There are two things I would do If you would like to get the benefits from your thinking ( good plan ).
First you need a tested product ( Big Mouth Performance Air Dam ) High quality , increased static cold pressure and it will keep all the debris and water out !
Plus remove the screen, I have studied this type of mesh and I bet you it is 80 % closed so there is no way air can go through. That is why you don't see any results. Do a simple test and remove the mesh and see what happens ?

 

In all of the many accounts of hydrolock that I have heard about over the years, the bottom breather intake was being used and the conditions under which it occurred was slow speed (5 mph or so) and standing water. I have never heard of an occurrence of hydrolock when using the front vents as a cold air source but, of course, it could if the water was deep enough. To the extent that the Big Mouth is lower then the front vents, puts it more at risk.

I like the Big Mouth when it comes to supplying air to the radiator, but cutting the shroud is taking on more risk as well as being more work compared with opening up the front vents

 

I don't know about the cases you are speaking of but none of them had the Big Mouth Performance Air Dam to Protect them against water or road trash, this be true !

The C5 factory spoiler is spring loaded and is tilted and very low so it will pick up water and road trash and ramp it right into your radiator compartment unlike the BMAD and the results are contamination.

But if think about how the Big Mouth seals off that area water and road trash has no where to go it gets deflected 100 % of the time.

 

Actually, I have two loads of data as results; one set was extracted before my cold air mod and one, after. Both sets were obtained by using the Car Chip OBD II data acquisition tool that plugs into the OBD port just underneath the steering wheel. The results were mentioned in this post:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...169&forum_id=1
Regarding the screen: With this setup, having a direct blast of 80 MPH wind is not a good thing, especially if a rock or other hard object hits the filter media at a high rate of speed. Secondly, a hurricane blast of air into the engine bay may keep it ultra-cool, but I wouldn't want to clean up the engine bay every week! The screen I specified slows but also straightens out air flow, while keeping damaging debris out. I think my data logger results clearly show that intake temps are much lower than without the CAI setup. That is a good thing.
The cutout in the radiator is at about the same height as the fog light panels, so driving through any standing water (at low speeds) lower than the fog lights will probably not do any harm. Besides, the air filter is not fully enclosed, so splashing water up against the screen is likely to moisten the filter, but nothing else. I've driven in pouring rain and it appears that the sst screen kept out the majority of water - the bottom of the air filter was a bit moist, but that's it.

Cutting the fog light covers will certainly bring in cold air, but it does get dilluted with super-hot engine bay air. Also, cutting the fog light covers from the outside usually results in a less-than-pretty appearance. This is why many will cover the opening with Z06 screens. This is great if you like that look. I preferred to keep the front end cleaner-looking (IMO).

 

Forgive me, but I have checked teamzr1's website and I can't find a picture of the icebox. Can someone post a link up to it?

 

Virtually all CAI systems draw air from the level of the fog lights be it through the fog light area, license plate area or a hole in the shroud and yet it’s only the ones that use a hole in the shroud that have had problems with hydrolock. That’s not conjecture that’s fact. Obviously, water is drawn into the filter via the hole in the shroud from the radiator opening that is considerably lower than the fog lights.

As far as drawbacks to using the fog light openings, my IAT’s, as displayed by my Tech II, are but a few degrees above ambient when I’m moving and by gluing black plastic mesh to the back of the opening it makes them appear stock unless you really look for them. The only real drawback is the fine layer of dust that lands everywhere in the engine bay from front to back.

Bottom line is all the CAI systems work and most will never hydrolock but some entail considerably more risk than others. If you live in an area where toad floater rains and or clogged drains are a common occurrence then you might want to think twice about using a CAI, especially a bottom breather.

 

As I said before, I think the Big Mouth is a good product for supplying air to the radiator but when you cut a hole in your shroud then you are increasing the risk of water ingestion. The Big Mouth probably reduces the risk compared to the stock system but it is more at risk compared to using the fog light openings that are above it.

