Why did I clean my engine?

[Shehadehd]

Originally Posted by dghii

Very cool but 200 lbs? How? Isn't there just a carpet pad and aluminum cover? It's been a while but what am I missing.



BTW, not dissing your cover or estimate pricing...just thinking about the weight and can't remember any items adding to ~200 lbs.

I can't find that comment on the tapatalk app. Not sure if it was deleted but I was trying to say ~20lbs. If I wrote ~200lbs that is definitely a typo lol. The engine cover is 7lbs, sound carpet is like 6lbs and self was another 6lbs.

[dghii]

Heck. I might have misread the quote. 20lbs sound about right.

[dghii]

Originally Posted by Shehadehd

Thank you all for the compliments! I think I'm going to make a couple more to perfect the look and installation of the cover. When I'm satisfied (passes the epapp test) I'll make them for you guys and open up pricing. What will help me bring the price down is if I can purchase wholesale sheets of the plexiglass rather than commercial sized ones that I have to cut down and subsequently waste a lot of material. If I can get an idea of how many people would be interested in the cover, I can start considering a final price. I'll also update this comment with an initial ballpark price (it will be the higher end of what I will offer and it will go down as I can get parts in bulk)

EDIT: ballpark will be $250-$300

EDIT: the setup saves you ~20lbs, if that means anything to anyone.

My bad...really need glasses!

[driftguy]

Beat to the punch.

[epapp]

I think you said YOLO at one point in reference to this engine cover. Just for that, I think I'm required to order 10 minimum.

When we waited in Taco Bell drive through line, the cover warmed up, BUT it wasn't hot. The thermometer readings will put this concern to rest.

The sound increased, because the heavy sound and heat damping carpet was removed. The sound level equivalent would be to remove the rear shelf and remove the carpet cover while leaving the engine hatch cover sealed. Shehadehd's engine cover seals the compartment just like the oem hatch cover.

Would your kit come with the lights? I need me some of those


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BIGJake111]

I have started saving money for a slightly larger project on my boxster, I think I found a Winner! Keep us updated on the temps, living in the Deep South with lots of expected city traffic may be a problem haha.

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by Shehadehd

I haven't noticed any problem with heat for the duration I've used it. I've driven with it in traffic on a ~75 degree day with the hard top on for about a half hour. The engine fan came on during this trip which indicates engine temps did get up to 180 ferenheit. With all this, the cover never got more than warm to touch. It's pretty thick and with the engine fan on, it stays pretty cool. I think temperatures need to be north of 200 degrees before any forming takes place.

I just bought some stick on thermometers that I'm gonna attach to both sides of the cover to see what the temperatures get to and if heat will be an issue. So in short, I haven't had that issue and I've put around 800 miles so far.

The gray tinted idea sounds pretty cool, like using really light window tint.

The Plexi will need a bit of a heat margin because after a hot Auto-X run and with the engine sitting after the car is off and the fan not running it could get quite a bit hotter in the engine compartment. Perhaps a plastic with a higher temp range. Lexan? Plexi softens at 210F and Lexan 257F

If you use the tint that you apply yourself then you will have that protective coating as well that you were considering for the engine side.

So if I get one of these I'll have to start carrying a feather duster in the trunk as well.
Not sure what the guys or wife will make of that when they see feathers in the trunk.
I'll just have to tell the guys that the french maid uses it to clean my engine bay
and the wife, that its a special surprise

[Chuck W.]

Evidently, this is not uncharted territory. I have never heard of it but there are a number of posting on Caymen owners doing this mod with great results. I am guessing they have worked out the material and heat issues. Below is a link to Google Imagines with a number of photos.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cayman+clear+engine+cover&client=firefox-a&hs=DmI&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=FkbdUsrRFM-woQTe24H4Bw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=582

[Shehadehd]

Originally Posted by jb92563

The Plexi will need a bit of a heat margin because after a hot Auto-X run and with the engine sitting after the car is off and the fan not running it could get quite a bit hotter in the engine compartment. Perhaps a plastic with a higher temp range. Lexan? Plexi softens at 210F and Lexan 257F

If you use the tint that you apply yourself then you will have that protective coating as well that you were considering for the engine side.

So if I get one of these I'll have to start carrying a feather duster in the trunk as well.
Not sure what the guys or wife will make of that when they see feathers in the trunk.
I'll just have to tell the guys that the french maid uses it to clean my engine bay
and the wife, that its a special surprise

Thanks for the input. I'm trying to consider these situations but the weather right now doesn't really have the capability of taxing the plexiglass like you mentioned. One consideration is that the plexiglass does absorb and dissipate heat across its surface fairly efficiently. If I use a heat gun at 235 degrees or a bit hotter, the plexiglass never gets hot enough to form because it spreads the heat out and transfers it to the other side of the glass. As a result, I need to bend the plexiglass in a forming oven that heats the whole thing at once.

Lexan is in no doubt a more resilient plastic, I'm looking for both plexiglass and lexan as material sources. if I notice that the plexiglass gets to forming temps after hard drives like track days or A/X, I'll offer the cover in both lexan and plexiglass, depending on wether you plan on tracking with it or just daily driving.

