# Question about CAI Filter Shield



## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

Ok i searched but i couldn't find anything,
i installed my hotshot cai and that went well but..
the filter kinda sticks out on the bottom, and the shield thats under the car, doesn't cover the whole filter and i can't even get the shield to bolt up to where it supposed to be because the filters is too big, or at least it looks that way. 
Should i reinstall the filter higher ..so that the pipe goes deeper into the filter ?
We had the snow/rain for the last few days and i just noticed that the filter has crap all over it, dirt or something i guess from all the water/ice from the road. 
I got a bypass valve but i wanna make sure that the filter dont stick out so much 
Any advice on what i should do?


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## Jaralaccs (Jan 18, 2004)

I don't know how thick the piping is but can you cut it?


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## Nostrodomas (Jun 15, 2002)

Dont cut it, for now at least. Loosen up all of the clamps, and try ti insert the pipe deeper into the hose clamps. All of them if needed. Then if you cant reinstall the splash gaurd, then see if you cant send it back to hotshot, if you buaght it there. Or then you can cut it.


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

also the hole you cut in the fender well can move the whole lower piping so you can install the lower pipe deeper into the filter too.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

Nostrodomas said:


> Dont cut it, for now at least. Loosen up all of the clamps, and try ti insert the pipe deeper into the hose clamps. All of them if needed. Then if you cant reinstall the splash gaurd, then see if you cant send it back to hotshot, if you buaght it there. Or then you can cut it.


 yea thats what i was thinking, i might try that but i have a bypass valve and i know if i removed it from the setup it would be perfect but having it in there makes the pipe go deeper into the fender.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

Jaralaccs said:


> I don't know how thick the piping is but can you cut it?


 i haven't even thought about that. I got the kit used from somebody from this forum therefore i dont think i can send it back to hotshot but if nothign works out i might just cut it. First ill try the method above ^^^


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## Jaralaccs (Jan 18, 2004)

If its the bypass valve and you're worried about water getting in there I've read where people turn their CAI into a short ram during the rainy season by just removing the longest pipe and putting the filter on the end.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

yea thats what i was thinking of doing too, you know it supposed to be spring now and its still snowing and raining like crazy. I wasn't planning on that. I live in NJ and in summer it rains but not that much. Plus i think i just put the bypass valve into serious test when we had the snow few days ago.. cause man the roads were dirty and the cai worked perfectly through out the rain/snow. Thank god for that


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## Nostrodomas (Jun 15, 2002)

You have to completly submerge the filter to cause any damage at all. Trust me you really dont need a bypass valve. Unless your doing some serious mud bogging.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

lol,
i didn't know that, i thought just little bit of water can cause damage. So it is ok if bits of water get through the intake?


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

Nostrodomas said:


> You have to completly submerge the filter to cause any damage at all. Trust me you really dont need a bypass valve. Unless your doing some serious mud bogging.


that is true...

i lost my first engine like that...i didnt have time to convert my intake into a short ram. plus, i couldnt get out of my car even after the rains started. i wouldve been swept away. a bypass valve would have come in handy that day.

now i convert it whenever i can, as long as i know its going to rain. but sometimes vegas weather is unpredictable...like i that night

i will forever hate rain because of that


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

damn man that sucks  
how long was it sucking water for?


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

to tell you the truth, i have no clue.

people say that you have to floor it before anything can happen...well i wasnt


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

does it rain a lot overthere or you just had very bad luck ?


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

its a long story...but no i really doesnt rain alot over here (im in a desert) and yeah, i have bad luck lol


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## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

*it should all fit*

i got a HS CAI with a bypass filter, and i got it all to fit snugly in my engine bay. i had all the clamps loose and test fit the filter in the fender before tightening everything down. give that a try, loosen the clamps and use the play to push the filter up so the wheel guard fits correctly. its gonna be a tight fit, and at least the CAI wont move around so much cuz of that..

cutting it should be your last resort.....


