Alright here is the story, one of the guys that is helping me with my car (crazy little asian guy) wants to put my K&N filter right behind my front grill. It would require the pipe to come down out of the wheel well and then loop behind the bumper support up to in front of the radiator. He says that this is a "true cai" and it is what he has on his turbo hatch.

I am not sure i want to do this since the pipe will be longer than it would be than w/ the traditional cai and i am not sure i would get the gains i would from the traditional cai even though it would theoretically be drawing cooler air and i wouldn't have problems w/ sucking up water.

Any thoughts?

 

This is quite arguable but I prefer a shorter intake pipe.

 

wouldn't driving in the rain cause problems w/ this?

 

Driving in the rain is not the problem. The only way to hydrolock an engine is to COMPLETELY submerge the filter in water. Even if the filter is partially submerged the engine will suck air since it is easier to suck up than the much heavier and denser water. Anway as long as you don't go into any huge freestanding water you should be fine. If anything you will ruin your MAF or stall your car before you engine comes close to hydrolocking anyway.

I already told you it is far too much work for any "colder" air it would see. The fender and the grill are both going to be around ambient and it is really not going to be as big of a difference since the air is going to be heated by the SC, then recooled down by the intercooler and W/A injection. Not that colder air doesn't help make the SC's job easier by sucking in denser air, it is just not going to give you ridiculous gains by a 5*F difference.

IMO get the car running and then tinker with little projects like this.

 

not worried about hydrolocking, just trying to avoid getting water in my maf. No tinkering to worry about now since it is already bolted up

 

Yeah I would worry about the MAF more behind the grill than in the fender.