@jeff-You drive an STI where the filter sits on the top side of the engine, if you submerged your filter either A-You're a complete idiot, or B you're being swept away in a flood. Either way a bypass valve wouldn't do you any good.

I found a company that DYNO tested a 250 hp NSX equiped with the AEM bypass valve and with the air box submerged in a fish tank of water and the water only reached 18 inches up the tube. By the way AEM didn't recomend the valve on that car because of the displacement of the NSX engine. However it still worked wonders in keeping the water out of the engine.

Read for yourself.

http://www.modified.com/tech/0104scc_aem_air_bypass_valve/index.html

could possibly save your engine, looks ok, easy to install, doesnt cause drop in power.

not metal, may never be needed

First off, i think this bypassvalve is something good to have. Id rather spend 40$ now then thousands later replacing my engine. Sure, it may never actually be used to save my engine from water but its there just in case, like insurance. Also i dont understand why people are saying you lose power, Ive actually heard you can gain power at higher rpms, becasue if theres a large demand for air that your airfilter cant supply, it will create a vacum, the valve will open and allow more air to get sucked into the engine with less resistance. plus it doesnt look that bad.

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alot

hi this is my review..

hello

i have a friend that wasted money on AEM's bypass filter (bpf) and we honestly DO NOT see a point to using one in the first place, UNLESS you race auto-cross or road courses where the climate is VERY wet. we live in WA and my AEM cold air intake equipped sti has never had a problem on either type track in the rain, even under extreme conditions.
and to the two geniuses with previous posts (you know who you are): if you submerge your intake in water you will get water in your intake and cylinders regardless of having the bypass valve or not. (it might not be as much water, but still.......) ADVICE: don't drive your car through water deep enough to penetrate the engine compartment!!! LOL
as far as the other brilliant post goes: if the bypass valve was installed between the MAP sensor and the throttle body and not between the MAP sensor and the main air filter, (not bpf), then your car WILL NOT run if there is ANY air leaks AFTER the map sensor. ADVICE: buy a rubber hose that's just big enough to fit over your intake piping and use screw type clamps. this will last for a very long time. to fix it in the meantime....... use duct tape!!! LOL

the only practical reason to have one of these would be for off-road racing with 4x4's as well as rally cars.

BUT! the best advice for everyone wanting to try their hand at import customization, racing, or show competition: buy a standard wrx and do a JDM engine/tranny swap. they possess superior parts and reliability. you couldn't ask for a better built drivetrain off the manufacturering line.
oh, and did i mention that any mitsubishi vehicle is a POS?!?!?!?!?!?! get a real honda killer!!! buy a scoobie!!!

prevents hydro locking in the event that any good amount of water would get into your filter, it acts as a back up.

you might lose 1-2 percent in performance.

I own a 1996 mitsubishi eclipse rs and the front end has a small hole where you can see pretty much all of the filter. the other night i was driving in the rain and water i guess was splashing up in there somehow. so the filter got wet and at around 3k rpms in 3rd, the car bogged because the filter's pores were clogged from the water and not enough air was getting through. luckily i didnt totally fry the motor and i got home ok, but it works perfectly fine now. i have it rigged for now until i get the bypass valve, (i covered the hole up with duct tape), but i definatly think getting it is the safest thing to do for me in the event that this would happen again.

Stops some water

The plastic bypass valve itself is weak and needs to be made out of metal or something else.

So I bought my car aready with the intke in it. So, not knowing much about cars, I thought it was cool and whatever, no big deal. But when I took my car to get the oil changed at the dealer, they told me I shold buy this bypass valve or else water will get in my engine and ya whatever. So i got on it real quick got one, installed it, no big deal. A couple of months later, I was about 30 minutes from my house at work and already late for an appointment I had, and I was about to get on the freeway when my car started to jolt like I was about to stall the clutch. So i sat there for a minute ( in the hot sun, 105 degrees) and started it back up, then tried to turn around to go back to work and stalled about 10 more times in less than a good 3 miles. I got back to work, popped my hood, and what would you know, my bypass valve had snapped at where the clamp is, and it was dangling. I guess too much air in the engine kills it. I had to leave my car there and who knows what I'm going to when I get it back to my house. Buy another bypass vavle, ha yea right.

