Do away with the snorkel?
 

Is it true that Porsche did away with the snorkel design on the 03'+ 986? I heard that removing the snorkel tube gives the car a nasty(good) sound above 3k,but I don't want to lose any performance from doing so.

I took mine out of my 2000, gives it a little bit more of a throaty sound. I dont think there is any performance loss.

Dont know if thats true about 03's but i removed mine and i didnt notice a drop in performance However i did notice a drop in mileage due to the fact that i love the sound so much that I accelerate alittle harder sometimes to hear that sweet sweet note that the intake emits.

I have been interested in this 'desnork' stuff for some time, but never done it.

A person in renntech board (one of the Porsche people I respect most) strongly oppose the idea for potential engine damage. And there has been a report of reduced mpg. Horror stories during car wash. But at the same time I heard so many good things about it in Cayman board.

What I want to hear is the long term experience from various different weather conditions.

Well thats sorta true, The snorkel also extends the length of the box all the way up against the vent grills so i feel that you run a higher chance of sucking up water and debris WITH the snorkel attached. Without the Snorkel, the intake box is about 1 foot away from the grills and its very very hard to inhale water, I wash my car and spray against the intake grills sometimes and have yet to inhale water... that story about someone sucking water into the intake was using a pressure washer, which you should never ever use... do that guys defence though, the Car Wash place used the pressure washer and some how damaged the MAF...

Thats tough todo though, cause the MAF isnt inside the intake box, the water would have to travel though the empty space in between the vent grilles, into the intake box, then make a quick right hand turn then go up then back straight inorder to wet the MAF.

Cooler air and ram effect?
 

I have also been watching the threads concerning de-snork. It seems that the EVO intake seals off the inside heat from the airbox intake thus keeping the air cooler which is a good thing. None of these aftermarket snorkel "upgrades" seem to have a tapered air 'ram' snork tube that should add a few hp. I wonder if removing the snork tube would introduce more hot air and even less ram effect? Always good discussion on these mods on this list, keep them coming.

986geezer

It doesnt make a difference as far as fresh air with the snorkel off or on cause if you remove the snorkel, that doesnt mean that the box will be sucking in hot air from the engine compartment cause BOX is still sealed from the engien compartment and the box only pulls air from the sidevent and no where else.

Example: Snorkeled box-- |V| Desnorkeled box-- | |

Basically the air will only come from one source and thats the side vent, and the air traveling 10 inches through a tappered snorkel tube will not keep the air any cooler that it already is. I hear the snorkels purpose was for noise pollution purposes, which i can understand cause the Boxster sounds like a lamborghini without the snorkel at high rpms.

You should remove it and then drive up the accelerate up the block to 5k+ rpms and then decide if you'd like to reinstall it... Its an easy uninstall and reinstall that takes 5 minutes.

This has been discussed many-a-time. If you de-snork you will not lose or gain any power. You will only notice the sound of the motor more. You will not get any water into the motor. Have you looked at how the air needs to get into the car in the first place? Water cant follow this path!

The stock system is AS GOOD as any aftyermarket system. The stock system is a true "cold air" type system. The airbox is sealed off from the engine bay entirely. Dont fall for any aftermarket systems advertising the "cold air ram intake" crap. Its all crap. ONLY buy an aftermarket system for the sound. It will be a "bit" more noticeable than just desnorking...but here's the catch...desnorking is FREE while these aftermarket crap systems will DRAIN your wallet.

The only this some people are afraid of is a cigarette getting sucked in and lighting the filter element ablaze. If this happens to you then buy a lottery ticket that same day...cause the odds must be unbelievable.

Also...some people rip the foam part of the air filter element off to get a bit more sound.

Also watch out for the aftermarket oiled filters as these *can* ruin a MAF.

Hope this helps. :cheers:

1)Your car stock is already "cold" air and cant be any colder with aftermarket.

2)You will NEVER get a ram effect from ANY intake for this car.

3)You will NOT get any increase in performance from ANY intake for this car thats worth even a penny. Trust me...any mods you do short of engine work,Forced Induction, etc. is ONLY done for the sound. Ditto exhausts. :cheers:

^ your right!

CJ-

Looks like were both submitting threads at the same time...redundant ;)

Ha, yeah almost looks like we are argueing and supporting the same views and dotn realize it from an outsider looking in view, haha.

Let me play devil's advocate for a moment. What do you have to say to proven dyno charts that show that a intake system gains HP and torque?

I would say, Cars are different from one boxster to the next, even if its the same year and model. All cars react slightly differently from one to the next. While 1 boxster may gain 1 or 2 unnoticible HP, another may lose 1 or 2 unnoticible hp.

I wouldnt deny the fact that you gain HP with the right Intake Header and exhaust combination.

Thanks for the savings.
 

Thank you all for saving me money. I probably need all I can get to buy gas this summer anyway. We will run stock this driving season and revisit mods/or not.. next fall. Looking forward to a season of top down driving fun.

AKL

I had my car for 3 days before I desnoked it. It was sweet. Ive been good, wash my car all the time (but am careful not to shoot water in the vents), drive in rain, and all kinds of other stuff. I couldnt ever think of putting it on again.

taking it off makes a very nice difference in sound, but after putting my intake in(which requires desnorkeling) the sound is probably 10 times better than desnorkel.
i already figured i wont get much power from this engine, so the sweet sound was what i was after and no regrets whatsoever, i love it and recomend it to anyone who has like 3 hrs of free time

And $400, give or take. Which seems to me to be another Porsche tax when you look at what the same parts cost on Hondas and Subarus.

They still have the snorkel but the "old style" had a tray at the opening of the snorkel whereas the newer style did away with that. Basically just a redesign in order to be more efficient and less restrictive I imagine.

My thought...

Porsche redesigned the snorkel to achieve a different SOUND...not to increase efficiency or make it less restrictive. The snorkel doesnt affect airflow in the sense of performance gains/losses. :cheers: