Cowl snorkel or actual snorkel??

[vonguido]

Hey everyone,
Here is my situation. I have a 1998 Jeep XJ Limited, 4.0L, AW4. 30/44 5" lift w/ 31'' Mickey MTZ's. I'm transitioning my Jeep into an Overlanding style and I'm currently debating on either buying a Spectre Cowl Intake or actual Snorkel. Currently I have a K&N cone filter and obviously not the stock airbox, I really don't intend on crossing any water higher than the bottom of the doors and I also want to run a dual battery option. From those of you who have actually done this which do you think would be a better option?
I would prefer to keep the dual battery in the engine compartment for simplicity and less wire running through the Jeep, however if running a regular snorkel is the better option I will find another location for the 2nd battery. Next fall(2014) I plan on taking a month or so off work and drive from Ohio out to CO,UT,AZ,CA,OR,WA,ID,SD, just trying to ask here since those who post here are like minded. Thanks in advance I await your replies

 

[Fireman78]

When you install a real snorkel, you join a very special club. This is fully apparent driving through main street in Moab. :snorkel: Besides, you may need that snorkel more then you think, you know, the way the world is warming up and all that. Just sayin.

Sent from highest tree in the woods trying to get a signal

 

[jeep-N-montero]

In 14 years of wheeling in Colorado and Moab there was only 1 time a snorkel would have made any difference at all, even then it may have not helped because the water was halfway up the doors. 90% of the vehicles you see in the US with snorkels are for poser purposes only.

 

[brianjwilson]

When you install a real snorkel, you join a very special club. This is fully apparent driving through main street in Moab. :snorkel: Besides, you may need that snorkel more then you think, you know, the way the world is warming up and all that. Just sayin.

Sent from highest tree in the woods trying to get a signal

Man I couldn't believe all the posers in Moab just driving back and forth with freshly waxed, pristine jeeps with ridiculous amounts of unused bolt ons. Lol. It was like a mid life crisis deal where everyone traded in their Harleys and chrome. Some cool people still around, but jeez the posers were out hardcore on the weekend.

I've been thinking about a cowl snorkel (for the jk it's a rugged ridge brand that sits just below the windshield), largely to keep from splashing water getting into the intake. The stock air intake is plenty high for crossing water at slow speeds. Aev will tell you that one of the bigger advantages of a snorkel is getting less dust in the intake.

 

[vonguido]

So the general consensus I'm getting here is A) the cowl intake is the better option. B) snorkels are overrated and are for poser factor for 95% of the people who have them in the USA.
Sounds like I will be going the cowl intake route which is nice too because its only $130 instead of $450 for the snorkel so I can put the rest of the money I'm saving into my dual battery setup.

 

[Fireman78]

The reason I installed mine was because my truck was completely buried in the Pecos River a few years ago. Luckily there was a second Power Wagon there to rescue me on the right side of the river, otherwise it would have been curtains for me. Due to the low stock intake, (behind the bumper basically), I couldn't run the engine in fear of hydrolocking. I was working spraying salt cedar trees along the river for the government, and they had released water from Sumner damn, so it wasn't a poser thing. Some people actually use 4x4 trucks for work. For me it was a tax write off too. But you can make fun of snorkel owners just the same, won't hurt my feelings at all. I do kinda chuckle at clean immaculate rigs for sure. Not sure the point there.
The worst part if that entire experiance was that time underwater destroyed my "Smart Bar" electronics and I went without lockers for about a year before getting them fixed.

 

[pilosopo]

I have an actual snorkel but with a cyclonic pre-filter on it as opposed to a ram air.

In the dusty conditions I usually end up in, I've noticed my air cleaner stays cleaner longer. I don't use it for water crossings, but I feel it's beneficial here in the south west

 

[Fireman78]

This may be anomaly, but my Power Wagon earned about 1 mpg after I installed my snorkel.

Sent from highest tree in the woods trying to get a signal

 

[Power Wagon Family]

I have the AEV snorkel with the cyclonic pre-filter. Like mentioned before here in NM a lot of the roads to the remote camping spots and wheeling areas are extremly dusty. I have also used it in the traditional way while in moab when Kane Creek has been bad. In general I think snorkels get a bad wrap by the guys that wheel primarily in the rocks. My last jeep (TJ) was strictly for rocks and a snorkel would have been ripped of on my first trip to Las Cruces. This time I wanted more of Expo/Trail/Rock set up so i went with the snorkel. It works great and gives me some added peace of mind. The cowl ones seem to do the same thing and are less obtrusive.
As for the feshly waxed and super clean comments, I disagree with calling them posers or implying they dont wheel. I grew up in a family where hot rods were the family hobby when I grew up and turned 17 I went a diffrent route and bought my first jeep. Having always been the one to clean and wax our 32 Ford before shows I brought some of that over to my jeeping hobby. I wash and wax my jeep, I enjoy keeping it looking good, but that has never kept me off a trail. If it gets dirty so be it but when I get home from an adventure my OCD kicks in and it gets clean.