 

As I said before, I think the Big Mouth is a good product for supplying air to the radiator but when you cut a hole in your shroud then you are increasing the risk of water ingestion. The Big Mouth probably reduces the risk compared to the stock system but it is more at risk compared to using the fog light openings that are above it

 

Bill, I cut a window in my shroud to match the Blackwing. No screen. The opening is not as low as the fog lights. If you're curious, I'll go out and measure.

I also use the Big Mouth. The BMAD directs air to the cooling system. Radiator and air cond. The window simply allows the Blackwing a source of ambient air vs engine compt air. It is impossible for the filter to DRAW water through that opening. Water would have to be deep enough to reach the filter.

On other closed systems with outlets through the fog light area, they will draw water due to the fact they are a closed system.

 

As I said before, I think the Big Mouth is a good product for supplying air to the radiator but when you cut a hole in your shroud then you are increasing the risk of water ingestion. The Big Mouth probably reduces the risk compared to the stock system but it is more at risk compared to using the fog light openings that are above it

 

Pavement to bottom of fog light opening 13.00"

Pavement to bottom of Blackwing 20.00"

How does that compute "but it is more at risk compared to using the fog light openings that are above it ?

 

http://teamzr1.com/

Go to products, performance and pick on the Blackwing Icebox for a photo and ordering info.

http://www.c4orcecorvette.com/ for Big Mouth

 

Bob, it too bad that the search function won't bring up the multitude of hydrolock posts from a few years ago.

The simple truth is I your hole in the shroud is in the same location as the ones that suffered hydrolock. Many owners, to their dismay, found that once water gets into the shroud then it is possible to get water into the filter There is no denying the facts, if water gets into the Big Mouth then it can find its way to your filter.

The Big Mouth may offer you some protection but it should be obvious that since the fog light openings are higher off the ground that they offer more protection from standing water then the Big Mouth

 

Bob, it too bad that the search function won't bring up the multitude of hydrolock posts from a few years ago.

The simple truth is your hole in the shroud is in the same location as the ones that suffered hydrolock. Many owners, to their dismay, found that once water gets into the shroud then it is possible to get water into the filter There is no denying the facts, if water gets into the Big Mouth then it can find its way to your filter.

The Big Mouth may offer you some protection but it should be obvious that since the fog light openings are higher off the ground that they offer more protection from standing water then the Big Mouth

 

Water has to reach the level of my filter. 20", to be ingested. In other words the water has to be 20" deep. If you're talking about a splash of water, that won't get past the filter into the engine. Through the fog light shroud it will be sucked into the filter. They only have to be in water 13" deep.

 

Yep ! I am researching the hydrolock issue
Its not an issue !

 

I would test it to prove it if I had access to 18" of water. No way will it hydrolock.

I just don't know what Bill is thinking. I think we have a communication problem. Maybe he's thinking if I drive through 14" of water of water it would force it up there. That may be true but the Big Mouth wouldn't contribute to that. It actually deflects water.

 

Have you ever looked at the air intake system for the C5R, I have seen it in some wicked rain, but it has not hydrolocked. Maybe the $$$$ GM spent on researching their CAI system was well spent.

 

I find it interesting how the forum's view changes over the years. When the MTI CAI kit was introduced (a scoop like the Big Mouth), everyone was bashing those types of intakes because of the risk of water ingestion. So most people went with a Vortex or Blackwing.

Then a couple of years later when the Vararam came out, people were bashing it for the same reasons. But once some REAL WORLD testimonials came in (fastest intake out there, driving in torrential downpours with no probs, even having pics of driving through a road with water 6" deep), the forum accepted the Vararam.

Now that the Vararam is accepted as being OK, the forum is going back to the intakes that scoop from underneath the front facia!

You guys that have those intakes that have a scoop below your front facia are absolutely crazy!! If your car is lowered you're going to scrape the hell out of that thing, let alone scooping up anything that's right off the surface of the road, AND then a HUGE risk of water injestion. It's too bad that the forum's search feature doesn't work on those old threads about this. I read at least 5 threads where people posted they hydrolocked their motors due to the scoop CAI.

Personally, I went with the Vararam since it is the best intake out there and poses very little risk of hydrolock. But hey, if you guys want to put those intakes on there then go ahead! As long as it's not on my car

 

Thanks, I had been googling that icebox with no luck