Why You Need a Snorkel for Your 4x4

One of the great things about owning a 4wd vehicle is the way it lets you get right off the beaten track and out into Australia’s most spectacular scenery. Even straight out the showroom a good 4x4 or Ute will take you places a normal car is never going to reach. High ground clearance, all wheel drive and a powerful diesel can get you across some pretty rough terrain.

Of course every vehicle has its limits. If you’re an off road enthusiast you’ve probably put a good bit of time and effort into pushing out those limits and increasing your vehicle’s capabilities, Extended range tanks, underguards and recovery gear all let you get to places you couldn’t have managed without them. There are plenty of ways to protect your vehicle from damage, increase your fuel supply and get out of tight spots where you’re losing traction.

There’s one more thing you can do to improve performance however, and that’s to give your engine a guaranteed supply of clean air. Without that you won’t be getting very far. The problem is your air intake is mounted in just about the worst place it could be – quite low and at the front of the vehicle. That makes it vulnerable to two of the worst hazards you’ll face off road – water and dust. Getting into water that’s just a touch too deep can choke your engine and leave you stuck, usually somewhere inconvenient like the middle of a river. Dust acts more slowly but can be just as bad; a long day of driving on unfinished tracks can suck so much into your air filter that it starts getting blocked, and your engine will lose power. You can always stop and clean it out, but that gets old pretty quickly.

Of course there’s a better alternative – fit a snorkel. A modern off road snorkel is a tough, lightweight bit of gear that moves your air intake up to roof level at the top of one of your windscreen pillars. It’s pretty obvious how that solves the water issue – you’re now bringing in air from above your head, so if you can still breathe so can the engine. If you start seeing fish through the windows you know you’re getting in a bit deep; otherwise you’ll be fine.

It’s not just water snorkels help with. Dust stirred up by your tyres or the wind tends to hang close to the ground. Shifting the intake up a few feet means your engine is pulling in much cleaner air, and your filter will last a lot longer before it needs cleaned. Choose a good snorkel with a head unit you can rotate and you can do even better. With the intake facing backwards even less dust will get drawn in.

We supply Safari snorkels, a modern design that’s made in Australia from top quality materials. All of our Safari models come with a fitting kit that seals perfectly over your intake, a tough body moulded from UV-resistant cross-linked polyethylene and a rotatable air ram that helps keep dust, snow and rain out of the system. Because they’re tailored for each make and model, and not just generic tubes with adapter kits, Safari snorkels give the best appearance and performance you can get. If you want to get the most out of your 4wd vehicle this is one accessory you can’t do without.