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Snorkel practicality?

7K views 50 replies 21 participants last post by  TheBlueDevil 
#1 ·
Has anyone ever had a practical or efficient use of thier snorkel? I would really like to look into getting one or making one and turning it into a fun project but I honestly dont feel like drilling holes and putting a small sail on the side of my jeep if the general concensus is such that a snorkel is not really necessary or practical. I am a fan of "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it" but like I asked before; is it really worth it?
:dunno:
Anyone have any stories or suggestions?
 
#2 ·
i have a cowl snorkel. i have it just for the fact of dropping into a mud hole and not knowing how deep it is. i did it more for a failsafe. plus the jeep gets a little cooler air to help. i didnt wanna get a snorkel on the outside cause i didnt wanna drill my fender and i know i would break it off since i go in stupid tight trails.
 
#8 ·
Cowl Snorkel. I dont ever want to drive into water even close to deep enough to need a full snorkel, this is my daily driver. But I have flooded my engine once not knowing the depth of a hole with my previous intake setup. Now I cant flood it from the splash of entering a hole that isn't that deep, and if I miss judge it pretty bad I'm still fairly safe. I'm going to have more water damage issues if I get the water high enough to flood my cowl anyway.

If you have a stripped out jeep and do serious water crossings, I guess an ARB or the like snorkel would actually be useful.
 
#9 ·
I think go for a real snorkel. I don't like the cowl intakes everybody does. For one, there's a better chance of water going over the hood and into the cowl than actually into the airbox. Now if you are going slow through deep puddles that are up over you engine with a cowl intake, then you are just stupid. Expect faulty electrical items if you do. Another thing I would like to point out is if your tires are out past your fenders, your snorkel is not going to get ripped off on trails. They are not any wider than the stock flares on a jeep. I go down trails that are meant for ATV's at a local park and have never had a flare taken off, only rubbed up against. Never have I had anything torn off my jeep because of a tight trail. The snorkel is also a true cold air intake system. The cowl still gets hot and you will still be sucking in hot air. Don't let anybody tell you that cold air means nothing. The cold air allows more oxygen into the engine since cold air is more dense than hot air. Just my $.02 about this whole cowl, snorkel controversy.
 
#16 ·
I think go for a real snorkel. I don't like the cowl intakes everybody does. For one, there's a better chance of water going over the hood and into the cowl than actually into the airbox. Now if you are going slow through deep puddles that are up over you engine with a cowl intake, then you are just stupid. Expect faulty electrical items if you do. Another thing I would like to point out is if your tires are out past your fenders, your snorkel is not going to get ripped off on trails. They are not any wider than the stock flares on a jeep. I go down trails that are meant for ATV's at a local park and have never had a flare taken off, only rubbed up against. Never have I had anything torn off my jeep because of a tight trail. The snorkel is also a true cold air intake system. The cowl still gets hot and you will still be sucking in hot air. Don't let anybody tell you that cold air means nothing. The cold air allows more oxygen into the engine since cold air is more dense than hot air. Just my $.02 about this whole cowl, snorkel controversy.
My $.02 on that, while I have not checked my intake temperature (maybe ill do it on the way to work today), I have felt the ducting to my intake from my cowl snorkel and it is cool to the touch when running. Even with the air filter sitting on the valve cover. I would imagine it is a fairly effective cold air source.

 
#10 ·
Spokes said:
i have a cowl snorkel. i have it just for the fact of dropping into a mud hole and not knowing how deep it is. i did it more for a failsafe. plus the jeep gets a little cooler air to help. i didnt wanna get a snorkel on the outside cause i didnt wanna drill my fender and i know i would break it off since i go in stupid tight trails.
X2 on cowl intake, I did this on Sunday and there where points where the splash covered part of the windshield and it kept running just fine. That hole was deep enough to full submerge those 4 wheelers but they had snorkels on them so they made it through.

 
#11 ·
a snorkel is piece of mind if you think you will be a little safer with it then its worth the time and money if you only play on the rocks and avoid mud and water like the plaque then don't waste your time.

I know that I have a little time to get through how much time do you have?
 
#12 ·
Dang, alright. So the general take away message I'm getting here is that if I'm going to be going through water deep enough that I need a full snorkel then I have bigger problems to worry about then just water in the engine haha. I've hydro locked my motor once before because of poor judgment in a bad water hole but my main reason for a modified intake is because I spend a lot of time in Norfolk VA where it floods at the smallest rainfall and cars get stuck all the time and even with almost 4 inches and 32's I have almost fallen victim to the flooding. As you can see, its mainly for a piece of mind so I know I'm safe in most water situations thrown at me.
 
#13 ·
I swamped my stock intake just this past weekend after dipping the front driverside into an unfamiliar soft spot of a familiar water crossing. Soaked the air filter and smothered the engine. I killed it immediately then crawled out to attach a tow strap and get shamefully pulled out.

I know a cowl snorkel would have prevented such a near hydro-lock disaster, and ironically I have circles drawn on the back of the fire wall for the work I've been to lazy to finish this spring. I have the tubing, I have the 3" hole saw and the parts.

It will be part of my immediate improvement list before my next water venture. I know better, I knew the hole, I still almost effed myself.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
I know i'm a TJ, but when I was in florida and all of us would go offroading and doing water crossing's they would always send me first with the snorkel becauase it was just a little piece of mind that I couldnt get hydrolocked like the rest of the group. I might not have had the biggest lift but I still could go places others couldnt.
 
#17 ·
Think about how a radiator works. Something metal has air blown across it to keep it cool.
Sound like any part being discussed here might work similarly? :rtft:
 
#19 ·
Well properly installed things probably shouldn't fail now, should they?

Unless you really intend on regularly driving through water that is going to be going over the hood (thereby ruining your interior and maybe anything electrical you haven't waterproofed anyway) there's no significant advantage to a snorkel over a cowl.
 
#20 ·
Again, I still say a snorkel is more practicable. Thought I'd chime in again. I run the river in my area often and I can't tell you how many times I have had water come over the hood. I'll post the pics I got when I was stuck. In that occurrence water came up over the hood when I entered the bottom of the river. After I got pulled out and made sure I didn't suck in any water, I checked the cowl because I was going to do a cowl intake. It turned up being pretty soaked with water. That was the point where I got deterred from the cowl intake set up. Not only have I had water over my hood at that river, I also ride trails that have some high water crossings that cause water to go over the hood. If you have momentum in moving water, it will not rush in the doors nor flood the engine bay completely.
 

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#41 ·
I like the idea of a cowl snorkel but just curious, where does the air come from inside the cowl. Those little plastic vents are fake so i know its not coming in through that. I also like the idea of having an H1 type snorkel that comes out of the passenger side. But maybe the driver side would be better because there would be less bends in the tube?
 
#43 ·
I drilled the fire wall on the driver side to run my cowl intake. I had no problem with water getting in, ive stood there with a hose for a while drenching it and had no problem. The only thing I wouldnt recommend is real deep water. Like to the head lights would be my max. A big splash or hole could put water up to the cowl and drown out the intake. I cant speek from experiance, the deepest ive been is to the top of the bumper.

Just check the depth, maintain a good speed to keep a bow wave, and dont let water get over the hood.
 
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