this might sound stupid but..snorkels

[streetpreache47 0]

Now I am new to rado's. I have 'grown up' on minis which have none of this induction trickery!

 

I hear alot of people saying removing snorkels and can't find any further details on what and where this is and what gains (if any) are to be had.

 

Also I hear about drilling the lower part of the airbox. What is the hole sizing and quantity for this as too much hole can't be good ( :norty: ). Again what will this achieve on a rado (I know on mini's it will give me around 1-2BHP and more noise)

 

Cheers

[Danny B 0]

I've had the lower part of my air box drilled so you cant see its been done.....cant help you with the size of the holes as my mechanic did it !!

 

All I can say is that it makes it sound WAY louder high up the rev range, but you can still poddle round lower down the revs and it sounds 'normal', which I really like. I'm pretty sure it made no difference to the performance, but they do say louder noise gives a greater sense of speed - so everything helps in one way or another I suppose :lol:

[aide 0]

i did this to my old 16v and it definitely makes it sound beefier, however understanding induction design better now i wouldn't do it again, as you have to ask yourself why does it sound beefier :D

[Swompy 0]

I have the snorkel removed from my air box (2lt 16v), havent noticed any power gains and if there is its very small

 

It does give it a nice sound tho but only when my foot is too the floor any other time you wouldnt realy notice it.

[davidwort 0]

removing the snorkel definitely improves the top end on my 2L block with a flowed head, but after reading a detailed article on Club GTI it would probably benefit from an enlarged snorkel type tube directed towards the base of the air filter element.

However on a standard 1.8 engine I don't think it will have much effect apart from add noise and possibly mess with very cold running a bit as the thermostatic flap won't be able to shut off the cold air feed to draw warm air from the exhaust manifold when it needs to.

[h5lrw 0]

In my experience there are noticeable gains to be had by removing the snorkel and drilling the air box but only in conjunction with other top end work (eg. manifolds, port matching cam/s.)

As stated previously induction noise is increased by the air box modification, so if induction roar when the throttle is mashed is your thing it's worth considering. I've removed mine on my Rado daily for this very reason 8)