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I think everybody is missing the point here. Do you open your engine lid while sitting at stop lights or in traffic?
Unless the engine bay is significantly overheated when you turn the car off, getting it cooled off *faster* doesn't matter. Everything, including the plastics, was already at that temperature while you were driving. Once the engine is off heat is no longer being added to the system; any increase in temperature due to the fluids no longer circulating will be minimal relative to the normal range for operating temp.
If you want to prolong the life of the plastics by reducing the time spent at high temps don't drive the car. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
I think everybody is missing the point here. Do you open your engine lid while sitting at stop lights or in traffic?
Unless the engine bay is significantly overheated when you turn the car off, getting it cooled off *faster* doesn't matter. Everything, including the plastics, was already at that temperature while you were driving. Once the engine is off heat is no longer being added to the system; any increase in temperature due to the fluids no longer circulating will be minimal relative to the normal range for operating temp.
If you want to prolong the life of the plastics by reducing the time spent at high temps don't drive the car. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Sure but why subject the plastics and stuff to the higher temps more than necessary?
As I said previous lots of opinion. Everybody's physics claims are theory and possibly true but without experiment and data are still just theory. Most of the time when I park in the garage the fan doesn't come on anyway unless really hot. So I feel opening lid does help. It's like taking off your hat in the winter. Lots of heat lost. Plastic deterioration is a function of both temperature and time at that temperature. Regarding the expansion tank not sure if that is from compartment heat, coolant heat, coolant acidity, or mechanical stress being above the hose connection. Regardless it would be interesting to poll those with expansion tank cracks to see if they are a lid opener or not. Mine is 2011 with 45k miles and looks good. I am a lid opener. I also change my coolant every 2 years to minimize acidity.
has anyone done it
open the lid after a drive (20-30 minutes or more) casual not sprint
reason: to let the heat out and prolong the (plastic) component in the compartment
Not too sure which is worse. Opening the engine lid, say several times a day, the cumulative wear on the lid motors and mechanism years down the road most obviously will take its toll.
I think everybody is missing the point here. Do you open your engine lid while sitting at stop lights or in traffic?
Unless the engine bay is significantly overheated when you turn the car off, getting it cooled off *faster* doesn't matter. Everything, including the plastics, was already at that temperature while you were driving. Once the engine is off heat is no longer being added to the system; any increase in temperature due to the fluids no longer circulating will be minimal relative to the normal range for operating temp.
If you want to prolong the life of the plastics by reducing the time spent at high temps don't drive the car. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
No, I usually keep lid shut at traffic light, but not always.
Sorry, couldnt resist.
I think the difference for many, myself included is once you stop and park you loose the aircooling.
I personally dont see how it can hurt opening your lid at home and letting heat escape a little faster.
I did read once that this technique will reduce IMSB wear too!
has anyone done it
open the lid after a drive (20-30 minutes or more) casual not sprint
reason: to let the heat out and prolong the (plastic) component in the compartment
Is your garage is at the bottom of the canyon? I could see the need to open the lid for additional cooling if you park it after a hot sprint like a HPDE.
When I go on morning canyon sprints, the distance from the canyon to my house consists of some residential streets, a short drive on the freeway and then a 1/5 mile sub-25mph drive through my neighborhood. By the time I park it in the garage, pull up the hand brake and connect the battery tender, it has plenty of time to cool down naturally.
As a proof of my discipline of opening the lid, I can tell that the coolant tank is impeccable and does not have a trace of cracking. For a 12 years old car, prone to this kind of issue, it is not too bad.
Yves
Both my 05s have their original coolant tanks and I never open the lid to cool them off. One has 103k miles and the other 55k and I live in SC where it's pretty much 90-95 from May through September
I will leave the spoiler up with the fan on when it gets hotter here in LA (i.e. over 100f). I also noticed the fan will do it's thing after driving with the keys out in some cases where it is really hot too. We had a couple nasty heatwaves this summer here in Los Angeles and a couple times after putting my car in the garage, I heard something 10 minutes or so after parking, and went to check on it. The sound was my engine cover fan doing its thing.
The reason I posted though is—this thread makes me wonder if anyone has used spacers to have added venting in the engine cover like how people used to do with older air cooled VWs? I had a friend with a bug and another with a squareback in high school and both used some spacers to keep the engine cover cracked to force more air in there to cool. I have also seen this on various other cars such as civics. Someone on this forum has to have the understanding on how to do this while retaining the fan function.
This was the first hit I got on google for "bug engine lid spacers" to show what I mean:
09-14-2018, 01:24 PM
