I'm likely to be doing a fair bit of fording (at least once or twice a week) so am looking at the two options currently available, the Safari Snorkel and the LR/Mantec High Level Air Intake.
As the name suggests, the Safari item is a true "snorkel" in that the item is sealed from the intake all the way to the airfilter box, replacing the OE piping that runs through the inner wing. The OE kit has various drain holes to prevent water ingress if water does get in to the main air intake in small quantities. As such, the LR/Mantec item is more geared towards limiting dust intake by taking air from higher up (stop me if I'm boring you TFC/Slimer/AndrewS).
As I see it, the LR item will still massively reduce water ingress despite not being a sealed item, simply because any water getting that high up the vehicle will still be outweighed by the volume of air being drawn in by the high level intake. Because the amounts are small the drain holes prior to the filter housing will do their job and voila! One fording completed. Note I'm not planning on using this as a substitute for good fording practice (bow wave, depth checking etc) but there are always odd instances where a river bed will throw a surprise hole at you and leave your heart racing as the water briefly surges over the bonnet.
The Safari item seems to require an enormous amount of work to fit and will only show any benefit if I'm daft enough to try fording way beyond the 700mm recommended max.
Thoughts/comments/debate/offers of a free intake/snorkel welcome!
On a related note I was surprised to hear that LR don't offer any other wading kit, like extended breathers for transmission etc. when I spoke to my local dealership yesterday. Anyone able to give me some reassurances that this sort of thing is well covered from factory?
Cheers!
NDI know it's not considered "kind" to say no these days, but no. Just no, ok? And if it's not ok, still no.
If you're seriously thinking of spending time in deep enough water to warrant the Safari one (and can put up with seeing it in the corner of your eye all the time) I'd look also into waterproofing the battery boxes and anything else that's going to suffer as a result of being immersed in that much water.
I'd go for the LR one, a bit of silicon and practising your wading technique The End
I'm not expecting to need the extra protection offered by the Safari intake or to need that level of additional protection, but was interested to see what peoples thoughts are on the two offerings.
The ford next to my house is 18" to 30" if you drive tight alongside the small pedestrian bridge that crosses there, but the flow mid stream can grab you and push you hard towards the bridge. The bed, being loose gravel, can vary from day to day near the bridge piers too. What sometimes happens is that the flow will momentarily push you a foot or so offline, depositing your offside wheel into a freshly formed hollow near the pillars, causing the front offside to dip briefly. Never been enough to seriously threaten the intake, but sometimes you get a momentary surge that rises above the bumper and up over the bonnet. It may only be for a second or less, but my bowels can react astonishingly quickly in such circumstances
I think you're right though, I need to take the crossing more steadily and build a nice big bow wave. Mud and Ruts in low range is probably the TR setting I need, to keep a steady speed and maximum traction/articulation whenever a dip causes the kind of momentary surge I mentioned. All to easy to panic and boot it otherwise!I know it's not considered "kind" to say no these days, but no. Just no, ok? And if it's not ok, still no.
4th Apr 2007 4:23 pm
disco4x4au
Member Since: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 409
I've fitted the Safari snorkel simply for peace of mind - if the vehicle is stopped during a crossing, water ingress should be minimised. It looks uglier than the LR one, but I can live with it!
Cheers,
Gordonex - 2006 D3 TDV6 SE, silver, with lots of stuff - R.I.P.
ex - 2009 D3 TDV6 SE, silver, had lots of stuff too!
Now - 2010 RRS 3.0 TDV6, rimini red, 18" rims + Cooper LTZ, rear eLocker, Spider tuning box, GOE protection plates and rock sliders, GOE 3way shortened rods.
Right, I've done a couple more crossings now and by keeping my speed down and not messing around with Terrain Response I'm getting a much lower and more consistent bow wave. Still going to get a high level intake at some point, but thanks all for the pointers in this thread and others.
I know it's not considered "kind" to say no these days, but no. Just no, ok? And if it's not ok, still no.
