So now I have a carbon bonnet on the 250, I would like to keep the top coat looking fresh so I bought some of that DEI gold reflective mat and tape...Having looked at the shape of the bonnet underneath, it's going to be a pain to get the mat to fit the contours etc without being all crinkled and shit. Anyone done this? Got any advise? Should I just not bother? The car runs without the engine cover and the bonnet is warm (not hot) to the touch in spots at the moment after a run..that's with the shit English low temps outside.
If I keep the engine cover on, the bonnet stays cold/cool. So this is me saving 800 odd grammes. The matting is one sheet that's about 65cm square. It's pretty thin stuff but just doesn't look like it'll follow all the bumps and angles of the bonnet underneath...do I cut it into say 15cm rectangles and do it in sections or do you think the mat will actually fit the shape when I start pressing on it. Also, what about under bonnet temps? The matting will be reflecting the heat back to the engine... And don't get me started on these RK vents...if I fit them (especially the naca to the turbo which actually seems to hit the down pipe) I'll need to retain the engine cover as any water ingress at speed or when sat will drip straight onto plug 1 if I ditch it. Gah.
I've never used the matting, Just the roll of tape which is very good and easy to shape, The mat may take the shape though once you start using it, Bit of heat may help it fit in neater as well. I wouldn't worry too much about under bonnet temps tbf, Once your moving the air flows through the bay anyway. Cant say I've ever had issues with under bonnet temps other than parking up or stationary after a hard stint but thats when theres no flow going through the bay. I binned by cover years ago, I found it seemed to keep the heat trapped but wether or not it actually makes a real world difference is another story, I guess the good point of them is hiding the hideous F4RT Ahh, I really fancy the side vents, Purely for looks, Their Yellow one looks well with the side vents, Remind me of the MSport Focus/Fiesta WRC venting
might be another option to keeping your carbon bonnet temps down, depends what use car for, is it DD all year ?
I'll take the car out tonight, hammer it and see what's warm If I fit the naca duct though, the engine cover will need to stay and that kind of removes the need for the reflective stuff imo? What are you thinking Bobsan? Your post sounded like a suggestion...yes the car is used on the road mostly and yes all weathers.
ah ok then not really good thing to do. You could have remove the long rubber seal that runs along bulkhead in front wiper blades you'd get huge amount air flowing across engine that would cool bonnet, however the exiting hot air before flowing away up the windscreen flows across the cabin air intake vent which allows cabin fan to suck hot air into cabin during summer in traffic and seriously unpleasant. Perfect for track car extra engine cooling though.
Funnily enough I did just that earlier. Saved 280g in the process and temps are noticeably lower! Sat in traffic and the oil temp even went below 70. The itg pipe gets warm as does the back of the bonnet so I will heat shield it a bit.
I run mine with the rubber seal removed then Ive sealed off the cabin air intake grill on the right side and half the left side grill so cabin fan can now only draw in relatively cooler air from battery side of car away from hot turbo and engine mass.
