When you see an SUV with a plastic "trunk" stretching along the windshield pillar, the first thought is usually one: "Oh, this guy is going to storm rivers on the roof." Most beginners perceivesnorkelon the car as a kind of periscope for a submarine. Like, if I don't plan to force deep fords, then this "pipe" is of no use to me either.

But let's be clear: how much time during the entire "career" of a jeep does it really spend in water? 1%, maybe 2%? In fact, the decision to buy a snorkel is not about extreme swimming. It's about what your engine breathes every day. OnVnedorognik.uawe often tell customers: if you plan to go beyond asphalt, you need an external air intake not for water, but for clean air.

Dust "bag": the main enemy under the hood

Think of any outing in a column on a dirt road in the summer. "Father" goes ahead in a prepared car, and you follow him in a thick, red cloud of dust. What is your engine doing at this moment? He is desperately trying to suck air out of the underhood space.

And now there is a real sandstorm under the hood. The standard air intake is usually located somewhere near the headlight or under the wing. This is exactly the place where the heaviest, dirtiest dust and sand is concentrated.

What happens next?

The air filter gets clogged in one trip. You can change it every week, but this is only dealing with the consequences, not solving the problem.

Abrasive wear. The smallest dust particles still pass through the filter paper. They get into the cylinders, working like sandpaper. The result is premature "capital" of the engine, which could have been avoided if a quality snorkel was installed in time.

The high point of air intake carries the "lungs" of the car to a height of 2 meters. The air there is much cleaner, thinner and, importantly, colder.

Cold air = better traction

This is the physics that we often ignore when choosing a tuning. Under the hood of a working SUV, the temperature can reach 80-90 degrees. Hot air is less dense and therefore contains less oxygen. The engine has to "strain" to produce the same power.

When you decide to install a snorkel, you are feeding the combustion chamber with a cool flow from the outside. The engine begins to breathe "full chest", the mixture burns more efficiently, and you feel a better response to the gas pedal and even a small fuel economy.

"Pilot effect" and movement in a column

If you go on an expedition where there are more than three cars, the snorkel (which costs much less than an engine repair) becomes a matter of car survival. When you tail, your car works like a powerful aerobatics. Installing a system with a special cyclone nozzle (such a round "pan" above) allows you to filter out up to 90% of large dust before it reaches the filter. Dust is simply thrown out under the action of centrifugal force.

And what about water hammer protection?

Of course, water hammer is a jeeper's nightmare. One bad hit in a puddle at speed, a wave over the hood, a sip of water in the stock inlet - and your engine turns into an immobile pile of metal. A professional Safari or Bravo snorkel leaves room for error. It allows you not to panic when the puddle turned out to be deeper than it seemed from the window.

Advice from Vnedorognik.ua: tuning should be reasonable

We have seen many self-igniting plastic water pipes that crack on the first branch. A real branded accessory should be:

• Strong: Made of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), which is not afraid of hitting trees.
• Airtight: A poorly installed system is worse than no system, because it creates the illusion of security.
• Correctly unfolded: In rain or snow, it is better to unfold the upper "goose" back so as not to clog the system with precipitation.

Do not take this element as a decoration for strict jeepers. These are the "lungs" of your car. If you want your engine to last hundreds of thousands of kilometers without problems, let it breathe clean air.