im giving you my input knowing that others will refute it. i pretty much know that as i type, you will be posting back right after lol. i almost wrote 'queue jetrinka' lol.
i do not know how you could have hydrolocked though. heres the thing. as heatsoak may be overplayed (and i dont think it is, b/c as i said, i have actually HAD both setups), i think hydrolock is grossly overplayed. this is my argument....
on hydrolock:
the stock setup sucks in the air just as a cai does, with the snorkel in the fenderwell. i know uve seen where it is. it is actually lower than where my FS filter sits. so, if you could hydrolock on the FS, you could most def. lock on the stock setup. if anything, the FS could be safer than the stock setup. but, i never hear anyone complain that the stock system hydrolocked. b/c it never happens. hydrolock hardly EVER happens, and if it does, its usually b/c of either the driver making a REALLY stupid decision, like forging a river, or the cai was set reall low, with no shield, and the person still made a dumb decision. i dont think that issue would happen with the focus's setup with the splashguard and how the FS sits up so high.
now, for me to hydrolock, i would have to drive in water that is up past my headlights! that is where my fs filter sits (in order to SUBMERGE the filter). that means the water would be up just under my windows. as in, water coming into the car from the bottom of the door. now, who in the HELL would drive through water that friccin deep?? certainly noone on here. i mean, at that level, simple hydrolocking would be the least of your worries. as far as i am concerned, if you do that, you shouldnt be driving in the first place. I have driven through crazy nor'easters up here. i drove through the north shore of massachusetts a lot when they had such bad flooding that they were declared a federal disaster area. never ONCE have i had an issue. i have gotten out and felt up there. bone dry. its not an area that gets wet anyways. i mean, a car wash would be a better test. and i go thru them all the time.
as far as heatsoak goes, i have owned both the steeda and the fs. my experience with heatsoak issues was terrible. the bogging at lights was awful, and even more magnified, as when i was heading to work, i had to come to a stoplight, right before turing to go up a steep hill. the bogging at that single light was so bad, it wouldnt even get up the hill. took it off, back to stock. NO problem. on to cai, POWERED thru. and that heatsoak issue was constant. not just at that light. at any light.
i feel that i am in a position to give this advice b/c i am one of the few people, if not the only one on this forum, who has owned both setups. i have also had the stealth, stock, and modified stealth with the upper FS bend. not just seen them. actually owned and operated them over time. just like i couldnt compare my advice on a header for the focus to anyone else's on the site.
also, if one decides not to look at HP differences, you can always look at price. or better yet, price per pony. the steeda is more expensive than many cais, like the HPS. 150 bucks for 10 hp=15 bucks each.
steeda would be 220 for 6 hp=36 bucks each.
the only benefit anyone has mentioned for the sri is the hydrolock one. and i simply do NOT think it would be an issue, for the reasons noted above.
please note, this is only for the FS, b/c of its upward bend. its why i got it. others that do not bend back up, i cannot say if hydrolock would be an issue or not, though i doubt it.
