Ideas to keep my car from sucking up water?

A bunch of events I've been to have had either water crossings or large puddles on the stages. Right now I know my car would just suck up water like crazy and I would like some suggestions on what to do. Below is what it currently looks like.

One thing I like about rally is the cross pollination. I came to rally from "jeeping", worked sweep at 100 Acre Woods '04 in a Rubicon with 1300 miles on the clock.

There's a lot you can do with that engine compartment, and keeping water out of that engine will be a worthy side benefit. First I would guess from drowning many jeeps, broncos, blazers and my rally car, that cars that don't run after the introduction of copious amounts of water, have wet electronics. quite often distributor/plugs/wires.

When you get the air filter WET, the engine stops. You water boarded the engine, it Won't breathe. I once thought I'd killed a $5000 motor by sucking water into it and bending/breaking everything. It flat wouldn't turn over. Pulled the soaked air filter and poof! Magic! all was well.

So back to the pic. That cold air intake is currently doing the exact opposite, its sucking in the hottest air it can find, right off that 450+ degree exhaust 8 inches to its right. For cone type filters to work, they need to be put in some enclosure. At very least, a baffle/heat shield to separate it from the engine. If you isolate it in the far corner, you can duct fresh, cold air to it and keep water out of it!

I think I'm just going to get a different intake tube that moves the filter closer to the fender then build a box to try block as much water as possible.

Speaking as someone who ate three engines because of it... OIL YOUR AIR FILTER!

You get a cotton/oiled fitler wet, it is no longer an air filter. You let it get so dry that it looks white in spots, it is no longer an air filter.

I'm anal retentive now. I swap on a clean filter before every event, with a spare ready-to-go, and I swap between days on multiple day events. Nuking an engine because I was too lazy to clean and oil a filter or too cheap to buy a $12 recharge kit is stupid.

BTW - My air filter is above the engine, right behind the alternator, and once moving my IATs are never more than 5-10 degrees above ambient. When it's hot underhood, it's not because the air is hot, it's because the metal is radiating heat. The air in the engine bay is constantly being refreshed, so the engine isn't actually getting hot air. (I did put thermally reflective paint on my intake ducting and manifold, tho)

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2012 07:10PM by Pete.

Dan, Mine is in that spot you are talking about, I have completely boxed it in, with a lid, and it draws through a hole in the side of the inner fender. I have full HDPE wheel house liners, so it stays pretty dry. At that Vancouver RX there were some very deep puddles, and the filter stayed pretty dry.

I did learn that the open sides of the skid plate allowed way too much debris onto the top of the skid plate, so I have built some side plates. I had a rock get behind the timing cover, knock the aux/dist drive shaft off 3 teeth, which melted down the turbo in 2 minutes.

I don't have a single pic of the engine bay, but here is the water...





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2012 09:04PM by phlat65.

Both my cars have the stock airbox (slightly modified) about where your stock one apparently was. The frame rail protects it from direct splashes, but even so the water would have to get really lucky to get into the filter, and there're drain holes in it to let any that does get in there drip right back out. The in-fender snorkus has been removed, but I cover that hole with a plate made from HPDE. That prevents water coming in from the side.

The distributor on the 16v car is way up high and away so I don't really worry about it much. On the 8v it's in front of the engine and I just check regularly to make sure its O-ring is in good shape, and on both of them I grease the plug connections and make sure the boots fit tightly.

I don't think I've ever had problems with water splashes other than my front shocks getting hydrolocked at Olympus back in 2008.

I think your plan to move the intake over to the fender area and make a box for it is a good one.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

Quote
Pete
Speaking as someone who ate three engines because of it... OIL YOUR AIR FILTER!

You get a cotton/oiled fitler wet, it is no longer an air filter. You let it get so dry that it looks white in spots, it is no longer an air filter.

I'm anal retentive now. I swap on a clean filter before every event, with a spare ready-to-go, and I swap between days on multiple day events. Nuking an engine because I was too lazy to clean and oil a filter or too cheap to buy a $12 recharge kit is stupid.

BTW - My air filter is above the engine, right behind the alternator, and once moving my IATs are never more than 5-10 degrees above ambient. When it's hot underhood, it's not because the air is hot, it's because the metal is radiating heat. The air in the engine bay is constantly being refreshed, so the engine isn't actually getting hot air. (I did put thermally reflective paint on my intake ducting and manifold, tho)

K&N say oil it right in the instructions..
Oh yeah---who reads instructions..derp derp.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I run a nylon sock over the K&N cone filter. With the engine running water will bead and run off the sock.

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Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

Quote
Rallymech
I run a nylon sock over the K&N cone filter. With the engine running water will bead and run off the sock.

I was wondering about those. Thanks for the info. I think I'll build a box and get one of those.

I just used a stock integra intake housing on my Civic. I need to plate off the bottom hole and make it in the side so it pulls air from behind the headlight.

Or you can go the awesome route and use a wal-mart trash can to box in your cone filter like I did at 100AW.

The trash can made me thing of this, I saw this a while ago when bored....Seems fun to make, might be a bit of work though.




Youtube Video

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My Build



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2012 03:33PM by PeteNaz.

Wow, sweet mold making. I used a bowl I bought at World Market for 10 bucks for the round bits of my airbox. Eventually, I may make another, and I'll use the current one as a baseline for a mold so I can make it a 1 piece carbon affair, vs carbon and aluminum, with a two piece base. They both would have an access panel for installation and such.

That's the hard way of composites, but sweet video. Pre Preg, if you can find it, is super nice. As is vacuum bagging and autoclaves...

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

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BillyElliot

Or you can go the awesome route and use a wal-mart trash can to box in your cone filter like I did at 100AW.

I want to see pictures of this!


I was just going to make something from aluminum and heat shield it somehow or maybe make it from some L brackets and plastic I have laying around. I'm sure someone has a better idea though. Anyone?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2012 07:23PM by shiza.

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shiza

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BillyElliot

Or you can go the awesome route and use a wal-mart trash can to box in your cone filter like I did at 100AW.

I want to see pictures of this!


I was just going to make something from aluminum and heat shield it somehow or maybe make it from some L brackets and plastic I have laying around. I'm sure someone has a better idea though. Anyone?

I'll have to ask my crew guy if he has a picture of it. I took it out once I put in the OEM integra airbox. But I still need to redo the hole on the bottom so it's coming out the side to pull clean air from behind the headlight.

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BillyElliot

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shiza

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BillyElliot

Or you can go the awesome route and use a wal-mart trash can to box in your cone filter like I did at 100AW.

I want to see pictures of this!


I was just going to make something from aluminum and heat shield it somehow or maybe make it from some L brackets and plastic I have laying around. I'm sure someone has a better idea though. Anyone?

I'll have to ask my crew guy if he has a picture of it. I took it out once I put in the OEM integra airbox. But I still need to redo the hole on the bottom so it's coming out the side to pull clean air from behind the headlight.

Gotcha. I got an elbow to just move my filter over the frame rail then I'm going to do a nylon pre filter and make a box for the filter to sit in.