I just installed the LR "raised intake" over the weekend. It is better sealed than I thought it would be. It comes with a neopreme gasket that fit under a metal plate over the intake, and only has one (very small) drain hole on the bottom.
I will warn you - it is a pain to install! It requres drilling two holes above the intake and one on the A pillar neat the roof. The little metal inserts that they provide didn't work at all for me. I used butterfly anchors instead.David
'05 LR3 Zambezi Silver
ARB Bull Bar
Superwinch EP9.0
Rasta Sill Guards
Land Rover Raised Air Intake
Hannibal Roof Rack
Rear Access Ladder
CHeers DB. If I get twitchy I'm going to see if I can make use of a nice, friendly TFC at some point to get mine installed. I know it's not considered "kind" to say no these days, but no. Just no, ok? And if it's not ok, still no.
It being a bit far to travel for me - I didn't have that option - although it probally would have saved me a lot of grief!David
'05 LR3 Zambezi Silver
ARB Bull Bar
Superwinch EP9.0
Rasta Sill Guards
Land Rover Raised Air Intake
Hannibal Roof Rack
Rear Access Ladder
12th Apr 2007 5:47 am
outback traveller
Member Since: 19 Jun 2007
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 17
I am not sure that the Safari Snorkel is watertight
I understand that the Safari installation replaces the porous OEM tube that connects the original air intake with the elbow on the air cleaner with a water proof concertina rubber tube. However they still connect to the original elbow which has slots in it so the system is not water tight. I have been told that the slots are to reduce resonance rather than act as a water drain.
Member Since: 31 Oct 2005
Location: Dorset
Posts: 172
ND
How's the snorkel holding up in these floods? I'm currently on stand by to deploy our assets to the west, but unfortunately with leg still in plaster, my role will remain as coordinator and not rescuer.
Where did you get your RAI, from Yoevil or elsewhere? Any regrets or would a safari be better?
Cheers
Big FishIt's silver, enough said!
Live life by one rule - He who dies with the most toys - Wins!!
I managed to steal my RAI at a ridiculous price on ebay, otherwise I would have got it from Nick at Yeovil. No regrets getting the RAI as it prevents water getting in through the intake on the wing and while the piping in the wing is porous, you'd need to be in VERY deep water and pretty much stationary for that to be an issue. Certainly I've been through water deep enough to come over the front half of the bonnet with no ill effect. The RAI also helps where you have the current flowing against your OS wing where the unprotected intake may be flooded.
If you got deep enough to need the totally watertight Safari, you'd be in a situation where you'd probably lose the engine to electrical failures anyway as the battery etc are not fully waterproofed, just well shielded from splashing.
If you want to see it in-situ, give me a shout and I'll nip over with mine for you to have a look
NDI know it's not considered "kind" to say no these days, but no. Just no, ok? And if it's not ok, still no.
16th Jan 2008 3:22 pm
Big Fish
Member Since: 31 Oct 2005
Location: Dorset
Posts: 172
ND
When out in your back yard before christmas had water over the bonnet, but with a decent bow wave so no ill effects. Used to have a safari on the 110 and had water flowing in through the bulkhead vents and half way up the screen, so I appreciate the value, Just really wondering how good the LR one is in comparison to the Safari. For ease of installation will probably end up with an LR one from Nick, but it would be good to have a look at yours next time your in poole.
Cheers
BFIt's silver, enough said!
Live life by one rule - He who dies with the most toys - Wins!!
16th Jan 2008 3:51 pm
Ratatatat
Member Since: 17 Oct 2007
Location: Cumbria
Posts: 10
I also fitted the LR jobbie. Whilst I'm not the most mechanically adept soul, it was a complete pain in the *rse and the barrel type nuts simply don't work. They also happen to be larger in diameter than the hole size recommended for drilling.
Finally cured issue by using super glue and reaching behind wing to keep in place whilst it set.
Snorkel has now been in place for well over a year and seems to cope with all the fords I can throw my provervial d3 at!
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
