cowl intake vs snorkel

[kastein]

I like the cowl idea a lot more, if I was going to do one (don't need to) I would do it that way as I prefer not having wacky tubing and whatnot sticking out of my fenders/hood/pillars. Also, you can get away with using poop pipe on a cowl intake without looking retarded, which would suit my budget rather nicely.

Also, for those worried about hydrolocking/water intake... look into cyclonic separator / hydrocyclone design. If you were suitably inclined you could build a cyclonic separator that would greatly reduce the chance of sucking up water even if it was coming into the intake in fairly significant amounts... would not handle full submersion or anything close to it, but it'd help out a lot. You probably would have to put the separator in the cabin to get the water outlet high enough/dry enough to avoid just sucking up more water however.

 

[lazyxj]

I have been running a cowl intake for about six months and have nothing bad to say about it. It makes a little more noise at startup and at wide-open throttle and is quiet the rest of the time.
Rain has not been a problem.
I have the XJ wired so I can read the ambient, filter box and intake manifold temperatures. The addition of the cowl intake dropped the intake temperature up to 30 degrees when cruising on the freeway. It feels peppier on hot days due to the cooler intake air.
On a recent weeklong trip to Death Valley, I noticed that the paper air cleaner stayed much cleaner than with the stock intake.
While the cowl was open, I added an air filter to the cabin air intake similar to what EHAL did. I cut up an cabin air filer and made it fit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157622703531169/

If I did it again, I would be tempted to use the Thor intake or make one myself so I could get rid of the air box and add a second battery.
http://www.thor4x4.com/html/xj_cowl_induction.html

 

[srmitchell]

A repost of what I did.

I love it. The only problem I've encountered was when I took a puddle stupid fast, and water did get into the air box. Too much water was running past the hole in cowl. I've since raised the coiled hose slightly, and it works much better.

Use 3 inch pvc. It works great. I made a 3 inch hole in the cowl, and used an extra stock intake hose cut down, and it fits snugly in the cowl. I used a combo of self tappers, and rtv to hold it all together. The front intake hole is closed with some flat abs, screws, and rtv.

This setup has been proven in 4 feet of water. And it obviously allows for lots of air, I average 17-20 mpg on the freeway, with 3.55's and 31's.

 

[4WDlifeform]

Good debate indeed. I did the cowl mod. Couldn't be happier. I like the sound it makes at WOT! sounds like a beast! Cant say I really noticed any power difference...

I did it mainly to get the air box out of the way. Having the extra space under the hood is nice of other things... like, another battery, air compressor, or in my case, train horns!

 

[AJTorris]

Ok my question is do you all swap back to the stock intake to smog? Here in CA you have to have all the stock intake/vacume/breathers in the factory position or buy an expensive AEM intake with a C.A.R.B. number on it (at least for the street scene).

 

[bigalpha]

Why not make the cowl an airbox and run the snorkel down the front of the a pillar into the cowl? Then you can avoid cutting the fender and running tons of tube.

 

[keep0njeepin0n]

i'm going to be picking up a k&n apollo filter (http://www.jegs.com/p/K-N/K-N-Apollo-Unique-Universal-Air-Filter/1216658/10002/-1) do the cowl mod, i wheel with nosigma(hi john) on the same trails. i doubt i'll go in water deep enough to cover the hood and cowl.

Wow, I like that a lot!! Let us know how it turns out and post some pics of the finished product!

 

[brutalxj]

Just wondering I'm in the middle of fabing an1/8in steel snorkle to look almost exact to the p.o.s. plastic one on the markit. It wouldn't be expencive to do and I'm a welder/ fab by trade and state curtified. Would it be worth wile to make a few and what would be a fair price.

 

[CromeY90]

well so far no one has said they like snorkel better lol common snorkel guys speak up

 

[SanDiegoOverland]

i like the safari snorkel.

for one, its smog legal.
for two, it actually raises the level of the intake significantly, and I have on many occasions had water over the hood of my 4x4s.

Here in socal its either desert or alpine forest. None of the primordial forests of the pacific northwest that would rip a protrusion like a snorkel off.

Simply long, DUSTY, expansive drives. Most major trails (dusy, rubicon, anza-borrego, mojave- all have water crossings, too )

 

[brutalxj]

Of course I love the snorkle in wi you never know a daily drive could mean the road you want might be water over your hood and in a jeep turning around for me is only at the end of a strap. My first i6 god rest its sole went that way. After I pulled it I put 4 fingers in side the block never. Agean

 

[xj_mike]

i like the safari snorkel.

for one, its smog legal.
for two, it actually raises the level of the intake significantly, and I have on many occasions had water over the hood of my 4x4s.

Here in socal its either desert or alpine forest. None of the primordial forests of the pacific northwest that would rip a protrusion like a snorkel off.

