Drivetime

has anyone taken the plates away from behind the 2 small vents on the bonnet? im thinking of doing this to mine,will it let the engine heat out better, or will it make things worse and will water get in? any ideas please? cheers.

SANTI

I took mine off two years ago as I couldn't see the point of having vents in the bonnent & then covering them up. I can't say I've noticed any difference for better or worse and although I suppose some rain gets in when the car is parked, it hasn't caused any problems. I dare say a lot more water gets in the engine bay from other places, especially when passing HGV's on wet motorways.

Drivetime

cheers mate, i know what your saying but if there is no benefit i might just leave them alone!

SANTI

Can't disagree with you. I didn't think to ask the question, just took them off & never quite got around to putting them back. I guess Subaru put them on for some reason? Out of interest, do they fill up when it rains? I didn't have them on long enough to find out?

fastfu

iTrader: (1)

i was going to ask the same question as i too couldn't see the point in them being blanked off

Drivetime

thats a good question! im not sure if they do or not,and i washed it the other day. i presume they do fill up because they are blanked off. but then they will drain away because they arent sealed. im surprised there are no benefits by removing them,surely the more engine heat you can get rid of the better and that means more power! does anyone agree? or am i just a plank!

whitescooby 330

i think you just have to be carefull and make sure your alarm siren isnt below one of the vents,if not covered up it will make it easyer for thieves to get through the vents maybe could be wrong

marc

WRXtra power

Always thought of the vents for just letting air in to induction kit and cooling the I/C, never thought of removing them to help cool the engine in general. Makes sense to me to remove them just for that. Would be a bit concerned about the battery though.

WRXtra power

Bloody good point, I think I will keep them on now.

Cytrax

I was under the impression that they were there to let some of the stagnent heat out.
If you look at the way they are made there is a little film underneath them.

I think subaru have designed them so that when the air comes into the engine bay from under the car it pushes the heat upwards obvioustly..

Personally I wouldnt mind putting some small bonnet scoops on em to see if cooling is reduced at all..

tath

they're fitted for group N rally cars (standard panels) then blanked off on road cars. ive taken mine off and nothings broken yet... fingers crossed.

Drivetime

everyone has a valid point, but do they stay on or do they come off? i dont know what to do for the best! i think that as long as everything underneath is protected against water then remove them! do you all agree?

tath

why don't you remove them for the summer because there's:

a) less chance of rain,
b) hotter weather means more cooling is needed.

they are designed to let hot air out at even at low speed/standstill judging by their design. you get a lot of shimmering when in traffic so they are obviously doing something.

beware the snapping wingnuts tho - wd them well in advance. if they snap like some of mine did then you'll have nothing holding the vents onto the bonnet.

Welloilbeefhooked

iTrader: (3)

If any of you guys have an induction kit fitted under the bonnet then this will channel all the hot air in the direction of the air filter before it exits the vent.

Most of the big power guys leave them in place for this reason.

pabs

Don't take them off completely...more chance of water getting to the electrics. Better idea is to take the 2 nuts off the front two bolts (nearest to rad) of the vents and put the nuts back on the bolts but on the other side of the blanking panels.

If you only do this on the front two bolts then the vent will still be partially blanked but the hot air will still be drawn out and the water getting in will be channelled away from the MAF and the battery.

jonny gav

iTrader: (1)

its not a good idea to remove them, i have seen under bonnet temps go up by 20 degs with them removed!

what happens when the vents are on is air is moved in through the front, over the top of the engine and the air coming in through the intercooler pushes it down through the transmission tunnel.

removing the vents disturbs this and causes hot air to be dragged up from the hot exhaust manifold into the engine bay........not good, especially if you are using an induction kit!

Markus

I ran my WRX Wagon without the blanking plates in place for about 2 years, didn't see any real problems in doing so. I *did* however have mini scoops over the vent holes, so they were not completely open to the elements.

Drivetime

i suppose the way the standard set-up is, it is done for a reason! and by doing mods will enhance one thing cause problems with another! i think sometimes it best left alone.