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Reference Snorkel Knowledge Dump

RevN3

RevN3

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So I've been thinking about getting a snorkel for awhile now and I thought I'd throw up what I've learned and where new/updated info can be posted. We have surprisingly few snorkel posts. This post will be updated as I learn more.

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FAQ:

- Do I really need a snorkel?

"You definitely don’t need one. I think there are three major reasons to consider one:
  1. For the looks. I’m putting this one first on purpose. Snorkels are made fun of all the time and no one likes to admit they bought their expensive overland gear to make their truck look cooler. But let’s be honest, a snorkel DOES make a truck look like a serious off-road vehicle, and people DO hate or love the way they look. So, if you think they look cool, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be allowed to have one on your truck. Forget the stigma.
  2. For a clean air box. If you do a lot of desert/dusting wheeling, they are known to keep a significant amount of the dust out of your air box/filter, especially if you turn the head backwards. Before I had one I did plenty of desert trips in Cali and my air filter would be caked with dirt after each one. A snorkel does help prevent that.
  3. For its most commonly known use, water fording. I purposely put this one last because I don’t see people fording water this deep almost ever (on a 3rd gen Tacoma, at least). But, if you ever are in the rare situation that you need to cross water deeper than the top of your hood, you could." - Tyler
"I purchased the snorkel for the sole purpose of cleaner air...with the bumper cutting away the OEM plastic it allows for a lot more debris and dust and crap to get up into the fender well area and the filter just gets incredibly nasty in about a month! " -TRDOFHOLLAND

- You are cutting into your fender. How do you avoid rust?

"To avoid rust, after you cut, sand your cuts. Then prime the bare metal edges and then paint it. Lastly, apply a silicone gasket where the snorkel meets the holes on the outside and inside of the fender. I think that will be sufficient. That’s how I did it. " - Tyler

- What about water/rain getting in it?

"Simply put, rain is a non-issue for snorkels. The heads are designed to minimize the water that can get into them. Any water that does make it through will evaporate before it makes it through the length of the snorkel and into the air box. Any water that makes it as far as the air box won’t be sucked through the filter and into your engine, so there’s nothing to worry about. When washing the truck you would obviously need to avoid spraying water directly into the intake, however. " - Tyler

- What Snorkels are available for Gen3 Tacomas?

Safari Snorkel by ARB is around $545
ARB: Safari Snorkels
Install: TUTORIAL - 3rd Gen Safari Snorkel Intall - A Step by Step How-To Article
Buy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N20HBS9/?tag=tacoma3g-20
Buy: https://www.autoanything.com/air-intakes/arb-safari-snorkel

Dobinsons Snorkel is $300 directly from Dobinsons
FAQ: Dobinsons Snorkel FAQ and Details
Buy: Dobinsons 4x4 Snorkel Kit for Toyota Tacoma 2016+ 3.5L V6(SN59-3463)

SoFlo Bumpers Snorkel for $285 or $250?
Install: TUTORIAL - Soflobumpers snorkel for 3rd gen Tacoma install
Buy: Home | SOFLO BUMPERS (This site is in great need of updating)

Volant makes a "universal" snorkel for $440 that doesn't appear on their website.
Volant: Snorkel
Buy: Volant Snorkel (Black) - 38857

Hauk OffRoad has a line of River Raid Snorkels, it looks like they are made for Jeeps but also claim "Universal fitment" for $700
Hauk: River Raider Snorkels
Buy: Hauk Offroad Snorkel Kit with Filter - SNK-2309-F

Stock snorkel on the TRD Pro AKA Desert Air Intake Package $725 (No longer available)
BYT: Build Your Own Toyota | Toyota Configurator

Inhouse Snorkel imported by Sloop $815-$915:
sloopimports.com

3rd Gen Tacoma

Stainless Steel Snorkels by In-House Fabrication. Each kit includes a high quality, hand crafted, 316 Grade Stainless snorkel.
sloopimports.com sloopimports.com

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Kenan Thompson Reaction GIF by Saturday Night Live
 
Upvote 0
hawsa said:
This is totally accurate. So for somebody who has no fender liner, what are your thoughts on snorkel (Open to exterior water ingress and debris) vs not doing anything (open to water and debris kicked up directly by the tire) I'm trying to keep the crap that gets in to a minimum and don't care about water fording but still think a snorkel might be a good option.
Click to expand...

