Modding the Snorkel rather than removing it...
 

Im thinking about Modding my Snorkel on my 97 986, I already have it removed and it sounds great!!!!

But I did notice my engine temps are alittle higher without the snorkel than with the snorkel.

I was thinking since the Tappering of the Snorkel seems to be acting as some sorta of noise muffler for the intake, I figured...Why not modify the snorkel by widening the tappered end of it to be just wider than the base of the snorkel that attaches to the airbox?

Then with that done, The engine coolant temps should remain normal and I should have the same great 5k RPM roar of the engine coming from the intake.

Am I right or is there something Im missing here?

Im willing to hack-up my snorkel for the sake of experimentation since I am currently driving without it.

I would appreciate any opinions or suggestions before I decide to under take this task.

can you make a video of your boxster without the snorkel revving or somthing? everybody who does it says it sounds great i want to hear if it sounds better. :)

Hi,

Sorry, but you're missing something here. ;) Your coolant temp has absolutely nothing to do with the intake air. The coolant temp is the result of extracting heat from the block and cylinder heads produced by friction and combustion and the system's ability to shed this heat to atmosphere through the radiator fins.

If you've noticed an increase in temps, it is purely coincidental. Your ambient temps may be hotter than you remember, or you may simply be noticing it more.

With the new, cool, sound, you may be into the WOW pedal more than you were before resulting in higher than previous avg. RPMs and consequently more BTU's produced.

You may also have sucked up some debris - leaves, cigarette butts, gravel, insects, and the like into your intakes blocking some of the airflow through the radiator(s).

You can certainly modify your snorkle if you choose, but, it's a waste of a good part because you won't see any improvement to the temps as a result. If you did, again, that would merely be coincidental.

Besides, the Temp gauge in the Boxster is so inaccurate (as a result of vague and inexact graduations) that's it's difficult (or impossible) to determine a rise in temp of a few degrees, even if you marked the dialface to indicate where the temp needle was, there's some degree of variation to this every time you run the car, even though the temps are relatively the same.

The snorkle is indeed a noise abatement device, but it has nothing to do with the coolant temps you see at the dash. If it did, you'd be more likely to experience reduced temps because of the increased airflow to the intake. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Thank you for the info MNBoxster, i must have been misinformed, Either here at this forum or at the Renntech forum i was told or read someones post about how removing the snorkel reduces the amount of colder outside air the intake can suck in due to the snorkel not being able to reach out and suck in air.....I think the person meant that the air sitting in that big empty gap will begin to heat up and then engine temps were raising because of the increase in warmer air going into the intake.............None the less, I will try to do the mod anyway, If nothing changes then on well, i had nothing todo with my free time anyway, HEY you never know, what if the mod helps the intake roar alittle louder!

BlkBoxster: Ill try to record the intake noise before the mod and after mod...Trust me, if your driving with the snorkel you will tell a HUGE difference from my engine intake noise than your intake noise....Its litterally day/nite.

Hi,

As I said, you can do what you choose. But, if you have nothing else to do as you say, it would be a lot more productive if you were to spend the time cleaning the Radiators. This will have a far greater effect on keeping the car cool. Just a suggestion...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Hey again, you know what, i have done that afew times already...well truthfully i do that every weekend while im washing my car, There always very clean looking, I notice a little oil looker looking thing on top of the engine....would cleaning this out help any??? and if it does help, how to i go about cleaning that without damaging any components of the engine while im at it?

Hi,

Flushing the radiators when you wash your car can actually be counter-productive. This is because you will be forcing any accumulated debris deeper between the radiator fins and not necessarily out the other side. This can restrict the airflow even further than it already is. It may look clean/clear, but the debris can travel much deeper into the fins than you are able to see visually.

The only effective way to clean them is to remove the covers behind them and back-flush through the Radiator to the front of the car. This way, the debris is forced back out the direction it entered. It will move toward a less restricted area, not away from it. It is not a small job, but usually only necessary every, or every other, season depending upon the area you live and drive.

I have no idea what you mean by Oil Looker Thing. Are you talking about the Power Steering Reservoir? If so, it's not a bad idea to keep it clean, but so far as it aiding in cooling the engine, it won't have much effect, if any. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Results
 

Ok, I spent about $5.36 on this mod.



Here are the results after having installed my snorkel with the new widened tappered end expanded to the same width and shape as the original oval section of the snorkel. Well I do know the difference in intake noise between having a snorkel and no snorkel. The Intake noises with this modded snorkel come to a good meddien between the stock snorkel and without the snorkel...not too loud but not "stock" quiet.

One very welcome difference that I felt was that I had way more mid-range torque with the modded snorkel than i did without the snorkel. Normal acceleration from a stop in 1st gear had alot more ease and peppy.

I cannot 100% support the claim that I have "more" hp than I did before the mod since I did not have a before and after dyno run made. Again, this is just my experience and everyone may not have the pleasant experiance as I did with this mod, and I do not except resposibility for any malfuction or issues that may arrise as result of this modifacation. Mod at your own risk!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll need something to cut very straight and clean...I used a soddering iron to make the cuts in the snorkel.

Then you need to purchase a 3" by 3" peice of exhaust pipe from AutoZone for $1.99, Then a roll of 3M Intake Hose Repair Tape for $2.99....thats it.

I couldn't produce pictures of the entire mod process but I did create some Pre-school quality drawings that explain the process quite clearly.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/Snorkel1.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/Snorkel2.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/Snorkel3.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/Snorkel4.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/Snorkel5.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/Snorkel6.jpg

Nice work, CJ! There's something gratifying about cheap DIY mods, isn't there?

I love getting 'something for nothing'... 'stickin' it to the man' ...and so on.

Like how my neighbor broadcasts his wireless signal eeever-so-faintly into my bathroom... and I go out and buy a wireless range expander so now my whole house has internet! Could I pay for internet on my own? Sure! But is the internet more fun when it's 'rigged'? Totally.

Great post, nice work, and do a little jig... you deserve it! :dance:

LMAO you remind me of my neighbors, I couldnt figure out for the longest why my wireless g network would download files and pages as fast as the week before LOL I renamed my wireless network to "Must Pay to Play" and assigned it a Network Key so i locked everyone out LOL.

Yeah i totally stuck it to the "Man" by modding my own snorkel. Dang mod only cost me $5.34, cant beat that.

I love it. Now, stick with me on a thread about cat deletes I'm about to start... You may like this one!

OH Shnap! have to done this already? if so, hows it work and sound?

Go look at my thread!

What do you think of this idea. What if instead of cutting and taping the snorkel up, you use fiberglass and mold and extend the snorkel into a wider trumpet looking thing?

Thats an Idea, if you want to get fancy, you can have a carbonfiber forming company (talked to one at SEMA once) and they can make just about anything for you, provided you give them enough data to get it right on the first try or else it costs you alot more money.