P38 Snorkel News Flash!

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kernowdragon

Well-Known Member
Posts
1,918
Location
Wickford, Essex
Haven't seen this one posted anywhere here so I hope I'm not repeating anyone.

Having been trolling through Aussie LR sites and found post that alleges Safari are due to release a P38 snorkel in April 2010!

I should add that I haven't been able to independently confirm this, but if true things could be looking up!
 
as has been said many times before, by the time you are in deep enough to need a snorkel you are going to have far more serious problems!

-Wills :)
 
I regularly go up to the max recommended depth, and occassionally beyond, without any of the problems other seem to have. Is it luck or just a well kept car?
 
How much above the recommended depth do you actually go?? I have also taken my P38 through floods just under 2 feet deep and that is honestly the max depth I would go with it - infact it was a bit of a brown trouser moment when the water got that deep as I didn't quite realise the road dipped as much as it did at that point - luckily it was a road and nothing too hairy and I managed to keep a nice bow wave ahead of me.

The doors all have drain holes at the bottom which water would find it's way into pretty quickly and the moment water starts coming you are stuffed.

I can't remember the members name but he came to the Billing LR show just down the road from me and took his P38 on the off-road course and got stuck on this [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvRwLcnQk58"]YouTube- Water Run at Billing Land Rover show 2008[/ame] part and ended up totally regretting it.

If you want to go deep the P38 isn't upto the job with all it's fancy electronics and stuff. Get a Defender or Disco and then go for it.

Not only that, with the diesel, the a/c compressor and the alternator are pretty low down and they won't like being drowned too much either.

This is just my opinion obviously, others may think different.

-Wills :)
 
As I understand it the rough guide is 2/3 up the wheels, but I've been up to the top of the wheels on several occassions, which based on standard tyre diameters puts it somewhere in the region of 29-30", but that is with a wading blanket to create good hole in the water.
 
As I understand it the rough guide is 2/3 up the wheels, but I've been up to the top of the wheels on several occassions, which based on standard tyre diameters puts it somewhere in the region of 29-30", but that is with a wading blanket to create good hole in the water.

Well good luck if you do get the snorkel and fit it. Make sure you take photos of the install and then get in deep and video it so we can all have a gander :D

-Wills :)
 
Well good luck if you do get the snorkel and fit it. Make sure you take photos of the install and then get in deep and video it so we can all have a gander :D

-Wills :)
That was my aim. I reckon it'll turn out to be pretty similar to the 200Tdi Disco snorkel, with a few changes to take account of the clam shell bonnet, which was an option I was seriously considering until I saw that post about a proper one, and I'll go back to that plan if it turns out not to be true.
 
i dont think its a good idea to tempt yourself with a snorkel.

and theres the face that it would look hideous, and the wind resistance of a drain pipe strapped to what is as aerodynamic as the side of a terraced house!!

i regularly do depths of upto 4 inches ( puddles ), i know its not that deep, but i hit em hard and the effect is dramatic as the water goes all over the car!! thats plenty deep enough for me! and i get a real manly feeling when i do it!!
 
Come on Gav, live a little! During the winter I often have to wade 12-18" just to get to work when the meadows flood, and that's a main A road. My Bimmer 3 series used to do it so I'm dammed if my Rangie won't too. And don't be maligning the poor old P38, it's still one of the most aerodymanic large 4x4's ever built, (garden shed maybe but not terraced house!:D)
 
i'm not saying its not capable, this year on a very wet camping trip i had to pull out a very large camper (truck rather than van). it never slipped a wheel and left the grass without any evidence of me bieng there, 1st gear high box.

it was even pulling the camper against its wheels untill i noticed and told the fella to turn the steering in my direction.

it then a few days later pulled a pikey and trap combination out as the audi that was connected had front wheel drive, didnt even know it was there!

felt very manly and there were 4x4's that the owners wouldnt risk it on for fear of getting stuck themselves!

i wouldn't trust it in water tho cos LR put all the bits in the wrong place!!!

as for the aerodynamics, my pikey wagon doesnt feel the wind cos the p38 has deflected any passing air into the stratosphere!!!
 
Let's see what i've done from Mantec various bits

snorkel2.jpg
 
Following emails to Bearmach and Britpart (as offical UK suppliers) to try and confirm this rumour, I've only received a reply from Britpart who say there are NO plans for a P38 snorkel. So either they've got it wrong or it's back to plan B!
 
Despite the name, my understanding is that the first 'snorkels' were more for desert like conditions to help get the air intake further away from dust (and sand!) to stop the filter from blocking up, rather than to prevent water from getting in.

Though I wouldn't do it personally, I've seen LR's up to their headlights in water without a snorkel fitted - the breather pipes on the P38 come up to just under the windscreen and as I recall the engine air intake is as high as possible. Potentially destroying ancillary bits aside, the diesel version should be able to go through water until it is pretty much up to the bonnet.

Recommended wading depths for any LR I've seen documented in the manuals (aside from the Freelander) is 0.5m for short distances without the wading plugs in. I'm sure they can all manage rather deeper than that for a short splash across a river - but I wouldn't do much more (like deliberately driving through a water run!) without taking extra precautions in any LR, let alone a P38!

Matt
 
I think you're right that snorkels were first used for dusty rather than wet conditions, but they're damn handy in the wet.

I've already extended all my breathers into the engine bay all hooked to a manifold, which I'll extend further once I've got a snorkel fitted. I also do wade deeper than the maximum on the odd occassion, but with the air intake placed inside the front wheel arch a splash to much could be quite risky! Seeing as how the journey to work often involves a wade once the rain sets in a snorkel seems a sensible protection measure.
 
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