I know high temp plexiglass exists which can withstand consistent temperatures near 300 degrees. I haven't found a local supplier of it though. I'll post test results to engine bay temperatures sometime this week or next to give you an idea of how the inside and outside surface of the plexiglass does under about 1 hour commute time with San Francisco/ Bay Area traffic

[rp17]

Without a doubt, this isn't new. Peeps been doing this on Caymans for a while. So worry not too much about the heat thing. Don't think those can fit a 987 Boxster though and definitely not a 986. I think they were priced ridiculously high also which I never even bothered looking into any further.

[BYprodriver]

How about a mod with dual payoff?

Heat reflecting gold foil. Makes engine look better & keeps intake air cooler.

[Shehadehd]

I'm going to start a new thread to track the ordering process for the covers.

Hardware: I've been able to find a source for all the hardware and I have a couple installation procedures that I think are simple, straightforward, and allow you to switch between the regular or clear engine cover without much work. I'll have a couple people test them to find the best one. I'm also working on find a way to offer the bolts and caps in chrome or any specific color that can match your car exterior, no guarantees though .

Seals: I just ordered a bunch of different type of rubber seals intended for high-heat use and I'll be testing which one gives the tightest seal and best noise reduction.

Cover: As mentioned earlier, I'm still working on finding the best material to use and still keep costs down. I don't think I'll be going any thicker than quarter inch plastic because forming becomes increasingly difficult. I'm most likely going to offer both lexan and plexiglass covers; lexan will have to be a bit more because it needs to be cut and formed differently. Depending on how much demand there is I may be able to offer cover that are tinted in a particular color. This is only a plexiglass option. The tinting will be built into the plexiglass because I think any film applied might peel off under high temperature conditions. Examples




Shipping: I haven't worked out anything with shipping yet.

[Porsche9]

If you want to do some real high temp testing Phoenix is the place. In summer I regularly see temps on the I10 of 135 (ambient in the mid teens plus heat reflecting from the asphalt and all the cars immiting heat). I am sure the engine bay temps exceed anything you will see in the Bay Area. There a reason a number of manufacturers test here. Let me know if you want me to test.

[particlewave]

I'll beta test one for you...and I won't even charge you for it!

Seriously, I must have one in clear with multi-color lights (I like to change things up a lot) so hurry it up already!
It's been a day or two and I'm sick of waiting
What's the darn holdup?

[Touch The Icon]

So sick!!!!! I want one

[evomind]

Originally Posted by jb92563

The Plexi will need a bit of a heat margin because after a hot Auto-X run and with the engine sitting after the car is off and the fan not running it could get quite a bit hotter in the engine compartment. Perhaps a plastic with a higher temp range. Lexan? Plexi softens at 210F and Lexan 257F

If you use the tint that you apply yourself then you will have that protective coating as well that you were considering for the engine side.

So if I get one of these I'll have to start carrying a feather duster in the trunk as well.
Not sure what the guys or wife will make of that when they see feathers in the trunk.
I'll just have to tell the guys that the french maid uses it to clean my engine bay
and the wife, that its a special surprise

The engine compartment itself doesn't get any hotter because you went from wood, carpeting, etc to Lexan, but the passenger compartment may be a little warmer as the Lexan wont insulate as well as the OEM materials.
If the Lexan is warping or melting at the track or if that's a concern, can you use slightly thicker Lexan?

[particlewave]

[Shehadehd]

Haha, I watched the gif before looking at who it was from... Now it makes sense lol. I've pinpointed a good source for plexiglass and even lexan so tonight I'm going to try and get things together to make a small batch order for the first set of prototypes. Also, I have to do some testing with the LEDs to make sure they work reliably with the engine temps they're subjected to. I'm sure I'm being overly cautious but the last thing I want is for someone to message me saying something failed.

Also, the LEDs are going to be socketed into the rear defroster switch to reduce the amount of wiring needed for the installation. Whoever orders leds can manually wire them to a separate switch if they wanted. I'm also in the process of adding a switcher at the junction where the rear defroster connector is. The goal would be to allow you to plug in both the rear defroster and LEDs into the plug and switch off the defroster or LEDs so that the dash switch will activate one of them or both depending in how you set it up.

The motivation for this was to keep power draw to a minimum but still allow you guys to retain defroster capability if needed.
This will probably be an optional add on since I don't want to wire the setup if I don't need to, e.g. You have a plastic soft top and no use for the defroster.

[BRAN]

Originally Posted by Shehadehd

Thought I'd give you guys an extremely raw picture if what I'm adding to the cover as an option

Awesome mod!
As long as it seals the compartment like the OEM cover (no fumes or heat inside) and it is "kinda" safe in a car accident...

I personally like the blue lighting, but would prefer AMBER just like the interior gauge lights.

Just another little idea: How about creating a see through plexi glas cover including a classic 356/911 chrome engine grille...that would be my favorite...
...oh pelicanparts are offering those...cool...hmmm...lets see

[Shehadehd]

Originally Posted by BRAN

Awesome mod!

As long as it seals the compartment like the OEM cover (no fumes or heat inside) and it is "kinda" safe in a car accident...



I personally like the blue lighting, but would prefer AMBER just like the interior gauge lights.



Just another little idea: How about creating a see through plexi glas cover including a classic 356/911 chrome engine grille...that would be my favorite...

...oh pelicanparts are offering those...cool...hmmm...lets see

These LEDs do continuous RGB coloring. Name it and it will do it. I didn't take a picture with Amber but I have this one.