Steel snorkel

[Kaelandenys]

Hey guys, was looking at putting a steel snorkel on my 2008 st-x and was just curious as to what you guys have on your own rigs. Just a “who’s got what and where from” type thing.
cheers

 

[Old.Tony]

I went for a "factory" snorkel. Nissan badge on it, but it's manufactured by Airtec and badged (and price marked up) by Nissan.

 

[joe2006]

I have the Nissan snorkel as well. Pretty sure they didn't actually call it a snorkel (butt covering?). Maybe a cold air intake because it is far from sealed where it goes through the inner guard to the airbox. Needs a fair bit of sensor safe sealant to fix the issue. If I had my time again I probably would have chosen a Safari. Figuring you are a fair bit younger than me if you are after the "staino" look. I personally don't like the way that they are finished where they go through the guard, rearward facing and don't drain water at the head.
There is a drain hole in the bottom of the airbox. Different theories whether this should be blocked or not. I have blocked mine. You can get a one way valve but I reckon if you are in water deep enough to let sufficient water enter the airbox from the hole in the bottom, that little hole is the least of your problems.

 

[OldManBeard]

Mine's the regular plastic variety. It's unbranded but has a spot where the badge would go if it was sold by somebody else, claiming it's their design of course. You can easily save $100 or more by buying unbranded. I picked the particular model because it only uses rigid sections where it ducts between the snorkel and the airbox. I stay well away from those which use a flexible "concertina" duct, as that just interferes with the airflow.

I fitted my own for two reasons. 1 - I'm a tightarse. 2 - I wanted it done properly. If you do it yourself make sure you take your time. Seal it properly everywhere and it will work as a snorkel should. Do it as the "professionals" do it and you'll have a nice decoration that looks the same from the outside but will let your engine breathe water during river crossings. I've been told it only takes about a tablespoon of water to destroy a diesel engine, although I'm not about to test that for myself, so if you ever want to do a water crossing it's important to get the snorkel right.

 

[OldManBeard]

There is a drain hole in the bottom of the airbox. Different theories whether this should be blocked or not. I have blocked mine. You can get a one way valve but I reckon if you are in water deep enough to let sufficient water enter the airbox from the hole in the bottom, that little hole is the least of your problems.

I blocked both the little holes in the airbox, as well as fully sealed all joints. I've done this for each of our fourbys and I've yet to see a single drop of water in any of their airboxes. Any hole designed to let water drain out will also let water get in during crossings, which defeats the reason I fit snorkels.

I'm with you on the SS snorkels in general and backward-facing is absurd. It won't reduce the amount of crap that gets sucked in but does hinder the airflow by a measurable amount. Here are a couple of interesting snorkel videos:
Forward vs Backward Snorkel Head Performance
Do you NEED a Snorkel Pre-Filter for your 4x4?

 

[Been a while]

Hey guys, was looking at putting a steel snorkel on my 2008 st-x and was just curious as to what you guys have on your own rigs. Just a “who’s got what and where from” type thing.
cheers

Just go the plastic! The wollopers are ALL over metal snorkels atm, plus they're heavy and useless for air flow!
Also, will your insurance cover them! Pinch weld is not a "folded edge" on a cut section of panel and is deemed as unroadworthy!
Be careful with insurance companies! Just because it passes the morons at the r.t.a doesn't mean it passes the insurance hand book that clearly states, "any panel removed from the original manufacturer design is deemed as a modification "! And to modify car panels there are engineered process to follow.. like rolling cut panels edges and adding folding edges to cut panels... To insurance companies it doesn't matter what makes it unroadworthy, if it can be listed as unroadworthy you lose your cover..

Save your cash, They stick a name plate over the inlet so your mates can't "one in the hole" you with beer cans and you've lost another 5% 10% ...
And the price now lol yeah nahhhhh lol

Ring the wreckers my man- they'll have one, or sections of them and put one together for under $100 , why spend that amount of money and go backwards in proformance?? What, for the **** value lol yeah they look trick but are f'n useless facing BACKWARDS LOL !
They call the inlet to the forward facing ones a "Ram Feed" for a reason... stick your hand out the windows and work that one out !

And rear facing with fancy cover plates, lol yeahhh save your money! You'd be better off going to Bunnings and going 90mm storm drain pipe with a 90° bend at the top lol j.k j.k ...

Or go the S.S and put a forward facing ram feed head on it! Thats the go!
I'd have one tomorrow, they'd look that good, but I think you'll find the metal ram feeds are frowned apon also.. I covered mine with plastic to hide it... works a treat too!

The American ones had the best plastic ones, they sit lower and tighter too the A pillar and have a neat ram feed head on them.. Frontier I think! The early ones! And I'm sure it was only one model too.. neat looking units.. good luck!