# Bought intake.. is AEM bypass worth it?



## blitzboi (Apr 13, 2004)

I've ordered a cold-air intake for my 3.5 SE, and it says it's compatible with the AEM bypass valve. I understand what this is for, i.e. not allowing water to be sucked into the engine if you decide to ford a creek or something (lol).

But I live in Toronto, which is known for blazing hot summers (except this year), cold snowy winters and fun/nasty weather like that, but not for hurricanes or floods.

*So, is it worth getting an AEM bypass valve or like device??*

Thanks in advance for your sage wisdom people... cheers!


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## GregV (Apr 30, 2002)

blitzboi said:


> I've ordered a cold-air intake for my 3.5 SE, and it says it's compatible with the AEM bypass valve. I understand what this is for, i.e. not allowing water to be sucked into the engine if you decide to ford a creek or something (lol).
> 
> But I live in Toronto, which is known for blazing hot summers (except this year), cold snowy winters and fun/nasty weather like that, but not for hurricanes or floods.
> 
> ...


The twice I drove through lots of water cost me one AFM (under warranty). Keep in mind even excess moisture will compromise the AFM. Have I added a bypass? NO.


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## Ruben (Oct 15, 2002)

The BPV can increase the dirt that gets in your engine since the flaps open under WOT and the foam onthe BPS is not a great filtration system. You can also loose a little bit of HP because of the flaps opening.

If you are afraid of injesting water, just convert it to a short ram during the rainy season.


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## blitzboi (Apr 13, 2004)

Just incase anyone's interested, the CAI I bought comes from a company in Quebec (Canada) called Cosmo Racing. Total cost was CAD$130 + $15.50 for S&H. It looks good in the pictures, and I just couldn't pass up a deal like that.. so we'll see how good it is when it gets here in the next day or so.


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## blitzboi (Apr 13, 2004)

Well, there were a few glitches along the way (they ran out of polished units and I had to go with red), but I finally got my intake today by UPS.

I went ahead and installed it already, which took about an hour and went pretty smoothly. This intake is basically the same design as AEM's cold-air system from what I can tell. However, for CAD$130 I can say it's nicely built and includes good-quality hardware (bolts, clamps, etc.).

The only problem I ran into with this kit is that it does not include instructions of any kind, so perhaps only people with a good mechanical sense should attempt installation by themselves.

I did have one problem, however. The included silicone hose to connect to the crank-case is the wrong diameter and won't fit over the connector on the new intake. I suspect some warehouse flunkie probably grabbed the wrong hose is all. I've emailed them to send me the correct part.

I took the car out for a spin shortly after installing the intake, and man can you hear the difference. The change is most notable when you blip the throttle quickly (where it sounds like a vacuum cleaner sucking on your hand), and between 2k and 3k RPM when you've got your foot in it (resonates loudly). I haven't tried revving it over 5,000 rpm yet, but I already know why the stock system had all those convolutions and baffling inside.

I'll post pictures tomorrow when I get a chance (too dark now). CYA!


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## blitzboi (Apr 13, 2004)

As promised, here are the pictures...

  
The second pic is actually down ahead of the drivers-side front wheel, but it's hard to tell in the pic (should be rotated 90CW).

As mentioned before, the company I bought the kit from sent the wrong diameter breather hose. I've asked them to send me the correct one (should have been 5/8" ID I believe), but in the meantime I got a piece of heater hose from the local auto parts store and installed that in its place (not in pictures).


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