No actually it takes the cooler air by taking air that is farther away from the engine which has a lot of hot air around it...If you have a cold air intake the AEM bypass valve would be something I would invest in...It only takes a little bit of water to fuck your engine up....And water doesn't compress...So something in the engine would have to give...Save yourself a lot of money in the long run and get the filter if you run a CAI...If you run a short ram like me then your fine cause if you get that much water in the engine bay you will have other problems to worry about like corey R said....