Let me know when you get it. The windshield folding is looking good, so I'd love to see confirmation. I'd also like to know if the plastic is brittle or looks like it can take a few bumps. Also, does it look like there is provision or room for a dust seperator to go on top in place of the scoop? I read somewhere that it comes with a screen for the hood opening so that you can remove it and run it like a normal air intake, and then put it back on when wanting the snorkel. I can't remember where I saw that, though, so it might have been someone wishing for that.
Not alot. Jeeps tend to float when you get around the top of the fender. In moving water, that ain't good. Snorkels aren't really so much for water as they are for getting above some of the dust. I don't do deep water. I ruined my rings and pinions in my YJ from dorking around in deep water. I checked the diffs afterward and the gear oil looked fine. A thousand miles later, I had vibration and they were toast. There was just a little tiny bit of water in them. I should have changed them out, even though they looked fine. Anyway, my friends in South Africa and Kenya run snorkels to reduce dust ingestion. They aren't fond of water crossings deep enough for snorkels to matter. They have crocs there. Wouldn't want to get stuck in that kind of water.
So if you were going to run dirt roads most of the time you would install one?
Yes, I would, if I was going to be on dry dirt like that alot. For places that are extremely dusty, like out west, yes. For where I live, probably not, although if we go through a dry spell, it can still get very dusty. The best setup for that would be with a dust separator, like AEV offers. It has fins inside that swirl the air and causes centrifugal force to spin the heavier dust particles out of the air before it goes in. You'll see some other snorkels with an older design dust seperator that has a clear housing that almost looks like a street lamp. Even without those, though, the higher intake grabs the air up higher, so the particles are smaller. I've sat up high in the back of a Landcruiser on an African Safari where we followed another vehicle on a dusty road. Being up high definitely helped. We didn't choke on the dust like the guys in the cab did. The snorkel was just a little lower than our faces, so I know it was getting cleaner air.
I called both Quadratec and Rugged Ridge on this product today... This particular product prob won't launch until May... The one shown at Sema was a prototype all done on 3D Printer... They are working on the final product now in order to tweak some of the design elements before launch... I am really interested in this product as I live in Central FL and even though we live in the hilly part of the state most of our wheeling is in swampy sandy areas so when it rains you don't know if that puddle/section is 1 foot or 4 foot deep... added some examples below and hope one day to make it out west...Personally I am waiting for the Rugged Ridge low profile snorkel shown by Quadratec at Sema (see link below about 3:18 into video) on the Rugged Ridge orange jeep... It has matching colors, low profile, no cutting as it bolts onto the cowl, allows you to use the factory filter or an upgrade if you like, & finally it is designed to be a fully modular system that allows you to attach a full snorkel in those extreme cases when needed...
