So I've been going back and forth on what to do about a snorkel for my 80 series for awhile now. I think it's time to make a post here and get some other perspectives on it.
So here's a rundown of my thinking. When I got my 80, it didn't have a snorkel. I was also certain I wasn't going to fit one. I simply didn't feel I needed it. I had a 1993 hilux before my 80 with a snorkel, and it wasn't ever used in its life. All it did was make vibration noise when the engine was sitting at 70km/h. My 80 is my DD. When I take it off road, which I try to as often as I can, I don't mind getting into rough stuff, but I'll tend to avoid things that have a real risk of writing off the car. Fording a river would be one of those things. I've extended my diff breathers, but I figured I would avoid water that was actually at the level of running over the bonnet. The 80 series air intake is in a great spot. With water below bonnet level I'm not too worried as long as I don't park it in the water. I also live in Australia. That's important, because in Australia we tend to have too little water, and too much dust. As I said, the 80 series air intake is great. It's high up inside the front quarter panel, and I don't know about in the US, but here in Aus it's fitted with a cyclonic pre-filter to dump out dirt and large particles, like this:
This is already inside the front quarter panel, which will act as a natural large particle filter of its own. My air filter stays very clean as a result.
So, what's changed my mind? Well about 18 months ago I was out on a trip with a few people. We camped at a site near a small stream. Overnight there was a freak storm that dumped a bunch of rain. In the morning, the trickle of a creek was now quite an active flowing river. There was no way at all to leave where I was without crossing that river, and it was uncomfortably high. Nobody give me grief about driving through flood waters please, I know enough to do it safely, and I'm old and wise enough to happily let one of the young eager blokes volunteer his vehicle to go first
. It wasn't a long crossing, but the water flowed up over the bonnet of the 80. I pushed a bow wave and kept it going and got through it safe and sound with a dry filter. It was enough to make me reconsider my position though. If I'm going to find myself in a situation where I'm stuck without an uncomfortable water crossing, I'd rather be able to do it without the risk of hydrolocking my engine.
So then, if I get a snorkel, what one to get? My go-to for this would be a Safari snorkel. They're expensive, but they make good stuff and they're very popular here in Australia. My problem? They make them like this:
So basically I'd be going from a shielded intake with a cyclonic pre-filter, to a massive unfiltered open ram scoop facing forward. I can just imagine that on dusty outback roads, possibly travelling in convoy behind a bunch of other vehicles. My nice clean air filter will look a bit different I think. I see a lot of other people here running these kind of snorkels, but honestly I think a lot of other people get them for looks and never see a water crossing in their life anyway, and I don't give a toss about looks. Since high water crossings are going to be rare for my vehicle, it seems a pretty big tradeoff to suck in dirtier air all the time for a rare event. I'd like a snorkel I could quickly attach and remove for the two minutes I'd like it every six months, if such a thing existed (and if it does, please tell me!).
So what do I do? Well, I've thought about fitting the cyclonic pre-filter from the Toyota genuine factory snorkel for the 80 series (IE, the "bird feeder", as shown here:
The only problem is... well you know how I said I don't give a toss about looks? I lied. Damn that's ugly. I also worry it'll get snagged on branches in the bush. Technically it might be the best option to alleviate my concerns about dust though. I know I don't want the full 80 series factory snorkel though, that thing's not sealed properly for water, and it's just too fussy to fit. I'd probably get a Safari snorkel base and adapt it to fit this head. Or cheap out and adapt a china one from ebay. Either way.
All that work and what the end result looks like though, makes me go back and question if I really need one in the first place.
I don't know. Thoughts? Opinions? What would you do?
So here's a rundown of my thinking. When I got my 80, it didn't have a snorkel. I was also certain I wasn't going to fit one. I simply didn't feel I needed it. I had a 1993 hilux before my 80 with a snorkel, and it wasn't ever used in its life. All it did was make vibration noise when the engine was sitting at 70km/h. My 80 is my DD. When I take it off road, which I try to as often as I can, I don't mind getting into rough stuff, but I'll tend to avoid things that have a real risk of writing off the car. Fording a river would be one of those things. I've extended my diff breathers, but I figured I would avoid water that was actually at the level of running over the bonnet. The 80 series air intake is in a great spot. With water below bonnet level I'm not too worried as long as I don't park it in the water. I also live in Australia. That's important, because in Australia we tend to have too little water, and too much dust. As I said, the 80 series air intake is great. It's high up inside the front quarter panel, and I don't know about in the US, but here in Aus it's fitted with a cyclonic pre-filter to dump out dirt and large particles, like this:
This is already inside the front quarter panel, which will act as a natural large particle filter of its own. My air filter stays very clean as a result.
So, what's changed my mind? Well about 18 months ago I was out on a trip with a few people. We camped at a site near a small stream. Overnight there was a freak storm that dumped a bunch of rain. In the morning, the trickle of a creek was now quite an active flowing river. There was no way at all to leave where I was without crossing that river, and it was uncomfortably high. Nobody give me grief about driving through flood waters please, I know enough to do it safely, and I'm old and wise enough to happily let one of the young eager blokes volunteer his vehicle to go first
. It wasn't a long crossing, but the water flowed up over the bonnet of the 80. I pushed a bow wave and kept it going and got through it safe and sound with a dry filter. It was enough to make me reconsider my position though. If I'm going to find myself in a situation where I'm stuck without an uncomfortable water crossing, I'd rather be able to do it without the risk of hydrolocking my engine.So then, if I get a snorkel, what one to get? My go-to for this would be a Safari snorkel. They're expensive, but they make good stuff and they're very popular here in Australia. My problem? They make them like this:
So basically I'd be going from a shielded intake with a cyclonic pre-filter, to a massive unfiltered open ram scoop facing forward. I can just imagine that on dusty outback roads, possibly travelling in convoy behind a bunch of other vehicles. My nice clean air filter will look a bit different I think. I see a lot of other people here running these kind of snorkels, but honestly I think a lot of other people get them for looks and never see a water crossing in their life anyway, and I don't give a toss about looks. Since high water crossings are going to be rare for my vehicle, it seems a pretty big tradeoff to suck in dirtier air all the time for a rare event. I'd like a snorkel I could quickly attach and remove for the two minutes I'd like it every six months, if such a thing existed (and if it does, please tell me!).
So what do I do? Well, I've thought about fitting the cyclonic pre-filter from the Toyota genuine factory snorkel for the 80 series (IE, the "bird feeder", as shown here:
The only problem is... well you know how I said I don't give a toss about looks? I lied. Damn that's ugly. I also worry it'll get snagged on branches in the bush. Technically it might be the best option to alleviate my concerns about dust though. I know I don't want the full 80 series factory snorkel though, that thing's not sealed properly for water, and it's just too fussy to fit. I'd probably get a Safari snorkel base and adapt it to fit this head. Or cheap out and adapt a china one from ebay. Either way.
All that work and what the end result looks like though, makes me go back and question if I really need one in the first place.
I don't know. Thoughts? Opinions? What would you do?
but I don't mind the look. With the pre-cleaner my air filter is staying clean even longer than it was with the standard inlet. I drive a lot of miles each year offroad in dusty conditions and I just recently replaced my OEM paper filter after running the same one (with no cleaning needed) for more than 2 years since before installing the pre-cleaner. 
