Honda Car Forum

is the cold air intake better than the factory air intake in my honda civic 02 LX MT? somebody saied NO because it'll suck the water in to the engine. is that true? or it just depens on the air filter?

It won't suck in water. The chances of it doing that are so small I wouldn't consider it. It will be better in terms of performance, but it will be louder than the stock application. You will probably see 3-5 HP gain with a cold air intake.

Yah that's called hydrolock, and it can happen if you submerge the intake in water while giving it accleration.It doesn't usually happen though, unless your intake is sticking so low on the ground you can see it by just looking underneath the car.But you shouldn't have a problem if you don't live in too rainy an area.

Yes it is possible for you cold air intake to suck in water but you would have to drive through water levels that are close to the bottom of your chassis, if this never happens to you ie: you dont live in a hurricane area then you should be just fine. you will see a HP increase of about 3-6 to the wheels as well. If you do live in an area that might be prone to large puddles, most aftermarket CAI manufacturers offer a "bypass valve" that will be inserted halfway up in the intake tube to divert any water that may get sucked up.

hydrolock is a possible situation that can occur... but not likely unless you want to drive through a 1 foot deep pothole thats 6 feet long. ...I say save your money for something better.. why spend 50-100 bucks for 3 -5 hp? especially on a sohc motor.... unless you want a little bit of power... but if you do decide to go with the intake... i recommend a carb legal intake....(injen, AEM, etc)... because if your in california... it'll save you some hassle with cops.... i wouldn't recommend some ebay special intake or anything ebay special item....

AEM offers a by-pass valve that goes in between the upper and lower intake pipes. This will prevent any water from being sucked into the engine.On the 7th gen Civics (2001-2005), the only thing an intake is good for is noise. 3-5hp increases are only dreams...its more like 1-2hp. The best way to get some useful power out of the D17 is either nitrous oxide or force induction (turbo).I would recommend getting a K&N drop-in filter so you can keep your factory intake.