Right, who has actually removed this and had either good or bad experiences. I believe this mod is worth an easy HP- it is a proven 'mod' on the Chrysler Neon. For those that don't know it is the strip of rubber at the back of the hood that kisses the cowl when you shut it. It is obviously there for a reason.

 

i removed the rubber seal at the back of my hood. all it did was let water splash all over my cap and even onto my coil when it rained or i took it to the car wash. i soon put it back on.

 

I was gonna say it's okay on Neons 'cause the distributor isn't right there at the cowl. I guess it's actually okay on our cars, too, but I had the same experience as ihateallmustangs. I put it back on my Z28, too.

 

No problems here without it.

S.

 

My car is garaged (or wil be soon) and hardly driven in the rain, does that change things?

So far 50/50

Keep 'em coming!

Felix

 

I've got a lift off cowl induction hood on my car so it is wide open back there. The problem is that when the heat is on and you are sitting at a stop light, the fumes from the motor go directly into your heater vents at the base of the windshield.

 

See VortecZ post. This is why you take it out- it lets heat escape from the engine compartment. There isn't any HP improvement but a type of cooling system. I took mine out and noticed a slight temp. drop. In stop and go traffic your heat goes up. In my RS I don't have louvers to let this heat escape so it can now escape through the firewall area.

I haven't had any stall outs from water entering in that area. This piece is still out.

 

ACTUALLY when you remove the strip it does NOT suck air OUT of the engine compartment but actually forces more air into it. The area right in front of your windshield down at the bottom is a HIGH pressure area. tape a piece of Kleenex to the back of the hood and watch where it goes...

John

 

I have had mine off for years. I live in Florida where it rains buckets in the summer, and I've never had a problem.

 

No problems with it off here, but it never rains in AZ

 

bttt

 

Listen to okfoz, he knows what he's talking about. Think of a 69 Z-28 with a cowl induction hood, they put the intake near the windshield side for a reason cause of the pressure factor and the air gets forced in there with out suckin water in rain storms.

 

That does it!! I'm not here to argue. I don't know if you are argueing with me Okfoz. But if you are let me try to get this through ONE more time. This isn't the first time people have responded w/out REALY READING what I wrote.

Okfoz wrote:
ACTUALLY when you remove the strip it does NOT suck air OUT of the engine compartment but actually forces more air into it. The area right in front of your windshield down at the bottom is a HIGH pressure area. tape a piece of Kleenex to the back of the hood and watch where it goes...


I NEVER said it sucks air out of the engine compartment. I wrote that while in STOP and GO traffic- you aren't creating any wind pressure stopped at a red light.

When I wrote that it helps to let heat escape that is true. Your car is sitting at a red light and heat rises. There is no real escape w/out any louvers. At the track (drag strip) you sit for long periods and what do most people do? OPEN THEIR FRIGGIN HOODS!! WELL HOT DAM! IF IT IS SO USELESS TO LET THE HOT AIR ESCAPE WHY BOTHER??

I did not come back to this board to be a troll. I have been lurking for two years while working on my junk Camaro and have made mistakes and I want to help others from doing the same thing. If your message wasn't aimed at me- my apologies but I tried to ignore it/blow it off until this last message by Gearhd. After lurking and working on my car constantly for the last two years I think I'm qualified to add my two cents. Thank you!

 

what my friend did to his old camaro hood, was instead of taking off the rubber sealer, he drilled really big holes in the back metal gap thing, did the exact same job, but with the rubber thing on, it was kinda cool.

 

YRUSOSLO, relax, it is just a discussion, nobody is getting heated (excuse the pun )

 

LOL @ 2fast... Good pun dude!!

 

YRUSOSLO,
I did not mean to insinuate in any way that your wrong, I reread your post and I see the comment about the stop & go traffic.

Your correct, at a stop or very slow speeds you probably will release air out of the engine compartment...

My comment was not directed at you, and you seem to have a good understanding to how it works. Unfortunately there are some folks around here that seem to make some false assumptions, not you, about air pressures, and they might get a desired effect, and not know why.

Removing the srip from the rear of the engine will more than likely help keep the engine cooler, but at the same time you might get some unwanted water in your engine compartment.

Sorry if I offended you I had no intenions of doing so...

 

Just to clear the air, about this or any other topic that I might have offended someone. I personally am here to help, and usually will not bash someone or try to make them look like they are not in the know.

The exception to this is when someone claims something really really wrong, like, "my car is so much faster backwards."

I sincerely appologise. My intentions are good but sometimes I do not take the time to really explain why things are the way they are, and try to keep it short. I figure for most instances someone else can fill in the gaps because there is a weath of knowledge here on this the other boards that can be tapped. If you know how.

John

 

Okay were all buds again -now go to my poll in appearance and detailing

 

I've had my piece off for awhile. I have the 2-inch cowl (same cowl used on 69 z-28's) and so far no problem...

 

ive got an open cowl hood on my ride and im sure water gets in there, and i havent seen any problems. when i drive you can see water getting forced down as it enters the area of the cowl, tons of pressure at driving speeds, and when im idling you can see heat escaping. pretty neat.

 

Mine's been off for a quite a while. The water entry is no worse than a real cowl hood. I get alot of hot air blowing out from under the hood on mine idling around town. An old hot-rodder told me about the little trick. Around town it does run cooler. Another trick I've heard of is actually spacing the rear of the hood up an inch or so at the strip for more of a cowl effect.