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

Wufaded said:


> i got a HS CAI with a bypass filter, and i got it all to fit snugly in my engine bay. i had all the clamps loose and test fit the filter in the fender before tightening everything down. give that a try, loosen the clamps and use the play to push the filter up so the wheel guard fits correctly. its gonna be a tight fit, and at least the CAI wont move around so much cuz of that..
> 
> cutting it should be your last resort.....


cool, ill give that a try, when i was installing it i started at 5pm ..by the time i got done it was dark and cold as hell, f*cked up weather overhere  so i couldn't see anything till the next day.


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## HoloSkull (Jan 30, 2003)

Unless you are using that thing for boating you don't even need a bypass valve. You would literally have to completely submerge the filter in water before worrying about losing your engine (it could even be at idle in this situation). All you have to do is avoid big puddles.


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## NotAnotherHonda (Aug 7, 2003)

HoloSkull said:


> Unless you are using that thing for boating you don't even need a bypass valve. You would literally have to completely submerge the filter in water before worrying about losing your engine (it could even be at idle in this situation). All you have to do is avoid big puddles.



thats what i thought...but even through driving through rain, my CAI filter would sometiomes get DRENCHED, causing me to stall out...

its a common misconception that you need to actually SUBMERGE the filter before it creates danger for the engine...just by driving through lots os small puddles and rain, the filter can become drenched in water, and possibly locking up the motor...

GET A BYPASS VALVE...i did, and never was stuck on the side of the road again...(it happened more than once without one)


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

HoloSkull said:


> Unless you are using that thing for boating you don't even need a bypass valve. You would literally have to completely submerge the filter in water before worrying about losing your engine (it could even be at idle in this situation). All you have to do is avoid big puddles.


 I always wanna be on the safe side, near me when it rains there is this big puddle of water that I hit when i go to school. Its not there everyday but once in a while, sometimes i forget and when i drive at like 50mph .. and i hit it, the whole front of the car is covered in water, the car hydroplanes, and my RPMs jump up and down. Its a pretty big puddle i would say, therefore i dont wanna get rid of the bypass valve just yet.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

NotAnotherHonda said:


> thats what i thought...but even through driving through rain, my CAI filter would sometiomes get DRENCHED, causing me to stall out...
> 
> its a common misconception that you need to actually SUBMERGE the filter before it creates danger for the engine...just by driving through lots os small puddles and rain, the filter can become drenched in water, and possibly locking up the motor...
> 
> GET A BYPASS VALVE...i did, and never was stuck on the side of the road again...(it happened more than once without one)



yea ill keep it . With my luck if i remove it my car will die a week from now, i 
just know it ..


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

finaly i took some pictures of the cai
.. this the engine bay:




















and this is one of the sheilds that is being pushed out by the fillter, the other one is on the bottom.


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

get an optima red top battery...

its a better battery period, and the size is a bit smaller overall...

that should free up a lil space in your engine bay and allow the cai pipe to move foward...it did for me


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## NotAnotherHonda (Aug 7, 2003)

McLaren F1 2003 said:


> get an optima red top battery...
> 
> its a better battery period, and the size is a bit smaller overall...
> 
> that should free up a lil space in your engine bay and allow the cai pipe to move foward...it did for me



or you can unbolt the battery tray, then drill some new holes about 2 inches to the left, then bolt the tray to the car using your own nuts and bolts...that will free up some space also by moving the tray over...


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## DanTheMan (Jan 12, 2003)

*AEM bypass valve*



McLaren F1 2003 said:


> its a long story...but no i really doesnt rain alot over here (im in a desert) and yeah, i have bad luck lol


Yeah, reall bad. Must have been on a dropped ride in one hell of a storm, and you drove that day because? 
Maybe the right side of the road gets deep but the intake is on the left.
Damn man how much ground clear did the car and/or the filter have?
I guess you may hae gone through a wash in which case you know better...
or at least now you do. 

