Staino vs Safari Snorkels

[Rackers03]

Debating about which snorkel to go for. Putting this out to the 4wd community.
Heres what I've got so far but I'm still torn (and not 100% percent sure):
STAINO: pros: better/more airflow, sleek look. Cons: Cost
SAFARI: pros: cheaper. cons: less airflow than the staino (i think)

Mainly just tossing up between the cost of them, is it worth paying the few hundred more for a staino? (staino roughly $6-700, safari $4-500 for my RG Collie)

Cheers,
Hugh

 

[MrMiller]

I installed a safari on my Prado not too long ago… the increased airflow from stock is a pretty good improvement… does it increase power? It might do but if it does it would be marginal and not noticeable… for me anyway. Is there better airflow with a stainless snorkel over a safari? Maybe, but again I think it would be marginal. Not enough to notice any gain without upgrading the entire intake/exhaust system. I would thing the safari would take in more air with a forward facing inlet and air being rammed in while driving. But I could be wrong. I think stainless is more cosmetic over practical… but again I could be wrong.

 

[Albynsw]

I would be very surprised if there was any performance difference between the two, particularly with a 4 pot . The choice is which look you like best
My mate had his 200 tuned and he had an Armax snorkel. The tuner told him that he could of just fitted a standard Safari snorkel as it still provided more than enough air to run the tune

 

[discomatt]

Stainless snorkel are purely a tough look at me option with no benefit over any other snorkel for a standard 4wd, you would have to have massive HP to need the extra air and as far as the extra strength goes, try to break a safari snorkel...
They do look good on a tough Patrol though

 

[cam04]

Staino has much less airflow than an air ram. Not that either makes a huge difference to performance.
If you fancy your car going into limp mode in the rain, a staino with the non optional Venturi pump is the one for you.
Plastic proprietary snorkels have a number of tricky inbuilt designs which prevent rain getting anywhere near your air box.

 

[phs]

Both would be a decrease in performance
added piping only adds resistance

unless you are opening up a restrictive factory setup which most if the time is not the case

 

[red hilux]

Facing forwards, facing backwards.
I can tell the difference while driving. I can even tell the difference adding a snorkel sock makes

 

[Albynsw]

Both would be a decrease in performance
added piping only adds resistance

unless you are opening up a restrictive factory setup which most if the time is not the case

But if you have a forward facing snorkel you do get some air ram effect which takes some load off the turbo and helps it spool easier

 

[hulsty]

How does your chosen stainless one fit to the airbox? I see this as a big problem for many of them, it can be very sub standard.

 

[Rackers03]

Staino has much less airflow than an air ram. Not that either makes a huge difference to performance.
If you fancy your car going into limp mode in the rain, a staino with the non optional Venturi pump is the one for you.
Plastic proprietary snorkels have a number of tricky inbuilt designs which prevent rain getting anywhere near your air box.

Yeah that's what I'd heard about stanios, not having anything built in to help if water gets into the thing unlike the safari snorkels

 

[Rackers03]

Stainless snorkel are purely a tough look at me option with no benefit over any other snorkel for a standard 4wd, you would have to have massive HP to need the extra air and as far as the extra strength goes, try to break a safari snorkel...
They do look good on a tough Patrol though

So from the looks of it it's not worth the extra money for a staino? Plus my ute is still fairly stock so I feel a staino would look a bit out of place on a near factory ute...

 

[MrMiller]

So from the looks of it it's not worth the extra money for a staino? Plus my ute is still fairly stock so I feel a staino would look a bit out of place on a near factory ute...

Personally I’m not a huge fan of them. I think they only look OK on some beefed up older LC 60’s or the odd 200. On a stock looking vehicle it would look out of place. Safari for the win and a long track record of reliability if installed correctly.

 

[phs]

But if you have a forward facing snorkel you do get some air ram effect which takes some load off the turbo and helps it spool easier

As great as sounds I don’t think a forward facing snorkel out performs no snorkel

 

[phs]

How does your chosen stainless one fit to the airbox? I see this as a big problem for many of them, it can be very sub standard.

Hole saw and sikaflex job done

 

[Batts88]

Both would be a decrease in performance
added piping only adds resistance

unless you are opening up a restrictive factory setup which most if the time is not the case

I had a couple of snorkels on different vehicles and I know with a forward facing snorkel you will notice the engine revs easier it feels less restrictive and it hits the red line quicker as you go up the gears. It helped my econ by around 0.5 Lph on my turbo GQ. I do the same trip to work every week 230km one way 460km round trip using the cruise control set on 104kph it went from 12.5 Lph to 12.0 Lph then 11.81 Lph with K&N air filter which again made the engine rev easier. If I sit on 100kph I get 11.6 Lph and when I do any econ testing I use a gps, the same pump at the same servo so hopefully I get accurate figures It's not a massive difference but definitely noticeable and worth it and the vehicle at the time weighed 2,560kg.

 

[phs]

Like I said

unless the factory unlet is restricted and the snorkel opens that inlet up ( connection point )

adding pipe is only going to add resistance

as for the ram effect at most speeds it’s non existent

 

[Batts88]

The 12 or so 4wd's plus several cars I've had have had restrictive inlets as most vehicles have and it's not always about ram air effect it's also about breathing cleaner fresh air and the type of air filter you use will still restrict air flow if I'm correct I was only explaining what gains I got that's all.

 

[phs]

fair enough

On our prado and 200 series adding a safari armax slightly increased flue consumption

 

[Batts88]

They may need to be tuned to suit with all the electronics that constantly need to monitor the factory setting before any gains are noticed.

 

[John U]

I had a mate who used to work installing big air conditioning units. He used to say any bend in a pipe had a massive effect on air flow. The bigger the bend, the larger the effect. The more bends there are, the larger the effect.

Got to say that these things came to mind when I was installing my snorkel. If he was correct I can’t see how a snorkel would improve airflow.