Leaving the Engine Cover Off for better cooling

[Walt White Coupe]

I think it's cooler for all the flex piping if the "sound" cover is left off. I think the cover traps heat. ??

[Derekz4]

There may be some merit to that but more so on how cramped the engine bay is. My indy say the says the same about my M54 motor sitting in my Z4 vs some other series too. The Z4 is much more open vs other series and seems to have less issues leaking oil.

[ezmaass]

Potentially, but I'm not sure if it's a material difference given how hot the whole engine bay likely gets... and whether or not the damage would really be done due to pure temperature/heat or what occurs when the parts cycle from hot to cold and back.

[Walt White Coupe]

About trapping heat with engine cover on. Not only does it trap heat, it prevents cooler air from circulating around that top of the engine piping therefore keeping them hotter than if it was off.

Heat is what is prematurely damaging those plastic and rubber hoses.

[Aesthetic]

If you want lower temp under your hood, wrap your downpipes with tapes. Taking off your engine cover wouldn'ft make a big difference.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

About trapping heat with engine cover on. Not only does it trap heat, it prevents cooler air from circulating around that top of the engine piping therefore keeping them hotter than if it was off.

Heat is what is prematurely damaging those plastic and rubber hoses.

Is is true that heat bakes the hoses, but given how tightly packed things are in there, and that you have layer of insulation right above that area on the hood, if you could test your proposition by placing temp sensor around key plastic hoses I'd be quite surprised if the difference was more than 2 degrees or so.

[Walt White Coupe]

Let me ask this, what good is the cover?

[JBF650]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

Let me ask this, what good is the cover?

Mate I’d say the engine top cover is there purely for asethetic purposes. I’ve looked at mine and while I think it looks nice and hides a terrifying amount of pipe work, intakes and turbos.... I doubt it has much other purpose really.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

Let me ask this, what good is the cover?

Only for looks. But if you knew that removing it made no real cooling difference, would you leave it on for looks? Because it probably makes no real difference.

[Walt White Coupe]

To the naysayers let me say there is no doubt that the cover traps heat and prevents cooling air from circulating over the top of the actual engine parts. I'm not going to do a scientific study but mine is not going back on.

[Munich_Simon]

Hi,

the airflow in the engine bay is calculated wth the cover. Do not remove it.
Attached the N63 Airflow diagram.

[NorthCountryGuy]

The part of the engine compartment that houses the engine essentially has no airflow. The front section where the air comes in to convect heat off the various radiating units is basically sealed off from where the heat generating engine lives.
While there is no laminar air flow over or onto the engine, having the show cover off would only benefit heat dissipation, even if only by a very small amount. It certainly wouldn’t hurt.
I have thought of this before as these mammoth engine/turbo units under the hood generate so much heat. I just may remove these covers too. I first want to work out a safe, easy holding area in the trunk (or rear compartment on the X5’s) for these pretty pieces.

[NorthCountryGuy]

Originally Posted by Munich_Simon

Hi,

the airflow in the engine bay is calculated wth the cover. Do not remove it.
Attached the N63 Airflow diagram.

Thank you for this objective analysis.
Benefit would at best be minuscule.

[NorthCountryGuy]

You know it looks as if there is a temp gradient across the cover. Removing the cover would only take that ‘red’ down up on top.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Munich_Simon

Hi,

the airflow in the engine bay is calculated wth the cover. Do not remove it.
Attached the N63 Airflow diagram.

First, what exactly am I looking at, and second, where did you get this? If it's a side view, I'm having trouble recognizing the shapes of some the of objects or exactly where the engine cover would be.

[Walt White Coupe]

Originally Posted by Munich_Simon

Hi,

the airflow in the engine bay is calculated wth the cover. Do not remove it.
Attached the N63 Airflow diagram.

I have no idea what that diagram is showing. Why "Do not remove it"?

[Luftpost]

Originally Posted by Munich_Simon

Hi,

the airflow in the engine bay is calculated wth the cover. Do not remove it.
Attached the N63 Airflow diagram.

It's a profile view. The non colored (greyish brown) area is the engine and transmission. The curved surface on top is the hood. Air is moving into the engine compartment through the upper and lower inlets. It is showing airflow temperature, not surface temperature. The cover seems to route the airflow, around the back, to the cats.

If the car were idling, and not moving forward, I could see where removing the engine cover may dissipate the heat a little. I think it is safe to say that the majority of the time these things are going forward. Mine is staying on.

L.