See if these will help, which I doubt they will.

mammothguardsusa.com

Tacoma Third Generation 2016-2020 (No Body Lift)

Wether you want to protect your rig on the trail or just add that unique flair mammoth gap guards can do both! Made from 16 gauge aluminum they can be ordered with our signature hex or kryptek pattern, or a in simpler single layer. We offer over 100 possible powder coating color combinations...
mammothguardsusa.com mammothguardsusa.com

Or maybe look into intakes like the S&B that pull both from the fender and from the front - then capping off the fender inlet.

Otherwise, as much as I hate them, I’d say so long as you don’t think you’re going to cross the Nile in your truck, the DAI might be a good option.

Or do a dope boosted setup that changes the location of the Intake entirely 😎
 
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nickyreno said:
I’m saying IF it’s totally sealed: Nice fucking try. By the time you’re deep enough for it to matter, you’ve already got your tranny breather, both front diff breathers, your rear diff breather, and both transfer case breathers completely submerged. So congrats you prevented your engine from hydrolocking but still introduced water into virtually every other component on your vehicle - including your cabin.

But wtf do I know I’m only professionally employed in automotive manufacturing.
Click to expand...
Jesus, you keep going back to all this deep fording and completely submerged BS, no one is arguing with you about that. No one is trying to make a freaking submarine dude. And the freaking breathers, why do you keep going back to the breathers, no one is arguing about that either. Several times now I have explained the situation with a vehicle going through a somewhat shallow hole.

This is not a breather discussion, which by the way everyone and their mother knows the Tacoma breathers for the trans/TC/rear axle are super low.
The rest of the breathers are almost midway up the firewall which is decent.

How much time do you spend off pavement? Do you take your truck off road on a regular basis? At least trail rides. If you don't, go on a couple local trail rides, try to communicate with people, I know it's hard, I normally don't like anyone either. You might get some useful information aside for the standard manufacture book knowledge.
 
Upvote 0
Classytacos said:
Jesus, you keep going back to all this deep fording and completely submerged BS, no one is arguing with you about that. No one is trying to make a freaking submarine dude. And the freaking breathers, why do you keep going back to the breathers, no one is arguing about that either. Several times now I have explained the situation with a vehicle going through a somewhat shallow hole.

This is not a breather discussion, which by the way everyone and their mother knows the Tacoma breathers for the trans/TC/rear axle are super low.
The rest of the breathers are almost midway up the firewall which is decent.

How much time do you spend off pavement? Do you take your truck off road on a regular basis? At least trail rides. If you don't, go on a couple local trail rides, try to communicate with people, I know it's hard, I normally don't like anyone either. You might get some useful information aside for the standard manufacture book knowledge.
Click to expand...

I get that I keep going back to fording, because this topic is about snorkels - and the only reason for a snorkel is to ford water. Unfortunately for us, if we ever wish to do so effectively, we would first have to redesign/replace the entire intake system.

If your goal is to prevent a little splash of water from accessing your system via the fender then put some mesh over the air box inlet or something. The last thing you’re going to want to do is throw on a snorkel. A snorkel is only going to act as an express lane to your cold air inlet. By installing one, not only would you have a gravity fed tube feeding everything into your intake, but you’d also have a 4” hole in your fender acting as a peep hole to the location of your air box. This fact, only vindicated by Toyota themselves stating you shouldn’t even wash a truck with a DAI without first covering it up. This fact, vindicated by Toyota no longer offering the DAI due to the misconceptions of its capabilities and application.

So in the object of “limiting what we can”, logic says a snorkel would be counterintuitive.
 
Upvote 0
nickyreno said:
See if these will help, which I doubt they will.

mammothguardsusa.com

Tacoma Third Generation 2016-2020 (No Body Lift)

Wether you want to protect your rig on the trail or just add that unique flair mammoth gap guards can do both! Made from 16 gauge aluminum they can be ordered with our signature hex or kryptek pattern, or a in simpler single layer. We offer over 100 possible powder coating color combinations...
mammothguardsusa.com mammothguardsusa.com

Or maybe look into intakes like the S&B that pull both from the fender and from the front - then capping off the fender inlet.

