Safari Snorkel suitable for Landcruiser FJ80 FZJ80 HZJ80 HDJ80

One of the first 4WD accessories I seriously looked at was a snorkel as it seemed at every four-wheel drive you seen had one. As I learnt more about them I realise that there not just for river crossings, they provide

A Snorkel, when fitted to your four wheel drive moves the engine air intake from under your bonnet, to roof height. This has many advantages. The main advantages are:

1. Less chance of water entering the engine when crossing rivers
2. Access to cleaner and cooler air
3. Help to reduce engine wear and tear  and improves engine performance

Make sure you read as we break down the different types of snorkels and how to make sure they work for you.

What a 4wd Snorkel does

The idea of trying to supply clean air, free of water and contaminants has been around a very long time. The Snorkel is one of the bests way to get the cleanest air to your engine and is used in everything from Tanks to Tractors, this is purely because its simple in design and works so damn well. At its core, the intention of a snorkel is:

• To raise the level of the air intake to reduce the chance of water entering your engine when crossing water
• A higher air intake will reduce the amount of dust entering the system
• To allow cooler air to enter your engine
• To produce a ‘ram effect’. The air is rammed into your engine using your vehicles forward motion rather than the engine sucking air in.

Does A Snorkel Improve The Performance of A 4WD

If you told me you intend to never take your 4WD off the bitumen in most circumstances i would tell you not to worry about a snorkel. But you do get off the blacktop and on offroad adventures, I would argue that it’s almost a must-have.

In saying that the jury is still out on whether there is a fuel efficiency improvement from ramming cooler air into your engine, some people actually say that adding an extra metre of pipe for the air to go through actually reduces performance and economy but one thing is for indisputable.

Moving your engines air source from underneath the front inner guard away from the dust and warm heat to up high where the dust and warm air is minimal will ultimately result in lower servicing costs in the long run. I like to think of it as a bit of an insurance policy against a plugged air filter ruining your trip (or even worse, your engine)