- Joined
- Jul 20, 2004
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- 23,233
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- Chandler, AZ
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- www.tontorecreationalliance.org
snorkels were actually developed for dry dusty environs to raise the intake to a higher less dusty place, deep water crossings were just an unintended bonus from the product.
Yes/no/maybe, early snorkels were used on submarines, tanks, etc, mostly for water? Any benefit is largely dependent on rig design, needs.
On some rigs, like some mini, runners, etc, the intake draws from the core support, headlight area. When fording, pushing a bow wave, can drive water right into the intake. In this case a snorkel or relocating the intake is crucial for fording.
On the '80, the intake is very well designed. It draws from the top of a box formed by the right fender and fender well. From a water drawn into the intake perspective, if properly driven, it can ford to the door handles, pushing a bow wave taller and/or onto the hood. On my rig that is over 4 feet. At that depth you are seriously risking the rig and is deeper than most will do.
At that depth lots of other things will flood on a stock rig. All of the breathers are under water, so the diffs, trans, transfer, actuators, etc, will flood, not good. The distributor will drown, killing the motor, once stopped, the interior will quickly fill. This causes lots of fun, electronic boxes, connectors, etc, to clean, preserve, to avoid/reduce future electric problems, etc. So if deep fording is needed, there are lots of things to address before a snorkel comes into the picture.
Dust load can be a problem on some rigs. A couple of '100 owners, who run them hard, have commented that they have to carry extra air filters or cleaning kits on long wheeling trips, because they become restricted. Don't know how restriction is being determined, if it is really need, but if true, would be disappointing after the great job Toyota did on the '80 system.
A snorkel will slightly reduce dust intake, we have documented this several times. But, the '80 has a well designed cyclonic air filter, has a tuna can that holds ~a cup of dirt that would otherwise be in the element. The filter element has a large filtering area, holds a huge amount of debris, so will go a very long time before needing to be cleaned.
On the '80, there are a couple of slight advantages: The stock intake draws from the coolest spot under the hood, but a snorkel, drawing outside air is slightly cooler. Maybe good for a HP or two? They scream "expo rig", even louder than a displayed hi-lift, great bling, guaranteed to bring attention, questions from the masses!