Plastic splash guard under engine, Is it necessary?
 

So, i replaced my oil pressure gauge and sender with a real analog (freakin sweet btw :)) and when i was finishing up i was looking at the plastic shield under the motor. Is this really necessary or can i just leave it off? It is actually pretty annoying when you drop tools onto it or when you have to remove it to get to something.

That bellypan actually helps with cooling and aero. The benefits of it are supposedly worth keeping it.

i see, well then i should probably put that back on next weekend.

i guess it makes a difference...i sometime overheat on the freeway when i have that peace off...it runs better now that i have it on...i have friends with FCs yeah they overheat alot without that thing...

well, maybe, i can leave it off until spring. makes winter projects easier. and by winter projects i mean turbo install :D

i took that thing off a long time ago and ive never had any over heating issues. and its alot ore convenient, but yeah i have heard of guys that have overheating issues (especially for RE's) but water wetter definitely helps.

Mine has been off since I bought the car yearrs ago. We just put a Greddy kit into a Buddys car and took it off his one as well.
I never had any overheating issues......but I'm in Ireland where all the rain clouds are born :mad:

Mine's currently off, same reason you are thinking, because of projects. However on the track I would quickly overheat >100mph. The next time I ran the same track with more boost (>120mph) I had no heat issues with it installed.

I had airflow related cooling issues before going turbo, which the undertray helped fix immensely. The car still runs hotter than I'd like though (~211°F).

run your AC fan to your original fan if you don't have AC...it works great!

I've had it off for years, and don't have any overheating issues, but I run 6psi and have a big oil cooler.


I run on track and around town with this car.

I've had mine off for two years also. No overheating problems.
Stephanie

but you also have an air scooper...right?

Pretty sure an M.net search will tell you the same things:

1. You will overheat on track without it
2. Some people overheat on the highway without it
3. It helps with aerodynamics

And a better radiator.

took it off when i did my first oil change on my car when i first got it...... 2 years later 12psi. Never had any problems. Run a full day of drifting in 90 deg heat. No problems.
Some say keep it, some say ditch it.
You make the decision

I ripped that junk off... I must have gained 15hp in doing so, just gotta get a hold of those nawz stickers now

I live in Florida, I haven't had mine on for a couple of year, and no overheating issues. (That was with a JR SC, and NA.)

My suspicion is that the cars that have cooling issues without it (including mine) have something else in common about their cooling system, but we haven't figured it out yet. But the fact that those cars have less trouble with the shield on would indicate that it helps with airflow.

another benefit = less drag.

suckle on that one.

I'm strongly considering cutting and molding a slot in the top of the front bumper for the radiator...because I worry more than I "do". A guy here in dallas had to do it on his FMII track car. I worried that considering my car is basically a track ride, and it will sport an AC condenser, I might need this extra cooling. I don't know if my BEGi scoop will fit under the car with the r-pack lip, which I need for brake ducts.

Thoughts? I have a 55mm coolradiator too btw.

how about you turbo it, then start worrying about what extra cooling benefit you need :rofl:

You have a 55mm radiator, and you're worried? :gtfo:

I don't want to break anything 2 hours from home.

Oh Hustler, you silly bastard.

if I lived in Texas, I'd install a second a/c system.

removing the undertray destroys high speed handling.

I've had the undertray and the black-plastic nose-funneler piece off since the day I installed my IC... never a heating problem at all even in the 100*+ Virginia summer... and I drive it pretty hard on the street. I've never tracked it, but on the track most guys do reach the limits of a mostly stock cooling system.
An upgrade to a larger radiator or even the OEM automatic-trans radiator solves most problems. A NACA duct, water wetter, dual-fan-mod, Randall Cowl inlet are also extra cooling options if you find you need it.

would you want to drive 1-4 hours in 100* heat to the track?

I've also thought about getting a little honda condenser, but I don't know enough about AC systems to know if this will work or not.

i want to reiterate.

i went to the track in June. I was hitting 110mph with no undertray, the second I hit 100-105mph the temp would skyrocket (stock gauge), slow it down a bit and it would go back to normal.

I was only overheating on the straight.

this is with a 1" alumunuim radiator and no undertray.

I went back to the same track in Aug. Installed the undertray and a top cooling plate and a tad more boost. I was hitting +120mph on the same straight without a blip in the gauge.

I dont have it installed right now, I'm not seeing more than 190° in this weather, however it's only cause i was lazy.

Yes. But this is coming from someone who spends several months out of the year in sub -20C whether, so I might not be the best judge :)

I get what you are saying, but if this is just a track car, I do it a couple of times a month if it means avoiding heat issues.

I guess the trade-off are the constant track days I'll do this winter, while you have "arctic tundra." I don't like going to the track in the summer because its just too hot.