Rip It

Is there a benefit to having a vented header panel on a stock 951?
Details?

Keithr726

Search is your friend. This topic was posted yesterday.

They help to cool the intercooler more efficiently but the benefit isn't too great. Fiberglass versions are a bitch to fit and have been known to fly off at high speed if not installed correctly. The fit is almost always a little off. Fiberglass versions my look better but cutting a stock panel and inserting 931 vents its the best way to go.

2bridges

for 95% of installations I have seen - ZERO BENEFIT

Without appropriate shrouding causes more harm than good for both rad flow and IC flow as I see it

Having openings in the header with no shrouding to direct/seal the airflow......... air will take the path of least resistance and go around instead of through.
Even worse than not improving IC cooling significantly, the radiator cooling also may be impacted as the upper radiator shrouding (in the form of the IC shrouding) being removed and air can go around instead of through the radiator

One other item I find interesting - the rough dimension of the inlet inlet sizes for IC front bumper openings is approximately the same as most aftermarket vented header panels.

ausgeflippt951

...Or even when installed correctly...ask me how I know.

You'll see no benefit whatsoever. Maybe a little better engine cooling. Maybe. It just looks better. And, some douchebag happened to hit my stock one in a parking lot, which is why I replaced mine with the AIR unit.

If you DO go w/ the AIR unit, make sure you secure it in at least twice the places you're supposed to. Otherwise it'll fly off in Nebraska in the pouring rain going 80.

ehall

+500000000

A.Wayne

No benefit !
Actually worst to have the header panel vented ..Looks good - yep !

Papamurphdog

Agree is looks bad ***! Unless you are tracking the car it is otherwise worthless to you.

Functionality is hard to test... however, for my installation I kept the stock shrouding in place and there is also an inner rim moulded around the entire opening on my header panel, almost touching the IC itself, which ducts the air directly into the IC. No room for air to escape the IC. The stock ducted air merges with the header panel ducted air and increases the airflow through the IC. The stock RAD duct is also in place so there is no cross-flow with the IC air venting. Without the ducting as it is in this case, I agree the IC vent hole alone would be worthless. I've seen many that are just holes in the panel and the stock ducting removed; agree air would jsut be blowing around and it would not help at all in that case.

I did notice a .1 BAR difference on the boost gauge and I could feel more oooomph during 3rd and 4th gear pulls on the track, but I have no imperical evidence to support this and it is impossible to re-create the ram air effect on a dyno, so I haven't tried. Thus it could be all in my mind; but it still looks faster! :-)

If it were a dedicated track car, one of the first things I would do would be a duct from the BACK of the IC to atmosphere, via a hole in the hood; saw that on factory BMW a few years ago and it struck me as a great idea for the 944. Sucks the air right through the IC at speed...

Just one man's opinion.

Airflite40

From what I remember xsboost90 saying, when he did his the car would heat soak faster on the track.
then he removed the plastic shroud between the rad and intercooler and he noticed an improvement over stock

TheRealLefty

Looks cool. Got one the for the NA race car because I was swapping out the headlights and adding a GT Racing turbo fascia...and wanted as much air as I could get on the radiator and flowing over the AFM cone filter. Not likely that it can do much to help IC cooling, though.

VOoDOoGTX

im going to make fiberglass panels to direct the heat through the intercooler and radiator.

RolexNJ

Very true. There's no strong empirical data to quantify this to my knowledge, but you have to admit, it does look pretty damn sharp!

ritzblitz

I'm not really a fan of how it looks

Ski

well...the stock one is a low pressure area, no benefit UNLESS you add a custom intercooler duct underneath. Chris Cervelli turned a full second a lap better with a vented panel at a few tracks in his silver car. The LR stage V panel gets the fiberglass in the high pressure area - grab some air and with a custom duct toward the intercooler, is a good friend on the track.

MPD47

That probably wont work well.

VOoDOoGTX

haha im a stoner -.-