fairly cheap, not too hard to install Better than replaceing the etire engine

may not be neccessary if your intake wont get submerged in water

For those of you doubting the need for this product, or unsure of the practical use of it, let me be the one to give you a real world situation that happened to me WITHOUT one. I have a 2000 Ford Focus with the 2.0 Zetec. My car is lowered way down in the weeds with coil over springs in their lowest possible position. I added a cold air induction kit, and loved the increase in power and it gave my car a real nice throaty sound, even though i already had a nice catback system on it. Long story, we had a LOT of rain hear in the Chicago area, and I went to drive under a railroad track, and wasn't aware of the depth of the water. It was about 2 feet deep, way more then enough to completely cover my intake filter. My car stopped dead, engine died. There was no bang or loud noise, it just stopped. At this point I didn't know what happened. I went to start it and it just clicked, like when the starter goes bad. I had no idea what was going on. I eventually got towed back to my house and the next day I was looking at my car trying to figure out what went wrong. I pulled a plug, and MY CYLINDER WAS COMPLETELY FILLED WITH WATER. I pulled the other three and the same thing. The vacuum of my intake sucked water all the way up my pipe, like a straw, and filled my piston chambers with water. If that wasn't bad enough, the crankcase also had a large amount of water through the smaller hose attached to the intake. I used a shop-vac and some rigged up hose attachments to suck the water out of my cylinders, and the intake, and change my oil about ten times to "clean" the water from the crankcase. Just so you know, I sucked over a gallon of water from my cylinders and intake and the first oil change was easily two gallons of liquid. My car only takes four quarts of oil, so I estimate an additional gallon of water got sucked into my crankcase. My car is "running' again, but I order this bypass valve and a drycharger from k&n to prevent any more water intrusion. Apparently, I am lucky, because hydro-lock, water in the cylinders stopping the engine, can cause MAJOR damage. Problem is, water doesn't compress like air does, so when the cylinders fill with water on the intake stroke, and then go to compress for the ignition stroke, it just stops. The force of the stop can be effected by several factors, like the make up of your engine and the condition of its components, to the speed and acceleration of the vehicle at the time of the lock. The force could snap piston rods, crack blocks, pretty much destroy your engine. This bypass valve is made to open at the point of increased vacuum from the water blockage and suck air from under the hood instead of under water. It does nothing to prevent water spray,or the intake of water from rain, it only opens if the vacuum increases from a column of water entering the intake tube. So if you have a short ram intake, or know that there is no way your filter could be partially of nearly submerged in water, you dont need to bother with this thing. However, if your intake filter is way low and you live anywhere were water gathers in pools where youre driving, this is an absolute must have. The alternative may be tow charges, a case or two of oil and some new filters and the aggravation of a full day of engine maintenance. Possibly worse, a completely TOASTED engine.

Great peace of mind, looks good in engine bay

If you think cutting the intake is, just take your time and dont be a hero

First off, ive read alot of people saying they have lost power. i dont thinnk its possible to register losing 1-2 horse or any tourqe just by driving it. This product was not hard at all to install, get a hack saw, and cut the thing in a straight line, not hard if you have and mechanical skills at all, just make sure theres enough room in the engine bay for clearance thats all. I can only recall one time i was glad to have the comfort of having it BV valvle on, and i dont know if anything wqould have happened if i didnt but the peace of mind was there. So yes i would recommend getting this valve.

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Have alot of fun cutting your 200 dollar intake up

The aem bypass valve is a waste of money. I argee with the other guy. A little bit of water in your motor is not a bad thing. In fact it is a good thing. I have used my cold air intake for about a one year and have never had a problem. Two top that i live in washington(tons of rain) I drive my car all the time in the rain never have i had a problem it is just another way for the company to get money

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