anyone vented their hood????

[SallySpeed3]

finally some truth on the subject. I think we sometimes get carried away when considering aftermarket replacements for the stock intercooler, when in fact it works fine once the car is no longer stationary/nearly stationary.
The stock intercooler gives up some compromises in it's design thats a given, but it does remarkably well considering the location and packaging concerns the engineers had to deal with.

What Mazda achieved with this car at the price point it sells, is nothing short of amazing. The 2 closest competitors are the Dodge Neon SRT-4 and chevy cobalt SS. Now take a look at how much more Mazda gives you in interior quality and features compared to those.

Right now, the little Mazdaspeed 3 stands alone when value and overall package are considered. There are faster cars on the road no doubt, but at what point does that not matter so much in the bigger picture.

Amen

 

[ElGaspo]

the MS3 has a flat-plastic undertray under the engine, which makes it a pain in the ass for oil changes, but it does help w/ underbody aerodynamics. However, if I understand this correctly, the plastic tray has a a secondary effect of trapping - instead of venting - the hot air under the hood.

Anybody know any more or more accurate details? Always in the mood to learn mnore... (hear ya)

 

[meicalnissyen]

the MS3 has a flat-plastic undertray under the engine, which makes it a pain in the ass for oil changes, but it does help w/ underbody aerodynamics. However, if I understand this correctly, the plastic tray has a a secondary effect of trapping - instead of venting - the hot air under the hood.

Anybody know any more or more accurate details? Always in the mood to learn mnore... (hear ya)

back half is well vented

 

[oaklandopen]

well along with that undertray comment, wouldn't that smooth out the airflow underneath instead of it getting turbulent from hitting all those bottom end components under the hood?

my guess is by directing airflow straighter with the tray it creates a better, faster flow under the car. and if the flow is straight and fast underneath that means it will have less pressure. and if there's a lot of pressure inside the engine bay (from all the air coming in through the front air scoop and into the intercooler) and less pressure under the car, that would basically pull the air from the engine bay out through the bottom of the car, right?

im just kinda thinking through my fingers at this point and jotting this all down, but it sounds reasonable enough to me.

but my question is at what point would the OP's need for these vents be important? while driving? after driving and parked? that is, if the point of them is still to vent and not to look different

 

[MS3Zoom24]

but my question is at what point would the OP's need for these vents be important? while driving? after driving and parked? that is, if the point of them is still to vent and not to look different

Yep that correct, I could careless for looks, and what you posted makes sense, but i'm wondering since hot air rises would it still have enough of a vacuum effect pulling the air out of the bottom??

 

[mr_mazda329]

Undertrays help cooling and directing airflow. Go grab yourself a 2nd gen RX-7 and take the undertray off, it will overheat like a mofo. Put it back on and it will be golden. Same with miatas. They put them on for a reason.

 

[oaklandopen]

Yep that correct, I could careless for looks, and what you posted makes sense, but i'm wondering since hot air rises would it still have enough of a vacuum effect pulling the air out of the bottom??

when driving there is soooo much air moving around inside the engine bay the fact that the air is hot wont make a difference. but overheating isn't going to be an issue for your car unless there is an actual problem with your cooling system.

if anything, when you're done driving, just prop the hood up. once the engine is shut off the heat will stay in the engine bay and affect every component under the hood, so let the air escape by propping the hood up when youre done driving. and even then the car still keeps the radiator fan running after you drive if it senses too much heat, then shuts off automatically

 

[hugador]

undertrays help cooling and directing airflow. Go grab yourself a 2nd gen rx-7 and take the undertray off, it will overheat like a mofo. Put it back on and it will be golden. Same with miatas. They put them on for a reason.

+1

 

[oaklandopen]

which miata gen was that? i had an NB but never saw a tray...unless the previous owner lost it

 

[mr_mazda329]

which miata gen was that? i had an NB but never saw a tray...unless the previous owner lost it

All gen miatas

 

[kgb]

I can touch my stock TMIC immedialty after driving = cool. I just recently straightned all my fins....holly tedious batman

When I get home from work, I prop open the hood and turn the fan on it = a little excessive

 

[coyfish]

My TMIC RARELY heatsoaks. I mean it has to be crazy hot and CRAZY stop and go traffic to be hot. This afternoon I let my car idle for a bout 2 minutes. I came back and checked out some stuff under the hood. Everything was crazy hot from the intake to the plastic battery housing. But the IC was still cool. Maybe ive got a superhuman TMIC but I just don't see the benefit of a FMIC aside from track day. The TMIC is just as cool and has less lag.

Just like most people acknowledge the FMIC's do look sick though . . .

 

[rigor]

hmm i could be cruising at intake temp of 60 deg stop get gas and bingo bango bongo 130 deg and takes forever to cool off i think people that think their inercooler is cold as touching the dryer for the ac confusing it for a intercooler

 

[coyfish]

hmm i could be cruising at intake temp of 60 deg stop get gas and bingo bango bongo 130 deg and takes forever to cool off i think people that think their inercooler is cold as touching the dryer for the ac confusing it for a intercooler

My stocker would heat up if I sat for like 10 seconds lol. The bigger TMIC stays very cool especially with the cooler temps come winter time. I got gas the other day and sat for a good 5 min. Touched the IC and it was still cold. . . not even lukewarm.

Im glad I wen't for the TMIC instead of FMIC. Doesn't look as cool but gets the job done with less turbo lag and 10 min install ftw.

 

[zx2man]

Yeah my ETS 3.5 works awesome..cool coool cooool. No complaints here. It has alwas been cold to the touch.

 

[oaklandopen]

Im glad I wen't for the TMIC instead of FMIC. Doesn't look as cool but gets the job done with less turbo lag and 10 min install ftw.

this forum is a bad influence one me...good thing im poor

 

[satz]

underbonnet heat..

question is...does the aftermarket TMIC (eg ETS 3.25in) stay cool after the car's been parked for a while?

IMHO, any TMIC is going to be cool if the car is driven at speed as there's enough cool air coming in to cool it down.

Problems are when the car is stationary, then there's nothing really taking the underbonnet heat out. That could be where carefully placed bonnet vents could help. You don't want the hot air to be sucked into the HVAC intake...

just my A$0.02 worth

 

[SRTie4k]

question is...does the aftermarket TMIC (eg ETS 3.25in) stay cool after the car's been parked for a while?

IMHO, any TMIC is going to be cool if the car is driven at speed as there's enough cool air coming in to cool it down.

Problems are when the car is stationary, then there's nothing really taking the underbonnet heat out. That could be where carefully placed bonnet vents could help. You don't want the hot air to be sucked into the HVAC intake...

just my A$0.02 worth

Adding vents may help heat escape when stationary, but they also may cause heat build-up when moving. Remember there is a great deal of design process that goes into cars like these, including maximizing heat extraction through different pressure zones. When you start adding louvers and vents to your hood without any knowledge of thermal/fluid dynamics, you might be equalizing under-hood pressure zones that are supposed to be kept at a lower pressure to forcibly extract heat. If you equalize the pressure, the heat will stay in the engine bay.

That begs the question - would you rather see low temps when sitting idle, or when driving/racing? I myself would rather have lower temps when driving, I couldn't care less what my underhood temps are when idling.

Lastly, the whole practice of raising the rear of the hood is just plain ridiculous and something only Honda ricers do.

 

[08cosmic3]

I think most people that do this for looks, not cooling. There may be some aerodynamics loss at high speed from altering your hood as well.