AEM Air Bypass Valve
The Bypass Valve protects the engine from ingesting water and hydro-locking if the filter becomes submerged in water. Hydro locking occurs when the end of the inlet pipe is submerged in water and the water is sucked into the engine. Driving the vehicle in rainy conditions is not enough to cause a problem unless the vehicle submerges enough that the inlet end of the pipe is immersed in water. Rain impediment on the filter will not cause a hydro lock condition. The bypass valve will redirect the air from another location. Placing a nitrous oxide nozzle before the bypass valve will lead to fuel contamination of the foam spring and filter, and degrade the integrity of the plastic valve housing due to the extremely cold temperature of the nitrous oxide. Nitrous CAN be used downstream of the bypass valve, either along the inlet pipe (room permitting) or plumbed into the intake manifold or throttle body.
Do NOT use an Air Bypass Valve on engines equipped with forced induction (turbo or superchargers). The increased flow demands created by the forced induction could damage the valve and lead to engine damage. The distance of the filter from the road dictates the level of water that can cause damage, hence the need for the Advanced Engine Management Air Bypass Valve. There are some instances where there is not enough room around the inlet pipe for adequate clearance of an bypass valve. In these instances, we recommend installing a Short Ram system if water ingestion is a concern.
Unless you live in an area that has rains alot the need to worry about your engine ingesting enough water to cause damage to your engine is minimal. However, for those of you who do live in high rainy location such as Florida or the Northwest portion of the continental United States, the AEM bypass valve might be valuable addition to your cold air intake.
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