Engine Cover Needed?
 

Do you need to leave the engine cover on? Does it have any real purpose? Should I use synthetic oil? Just kidding...I am sure you guys are sick of talking about oil. I would like to know about the cover, though. It seems pretty useless to me. Thanks.

Forum member MazdaManiac did some temperature measurements and found that the cover keeps the engine running cooler ....... besides it looks cool too!

rx8cited

Welll, I can say from experience that it doesn't keep the '8 from running. I had my '8 in for M flash and some other doodads to add on last month. 3 weeks later was the first time I needed to get into the hood (to add oil) and what do I see? No engine cover! I ended up calling the dealer and had them overnight the cover back to me (since they're 2 1/2 hours away). There doesn't seem to have been any adverse effect of the cover not being there, but I'm happier now that my baby is complete!

Kern

Installed the MazdaSpeed strut tower brace about three weeks ago and the stock engine cover does not fit anymore. Been running without it since and the only thing I have noticed is a little more engine noise, which I find a good thing on the RX-8. Guess I will hang it on the wall now.

It is not required...

Research has been done that it is required, and keeps the engine cooler. Do a search for more results.

Of course not using it will not harm the car by any means..perhaps alittle added dust in the bay.

Wayne

Mine has been a wall decoration for most of that last year, and since I installed the MS shock tower brace it's permanently off. While it might keep the temps a few degrees cooler, I really think it's a marketing thing- unlike a large piston engine with cam covers, intake/exhaust manifolds, and other neat stuff to look at, all you see under our hoods is the alternator and intake bits. The Renesis is so small and buried so low and to the back, there's just not much too look at.

Cooler, yes. A little. Required? Nah.

jds

Cool, thanks for all the tips. I think I'll leave it on...for now anyway.

Just another slant, it might keep the hood a bit cooler and thus the paint in better shape there in the long run. On one of my other very old red cars the hood is much more oxidized than the roof and trunk lid which presumably saw a similar amount of UV in their lifetime. Both cars are very well insulated under the hood but the 8 seems to be a furnace in comparison so I will leave my cover in place, it may make a difference. I will let you know in 10 years ;-)

Clearly you haventheard of Mazdas shame policy. Theyve providedus w/the fancylooking engine cover to conceal the embarassment ofhaving two rotors w/o a turbocharger anywhere in sight.

Seriously thoughI noticedthat in the pastwhen I took the cover off and drove the car hard - that 8 minute cool down fan system was more likely tocome on when I turned off the car -- then when I kept the cover on w/the same driving conditions. Thenagain I cant be too sure that Imay have justbeen drivingthe car harder for that week I had the coveroff.

Regardless Im just keeping the cover on in accordance w/Mazdas shame policy. Itll stay there until its no longer hiding something that hurts when you look at it.

:rolleyes:

The MS RX8s do not have the cover...

Somewhere on here there is an underhood picture of an RX-8 w/ the 4pt brace and a different engine cover that says MAZDASPEED on it. However, that is the ONLY such picture I've seen, so it may have been a one-off or something.

jds

It very well may make the underhood temperatures a bit cooler. But if it was that integral, I would think the factory would state so somewhere in the manual, and also, if the engine cover is that important, they seriously once again underengineered the cooling system. I don't think they're going to make that FD-like mistake again.

Providing for air flow is an integral part of any cooling solution (that involves air :D) so in this case it wouldn't necessarily be underengineered...it would be a part of the solution. That said, I don't think anyone is suggesting its critical. It apparently does help somewhat however, and even if its just a small amount, every little bit helps.

jds

Did the 13B TT equipped FD have an engine cover?

Or what about the 20B TT equipped Cosmo?

No to both.
I imagine both of these motors generated a lot more underbonnet heat then the Renesis, so the 8 should be fine without it.

IMO, it's just a decorative feature of the car designed to conceal the "ugly" engine, ala Europe's finest such as BMW, Merc and Audi.

Afterall, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. :)

im 99.99999% sure that the cover is there to hide the ugly looking, tiny, 3-moving-part engine. pure wank factor.
mazda should've designed a bonnet with some sort of vent to reduce the engine bay temp. just pop the bonnet and look at the engine bay, what kind of air flow does it provide with the cover on? :rolleyes:

Hmmm, I wonder how many other parts you can strip of your RX-8 by doing comparisons to these other cars :). I gotta' ask - is your cover on or off?