anybody else remove the engine cover and ditch the goose neck oil filler tube yet?

[bmwdon]

FYI guys, I pulled that goofy cover off and trashed it, nothing more than a heat retainer. Anyways, looking at the oil goose neck filler tube attached to the heads was annoying me (did a oil change too). So I popped that goofy thing off, and the oil cap goes right back down where the tube goes in. Now the tube has a little retainer finger on the inside to keep you from turning it just like you would the oil cap. I ended up breaking the retainer pulling it out....big woop, tossed it anyways.

So an observation, is that the cover has the recessed area where the cap fits into, but dirt collects there too, grit/sand/etc. So when you remove the cap, any kinds of crap can accidentally drop down into your oil fill tube. The cover makes it look "pretty", but between the heat retention and increased possibility of dropping junk into your engine, seems to me it's not really worth it.

Will end up painting my intake manifold when the heads get done like gretchen got in the FI thread, that green is wicked badass. Either I'll paint the manifold crinkle black or a shiny VR to match the car

[OOLIE]

Yeah that painted intake manifold is slick.

[wangtangjf7]

Does anyone else drive with their engine cover off? I think i recalled hearing that if you drive with it off, it can mess up the paint on the hood because of all the heat and with my mods, my engine is going to be hotter than a stock. I wanna drive with it off but i just wanna make sure what i heard was false before i do it.

[AUS10BMX]

I heard that also... I'm thinking about leaving mine off as well except for shows and stuff. Yet it may serve a purpose since its insulated on the back. Who knows, I'm sure someone can chime in.

[OOLIE]

Maybe you could put some more insulation under the hood to protect the paint, while allowing the intake to get more air surrounding. IDK just a thought

[SIXJAK]

I drive with mine off. It's for shows and that's it. I have vinyl on my hood too and haven't noticed a thing. I think if it was that hot it would start damaging the vinyl. This summer is hotter than last year's to boot. I have the CAI Inc intake which is pretty well insulated. I notice my car feels less subject to heat soak. How much is attributable to the CAI or missing engine cover? Don't know, but do like the result.

[usa1camaro1969]

Lost that cover within the first 2-weeks. No issues with paint.



I'll probably be pulling the extension tube now that you mention it.

[bmwdon]

then we need to run the engine cooler, anybody got a # on a cooler thermostat? I hadn't seen it yet, but there's got to be one out there

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Originally Posted by bmwdon

then we need to run the engine cooler, anybody got a # on a cooler thermostat? I hadn't seen it yet, but there's got to be one out there

Have not been able to fine one. SCRIMING seems to think this engine likes to be warm, so I guess we don't really know if there would be negative affects of swapping it out. I would like to give it a try, though.

I don't think the manifold is getting hot enough to worry about--just IMHO. Mine has to be getting hotter than for a NA car and I've not had an issue, yet (cross fingers).

[E.T.]

Although I painted my cover last year, I recently decided to "take it all off." It's a bit funky looking (someone said it looks like ET's head, lol) but I like seeing the actual engine. And yeah, I would think the cover would trap a lot of heat. The hood is insulated, so I don't think heat getting to the paint would be a prob.

[Blade]

Originally Posted by usa1camaro1969

Lost that cover within the first 2-weeks. No issues with paint.



I'll probably be pulling the extension tube now that you mention it.

How many miles do you have on your car?

I hate the cover.....but I don't have the balls to take it off yet.....

[bmorecam]

Originally Posted by GretchenGotGrowl

Have not been able to fine one. SCRIMING seems to think this engine likes to be warm, so I guess we don't really know if there would be negative affects of swapping it out. I would like to give it a try, though.

I don't think the manifold is getting hot enough to worry about--just IMHO. Mine has to be getting hotter than for a NA car and I've not had an issue, yet (cross fingers).

I noticed this on the dyno. As the engine got hot it made more ponies on every consecutive pull I did. Maybe thats where scrming seen this also? I notice this on the street too usually when I am datalogging. The harder I run the car the harder the car pull on the next run. Its a little strange but what isn't with our bosch

[Ir0nM4n]

Originally Posted by bmorecam

I noticed this on the dyno. As the engine got hot it made more ponies on every consecutive pull I did. Maybe thats where scrming seen this also? I notice this on the street too usually when I am datalogging. The harder I run the car the harder the car pull on the next run. Its a little strange but what isn't with our bosch

Is that with the Vararam or with out?

[usa1camaro1969]

Originally Posted by Blade

How many miles do you have on your car?

I hate the cover.....but I don't have the balls to take it off yet.....

16.5k miles.

Scrmng noticed it by hotlapping his car at the strip. I tried something like that too, but his was auto, mine is manual, and my clutch needs a cooldown period.