Snorkel Pic:

 

[Idahoan]

Not a fan but I've used fording equipment in the Marines. We installed on the rare occasion and didn't run around with it on. I see little useful purpose. It comes down to what you like. If you want something sticking up, go for it.

 

[vonguido]

The reason I installed mine was because my truck was completely buried in the Pecos River a few years ago. Luckily there was a second Power Wagon there to rescue me on the right side of the river, otherwise it would have been curtains for me. Due to the low stock intake, (behind the bumper basically), I couldn't run the engine in fear of hydrolocking. I was working spraying salt cedar trees along the river for the government, and they had released water from Sumner damn, so it wasn't a poser thing. Some people actually use 4x4 trucks for work. For me it was a tax write off too. But you can make fun of snorkel owners just the same, won't hurt my feelings at all. I do kinda chuckle at clean immaculate rigs for sure. Not sure the point there.
The worst part if that entire experiance was that time underwater destroyed my "Smart Bar" electronics and I went without lockers for about a year before getting them fixed.

I'm all ears from those who have used them, my joke was more towards the guys I see around me with brand new Jk's that never take them offroad other than the occasional grassy lot, yet run all the new aev gear and snorkel lol.
I'm just trying to figure out which option would be best for me since I want to run a dual battery as well as my trip cross country from Ohio. I'm not into running rock gardens or rock climbing, I'm about exploring, camping, enjoying the areas I'm exploring.

 

[WagoneerSX4]

Most people who see my car would never believe it's been off road. First thing I do after the trails is bring it home and wash it. I also spend quite a bit of time polishing out the tree pin-striping on the doors. I just don't like carrying around 100 extra pounds of mud for my DD'ing. I also like people being able to see my tail/headlights. It's me making fun of the people driving their mud covered trucks to work. Come on over to the other side, the beer is colder :beer:

 

[brianjwilson]

Haha
I think some people caught my comment the wrong way.
My JK is very clean 90% of the time as well. I've actually fetched higher than private party value on all of my used trucks due to their immaculate condition (white paint helps hide a lot too!). I clean mine intensely after wheeling too. And I hate mud.

I'm just poking fun at some of the guys I saw in Moab when I went, on a weekend. It was June, everything was extremely dry and dusty except for a little water on Kane creek. Mine was filthy and I pressure washed it every time I got back into town. There was literally no way you were wheeling at all that weekend without getting really dirty. I saw a lot of the same new jeeps driving back and forth on the main strip, always spotless, day after day. Most of them with ridiculous lifts and and armor, lights mounted all over the place, huge roof racks, but no apparent signs of usage. That wasn't every jeep, but there was a large number of them just "cruising" back and forth all the time. It was like watching high school kids in a small town driving back and forth in their civics, showing off their ride while blasting a cheap sound system. Just poking a little fun, that's all.

The snorkels have their uses, don't get me wrong. I'm happy to take my jeep off road all day long, let it get scratched up by brush and trees, drag the undercarriage on rocks here and there, but I'm not going through water as high as the head lights unless its an emergency. And any deep water, I'm checking it out first and going slow. I may get one some day, still on the fence. There is a lot of low brushy trails here and I can see the aev snorkel becoming a hazard. That's what I like about the rugged ridge snorkel, you can run a smaller piece that is just on top of the hood. My main concern is splashing water, moving through flooded water too fast in the winter, etc. But I also need something that will be compatible with a dual battery mount. To me the main advantage I see to the higher snorkel is dust. If I'm sucking water up from the bottom of the windshield, I've got bigger problems.

 

[The Raven]

I'm happy to read that people feel the way I do about snorkels. They look cool for sure...but 90% of the use is posur. I though about one for a while...but have only been up to the wheel wells once in water and drying out the carpets then dealing with the mildew was enough not going any higher.

Nothing wrong with having a clean and shiny jeep. The wax holds off the rust a few years I would imagine. I should wash mine more...but I live a couple miles down a trail so my ride home would muddy up my jeep.


Talking about mud, back in my college town a car wash owner once screamed at me because there was mud in a stall at thier self serve. Thought that because I had a jeep I left the mud.....******? Wierd people.

 

[lysol]

By cowl norkel, you mean this right?