Rev-2-K mentioned that someone told him that it was to prevent the hood from warping due to engine heat, any truth to that?

I'm thinking that taking it off might help the engine run a little cooler. Any thoughts?

It does nothing. Mines been off since December.

There are a couple of threads floating around on this one. The general consensus seems to be that it serves no critical purpose. Some have speculated that it may assist directing airflow around the engine but there have been many reports of people running without it that have had no ill effect. Nor have there been any reported/backed benefits of running with out it (to my knowledge). So IMO it's an asthetic thing. I leave mine on since if I took it off it would just be another thing to clutter the garage up.

brillo, why in God's name are you using the Longhorn logo as an avatar? Just kidding :D. The engine cover is mainly an aesthetic piece. Bevo is tasty.

brillo, why in God's name are you using the Longhorn logo as an avatar? Just kidding :D. The engine cover is mainly an aesthetic piece. Bevo is tasty.

careful there....all that diversity stuff I learned in school might go flying out the window.

hookem :D

brillo, why in God's name are you using the Longhorn logo as an avatar? Just kidding :D. The engine cover is mainly an aesthetic piece. Bevo is tasty.

hook em horns. hey my son is going to UT. he's been there 3 weeks and is homesick already. poor kid i told him to go to rutgers or delaware.

I figure Mazda put it there for a reason and if it served no purpose they would not have engineered it and put it on. I'd hate to remove it and in three years have all the clearcoat on the hood start flaking off. To each his own...

Since the MazdaSpeed strut tower brace requires removal of the engine cover, I'll bet that the cover serves no real purpose.

careful there....all that diversity stuff I learned in school might go flying out the window.

hookem :D

Well, at least you're not an Aggie...

Brillo made the right choice... And RX-GR8's son probably did too, he just needs to discover Trudy's mexican martinis, Lake Travis, & Longhorn football... :D

And to make it seem like I'm not jacking the thread, the engine cover is probably vestigal, but who cares, I just assume leave it on and not have to store it or replace it ($$$) come resale time.

Gig'em!!!!

I think it only serve as a cosmetic purpose, makes the engine bay looks neater. If you check out the Mazdaspeed version, with the 4 point strut brace the cover will not be able to fit in, so it should serve no purpose ... i am removing it after I installed the Mazdaspeed strut brace. Cheers.

look in the canzoomer forum, there's posts in there by Maurice and his crew that suggest against removing the cover, as it aids in directing airflow

i think it there to keep the engine noise down has anyone notice if it runs cooler with it off?

look in the canzoomer forum, there's posts in there by Maurice and his crew that suggest against removing the cover, as it aids in directing airflow

can you provide a link please

hook em horns. hey my son is going to UT. he's been there 3 weeks and is homesick already. poor kid i told him to go to rutgers or delaware.


I know how it feels to be homesick, I have been in Fl for almost a year. I miss my family, friends, ect. It was not easy to leave them behind.

Hey RX GR8 was is you son going to school for? My dad went to rutgers for pharmacy he loved it there its a great school.

P.s I love the greese trucks, i miss having a fat Bitch, or a Fat F***ing Drunk.

It seems to me that the cover just traps heat. I removed mine 4 months ago and have had no problems.

Incorrect, the engine is 10 degrees cooler with the cover on. You can test this by putting your hand by the side vents when the cover is on and off you should feel more heat traveling out at a greater velocity with the cover on.

IPT's Cover fits over the MazdaSpeed Bar :)

Good point about the side vents. I always suspected that the cover helped move the hot air out through the fenders, and it's nice to see someone else has noticed the same thing.

yes the cover is 1 to help direct airflow out of the compartment.. and to a look thing...
but they do want you to keep it on .. if they did not then why is it designed to stay on whil checking the oil ! :)

Aerodynamics .. when the cover off the air entering the engien comparment is not forced back out thru the side vents on your fenders.

I thought the side vents were just to hold my fender strakes on :D

And if you want to reduce engine compartment heat, just remove your hood along with the engine cover, of course, being in Houston, that would probably just make things worse :cool:

I've seen certain turbo kits eliminate the engine cover. With this in mind, how are we supposed the vent some of the heat away from the engine bay?

