a few questions...

In case you don't feel like reading their site, basically the bypass valve is just as its name says. If too much suction is required to draw air through the filter, then the bypass valve will open up and continue providing air to the engine, bypassing the main filter. It's a one-way valve with its own filter (I believe it has its own filter), similar to what you'll find in the nosepiece of a diving mask, or in one end of a snorkel. Basically the reverse of a blow-off valve.

Peeps are sayin it'll drop you about 2-5 hp from whatever gain you get from the CAI, thus making the CAI with bypass a very slight improvement in power. Slush probably won't be nearly as much a problem as water puddles, but either could be an issue. I guess snow could be more of an issue than water, since it'll blow around more easily, but the bypass valve won't prevent that from happening. It'll take a good deal of pressure to open the bypass valve, basically you'd have to immerse a good portion of the intake into water before it opens up.

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