Well, I'm no aero engineer, either, but there was a long discussion about removing the hoodliner, and Terry chimed in with pretty much what I parroted, above.
You may be exactly right for the driving you speak of, and Terry may be talking about a theoretical constant upon which the hood seals were based.
I also have experience with air-cooled VWs, and I know that some humble-looking pieces of tin served critical cooling functions in that motor, so when an engineer says "Oh don't remove that..." I listen.
