Abu Dhabi Off-Road Club Forums

Spot on Dino and agree.

I use a stock filter assembly and draw air from the inner front wing.

Dave

DinoStroker wrote:4. A snorkel might look cool on an offroader and make it look like it has a big phallus, but the bottom line is that it's totally useless in the desert.

So do you mean big Phallus are looking cool, but are totally useless??? some people I know will be so much relieved!!! No name given...

DesertDawg wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xf5nuzHmBM

Having a snorkel is like trying to breath through a straw....

Unfair comparison !
One with filter on & the other without any

Moreover, a snorkel is the best favour you can do for your car if you are going to desert on regular basis. Otherwise, say bye bye to your engine in a shorter time.

"Good is enemy of great"
Saif
Prado SWB V6
0551094084

Please this snorkel made to go into the water not for dessert ......my engine 615017km on clock no snorkel stock filter box stock filter that's the point .....and if you go wiht stock airbox to dessert nothing is happening to you engine like Phönix write bevor ca i Filter and boxes are the problem ......

And don't make people scared wiht bye bye engine this not true ........stay at facts no farytails

Xof wrote:

DinoStroker wrote:4. A snorkel might look cool on an offroader and make it look like it has a big phallus, but the bottom line is that it's totally useless in the desert.

So do you mean big Phallus are looking cool, but are totally useless??? some people I know will be so much relieved!!! No name given...

Size isn't everything. It's what you do with it that counts.

I'm sure that a snorkel flows less air than a stock intake when everything is clean. No doubt in my mind that you will improve HP by removing it. But . . .

On a JK with no snorkel I had to dump a kg of sand out of the filter every trip and on several occasions more than once on a single trip. Several times the filter (hours or even less after cleaning it) would get so clogged that the pentastar was unable to rev over 3,000 rpm in neutral. After installing a snorkel - it will easily go 7-8 (maybe more?) trips without clogging the filter. The difference is unbelievable. The 70-series has had a snorkel since the second trip and the factory air filter is still clean.

Susanne and I replaced 3 Pentastar's in 2.5 years on 2 Jeeps. Cleaning filters every trip. Was the sand the problem? I don't know, but I feel a lot better going out there with more protection. The main benefit from a snorkel has nothing to do with fording high water. The primary benefit is to get the air intake up higher out of the dust and flying sand. The difference we are seeing in the filters is night and day. You will never keep all the sand out, but our experience has been that higher is much, much, much better.

The stock JK arrangement is a disaster with regard to air filter placement. Somehow it manages to funnel sand into the filter housing, then the box holds it there so you get more into the filter on every bounce. Maybe a snorkel is not as critical on other brands or models, but I think it is a must have for JK's.

Does it cost some HP? Of course it does. But only when you compare a clean filter to a clean filter. A JK in the desert is starting to clog after the first side crest or bit of wheelspin. Breathing through a straw is hard, but breathing through a kg of sand is no picnic either.

The big cone shaped ones that replace the airbox may be a middle ground. They at least get rid of the box that holds the sand next to the filter, and visibly add more surface area to the filter which should improve airflow. I don't think the K&N type filters are as clean as the paper ones from the factory, but I don't think it's a significant difference if you keep them oiled and cleaned. The foam pre-filters people use on them will add some restriction, but you still have more surface area than stock. I bet you don't lose much.

I have driven with a snorkel and without, and one look at the air filter after my first trip with a snorkel was enough to convince me. I won't drive without one again.

Everyone needs to decide for themselves, but I think it's worth it.

Code Red wrote:I don't know, but I feel a lot better going out there with more protection.

A condom-like pre-filter on the snorkel would certainly give you all the protection you'd need!

Very good information .
Thanks for every one.
Barakat FJ
0507020240

One thing I gained from this discussion (and it mirrors a conversation I had with Denise recently) is that for the love of your engine, DON'T use a racing air filter in the desert. It certainly breathes better...but it also breathes in all kinds of small particles and sand. This is especially important for Toyota FJ/Prado/Fortuner 4.0 engine drivers, as Toyota sells the "TRD Racing" filter, which would seem to give you an HP boost for little expense.

But you know what? Here in the Middle East, the stock TRD FJ has...the normal filter. Because keeping sand out is more important than the few HP gained.

Also, if you drive an FJ, get in a drive with Denise and check our her post-drive air filter cleaning routine. Bring an old T-shirt or large rag to stuff in your air intake to do it properly.

Thanks to this discussion, I think I am putting my desire for a cool-looking snorkle on hold...unless some different information comes to light. Thanks to the OP!

Breathing through a straw is tough, but breathing through a 4 inch pipe is no problem. Surely isn't it just a question of cross sectional diameter and flow rate through bends when it comes to snorkels. If the cross sectional area of the tube is greater than that of the airbox intake and the intake of the tube not in a negative pressure area then what would be the problem?
I've been weighing up the pros and cons of adding a breathing tube to my JKU and currently swinging like a pendulum!

Ancient Mariner wrote:Breathing through a straw is tough, but breathing through a 4 inch pipe is no problem. Surely isn't it just a question of cross sectional diameter and flow rate through bends when it comes to snorkels. If the cross sectional area of the tube is greater than that of the airbox intake and the intake of the tube not in a negative pressure area then what would be the problem?
I've been weighing up the pros and cons of adding a breathing tube to my JKU and currently swinging like a pendulum!

You are JKU owner and swinging, What about me Nissan 4.8 owner ?
I am partially started the Snorkel job, should I complete or have my car with the internal pipe without the external Snorkel. Can't sleep since I seen this post.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I think it would be useful for those people who have snorkels fitted to comment by make of vehicle. Can you set up a vote on the site? Car Model, Snorkel type, Have you noticed power loss (Y/N), Any other HP mod

I was considering a snorkel for the FJ since I occasionally get sand in the airbox, now not sure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a snorkel on my JKU 2015 (AEV Snorkel with pre-filter) and have not realized any loss in power. Actually the opposite - it feels I have better performance now - especially in hot weather.
And definitely less problems with sand in the air box .


Jorg

A positive note for tj owners, my standard airbox seems to avoid sand almost completely. I check after every drive and only traces. Seems they got the location of the intake right back in the day!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

In truth, any SUBJECTIVE monitoring of performance is pretty pointless. The human mind says that when you spend 1600 dirhams on a snorkel, you WILL feel more power, at least under some conditions. Trust me, we all do it...

Only a dyno reading is accurate...or a set of accurately timed hill climbs in the same conditions with the driver unaware as to which run is which, with multiple runs taken with and without, and averaged with outliers eliminated. (warning, data geek at large).

I still remember the time a leading UK audiophile magazine did this to test speaker cables, many of which sell for tens or hundreds of pounds per meter. Given blind, multiple tests, plain 18 gauge lamp wire took second place out of many cables in the ears of their audiophiles...and left them struggling to explain to their advertisers what had happened. And yet, many of the "audiophile" testers had praised the "spacious sound, crystalline purity of high grade cabling" when testing...er, lamp cord. Our minds are very, very flexible with the facts.

Robert