does an aftermarket cold air intake increase the risk of water damage by driving in the rain and over puddles?
Not always, cold air intakes have changed over the years and now most include baffles and or relief filters. The relief filters work when the main air filter gets soaked with water so that that water is not sucked into the intake system. There is a lot of engineering that has taken place because of this issue, and the cheaper the system the more likely the problem.
Look at it and see if it has the same drops, baffles and water drain holes as the *original cold air intake system that came on the car from the factory when it was new. Why do you think it's necessary to re-invent the wheel? The factory spent a lot of money to assure their customers that the original plastic cold air intake system inside the left front fender will not get water inside the air filter assembly and not suck water into the throttle body.
