New Gen4 Snorkel

Here is a vid I took before Christmas of the noise. It sounds slightly different in person, but you get the idea.

Just checking my email and I have had a reply from Bravo Snorkels.


This is what they have said:

We already sold more than 1000 kits of the new Suzuki Jimny snorkel, and we have been informed only from 1 customer of a similar issue. See attached photo, he told us that installed a rubber profile between the snorkel and the metal zone and the problem was solved.

It's really strange that this happened, we did lots of several tests with 2 different Suzuki Jimny's during the development and the first snorkel kits produced, no issue happened. We think that this may be because the final position of the snorkel installed can vary depending on the adjustment of the metal brackets and bolts to the vehicle fender and body, and also about the hole drilling position for the rivnut. Did you try to dismount the snorkel, and adjust the brackets and bolts to a different position? Probably with the snorkel placed in a slightly different position, the vibration will disappear.

If this happens to more customers, we will develop a solution consisting in a rubber part to be installed somewhere and give more consistency to the snorkel once installed. It was a hard job to develop this kit and we did the best possible for the interior and giving the proper room and respecting/increasing the original airflow to increase the performance. We don't want a vibration to ruin a customer's experience.

Please make this test of changing the position of the snorkel, and send us a video if the problem persists, so this way we can better understand and look for a proper solution.




I'll have a look during the week and see if this suggestion makes any difference. I have replied to Bravo Snorkels and pointed to this thread.

At Soeley, might be worth email Bravo saying yours is doing the same, as it will log with them that someone else has the same issue.

wrote:

I did look at the "empty box" and think it must be something like that. But trying to fit that withing the flexi-pipe and getting a good seal will be nigh impposible. If the pipe can be replaced with something solid, the you will have a much better chance.

Just writing an email to Bravo now.

Email sent as of 19:15.

I'll also look at what they have suggested.

Their comment about repositioning the snorkel though is a bit off, as I have said earlier the position is totally dependant on fixing with the first bolt in the fixed nut before you drill for the riv-nut.

I did add some rubber in this gap as it was very close, and by hand you could make it contact. Made no difference though.

 
 

I have just received my reply from Bravo. I am impressed with the speed of the reply. 

Dear Mark,Thanks for your email and feedback. Right last week we were informed by another customer of this same problem, but we have only had this case from the UK and also another from another customer... so you're the third case. This other customer informed us that he solved it by just including a rubber profile between the snorkel and the base of the hood's hinge, see attached photo. He didn't find a vibration itself in the snorkel, but adding this rubber the problem disappeared. Maybe you can try something similar to see what's about the problem?

With the other customer from the UK we're checking if the problem it's different and may come from the lack of the original resonance box, which we are trying to find out and give a solution. Just for your information, the flex pipe is a temporary solution until we get the final EPDM ducts that we're developing after having checked the models LHD, RHD, and other versions with different engines and configurations on sale all over the world. It's a slow process and we expect to have the final hoses ready within April. So we could add in these hoses the opening to connect the original resonance box if it's needed, we will make tests with this customer with a 3D printed version of the hose to make the verifications.

Also, in case that we find that the snorkel just needs a rubber profile, we will develop it and send it by warranty to the customers that already have the snorkels, we guess is just probably because of it, but anyway the EPDM hose solution could also solve it.

Please do the test with the rubber and let us know, we will follow this matter to find an immediate solution that could be offered to customers asap.

Yours sincerely,

Best regards,

Saludos cordiales,

I will try an experiment. I will remove the "resonator" box, tape up the hole and see if there is a difference. Will report back later.

Roger

Experiment over. No discernable difference noted between on or off.

Roger

Thanks Roger,  that is good to know.

At lunch time I went and wedged a strip of rubber in the location Bravo have suggested, so will try that out in a bit.

Just a quick update, I did add a rubber strip in the area shown above. It does seem to have made an improvement. I would say it is about 50% to 60% better. The noise doesn't seem to start quite so soon as it did and is less intense when it does occur.

I will try adjusting the rubber strip to see if I can improve it even more.

A bit late posting this up, but I've still been unwell, so only gotten around to doing this today.

Bravo Snorkel's suggested adding some rubber to isolate the snorkel.

I did have a look last weekend and as you can see, the snorkel does just make contact in this area:




There is a small amount of play if you rock the snorkel back and forth here. So I found some spare door deal and cut a slip of rubber out. I undid the bolts holding the snorkel onto the wing and managed to squeeze some rubber into this area.




And tightened everything back up.


I'm pleased to report that is has made a positive impact to the noise. It hasn't eliminated it. But it is less harsh and has removed a lot of the vibration from the pedals. The noise also seems to happen over a smaller rev range now.

My working theory is. The noise is still a harmonic resonance due to the internal shape of the snorkel. But due to the snorkel vibrating and rubbing on this part of the body it was making it louder and causing vibrations within the vehicle. The rubber is just dampening and isolating the snorkel from the metal work, hence the improvement.

I do wonder if at some point I need to lift the entire snorkel out. If you wiggle it up and down you can hear it still impacts something.



Maybe some rubber foam under it would be the next step. But it does mean taking the bonnet off again, so this will be a job for another day.

Your results seem similar to mine, although mine does not look like it is contacting where yours does. I have added an extra cable tie to the pipe as well, but haven't been out to test that yet.

wrote:

Just a quick update, I did add a rubber strip in the area shown above. It does seem to have made an improvement. I would say it is about 50% to 60% better. The noise doesn't seem to start quite so soon as it did and is less intense when it does occur.

I will try adjusting the rubber strip to see if I can improve it even more.

Just to add to my previous update.
I have adjusted to rubber and managed to get it pushed down further with the aid of some WD40. I also added an extra cable tie to the flexi-pipe at the brake fluid reservoir, as the pipe did rattle against it.

For me this seems to have solved the problem of the harsh vibration. I am happy with the way it is now.