has anyone tried chopping their stock hood?

[imac]

i'd have posted this in the appearance forum, but my reasoning behind it is not for visual enhancement.

anyway, i wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on hood scoops or cowl induction. unless i'm missing something here, this might be a legitimate bang-for-the-buck mod for 2 reasons: supplying the TMIC with cooler ambient air, and supplying the intake with the same. the intercooler is somewhat notorious for its heat soak, so i would figure that it could no doubt benefit from some more air flow over the top of it, cooling intake temp. also, the added airflow would do the same for the intake, meaning that if you have an SRI, it would perform more like a CAI without any risk of swamping or anything. could also help out the stock intake, provided you remove some of the plastic that gobbles it up and keeps it hidden.

im just thinking out loud here, so gimme any input you have on it , whether you think its a good idea, bad idea, or i'm a complete f*cking retard for wasting your time with my thoughts. also, if anyone has actually done this or know someone who has, perhaps share your experiences (tho i've yet to notice an MS3 with a chopped hood).

note: aftermarket hood could acomplish much the same, but im thinking maybe it could be done more economically.

 

[dkswim]

mazda did extensive testing on the airflow through and around the engine. a scoup like what the subbies would degrade the airflow through the engine.

 

[zilch321]

A change to your hood will also effect the aero on the car. You might see a changes in your MPG as a result of hood alterations. With the price of gas I figured it was at least worth mentioning even if we are driving a performance car.

 

[imac]

as far as the aerodynamic efficiency, i'd expect slight drops from any scoop, which is why i was thinking more along the lines of a cowl-style induction to minimize the effects.

its all a moot point, though, if what you said is correct DK. if it's going to disturb the airflow as opposed to increasing it, theres absolutely no reason to do it then.

2 main reasons i thought it might help is because
1) even some N/A subarus have scooped or vented hoods (pretty sure they're legit and not just style cues, though im not positive on that)
2) i have a mag from a few years ago with a spied pic of the MS3 prototype, which had a gigantic crude hood scoop on it. looked hideous, but i thought perhaps mazda avoided that route to keep it more stock looking and not like the WRX or CSRT4.

 

[njaremka]

the hood already has an air flow scoop built in, why change it for something that might not work as good? heat soak only occurs when the car is sitting still too, right? as soon as you atart moving, the intercooler gets its air flow, and cools down.

 

[mordant80]

as far as the aerodynamic efficiency, i'd expect slight drops from any scoop, which is why i was thinking more along the lines of a cowl-style induction to minimize the effects.

its all a moot point, though, if what you said is correct DK. if it's going to disturb the airflow as opposed to increasing it, theres absolutely no reason to do it then.

2 main reasons i thought it might help is because
1) even some N/A subarus have scooped or vented hoods (pretty sure they're legit and not just style cues, though im not positive on that)
2) i have a mag from a few years ago with a spied pic of the MS3 prototype, which had a gigantic crude hood scoop on it. looked hideous, but i thought perhaps mazda avoided that route to keep it more stock looking and not like the WRX or CSRT4.

I know for certain that the hood scoops in the 99-01 suburu imprezza rs are blocked off, but there is a plate that is removable to open it up. But in stock form they are not functional.

 

[dkswim]

ms3 with a hood scoupe could have been a test mule and at that point it was a function fallos form didnt have the time to designe make the scoops we have now. it sould have bee they were testing to see if it was a good idea. but generaly where we get our air front of the car as opposed to top of the hood is a higher pressure area so the intercooler works better more presure diffriential means more airflow

 

[imac]

ms3 with a hood scoupe could have been a test mule and at that point it was a function fallos form didnt have the time to designe make the scoops we have now. it sould have bee they were testing to see if it was a good idea. but generaly where we get our air front of the car as opposed to top of the hood is a higher pressure area so the intercooler works better more presure diffriential means more airflow

lol are you drunk already or just in a big hurry today? i've seen a couple barely coherent posts from you this morning.

(thinkbeer

 

[dkswim]

i could use a couple of them. ill go with in a hurry and my sleep pattern has been all F up this week. iv also noticed my spelling is more atrocious this week compared to others.
(cheers)

 

[fructus]

How about cutting a hole in the hood right atop of the intercooler and installing a fan in it. That should help.

 

[bjjer]

How about cutting a hole in the hood right atop of the intercooler and installing a fan in it. That should help.

...or just drive around with your hood completly off. That should help get rid of heatsoak.

 

[J-Villa]

...or just drive around with your hood completly off. That should help get rid of heatsoak.

like that primer'd up civic down the road? (braindead

 

[UHATEIT]

ive been complaining about this for a while. Mazda made the tmic then everyone complains and wants an fmic. if Mazda had created a hood scoop like the wrx has problem would be solved. or if fmic is soooooo much better then they should have put fmic stock like the evo or srt4. I would love to hack my hood and scoop it. But to avoid doing anything wrong I'll wait for them to make more cf hood options with vents or a scoop to allow the tmic to breathe more

 

[dkswim]

laughing and shaking my head o well

 

[UHATEIT]

You could make something like the lancer hood if you are good with metal. Like cutting a hole and putting some sort of rubber/metal surround on the metal edge of the part of the hodos that is cut and put cage/mesh there like the evo hood or the supra hood from fnf. This is what I mean:

cut those holes and put mesh inside, obviously we wouldnt have the lump/scoop portion.

cut the holes like this as well and put the mesh inside the hood. I would imagine that could help with intake of air and release of heat

 

[AFcadet]

^^if you want to rice it out...go for it^^

Whether you get a hood scoop or not...you'll still run into heat soak. One of the guys already said it...heat soak only occurs when your sitting still. We are getting heat soak because the TMIC is on the engine. We are going to run into heat soak no matter what way we get air to the intercooler.

You will get much more headaches then performance gains if you put a scoop on...and you will still get heat soak. You would be MUCH better off just to get a FMIC and save yourself the hassle...and you will actually see a performance difference

 

[phantomranger]

has anyone checked out SU. i believe they have a vented carbon fiber hood on there. check it out if you really want one. i was thinkin about it but, i'm also thinkin about upgrading my TMIC or just getting a FMIC. i haven't decided yet.

 

[imac]

im not really that worried about heat soak. my usual driving doesnt require me to stop for long periods of time, and if i do have to sit in traffic, im not gonna be boosting then anyway. ive never had an issue with the heat before, my thoughts were simply that if i could get more ambient air to it and it would help at all with the intercooler temps or intake temps, then why not? im not looking to get a new intercooler or hood, i was just hypothesizing this as something i could possibly do at home for next to no money.

as far as it not helping when the car is sitting still, no obviously there wouldnt be very significant changes to the temps underhood, tho i'd bet there would be some sort of change, especially with a breeze. if the ambient air is 80 degrees and the air underhood is 125, then the heat is going to try to move to the cooler side to balance the system. with a vent there, it only gives it more of an opportunity to radiate out. might not be much of a difference, but something nonetheless.

the effects of a vent while standing still could actually be multiplied by any breeze as well. the wind's velocity blowing over the hole in the hood would cause the air underhood to be at a higher pressure than the air right at the top of the vent, which would cause a syphon effect as the air would attempt to move from high pressure to low pressure, again to try and balance the whole system as with the heat.

only problem is, i have no idea how much of a change in temps the vent would actually produce, whether moving or at a standstill. it would kinda suck to put a hole in my hood if its not gonna do me much good, especially if i were to screw something up when i did it.