Its 10 degrees not that big of a difference.

Ten degrees? I suppose the cover has to go.

you can put an electric fan under the hood if you really want to force the air out.. you can even set it up on its own thermostat. .. just mount it on the hood with about 2 inches of space..

of course you could just leave the cover off. :)

you can put an electric fan under the hood if you really want to force the air out.. you can even set it up on its own thermostat. .. just mount it on the hood with about 2 inches of space..

of course you could just leave the cover off. :)
We already have one ever here that noise when you've run the car for a while on a hot summers day?

Anyone know how the engine heat is routed out through the gills behind the front wheelwells? Does the engine cover influence that airflow?

Yes it does... while the car is moving the air flowing up is directed down and to the left and right out the sides as well as downward.

Also when our cool down fan turns on once the car is parked and off, it helps to direct the air that is being blown by the fan down and to the left and right.

Wow. We need to clean this up with disclaimers, "Everything mentioned in this thread is heresay and bullschnit".

Yes this a thread ressurection but when people tell you to go search what do they expect? Such authority and confidence coming from Polak too... :spank:

^^ He was young then ;)

O wow... then seriously is the engine cover useful?

No. It's a fad in car design to make the engine bay look pretty. To say that the hood which is negligibly 1" above the car wouldn't move air the same was is ridiculous.

strictly cosmetic IMO

Bye Bye Cover.

others here claim otherwise, I don't agree ...

Mine's off

I have mine off. I honestly don't see how a piece of plastic sitting less than inch below the hoods directs air differently than the hood itself.

But why does Mazda call it a "Surge Tank"?

^^ He was young then ;)

It was also before he got the KW Variant 3's


I've read almost every thread and I don't see how it would force more flow out the side vents or anywhere else.

However the hood does get super hot with out it.

Look at any engine now a days. All you see is bull shit lastic and not the engine.

I usually run with out it.

It was also before he got the KW Variant 3's


I've read almost every thread and I don't see how it would force more flow out the side vents or anywhere else.

However the hood does get super hot with out it.

Look at any engine now a days. All you see is bull shit lastic and not the engine.

I usually run with out it.

The cover takes the heat and does keep it off the hood, but yes I agree with the notion of it being useless since the hood is basically an inch above it.

It makes a nice decoration on my garage wall.

while the car is moving the air flowing up is directed down and to the left and right out the sides

There is no connection to the side vents from the endine bay. There is a solid structural steel wall between them, so no modification is advisable to make a connection.

Someone posted a pic of the car with the fender off, and it was clear that there would be no safe way to route hot engine air to the side vents except through the wheel well

Why not just get an aftermarket hood with vents up top. With all the air flowing into the bay it certainly wouldn't hurt to have an additional vent somewhere...

what if you have the mazdaspeed intake and then get a vented hood? probably a cover would help then .. but the cover wont be able to bolt in because it's missing the 2 holes to plug into in the stock airbox .. is there a workaround for this?

Yes, the workaround is the fact that you're only missing the bottom right corner with the MS intake. It fits fine.

I took my engine cover off, and suddenly I got terrible gas mileage. I was getting ~35-40 mpg before. So it's glued to the tower strut bar now. Literally.

Yes, the workaround is the fact that you're only missing the bottom right corner with the MS intake. It fits fine.

I took my engine cover off, and suddenly I got terrible gas mileage. I was getting ~35-40 mpg before. So it's glued to the tower strut bar now. Literally.


35-40mpg wtf?

Yes, the workaround is the fact that you're only missing the bottom right corner with the MS intake. It fits fine.

I took my engine cover off, and suddenly I got terrible gas mileage. I was getting ~35-40 mpg before. So it's glued to the tower strut bar now. Literally.

35-40 !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!~

It makes a nice decoration on my garage wall.

Drill a hole in it & fit a clock mech, into it. Volla, a new clock for your garage:lol2:

35-40 !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!~

I think it's called sarcasm. :)