Otherwise, as much as I hate them, I’d say so long as you don’t think you’re going to cross the Nile in your truck, the DAI might be a good option.

Or do a dope boosted setup that changes the location of the Intake entirely 😎
Click to expand...
Lol! All I wanted was a concession ;) A dope boosted setup would indeed be ideal, but snorkel seems like the cheapest option. And yeah those mammoth guards wouldn't help at all - they don't cover anything that the stock fender liner would. I may play with the idea of changing the intake system entirely, but with a dual battery system switch pros/blue sea stuff and an arb twin I'm not likely to find a tetris solution that fits a front intake. I'll see what I come up with.
 
Upvote 0
nickyreno said:
I get that I keep going back to fording, because this topic is about snorkels - and the only reason for a snorkel is to ford water. Unfortunately for us, if we ever wish to do so effectively, we would first have to redesign/replace the entire intake system.

If your goal is to prevent a little splash of water from accessing your system via the fender then put some mesh over the air box inlet or something. The last thing you’re going to want to do is throw on a snorkel. A snorkel is only going to act as an express lane to your cold air inlet. By installing one, not only would you have a gravity fed tube feeding everything into your intake, but you’d also have a 4” hole in your fender acting as a peep hole to the location of your air box. This fact, only vindicated by Toyota themselves stating you shouldn’t even wash a truck with a DAI without first covering it up. This fact, vindicated by Toyota no longer offering the DAI due to the misconceptions of its capabilities and application.

So in the object of “limiting what we can”, logic says a snorkel would be counterintuitive.
Click to expand...
It is a very old school way of thinking about a snorkel if you feel its only for fording.
I do not know a single person with a 3rd gen that got a snorkel and now thinks its time to explore the lake bottom. Thats a little extreme. A sealed set up at the inlet will help keep water out and is extra insurance. Thats it.

And yes, everything Toyota puts out and their reasoning is exactly the truth and what you should believe. They are not at all looking out for themselves.

In regards to a your comment about the tube right into your intake.
The filter in the air box and the secondary filter are still there, still doing the same job, the position of the inlet does not effect the ability of the filters to do their jobs, whether its right out side the box or 4 feet in the air.

I wish we had a cowl intake system under the windshield for the Tacoma, clean, fresh, protected air while bringing the air intake up a couple inches and move it away from inside the wheel well. We don't, so we make do with what we have.

I get it its not for you, what I would like to see is your experience with snorkels or what you do off road. Your opinion matters to me and others here reading this. Is it based on real world experience or manufacture recommendations? When have you seen an engine hydro lock on the trails with or with out a snorkel? How often do you go off road?

It is interesting we are discussing snorkels while you will not take a drink of the water. So in essence you have become a snorkel, not letting water get in.
 
Upvote 0
So since the Dobinsons, Safari and Soflo or whatever all look the same....Ill be getting the cheapest of the 3 and putting it on my truck....Not because I am afraid that water will get sucked into the intake, not because of what anyone says, but because I think it looks cool. Ok Ok, so for real though, it is supposed to suck in cleaner air, and well, for 300 bucks, its not a bad idea.....but for 500, I could probably do without.
 
Upvote 0
Classytacos said:
It is a very old school way of thinking about a snorkel if you feel its only for fording.
I do not know a single person with a 3rd gen that got a snorkel and now thinks its time to explore the lake bottom. Thats a little extreme. A sealed set up at the inlet will help keep water out and is extra insurance. Thats it.
Click to expand...

You’re right, pretty old school way of thinking.
88F0E8CC-1661-4823-97DC-BE4122A4F084.webp

Classytacos said:
In regards to a your comment about the tube right into your intake.
The filter in the air box and the secondary filter are still there, still doing the same job, the position of the inlet does not effect the ability of the filters to do their jobs, whether its right out side the box or 4 feet in the air.
Click to expand...

Precisely the reason that makes me wonder how the hell the other truck drove through an 8” puddle that caused it to hydrolock. Driving through a puddle that size 1000 times wouldn’t be enough to penetrate the fender liner, then access the air box, then saturate the filter, then enter the intake tube, then enter the intake manifold, then enter the cylinder head, all while being subject to some rate of evaporation, and without throwing mass airflow codes to warn the operator.

