dcarlson

Click and Clack have an interesting newspaper column today on the dangers of a low air intake on cars -- "especially sporty cars."

According to my heroes, they write that "The problem is that if you want to keep the hood line low and sleek, like it is now on most cars, there's no room for the air intake on the top of the engine. So they run a duct to the air filter, which is often located behind a headlight or near a wheel well." Then when one might drive through a shallow puddle of water across the road, one can ruin an engine. "So even if the puddle is only a foot deep, if you go too fast you could create a swell high enough to reach your air intake. And if other cars are going through the puddle, too, all bets are off."

The first solution, they say, is to find out the location of and how low your air intake is on your car. Does anybody know this on the IS250?

On google news, I found the full text of the C&C piece openly available at this URL:
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.co...l/3316405.html
The text may also be available on other sites...

Thanks.

NovaIS350

Are you look for specific measurements on how high or low the air intake is? and the air intake is behind the right headlamp if sitting in the drivers seat. I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish buddy.

dcarlson

Sorry I wasn't clear. The point is the height of the air intake. If low, it can scoop in water and--in a way--drown.

Larry96815

I use to have a Corvette and the intake was only inches off the ground directly in the front of the car. I never had any problems in 7 years. I just didn't drive it in rain.

Aloha,
Larry

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

The stock air cleaner box is high enough that it would take an idiot driver to submerget it (ie. half way up the doors). Water would be flooding the interior of the car before it would hydrolock the engine.

The concerns that you have about hydrolock are more common with aftermarket cold air intakes that pull from much lower.

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

Your air cleaner box is behind the headlight, but the actual intake inlet (where the air gets sucked into the box) is at one of the highest points in the engine bay - it's highlighted in red in the diagram below. As has been mentioned, that's not a problem on this car...



Javier

dcarlson

Great reply and picture. Thanks much. I'm adding my propeller to the rear bumper now (just kidding -- I know there are risks to going through water over the road beyond this particular air intake issue).

Thanks again.

Koz

Most all OEM intake systems have some sort of diverter design with drainage (for water) regardless of how high/low the inlet is.

Koz

Lexmex

This is good topic you are all discussing.

AEM has a bypass valve (I am sure others sell them) and I saw this review http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/te..._bypass_valve/

Now, I wouldn't spend chump change on something like that, but from my experience modifying my RX300's intake, I can tell you for the real low air intake, (my main area is behind the driver's side bumper (see page 6 of my car domain site) as opposed to the OEM location behind the headlight.

However, if just I run straight 3 inch pipe all the way to the MAF sensor then my RX will choke, what I had to do was make an inlet upstream to take some air from the engine compartment (I have been reworking this with heat shields and all sorts of designs (page 6 goes through a bunch of them) so that the RX will take the engine air to start off at the lower RPM and as I move downrange on a 1/4 mile run then the lower air intake by the bumper starts feeding in cooler air.

If you were turbocharging with the air filter on the turbo itself, now depending on where you might that, that would be another consideration.