Thread: Dealer statements re Snorkel and Tow bar

The Landrover raised air intake is not sealed and therefore doesn’t increase your wading depth, whereas the aftermarket ones are designed to be sealed and are marketed as snorkels.



Then whats the point of getting the L/R intake?

Bought a safari snorkel last year. Chose it ahead of the competition only because it has an indentation to accomodate the mirror arm and allows full door opening whereas the others allow the mirror arm to hit and stops the door opening that last little bit.

The OEM raised air intake is not 'officially' designed to increase the wading depth above the half metre depth. And I would be very surprised if any manufacturer claimed that theirs did. They would be throwing them selves open to all sorts of claims re hydrauliced engines. However the original equipment one is sealed as you can probably glean from the attached PDF. If it wasn’t then it would serve no purpose as it would not efficiently draw cleaner air from above the vehicle.

As for the tow bar, I cannot comment other than to say Hayman Reece have advised me that they do not yet make a towbar suitable for a Puma D90.

Hey ugu80

Hadn't even considered the clearance for the mirror arm...

Presumably the LR intake doesn't impede the door opening in any way?

Cheers,

Duke

That's a big presumption....

Hey all,

The Land Rover ducting on the PUMA's, from inside the front guard to the air box is not sealed, but rather push/sleaved together. Also the collector inside the guard only pushes against the inside of the guard and again is not sealed.

Further the ducting is not mandrel bent and is squeezed very close together in places, denying an un-interrupted flow of air to the air box.

It is much better idea to replace this ducting with something suitable eg: marine exhaust tubing (rubber tubing with an inbuilt spring to stop collapsing) sika-flexed or similar together.

This will ensure a water tight seal, that you can rely on.

As mentioned about the ducting. That said I very much doubt any manufacturer would claim their RAI to be truly able to increase wading depth.

I fitted the Mantec (pretty much the same as the new LR OEM unit). The Safari wasn't available back then. It has an exceptionally good profile and doesn't foul the mirror. It isn't even really visible from the driver's seat either. The Safari in the respect is the same as it has always been.

As for the tow bar the OEM is very similar to but isn't the HR bar. It allows you to keep the rear step and doesn't spoil the departure angel like the ARB/TJM ones do on the 110. None of these are adjustable in hight except by getting a different shaped tongue in the receiver (or inverting it).

Originally Posted by dm_td5

As mentioned about the ducting. That said I very much doubt any manufacturer would claim their RAI to be truly able to increase wading depth.

I fitted the Mantec (pretty much the same as the new LR OEM unit). The Safari wasn't available back then. It has an exceptionally good profile and doesn't foul the mirror. It isn't even really visible from the driver's seat either. The Safari in the respect is the same as it has always been.

As for the tow bar the OEM is very similar to but isn't the HR bar. It allows you to keep the rear step and doesn't spoil the departure angel like the ARB/TJM ones do on the 110. None of these are adjustable in hight except by getting a different shaped tongue in the receiver (or inverting it).

The tongue or goose neck can be obtained such that it is adjustable, they use plate on the end of the 50 mm SHS (RHS) with several holes to allow the attachment of an "L" shaped bracket with the towball at a variety of heights. They are not your standard goose neck and I don't know where to get them, I would ask at a place that sells caravans or other big trailers like horse floats or boat trailers.

As for the water tighness of RAI, DYI silastic or other such sealant. I don't know that I would trust that the fitter made it water tight.

Ok, this was my thinking about a RAI:

Max recommended wading depth is 50 cm. Any deeper should be attempted with extreme caution and you should use a wading sheet across the front of your vehicle to make a bow wave and to stop the fan hitting the water and bending into the radiator (even though it has a viscous coupling). Bottom of current air intake is at about 90 cm above ground level. What I want the RAI to do is stop water ingress in to the air intake from splashing and the trailing bow wave. The air line inside of the engine bay from the inlet (with or without RAI) to the air box rises slightly and is also about 90 cm above ground.

How deep is 90 cm? Do you really want to wade through water that deep for any distance? At that depth water will be lapping the bottom of your seat cushions, the electrics under the drivers seat, and the battery and what ever else you have, under the passenger seat will be under water. There will be nearly 15 cm of water in the back of your vehicle.

Oh, and the OEM RAI certainly doesn't interfere with the door opening and is barely visible (by the driver) from inside the cab.

I have only twice been in water approaching 90 cm deep for any distance. Both times getting through flood waters in a SWB Series 3 diesel. No electronics to worry about there. It took my mate about a week to dry out his seat cushions. I was running large tyres and had just a little bit more height.

Cheers
KarlB