Originally posted by DemonSVT:
The air flows out the gap between the hood and the cowl. It's seen the heat rise and had it melt ice and snow in the winter. The air does not back flow into the engine bay due to high pressure.

My coolant temps are stellar. They always have been.

I'll take my real world results any day.



I've seen heat rise off the middle of my hood, and snow melt off of it, too. Does that mean I have hot air coming through the sheetmetal?

You want a real, real-world result, tape some pieces of string to the trailing edge of your hood, and see what happens at speed.

I'd be interested in what you observed.

As for coolant temps, you have, in the SVT, a bigger radiator and an oil cooler. Maybe they compensate. Or, maybe "stellar" is too vague. Define "stellar." You could still be well within normal range, but hotter than "normal."

Like I said, obviously your engine isn't stressed, so the actual result of letting "free air" in at the cowl is not catastrophic. But, I maintain that you are trading engine/coolant temp for underhood air temp.

Function before fashion. '96 Contour SE "Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998