, where the hose is near, would this cause water to go inside that tube near the fender?

[fern2021]

Thanks guys. I didn't know that it was drawing air from the fendewell. I was under the impression it drew it from around the front bumper. Thanks for the diagrams. You are right about the rain around here, it gets pretty crazy at times, and it will probably get worse with global warming...lol. I don't remember if it was last summer or the one before where we got the most rain I ever seen in my life. I guess I will go with a SRI, it looks nicer under the hood with it in my opinion. One quick question. If I am going to completely remove the stock intake, will I need to remove the front bumper?

[dmnall]

The whole Hydrolock issue I have ever seen was as others have said, driving through flooded streets or very deep puddles that the filter gets covered in water will suck in water and cause the engine to Hyrdolock. I had this concern on my 2002 Camaro Z28 when I had SLP's CAI kit for the car and never had a problem, yet I had heard people driving their camaros through flooded streets and sucked up water to hydrolock their engines. Same with the SSRA for the F-bodys as well. Whoever says that CAI will hydrolock your engine with just driving in the rain does not realize that driving through a deep puddle or flooded street, is the cause of the hydrolock where as not driving through a deep puddle or flooded street and just driving while in the rain will not cause the issue.... This is just my opinion though.. Just use common sense and you should be fine.

Charlie

[ErichPryde]

Originally Posted by AllShowNoGo

i know the diagram labeled "STD" (the second picture) is what the stock intake looks like for the Si's, but lets say we're washing our cars with a somewhat powerful water sprayer and im cleaning the space/line between the fender and the hood, where the hose is near, would this cause water to go inside that tube near the fender?

no. it's actually pulling the air from right under the top of the metal fender. in addition, the water would have to go down, into the resonator, through the maze, and then back up into the airbox and then through the throttle body and intake manifold. you'd need gallons and gallons, probably more than 5, to accomplish that.
furthermore, there is a hole in the bottom of your stock airbox that allows water to drain from the intake. Finally, unless the water (as liquid, not steam) somehow gets past the filter element, your engine won't hydrolock.

with a CAI, the whole end of the intake becomes submerged and then becomes a straw. unless there's a massive flood, I don't see the same thing happening with the stock box.

[dragonzsoul]

Originally Posted by AllShowNoGo

i know the diagram labeled "STD" (the second picture) is what the stock intake looks like for the Si's, but lets say we're washing our cars with a somewhat powerful water sprayer and im cleaning the space/line between the fender and the hood, where the hose is near, would this cause water to go inside that tube near the fender?

wow you are one detailed washer! haha, but your car would have to be on to hydrolock. even if water did get into the intake tract a little, it'd settle into the resonator box. don't worry about it, like t3h mod said.

Originally Posted by fern2021

Thanks guys. I didn't know that it was drawing air from the fendewell. I was under the impression it drew it from around the front bumper. Thanks for the diagrams. You are right about the rain around here, it gets pretty crazy at times, and it will probably get worse with global warming...lol. I don't remember if it was last summer or the one before where we got the most rain I ever seen in my life. I guess I will go with a SRI, it looks nicer under the hood with it in my opinion. One quick question. If I am going to completely remove the stock intake, will I need to remove the front bumper?

lol honda calls it a cold air set up for marketing purposes.. in order to remove the resonator box, yes you will have to remove the front bumper. however.. if you chose to leave the resonator box in there, i suppose you wouldn't have to remove the bumper. you'd have to remove some piping, but it's do-able

[ErichPryde]

you actually don't have to remove the bumper. just remove the driver's side wheel, the fenderlining, one bolt from the resonator, and pull. It'll pop out. that's essentially how I removed mine.

[Micah]

i've hydro-locked before.....it ain't fun....especially when they almost cancel your warranty on you for puttin an intake on your car......anyways, i've done it....

[AllShowNoGo]

Originally Posted by dragonzsoul

wow you are one detailed washer! haha, but your car would have to be on to hydrolock. even if water did get into the intake tract a little, it'd settle into the resonator box. don't worry about it, like t3h mod said.


lol honda calls it a cold air set up for marketing purposes.. in order to remove the resonator box, yes you will have to remove the front bumper. however.. if you chose to leave the resonator box in there, i suppose you wouldn't have to remove the bumper. you'd have to remove some piping, but it's do-able

lol i like to keep my car clean.

[newsiguy]

ive had a buddy with a little bit older si and we were riding in it when we went over a fairly large new jersey puddle not only did it hydro lock it blew a whole in the front of the block that i could stick a 2x4 in. First hand experience here

[Brown_Bear]

Originally Posted by ErichPryde

the stock intake is NOT a cold air intake. look directly to the right of your battery, you'll see a hose there. that's where the air is actually drawn from. here's a good diagram of what our intake tract looks like (bottom picture):

well according to honda's site....it comes with a "cold air intake"..
2008 Honda Civic Si Sedan - Features - 197-hp, 2.0-Liter, DOHC i-VTEC® 4-Cylinder Engine

[AllShowNoGo]

Originally Posted by Brown_Bear

well according to honda's site....it comes with a "cold air intake"..
2008 Honda Civic Si Sedan - Features - 197-hp, 2.0-Liter, DOHC i-VTEC® 4-Cylinder Engine

yes ive seen that website before. the stock intake of the Si has the cold-air-intake concept.

[ErichPryde]

yes, honda markets it that way. the stock intake flows well, but the airbox shown in the top picture flows better. for that matter, most of the aftermarket intakes flow better than the stock box. this is because it was specifically designed to protect your car while giving you decent power and fuel economy.

Honda probably calls it a "cold intake" because it's not technically pulling air from the engine bay, it's pulling it from the top of the fender. if you don't believe me, go out and take a look at your stock intake... you'll see where it pulls the air from.

[Brown_Bear]

oh ok, i guess it is like a CAI, but not a true CAI...lol silly honda, well at least im gettin my fujita SRI this week, dont trust VA weather..its crazy...

[AllShowNoGo]

im just wondering, but i heard that people putting on sri actually decrease the power of the engine....is this true?