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Snorkel intake - which way round is best?

  • petejones69
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19 Nov 2017 14:04 #186453 by petejones69
Snorkel intake - which way round is best? was created by petejones69
Which way round is best for the snorkel intake? i.e.: the top bit that let's in the air. Mine faces forwards, but I've seen others that face to the rear. Just wondered if it made a difference.

Cheers
Pete

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  • Caelite
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19 Nov 2017 14:30 - 19 Nov 2017 14:41 #186454 by Caelite
Replied by Caelite on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
On the road, forward, acts slightly as a ram intake, feeding more cool air into the motor. Off road, or in dusty environments, backwards, minimising particulate entering the intake during forward travel.

Remember, a snorkel isn't really for wading through water up to its roof, it's purpose is to find clean, mud/sand/water free air to intake. With this in mind you should be able to make your own decision as to where to turn it in what situation.

Edit: snow can also collect within forward facing snorkels.
Last edit: 19 Nov 2017 14:41 by Caelite.

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  • TomDK
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19 Nov 2017 16:28 #186463 by TomDK
Replied by TomDK on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
The ram air thing may in theory sound like something awesome. But in reality, it doesn't matter at all which way it points.

The thing about having the snorkel not for wading deep water, but for clean air, doesn't make much sense. Remember the air filter ;)

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  • Caelite
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19 Nov 2017 17:07 #186464 by Caelite
Replied by Caelite on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
Oh yeah, I should mention I am being 99% anal. :side: The vast majority of the time there will be nil effect from it pointing in either direction.

However the air ram intake effect is there from forward facing is there, even if it is a fraction of a bar of inlet pressure, and there is reported incidents of forward facing intakes taking in, snow, leaves, sand, mud etc and causing clogging, either at the filter or within the snorkel pipe itself. However for the most part it is one of those situations, that, unless you are being REALLY anal, you just set it up the way you want it too look.

And no, a snorkel along really doesn't increase your wading depth, and the primary purpose of it for most offroaders isn't to dramatically increase wading depths. If you are under water over the bonnet, where the limit of most factory intakes is, then you are still likely to clog/break/short something, particularly on a petrol 4x4. If you truely want to wade up to the top of the windscreen then you need to do a LOT of work. However it minimises the dirt particules, water & other 'stuff' from clogging the filter, which is good, as it is a massive cause of breakdowns if you are driving anywhere sandy.

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  • TomDK
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19 Nov 2017 20:01 - 19 Nov 2017 20:03 #186470 by TomDK
Replied by TomDK on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
You're very wrong. Sorry to say.
But the Jimny is actually a very well built car, also when it comes to wading.

Last year at the WBVC in Croatia we drove in pretty deep water on more than one occasion, with water over the bonnet. Of course with windows closed :) Water is not what kills the electric parts. It's that slurry mud that get in to everything. This can easily kill an alternator.
This years WBVC didnt see a lot of rain, so only up to 30-40 cm's of water :)

But wading with water over the bonnet. No problem, with a snorkel.

Also seen more than one pretty standard Jimny with snorkel on this Jimny with water over the bonnet.
Last edit: 19 Nov 2017 20:03 by TomDK.

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  • Caelite
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19 Nov 2017 20:39 #186471 by Caelite
Replied by Caelite on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
Hm, could be different with the Jims then, I know the old Landy V8s used to throw a fit if you put them anywhere near water, regardless of whether they hydrolock, I know the Jeep petrols aren't too fond of wading either.

Also with deep water submersion you do need to worry about water getting into places it shouldn't be and staying there, you see it a lot, the absolute worst culprit is in 4x4s used to launch boats, particularly into salt water, water enters the rear chassis rails and sits there for ages, causing all sorts of corrosion, there is also other components which require breathers, they can survive light submersion, but deep water will cause water to force its way past the seals, diffs are particularly bad for this. Water won't kill an alternator immediately, but will reduce it's life. And the obvious minor point is that you will never get that 'musky' smell out of any sound proofing you have below the carpets unless you rip them out :side:

Point I'm trying to make is there is more to factory wading depths than just the air intake, whilst a raised air intake combats against immediate hydrolock failure, It far from covers all the potential issue caused by water getting where it shouldn't. The primary advantage of a snorkal is that it is able to get a clean source of air in environments with a lot of particulates flying about.

