Anyone who says you have to worry about rain hasn't taken two seconds to think. The bottom of your engine bay is open. Every time you drive through a puddle the engine bay gets wet. While the Engine is by no means water proof, it is very water resistant in most places. Seals that keep oil in also keep water out.

The main pro is lower engine bay temps. Don't confuse that with lower engine temps, the engine temp is controlled by your thermostat and will not be affected.

The only con I see is once you cut holes in the hood you can't take the louver panel back off. Also, when it gets really cold the increased airflow in the engine bay can make it take longer for your engine to fully warm up.

I've had my poison spyder louver panel for 8 months now and love it. If you don't have problems with overheating there is no real reason to put one on other than looks though. Fyi, mine is mostly on there for looks.

 

Anyone who says you have to worry about rain hasn't taken two seconds to think. The bottom of your engine bay is open. Every time you drive through a puddle the engine bay gets wet. While the Engine is by no means water proof, it is very water resistant in most places. Seals that keep oil in also keep water out. The main pro is lower engine bay temps. Don't confuse that with lower engine temps, the engine temp is controlled by your thermostat and will not be affected. The only con I see is once you cut holes in the hood you can't take the louver panel back off. Also, when it gets really cold the increased airflow in the engine bay can make it take longer for your engine to fully warm up. I've had my poison spyder louver panel for 8 months now and love it. If you don't have problems with overheating there is no real reason to put one on other than looks though. Fyi, mine is mostly on there for looks.

thanks for the info man!

 

I haven't seen any cons with mine. Pretty easy install. Just follow the large template they give you.

 

There is not problem with getting wet. (unless you do have loose connectors or frayed wires) Been driving for 35 yeas and wash engines all the time.

 

ok thanks man!

 

The best article on the subject that I recall was research done by Frank Daless and published on Oman's jeep site.

Hood Vents :: Oman4x4.com

You could say he accurately predicted [part of ] the AEV heat reduction hood.

 

Unintended consequence: Installed the Gen-Right louver set, and the shimmy shake flutter of the stock TJ hood at highway speeds completely disappeared. My theory is stock hood builds up an air dam at speed and the louvers bleed off the high under hood pressure. Also, they melt the snow in Winter off the hood faster. Can't really think of a con ... other than the feeling you get taking a saw to your sheet metal.

 

Unintended consequence: Installed the Gen-Right louver set, and the shimmy shake flutter of the stock TJ hood at highway speeds completely disappeared. My theory is stock hood builds up an air dam at speed and the louvers bleed off the high under hood pressure. Also, they melt the snow in Winter off the hood faster. Can't really think of a con ... other than the feeling you get taking a saw to your sheet metal.

ok thanks bud

 

I've had mine for 4 years now, sets out in the rain, snow whatever the elements are with no problems.

 

I've had mine for 4 years now, sets out in the rain, snow whatever the elements are with no problems.

looks really good man!

 

Let's bring this back up, shall we?

My primary objective is to lessen the heat finding it's way into the passenger compartment while driving on the hiway .

From Daless2's study, we know a lot of heat bunches up near the firewall, and to the back outer edges of the engine bay. Given that Daless2 found these areas to be more hot regardless of vehicle speed, it must be that the heat is not finding its way out from below, at least not sufficiently.

At speed I can attest that much of this heat does find its way out by being pushed thru the tranny tunnel. I know on both my Jeeps (97 TJ, and now 2006 LJ) I can feel the heat on the tunnel and coming in thru the shift lever space (both manuals), also on the floor boards. It's a lot of heat, I am guessing much more than what might fit thru hood louvers.

Options I'm considering include heat barrier material, primarily against the lower surface of the tranny tunnel area, or hood louvers, with a twist. Maybe both.

I'm not interested in heat blocking material inside the cab, did that with my 97 TJ and the insides looked not right, especially over the tranny tunnel.

The hood louver idea is this - mount the louvers on top of the hood and positioned toward the outer edges, and back corners. See Daless2's work that supports these places as being hot, and having fast moving air above the hood (eg. fast air = lower pressure).

Now the twist - face the louvers forward, not backward.

Might this force the heat to migrate downward while at speed, and not get stagnant when it hits the firewall? It's already moving toward the back of the vehicle, it just needs a little redirecting force downward in order to vacate the engine bay more easily

Would this force work more efficiently because it is working with the much larger open area underneath the engine that must be creating suction as well (as much downforce as a jeep might create - ha)? And perhaps add some cooler ambient air to the mix of that air coming off the exhaust / cats?

With louvers facing to the back, we are relying on the resulting suction to lift the air from the lower area of the engine bay, thru all the other objects blocking its way, and then exiting through several square inches of louver space. I know hot air rises, but is it going to have a chance to travel up while the vehicle is traveling at 70 mph? and with the fan blowing it backwards? Or is it going to move back and bunch up at the firewall?

The basic mass of the engine in the bay leaves more open air space lower down to escape from as compared to the upper sections (with inlet manifolds, battery, brake booster, charcoal container, etc.). Probably several square feet, versus several square inches provided by louvers.

I don't really have an issue with underhood heat while stopped or going slow. Even so, hood louvers facing any which way would allow hot air to rise and vacate the engine bay.

Let me clear the air a bit (pun?). I'm looking to lower the temps of the underhood air, not the engine operating temp. Also, I know we want the air to come thru the radiator and be pulled with the fan which throws the remaining hot air that does make it thru the radiator radially away from itself, which may keep some of that hot air from attacking the engine again (good reason for the forward louver across the front hood area above the fan - with louvers facing to back - again thanks to Daless2). And no I'm not worried about the forward facing louvers swamping the engine components.

Thoughts? Any body tried it, or seen it done in other industries?

 

I've had my louvers installed for almost fifteen years using Daless2's (Frank's) write-up. When I lived in the desert, the emissions hoses would rot very quickly before this mod. Also, the hood would get so hot that I wouldn't be able to open it without severely burning my hands. After the louver install, I could open the hood anytime I wanted to and I haven't had to replace the emissions hoses since. Of course, I've lived in Washington state the last 9 years, but still, pretty good, huh?

I haven't found any ill side effects to having them installed.

 

:deadhorse:

 

I wonder what kind of whistling noise those forward facing vents would make...?

 

Should catch a LOT of rain and a few bugs to boot

 

My louvers face the windshield. I can't comment of the specifics of your thinking, but louvers will reduce engine bay temps. I doubt they will do much to cool the trans tunnel. That area is already pretty open to air flow. A body lift could help. My Jeep has a raised skid with everything closer to the tub, so the floor is hotter than stock.

2003 Rubicon