Who has some miles on the new UpTOP Snorkel?

In the way the factory has you install it I think yes. It is pretty well sealed all the way to the top, but you'll mess up so many of your electronics and alternator way before. Alternators on these are located about mid way up the engine and a local alternator guy I go too says he get's "you off roaders" all the time because you're so stupid. lol. I had swapped out my factory for a Mean Green HO alternator.....so he felt he could give me lip.

 

Anybody get any updates on a solution? My snorkel is still disconnected.

 

I haven’t heard anything. They’re certainly dragging their feet. It’s been 2 months since I reported this airflow issue. They’re apparently waiting for data from customers instead of doing their own airflow testing which I think is completely fucking ridiculous.

 

Here is a response I got from them a week or so ago.

 

Thanks for posting that, but that just sounds like bullshit to me. They’re not releasing data because the data looks like shit. They won’t even release airflow data from their testing during design. Probably because they don’t have any. He claims he’s been using it for 2 years without an issue, but yet he’s not even showing any airflow data even from their truck. That just tells me their hiding shit.

At least they offered to cancel your order and give a refund.

 

It's simple PR bull crap we hear the same every damn time from them as a "company". They are two steps away from being the media in my book. They stopped answering me awhile back when I pushed for the "data" they had, to be fair I got a bit frustrated on the phone towards the lady on the phone.

If there was any testing done prior they would have data to show us they could easily provide it. The simple conclusion is there is no data and they are blowing a load of smoke up our asses. As I said earlier their "engineer" could have easily provided simulation testing for flow rates or data from their vehicles ECU. Where is this great engineer they are keeping hidden away?

Multiple configurations? How are they changing the design with a molded plastic product. These take a long time to make most likely they are getting it done in China. This would be a huge overhead. This is a complete lie.

There is zero details on the actual actions being taken with all their answers just evading the real answer.

Well looks like I will just buy a new body panel while still being a grumpy old man about this ordeal. Could have spent that $1000 on cruise with a buffet that would have made me happier.

 

No, it’s not unique to supercharged engines. VegasTaco702 isn’t supercharged and is also having airflow issues.

VirginiaMarine posted a page or so back that he only made 150 HP with this snorkel on the dyno and he’s supercharged. That’s way less than a NA engine. If a boosted engine is only making 150HP just imagine what a NA engine is making with this snorkel.

 

so has anyone actually driven underwater with this snorkel?

 

Besides that being a horrible idea to begin with, this snorkel is proving to be choking for air on dry land according to this thread

 

Ok so just my two cents here. I’ve spoken with about 6 other 3rd gen Tacoma owners (non supercharged) that have purchased the upTake snorkel and have had it installed on their daily’s for a few months and everyone has come back saying that they have NOT noticed any kind of issues with performance or issues with the engine not getting enough air. Some have even said that they did notice a SMALL mpg increase and slight performance increase.

now I’m sure if you throw in a super charger then you may start running into an issue with air. But for those that are naturally aspirated, it doesn’t seem to worry me too much. I’ve never had an issue with uptop and they always stand behind their products. Personally I’m not planning on going super charged. So there is my two cents haha

 

I think it really depends how those people drive their truck. If they drive slow they are not going to have an issue because the engine is not demanding that much airflow. If they’re full throttling I’m pretty sure they’ll have an issue even on a NA engine. Probably not a good idea to purchase until Uptop actually releases data, but it’s your money so spend it how you want to.

Ask yourself this, “why have they not released any airflow data even from an NA engine?” I’ve asked for this many times and still nothing. If the data shows that it works fine on an NA engine why wouldn’t they release it?

 

Even at a higher speed I don’t see how that would affect it in that way… the way the intake is on angled at the head the faster you went the more forced air you would be pushing into the snorkel right? Not trying to get into a debate over who’s right who’s wrong. Do I think they need to post the readings? Yes. Do I think that if it hasn’t been posted yet then it’s not worth it or doesn’t work properly? Not really. I think if you haven’t spoke to more than one person that actually has one and gotten their input it’s hard to gauge based off of just hear say.

 

@upTOPoverland please feel free to jump in anytime

 

Biggest benefit from this thread was learning about the InHouse Fab snorkel.

Whether or not the Uptop snorkel is too weak or choking the engine, there's a good opportunity here for the company to interact with customers getting real-world experience. Shame they're not taking it.

 

I don’t disagree with you. I wish there was some sort of address of the issue even if there really is or isn’t an issue at least express what steps have been taken to look into what’s going on instead of radio silence. It’s hard to get a good read on what’s going on since the product is still new and not many people have it to be able to express issues or get a good overall idea of how it’s working out. I think that is the case with any new product. Hopefully my upTake ships in the next week or two and I’ll keep everyone posted with my findings and experience.

 

Yes definitely doesn't make sense.

 

The engine demands a certain amount of air during different scenarios. At idle you don't need much air at all. The engine needs the most air at full throttle. It doesn't matter how much air you try to push down that snorkel if there's not enough volume due to a choke point then it's not going to supply enough air for the engine. Here's a MAF and RPM reading I took when I first ran this shit snorkel. This is a full throttle pull in "D" and max airflow is only 155.84 g/sec @5303 RPM.




Now compare that to this graph below with the stock intake (without this shit snorkel). This is also full throttle. Not the exact same condition and was tested on a different day, but the difference is substantial. 254.03 g/sec @ the similar RPM range of 5300.



Now you tell me pushing air down this snorkel makes a difference when there's a choke point. When I cut down the cone on the inside of that access box it improved the airflow about 10 g/sec. I think the choke point is the snorkel tube, it's just too skinny.

Like I said, it's your money. If you want to buy it go for it. If you think I'm full of shit that's fine to everyone has a right to their opinion and I don't really care I'm just providing info on what I'm seeing.

I've been meaning to do another comparative test with the exact same conditions, but just haven't had time. Besides I think it'll be a complete waste of my time because the data will still look like shit and Uptop isn't going to acknowledge it anyway.

Edit: by the way, it’s not about speed, it’s about acceleration. If you’re light on the throttle you can still build up speed without an issue. It’s when you full throttle to get to that target speed is when it chokes.

 

I’m not discrediting your info by any means. The only thing I could possibly see being an issue (not saying I’m correct I’m not an engineer or mechanic by any means) but when you go full throttle on a dyno your engine is taking in more air but you aren’t moving so you’re not getting any kind of forced air into the head? Like I said I’m not an engineer so maybe it could be nothing but it could be part of a reason possibly?? Also is your truck super charged?

 

Dude, those graphs I posted are logs I took on the street. That’s not data from dyno.

yes I’m supercharged, but the airflow is what it is. That’s not horse power numbers. Those are actual airflow measurements from the MAF sensor on the intake pipe. If anything those numbers would probably look worse on an NA since the engine is pulling less air.