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  • petejones69
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19 Nov 2017 21:23 #186474 by petejones69
Replied by petejones69 on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?

Caelite wrote: I know the old Landy V8s used to throw a fit if you put them anywhere near water


Not mine! I took it through muddy water up to the top of the bonnet a couple of times (no snorkel) and it was fine. That was a 1988 vintage V8.

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  • Caelite
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19 Nov 2017 21:51 #186477 by Caelite
Replied by Caelite on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
Haha

I was always tugging V8 Discos out of a misleadingly deep bit of pond at my local pay and play. Snorkel never seemed to make a difference for them, the ignition system was damn right terrified of water. Was always amusing, watching them get tugged out then immediately popping the top off their distributor cap, letting it dry out for 30minutes, dousing it in WD40 then watching it splutter back to life :side:

Still got an itch for a Land Rover actually, just can't afford the steep cost of jumping in a defender nowadays, always been into Mitsubishi's (4D56 Life!) myself, but now I've got nothing to tow I'm hunting for a Suzuki.

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  • petejones69
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19 Nov 2017 22:41 #186479 by petejones69
Replied by petejones69 on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
I didn't keep it long - fuel bill not so good :sick:

Now mention the TD5 and I agree - doesn't like water one bit :angry: Sold that too and now I'm here as a Jimny convert :woohoo:

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  • Elikratos
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20 Nov 2017 07:51 #186493 by Elikratos
Replied by Elikratos on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
Got a couple of questions myself...
Is there any risk if facing it forward and driving in the rain? How about the water being sucked in by the snorkel?
And how do handle washing your car? Do you use something like a plastic bag to cover the head of the snorkel or?
Your thoughts?

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  • ZukracerV6
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20 Nov 2017 08:52 #186494 by ZukracerV6
Replied by ZukracerV6 on topic Snorkel intake - which way round is best?
On my Jeep while driving off road I always turned the snorkel head around to face backwards to prevent tree branches poking into the snorkel grill and damaging the it. On a Safari Snorkel the snorkel head is designed to channel rainwater out and down the outside of the snorkel body.

www.safari4x4.com.au/products/jeep/wrang...4-0l-petrol#overview

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20 Nov 2017 11:05 #186503 by Busta

Elikratos wrote: Got a couple of questions myself...
Is there any risk if facing it forward and driving in the rain? How about the water being sucked in by the snorkel?
And how do handle washing your car? Do you use something like a plastic bag to cover the head of the snorkel or?
Your thoughts?


The head of a Safari snorkel is designed to separate the water from the air. It has drain holes in the back. Ignoring this feature, even in the heaviest rain you won't suck in enough water to do any harm to the engine. I used to drive around in a car with a cone air filter poking through the bonnet and driving in heavy rain never made the slightest bit of difference. There are even some benefits to sucking water vapour into an engine. It reduces intake temperatures and generates steam, cleaning the exhaust valves in exactly the same manner as the hydrogen based engine cleaning systems do.

Regarding dust and other debris, in Australia it was standard practice to fit a snorkel to any ute to stop them sucking in dust. While I was there I helped a friend choose a new ute and pointed out that the factory intake position, tucked inside the wing, was probably well thought out to prevent dust getting in, and that the only time you were actually driving through dust was when following another vehicle, in which case the top of the snorkel is as exposed as anywhere else. He omitted to fit the obligatory snorkel and found his air filter stayed cleaner than on previous utes with snorkels fitted.
The following user(s) said Thank You: petejones69

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