The bypass valve is really an AEM plot to make money on a crappy part you don't need. Especially when you consider you're just gonna suck air through your new bypass valve filter, so now your intake is where the filter is. Just made your CAI a moot point my friend. Plus your AEM bypass valve has internal springs in the flaps that may or may not dislodge and fly into your engine at WOT (hope the glue holds a couple of summers or AEM is looking at alot of lawsuits next winter). In fact I think AEM may discontinue the bypass valve since people are noticing it pulls underhood air and reduces CAI flow and with the spring questions/disaster just waiting to happen I pulled mine out but AZ is a desert so yeah for snow just go to a ram underhood and protect your $$$$$ and keep your $$$$ out of AEM's wallet. 

Ain't shittin' ya'll


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

McLaren F1 2003 said:


> get an optima red top battery...
> 
> its a better battery period, and the size is a bit smaller overall...
> 
> that should free up a lil space in your engine bay and allow the cai pipe to move foward...it did for me


 well actually i already moved this battery tray. I dont know if you can tell but the battery is moved a little to the left .. ( and the try aswell). The reason why it looks like there is not enough space..is cause this battery is for Nissan Maxima  which is little bigger than ones for our cars (my friend owns one..and he got the yellow top, so he gave me his old one. he only had it in his car for few days so technicaly its like brand new).


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## tkvtec (Apr 20, 2003)

NotAnotherHonda said:


> thats what i thought...but even through driving through rain, my CAI filter would sometiomes get DRENCHED, causing me to stall out...
> 
> ...(it happened more than once without one)


Same here.
Bad rain storm...big puddles...not deep enough for the filter to become submerged, but even at idle through them it caused my engine to stall a few times and kinda sputter.
These puddles were the width of the road and I couldn't avoid them, so I gave it gas, shut the car off just in case and coasted through.
Doing that the filter got wet enough to stall the motor after I got it started back up.
This was a once a year storm.
I still have no bypass valve and have had no troubles all winter.
You don't REALLY need it unless your area gets huge rainstorms where huge puddles become a problem.
It's not a bad thing to have though, I just don't think it's absolutely necessary.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

it all depends on the road conditions, it doesn't have to rain a lot.. but just enough, and if the roads are crappy ..then the holes collect water and when you drive through them they might splash right onto the filter. And if you there is a lot of em .. you know what i mean.


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## Rottdog (May 2, 2003)

Ok What I'm Not Understanding Is , With The Wheel Well Properly Installed And Bolted Up , Going The Puddles Like That The Filter Should Only Get A Few Drops On It , Cause Of The Location Of The Filter And Everything


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

Rottdog said:


> Ok What I'm Not Understanding Is , With The Wheel Well Properly Installed And Bolted Up , Going The Puddles Like That The Filter Should Only Get A Few Drops On It , Cause Of The Location Of The Filter And Everything


 well i dont think its ever gonna be completly sealed because if it was..then not much air would get it, therefore there has to be a gap for the air to go through and thats the same gap that water gets in. So its not that much about the wheel well but the gap on the bottom, under your engine


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

DanTheMan said:


> Yeah, reall bad. Must have been on a dropped ride in one hell of a storm, and you drove that day because?
> Maybe the right side of the road gets deep but the intake is on the left.
> Damn man how much ground clear did the car and/or the filter have?
> I guess you may hae gone through a wash in which case you know better...
> or at least now you do.


dude, dont fucking treat me like a dumb ass, and dont get me started...you werent there, so you cant understand. plus, ive explained it countless times.

*mockingly* and you drove that day because?

it was fucking sudden dipshit...


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## Rottdog (May 2, 2003)

well there is a gap in the front in the bumper where the air gets in there shouldn't be in front of the tire where the wheel well is


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

Rottdog said:


> well there is a gap in the front in the bumper where the air gets in there shouldn't be in front of the tire where the wheel well is


pretty much its the same shield. Its the wheel well..and then it goes underneath and boults up covering most of the filter.. but not all of it.


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