INTAKE HELP! Please asap

I recently bought a cai for my 98 civic off ebay for $35, "brand name" dr.speedy-it locates the filter under the car but after reading many comments on this site i see that it can only cause problems with water, dirt, etc., and that rai is the way to go. i dont really wanna buy a whole new rai and not use the cai, could i just saw off the pipe and have a makeshift rai? good idea or bad idea?

CAI's, although more exposed to the elements of nature, can only do your car great harm if it is pretty much submerged in water. Regular rain won't do much. As far as dirt, those filters are usually reusable/washable.

I vote to saw the end off. I like the piece of mind knowing that I can drive through a puddle at more than 5 mph and not worry about hydrolocking.

I had a VTEC del Sol with a CAI and one day durring a heavy downpour, I had to pull off to the side of the interstate while it was practically flooding and I got water in my engine. It ended up throwing a rod and I had to replace the engine. I kept the same intake but sawed it off like you're talking about doing. It worked out fine after that. Try to get the end of the filter as far to the front passenger-side corner as you can since this is the coolest part of the engine compartment. Good luck.

Here's a picture of the intake...

If i wanted to saw it off and make a short ram one instead, where would i saw it off? also this didnt come with directions for installation, just the parts. if anyone could write up some simple directions and post them thatd be awesome. :grinyes:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-00-Civic-DX-LX-Cold-Air-Intake-Polish-97-98-99-New_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38634QQihZ004QQitem Z140001766469QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

they make a bypass for the cai's that if get submeged it bypasses and doesn't suck up the water into the engine

Why is there an exclamation point, capitol letters, and the phase "asap" in this topic title. This isnt an urgent thread. This is a normal thread with a common question. Please dont do this in the future unless you're late for work or something that's time sensitive. Crap like this makes me not want to help you....like crying wolf.

^:rolleyes:

I don't know if I'd reccomend the bypass valve for the intake. I've heard more than one person report that the bypass valve itself was sucked into their manifold. The bypass is just a rubber retainer with some foam around it but apparently the foam separates itself from the retainer when put to the test.

I have a bypass valve but didn't install it after I heard the negative reports. As far as sucking water in through the cai, when its raining heavily just drive slower (which you should be doing anyway) and avoid the puddles. At least the really deep ones. That and stay in the left lane when possible since most roads are banked.

Like it was stated earlier, the by-pass valves give a false sense of security becuase they only work when the filter is sumerged. The intake in that picture is not for a civic. When you get the one for your car, put it on and look at some pictures of other civics with ram air intakes and make your cut where ever looks close.