HOW TO raising bonnet (cooling engine bay)

IRISHmx-3 · Post by **IRISHmx-3** » April 21st, 2007, 5:38 pm

I suppose you could call it an aesthetics mod as it looks well and is changing the appearience of your car. but the main function of this is to allow trapped hot air to flow out of your engine bay quicker and easier.
thus reducing core temprature.

Im not taking and heat for any damage you do while doing this but there is practically no chance of any damage happening!

it is possable to do this alone but if you can get someone to help.

you will need.
Vice grips,
4 threaded bars (8mm) approx 3 inches long
12 or 16 nuts depending on height you want... (to fit 8mm threaded bar)

Step one...
open your bonnet and using your vice grips remove the nuts that attaches your bonnet hindge to your bonnet on one side.
(dont worry the bonnet wont budge much and wont fall on you)
"old nuts"

Step two...
Push 2 of the new threaded bolts through the exasting space where the old ones were...

Step three....
Thread (i went with 16 nuts each bar raised by 4 nuts) 4 nuts onto each of the bolts...

Step four...
Tighten the bolts into the bonnet where the old bolts were threaded through. (leaving a bit loose to be tightened later)

DO NOT CLOSE YOUR BONNET AT THIS STAGE AS YOU RUN A RISH OF BENDING OR SCRATCHING THE TOP OF YOUR 1/4 PANNET.

Step five...
Repeat step 1-4 again this time when your removing the original nuts watch out as the bonnet will roll to the other side.

Step six...
When you have the bolts threaded into the bonnet throught the hindges tighten all bolts propperly.

Step seven...
Slowly close your bonnet watching the edges making sure they dont catch the 1/4 pannels. (they may catch the first time you close it as mine did but didnt catch again after that.)

Your done stand back and give yourself a pat on the back!
Easy mod, worth the 20 minutes it will take you!

END RESULT

If you do this to your car please throw up a picture aswell!

nope-mx3 · Post by **nope-mx3** » April 21st, 2007, 6:05 pm

wont this make water enter the engine bay a lot when it rains?

-n

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » April 21st, 2007, 6:45 pm

Good work - if you like it - thats what counts the most. It doesnt appeal to me because it looks exactly like the broken hood that was about to fall off - from my front end damaged protege. IMO small hood scoops are much more functional and aestheticallly pleasing....

Dali · Post by **Dali** » April 21st, 2007, 7:04 pm

i dont think this is the safest thing to do either, if the hood gets pushed in towards the cab its going to miss the crumple bars, also depending on how strong the bolts are as well during highway travel.

IRISHmx-3 · Post by **IRISHmx-3** » April 21st, 2007, 7:23 pm

4x 8mm bolts connecting the bonnet to the hindges...

no no water gets into the bay! the wiper cown still catches the water at the windscreen and there is water runways along the side!

yea i agree a nice carbon fiber bonnet with vents would look better but this is handy and about 1000 times cheaper the whole thing cost me 3euro 50 cents or about 4 dollers!

i think its a bit high at the moment! im thinking about removing a screw on each hindge to drop it a bit...

ah it looks i wouldnt go hey look at my bonnet! but iv had 4 people call into the hoouse and tell me the bonnet is open!

but whats more important to me is that that heat is flowing out of the bay alot quicker! so if the temp of the air coming into the inlet is 1 degree cooler im gaining at least 1.12 bhp or 1% more on a frosty night!

Post by **Mooneggs** » April 21st, 2007, 9:33 pm

I will say this is one of the most innovative things done to an mx-3 I have seen in quite a while. I'm not sure if I would do it to mine because it's not normal to see a hood raised like that unless it has been in a wreck.

Does the hood shake or wobble when you are driving at highway speeds?

ryan_Fuerte · Post by **ryan_Fuerte** » April 21st, 2007, 9:57 pm

looks diffrent anyways, thats the only real comment i have lol

IRISHmx-3 · Post by **IRISHmx-3** » April 22nd, 2007, 6:59 am

No it dosnt wobble i got 100 mph yesterday and no difference at all! the only thing you notice is when you slow down again and put your hand about miday across where its lifted you really notice how much extra heat is getting out! ok a vent woulld propably be a better idea than this but even if i got a vent i would still keep it lifted like i have now! im guessing im letting away a good 3-5 degree C extra out of the bay!

also its easy to adjust the height! like iv 4 screws on each bolt i could easily make it 2 so you would bairly notice a lift!

and so what if it looks like its been crashed you know i hasnt and you know that your actually gaining from it so hey its worth it to me! im going in the directsion of performance so i dont really care what i looks like. and when i remove the A/c there is going to be even more air flowing through the bay!

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » April 22nd, 2007, 8:14 am

IRISHmx-3 wrote:so what if it looks like its been crashed you know i hasnt and you know that your actually gaining from it so hey its worth it to me!

But how do you really know your gaining from it? How do you know it's actually doing anything?

IRISHmx-3 · Post by **IRISHmx-3** » April 22nd, 2007, 9:00 am

if u wanted to be really percise... get 3 termomithers
and before you modify
place 1 on hte wiper cowl is close to the bay as you can.
another at the air filter
and another at the inlet manifold

and if you realy had loads another randomly in the engine bay!

go for a dirve. drive normal speeds and then push the car. noting the max speed you hit and for how long.
pull up straight after you start pushing the car on hard. and take a reading off the thermomithers.

go home and leave the car be for an hour or so let it cool down completely

while its cooling down modify the bonnet and when its cold again

do the same with the car and read the temps!

the most important readings will be at the intake manifold and at your filter! a

next would be at the cowl when you see how much extra head is escaping and ok it wont show much there i recon but then you have to realise its that much heat getting out over te whole cown and not just that one tiny spot!

Fact is it works! its not like i got up and say hey ill do this for hte laugh!
I'v seen it done!

some times to make space for strut bars and larger turbos but mainly to let off heat!

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » April 22nd, 2007, 2:33 pm

Thats a very well known mod here in the el paso racing scene. It does work. I got a vented hood and I removed the rear weatherstripping on my hood so no need for it.

Looks niice. I had never seen an mx3 with it. I think my friend rudy is contemplating this mod, you beat him to it.

n2ogsze · Post by **n2ogsze** » April 22nd, 2007, 4:09 pm

That looks ridiculous and cheap. Definitely not worth any negligible gains. But hey, opinions are like butt holes....

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » April 22nd, 2007, 6:33 pm

why do you have to be so negative.. this posts seems faq worthy.

Cy · Post by Cy » April 22nd, 2007, 6:46 pm

hgallegos915 wrote:why do you have to be so negative.. this posts seems faq worthy.

x2....2-5c underhood + more moving air underhood is good no matter what...

and you don't nessicarily have to raise it that high...

atlantamx3 · Post by **atlantamx3** » April 22nd, 2007, 7:16 pm

hgallegos915 wrote: this posts seems faq worthy.

Umm..... no it doesnt.