Why did I clean my engine?

[Shehadehd]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

Unfortunately, keeping the engine clean is going to be a major time suck. It will only take a few days to get all dusty again. But at least it is easier to get to!

Is that stock exhaust?

Stock exhaust but with the drill hole.

[jb92563]

Very cool and the lights are absolutely necessary otherwise its not showing near as interesting.

1 question though about the heat in the engine bay and the plexi. Will the plexi reach the temperature at which it becomes flexible, will it sag?

Living in the hotter climates, this could be an issue?

I also had an idea about using grey tinted plexi so that the engine is fairly invisible UNTIL you turn the lights on.

That way if the bay is dirty it wont be noticed until you turn on the lights

[Shehadehd]

Originally Posted by jb92563

Very cool and the lights are absolutely necessary otherwise its not showing near as interesting.

1 question though about the heat in the engine bay and the plexi. Will the plexi reach the temperature at which it becomes flexible, will it sag?

Living in the hotter climates, this could be an issue?

I also had an idea about using grey tinted plexi so that the engine is fairly invisible UNTIL you turn the lights on.

That way if the bay is dirty it wont be noticed until you turn on the lights

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.

[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

[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

[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?