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Engine Dress Up Plates - Opinions Needed

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
Ok, so in the shop yesterday, I wanted to tackle this idea I had for a while now. I had some primed 5mm aircraft aluminum scrap sitting around. Now, I have the APR Carbonio intake, so removing the stock intake it leaves all that busy and hideous looking wiring hole in the engine bay. The passenger side isn't too horrible looking but still wanted it to be clean.

Here are the spots I was wanting to fab some plates to cover:

Passenger Side


Driver Side


Ok, when I was trying to come up with a design that was minimal effort to remove, I just cut a 1/4" notch in the plate to slip under the bolt and washer that I had put onto the threaded hole just below the washer fluid tube.




Now, I did the same notch on the driver side which was more complex. But the driver side is bolted to the same bracket as my APR intake. I placed foam on the underneath side of the plates and around edges that came in close contact to any other lines, parts, or panels. I did this to prevent any possible sheering the aluminum may cause, and to prevent any noise. I only have one bolt on each panel and both panels rest on different points to keep them steady, but allows for movement with engine torque with out making a sound. It really cleans up the bay in my opinion but doesn't over do it. I'm trying to get these to a perfect state, but here is my first and finished product.



Please feel free to provide some opinions, thoughts, and criticism to help me improve the design. Also, both side have very little covering of any parts to ensure heat isn't trapped in any areas.
 

Cryptic19111

Go Kart Champion
Seems like a waste of time to me. All that's gonna do is block airflow
 

bdegen94

Ready to race!
I like it, little random to have aircraft scrap laying around the house though, but it does look clean:w00t:
 

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
Seems like a waste of time to me. All that's gonna do is block airflow

I thought about this, it in fact doesn't block an ounce of airflow to anything. Reason being, they are above any forced induction thru the front of the car, and my intake is a sealed induction as well. only moving part it barley covers which I mentioned is 8" above it is the alternator. If anything it keeps air more on the block, they are so high up it doesn't effect anything performance wise, I drove for miles and miles last night, no noise, no fuel efficiency changes, nor were there any performance issues. They are wide open plates, which don't seal or even come close to hindering air induction to cool.
 

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
I like it, little random to have aircraft scrap laying around the house though, but it does look clean:w00t:

Lol Well I manufacture aircraft parts for Cessna. Well used to, the business we own is big in the aviation business, so I have a ton of scrap stuff lying around of aircraft grade material. I even have a 300 yard roll of carbon fiber.. just begging for me to start making some stuff!:thumbsup:
 

carsfeverguy

Go Kart Champion
I like it, your ride your style. Thank you for being inventive.

Right above the radiator, there is a rubber /plastic piece, which actually blocks more air from entering the engine bay. If you remove that, and combine it with a plate like the ones you made, but one that goes right in front of the engine, not the sides, then that would increase flow over the intake manifold which would then cool the air leading to more power.

I have removed that piece some time ago, engine does get slightly more dirty in the winter, but not by much.

I wanted to make a plate to direct the air as such, but attachment points are troublesome (and you don't want that falling on the belt...)and picking the right material is important.
 

carsfeverguy

Go Kart Champion
Also in the summer I remove the rubber strip at the front of the hood. Tip. warm the engine up by doing a run, then leave the hood closed for 5 minutes or so, the heat will soften the plastic and prevent the plastic snaps from breaking when you pull it out.
 

Cryptic19111

Go Kart Champion
Well, I think it's cool that you want to make new stuff, but all I envision is this:

 

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
I like it, your ride your style. Thank you for being inventive.

Right above the radiator, there is a rubber /plastic piece, which actually blocks more air from entering the engine bay. If you remove that, and combine it with a plate like the ones you made, but one that goes right in front of the engine, not the sides, then that would increase flow over the intake manifold which would then cool the air leading to more power.

I have removed that piece some time ago, engine does get slightly more dirty in the winter, but not by much.

I wanted to make a plate to direct the air as such, but attachment points are troublesome (and you don't want that falling on the belt...)and picking the right material is important.

I might bolt a bracket on the headlight side to attach to one of the bolts behind the headlight housing. I didn't really think of the "what if" it falls on the belt. It does rest on a plastic tab of one of the hoses with some thick foam under it. But thanks for the tip. I'll probably do that this weekend to ensure that the passenger side will not over fall. But all in all, I appreciate the compliment on inventiveness. I've always admired peoples efforts to come up with their own mods, or improvements. I made these to fit my taste. I don't like all the wiring and tubing so visible. It bugged the hell out of me for a long time after I installed the carbonio. So this was my solution.. for now...
 

corrado917

Go Kart Champion

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
Well, I think it's cool that you want to make new stuff, but all I envision is this:


Them Germans.. that's looks cool, but thats a little to much, I like things easy when it comes to working on the car. This looks like a nightmare if you had to check something out..
 
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