Simply long, DUSTY, expansive drives. Most major trails (dusy, rubicon, anza-borrego, mojave- all have water crossings, too )

How do you know.... you don't have one. LOL

Pro's and con's to both design but I am going with the cowl intake to the stock filter box (sealed of course). This should be smog legal as it does not change anything before the filter but I'll get a spare airbox in case I have to swap it in.

 

[lazyxj]

Pro's and con's to both design but I am going with the cowl intake to the stock filter box (sealed of course). This should be smog legal as it does not change anything before the filter but I'll get a spare air box in case I have to swap it in.

I made a 24” deep water crossing last May and got a little water in the stock air box. I wasn't too happy about it so I went home and researched cowl intakes and then built one.
Since then, the XJ has gone several thousand miles, including 600 miles of dirt roads and a couple of water crossings.
There appears to be no downside. Cooler, cleaner air lets the engine run better when its hot out and the air cleaner doesn't get dirty as quickly.
The cowl intake makes a pleasant growl when accelerating.
The stock air box does a good job of filtering the air and separating any water that might get in but its air intake hole is positioned in the wrong place. It gets too much hot air and can suck water in during moderate water crossings. Moving the air intake to the cowl eliminates both of these problems while using little valuable space and is totally invisible from the outside the car.
Unless you are into deep-water crossings, a cowl intake is an effective choice while being simple, cheap and it does not change the appearance of the Jeep.
[FONT=&quot]I have kept the stock air box because it is as good or better than most of the after-market filters at separating dirt and water from the intake air.[/FONT]

 

[SanDiegoOverland]

How do you know.... you don't have one. LOL

Pro's and con's to both design but I am going with the cowl intake to the stock filter box (sealed of course). This should be smog legal as it does not change anything before the filter but I'll get a spare airbox in case I have to swap it in.

rocked one on both my 1st gen 4runners and my zuki.

its all the same stuff. Just hose routing differences.

 

[keep0njeepin0n]

Just wondering....I'm in the middle of fabing a 1/8" steel snorkle to look almost exactly like the p.o.s. plastic one on the market. It wouldn't be expensive to do and I'm a welder/fabricator by trade and state certified. Would it be worth while to make a few and what would be a fair price?

Not to be an a$$ but I HAD to edit the above post! I know this is going to sound rude, but I have to ask. How can you be a "state curtified" welder when you can't even spell certified correctly???

 

[motown2]

snorkel all the way-colder more forced air. Also, what happens to a cowl intake if you enter a large puddle/lake/river and you get that big wave of water come onto your hood and into the cowl area?

 

[SanDiegoOverland]

I made a 24” deep water crossing last May and got a little water in the stock air box. I wasn't too happy about it so I went home and researched cowl intakes and then built one.
Since then, the XJ has gone several thousand miles, including 600 miles of dirt roads and a couple of water crossings.
There appears to be no downside. Cooler, cleaner air lets the engine run better when its hot out and the air cleaner doesn't get dirty as quickly.
The cowl intake makes a pleasant growl when accelerating.
The stock air box does a good job of filtering the air and separating any water that might get in but its air intake hole is positioned in the wrong place. It gets too much hot air and can suck water in during moderate water crossings. Moving the air intake to the cowl eliminates both of these problems while using little valuable space and is totally invisible from the outside the car.
Unless you are into deep-water crossings, a cowl intake is an effective choice while being simple, cheap and it does not change the appearance of the Jeep.
[FONT=&quot]I have kept the stock air box because it is as good or better than most of the after-market filters at separating dirt and water from the intake air.[/FONT]

only downside is that this mod is not smog legal and if you get inspected, will fail for the modifications. a safari snorkel is cali-legal. Maybe you could remove and re-install?

 

[ehall]

snorkel all the way-colder more forced air. Also, what happens to a cowl intake if you enter a large puddle/lake/river and you get that big wave of water come onto your hood and into the cowl area?

hello 1st post, did you read the thread? a wave will simply drain out the side ports, the problems are from parking in water that is over the hood line

 

[motown2]

hello 1st post, did you read the thread? a wave will simply drain out the side ports, the problems are from parking in water that is over the hood line

with that being said, snorkels are more expensive but more effective and cowl intakes are cheaper and still effective, yet not as a snorkel.

 

[stumpXJ]

I have had a couple snorkels on two different vehicles, wouldnt have it any other way. It does make a difference in a dusty condition if you're following behind someone by getting the intake tract as high as possible, and I have had water half way up my windshield on more than one occasion enter a crossing, on both vehicles with my foot in the gas. Sorry, but an cowl intake would have sucked in gallons at that point.

If you dont ever 'intend' to go that deep, then it may work for you. However, I tend to hope for the best and plan for the worst. They both would be better than a stock airbox for ANY water crossing.