# 2" vs 3" Snorks.. the show down.



## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

It's was recently brought to my attention that some people are confused about 2" vs. 3" Air Intakes, and if they really add that much more flow? Well, the answer is no, but yes. Here's what I mean.

It's easy to see that if you have an opening that is only 2 or 3" in diameter on your airbox, that regardless of how big the size of pipe you use leading up to that opening, it's only going to flow as much air into the box that the opening will allow. So no, adding bigger single snorks to the same opening is not going to flow that much more air into the box.

BUT does using 3" instead of 2" help out? Yes, and here's why:

The majority of the time, Kawasaki brute force owners who use straight 2" snorks from the box, have had to re-jet DOWN, meaning after the snork is installed the airflow has become restricted enough to the point that the motor is getting too much fuel. 

We found that when using 2" snorks, in conjunction with a 3" rubber 90* at the air box instead of a 2", it didnt restrict as much air coming in as the 2" all the way through, and a lot of brute owners were finding that with this 3" 90* they were not having to jet down as much, if any at all. Why? Because they were no longer restricting the airflow below the stock level, that the motor needed to perform with the stock jetting. 

So it only makes sense that a 3" all the way, would be even less restrictive, keeping an almost stock level of airflow coming into the box.

So, to those who say the 3" snork doesn't flow any more air into the air box than a 2" b/c it's opening can only allow so much to come in, yes, you are correct. Only a certain amount of air can get through that opening.

However, to say that isnt worth doing, is incorrect. The 2" all the way snork is restricting airflow. The 3" all the way is not as restrictive, again, allowing the airflow to stay at a near stock level of flow into the box. 

So, does a 3" snork allow more airflow? Yes, it does, more than a 2". Does it allow more than the airbox can intake itself? No it doesnt. However since the desired outcome is to keep the flow of air at as close to stock as possible, then the 3" is a much better choice for big V-Twins. 

Is this true for all machines, or even all brute forces? No. For some reason even in the brute family, they all seem to be a little different. You can put 2 brutes side by side, that are exactly alike in every way, and modification, and 1 will need a different jetting than the other with the exact same snorkel design. They are just finicky from the factory like that. 

I hope that this helps some of you, and clears a few things up. These are just my opinions based on what I found with my own brute, my friends brutes, and all of our members on the forum who have gone through the same issues.


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## redneckrancher420 (Jul 5, 2011)

This should asnwer alot of peoples questions on here, good write ue


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## JPs300 (Mar 23, 2011)

Well written Jon. 

It's length of tubing that adds resistance aka, lessens air flow. - The longer the plumbing is, the more surface area there is to create restriction. 

closest chart I could find - 
http://www.necoequipment.com/pdfs/VelocityChart.pdf


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## 88rxn/a (Mar 2, 2009)

i actually switched from 2 to 3 inch myself. both were used with a 3" rubber* elbow on the air box. i have no actual proof of increase in HP but i did notice the "seat of the pants" improvement. especially bottom end. not a lot, but enough to make a slight difference in feeling like it gained a little more ponies...


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## MuddyDog (Mar 23, 2012)

Good write up.

To ad a little math to it, a 2" pipe has an area of 12.57 sq in, and a 3" pipe has an area of 28.27 sq in. So the 3" has more than double the area to flow air.


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

JPs300 said:


> Well written Jon.
> 
> It's length of tubing that adds resistance aka, lessens air flow. - The longer the plumbing is, the more surface area there is to create restriction.
> 
> ...


yeah keeping them shorter does help.


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## mcpyro3 (Feb 23, 2011)

Good write up P...I use the 3" rubber 90 also but what about the actual intake on the airbox that the 90 goes on that never changes nomatter what setup you use wouldn't that restrict it back down to a 2"? Thanks for the info


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

Yeah... That was the whole point of the article. Pretty sure I mentioned that


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## mcpyro3 (Feb 23, 2011)

O sorry reading off this phone is a pita lol thanks again


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## rmax (Nov 21, 2009)

installed a 3in system on the brute we call mean green ,ran 3in to a 3in tee, came off the tee with 2 2in pipes,1 to the orginal air box opening an 1 to the side of the air box just behind the factory connection cut a hole in the side an sealed it in , iwill try to rember to get some pic next time the plactics are off, also modified a 2in system on a 840 ibuilt but just ran a 2nd 2in to the side of the air box, it already had the old style fender snorkles so i just added another intake


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## The750i (Jun 22, 2011)

exactly, recently did 3" on my stock brute, runs the same as it did before the snorkel, will check the plugs but probably wont touch the carbs.


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## mossyoak54 (Jan 16, 2012)

When I did 2" snorks on my 650 it opened it up more I had to go up several sizes on jets. 


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## The750i (Jun 22, 2011)

MuddyDog said:


> Good write up.
> 
> To ad a little math to it, a 2" pipe has an area of *3.14* sq in, and a 3" pipe has an area of *7.068* sq in. So the 3" has more than double the area to flow air.


fixed


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## gusguy (Aug 18, 2009)

I'm messing with my jetting again now that it's getting warmer. According to the wideband my stock jets are a little rich. It's running in the high 11's to 12. This is with 152f and 158r. I would have thought if anything they would be lean with the big gun. These are keihin's also. It runs pretty good but I'm gonna see if I can get more out of it. Gotta get out, the trails are now open up here:bigok:


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## brutelaws29.5 (Apr 10, 2011)

but wouldn't going from the 2" pipe to the 3" opening cause a vinturie effect into the air box similar to the interior of a dual plain air intake for a vehicle ment to speed up the airflow into the engine jus mo.......


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

No. 


Try Tapatalk!!


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