Classytacos said:
I get it its not for you, what I would like to see is your experience with snorkels or what you do off road. Your opinion matters to me and others here reading this. Is it based on real world experience or manufacture recommendations? When have you seen an engine hydro lock on the trails with or with out a snorkel? How often do you go off road?
Click to expand...

The HMMWV’s I drove for 8 years had real snorkels on them, not these “desert air intakes” you see today. I’ve done shit you wouldn’t try, in environments you wouldn’t believe, in vehicles you wouldn’t think capable. Nevertheless, all that is immaterial to fact. And fact is: Your Tacoma snorkels are worthless.
 
Upvote 0
nickyreno said:
You’re right, pretty old school way of thinking.
View attachment 32269
Click to expand...
Nice, your first page google search came back and never mentioned fording one time. It literally says "reduce the chance of water entering the engine"
This just strengthens what I'm saying that snorkels are cheap insurance.

nickyreno said:
Precisely the reason that makes me wonder how the hell the other truck drove through an 8” puddle that caused it to hydrolock. Driving through a puddle that size 1000 times wouldn’t be enough to penetrate the fender liner, then access the air box, then saturate the filter, then enter the intake tube, then enter the intake manifold, then enter the cylinder head, all while being subject to some rate of evaporation, and without throwing mass airflow codes to warn the operator.
Click to expand...
Things happen, with these newer vehicles the electrical system will shut the engine down once the MAF sensor reads enough water. At that point, there has already been enough that got by the throttle body to create an issue. The truck went into limp mode to protect itself from any further damage. This has been verified by the dealer.
nickyreno said:
The HMMWV’s I drove for 8 years had real snorkels on them, not these “desert air intakes” you see today. I’ve done shit you wouldn’t try, in environments you wouldn’t believe, in vehicles you wouldn’t think capable. Nevertheless, all that is immaterial to fact. And fact is: Your Tacoma snorkels are worthless.
Click to expand...
Nice try bubs, 0341 Heavy Weapons Company. Yes, every single vehicle I ever drove or was in had a snorkel. Yes, the desert air intake is a joke, we have already established that.

What is your experience with the Tacoma, how often do you off road? You have not answered the question. I'm not trying to act cool or say I off road more than you so you don't know what you're taking about. I'm not that guy, and I have nothing to prove. I'm simply trying to get an understanding of the context from where you are speaking from. If you never go off road or do anything off pavement then yea the snorkel is worthless to you, that makes sense and you have a valid argument under your perception based on the foundational context you are speaking too. You should lead with that. Just saying they are worthless with no Tacoma experience of your own is like reading a book, watching a video, or repeating what the manufacture spit out to make up your mind. Which is fine also. If your opinion is based on that with no real world Tacoma experience the people here on he forum deserve to know that.

By the way, thank you this has been quite fun, fine sir.
 
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Upvote 0
New Holland Overland said:
Ive been really impressed with my SOFLO snorkel, for how often the truck hits trees going down a trail I didnt want to spend the extra money just to have the plastic all scratched and dinged up, plus solfo had a great black friday sale! I purchased the snorkel for the sole purpose of cleaner air...with the bumper cutting away the OEM plastic it allows for a lot more debris and dust and crap to get up into the fender well area and the filter just gets incredibly nasty in about a month! So far no issues with the snorkel in terms of water (You can see its turned backwards in the photo, we had a heavy snow storm the night before).

Does anyone during WOT get a vibration in their intake system after installing a snorkel? Ive been having this issue for a few weeks, everythings tight and re-tightened...super annoying :p

View attachment 18074
Click to expand...
Good point about hitting tree limbs and branches - Never thought of that.
 
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@Classytacos

This one says snorkel

04E48EFA-2C46-47F2-8A9B-67F18C239053.webp

I take my Tacoma off road. Not a lot. Once or twice a month. Went out on Tuesday. Went through a puddle even. Big deep one. Like 10”. I don’t remember much. But I recall a lot of screaming, and at one point my buddy jumped out of the truck with his life vest on. I figured I’d go down with the ship. Saw my life flash before my eyes and had only one regret: not installing a snorkel.
 
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