Why did I clean my engine?
 

So, when I first got my boxster, the engine looked like this
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/19/e2a2ubyp.jpg

But now it looks like this
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/19/egegydeq.jpg

So what's the point of cleaning it, besides to find oil leaks and allowing for better heat dissipation...

Well, after making this
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/19/baju5ege.jpg

I just couldn't stand having my engine look like this
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/19/jade5ade.jpg

So, instead, I gave it a good wipe down with some old fashioned elbow grease so get something that looks like this
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/19/5utasepu.jpg


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b9...ps84dd2626.jpg


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b9...ps4b8d8c1a.jpg

And yes, people can see it
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/19/vyra9epu.jpg

Or at least they will be able to after I install my new soft top. :)

That looks awesome!!
Can you post a DIY of what you used to make this and how?
I would definitely want a see through cover.
Also the weight savings must be a +

Absolutely a wonderful addition. Love to be able to see that flat 6. Any change in interior noise? Please post the details!

So Awesome!!

Why did I clean my engine?
 

Eicheldp: Removing the rear shelf, sound carpet, and plastic/ metal stock engine cover and replacing all that with a quarter inch of plexiglass (moving to lexan) inevitably adds some noise.

With that being said, the noise is less than what you get with the top down or even the windows down. With the top up, you mostly hear the intake howl, the "whoosh" of the air rushing past the throttle body, and a small hum from the timing belt. In other words, I would say that the noise that comes through, is the noise that everybody tries to amplify by removing the snorkal. Of course, I'm biased though... epapp has ridden with me with the clear cover on so he can give you an objective critic on added noise. I'll also try to post sound clips comparing the two.

Yellow986S: I'm thinking of possibly selling a couple of these since I ended up making the equipment needed to mass produce them (like molds, heaters, frames, etc..) in the process of trying to get it right and have it fit with an OEM feel replicate dimensions. But don't expect them to cost an arm and a leg. Honestly, I think it would be cheaper for you guys too, because unless you have acrylic bending tools and a precise way to measure the engine cover in three dimensional space, it'll take a couple of tries (which with this size of glass is expensive) before getting it perfect. Also, the one in the pictures is also not perfect, but it's getting close. Butttt, with that being said, it depends on the demand for them as well. I also don't expect to be able to quit my job from the money I get and so I'm not going to price it that way; expect, hobby price... Just enough to let me do other DIY mods to the car.

And thank you all for the compliments!

That, sir, is outstanding. Nice job. I can see powder coating some engine parts in red to accent the engine. Please keep us posted on any units you plan on selling. I would be interested.

Nice job...

Very nice mod. Looks like a high $$ original option.

Why did I clean my engine?
 

Yeah, it was more than just the cost of the plexus glass.. That's for sure. But here's how I justified it to myself... Unless something Completely unexpected happens and I can start owning ferraris and lambos, there aren't many other cars that have an engine in an optimal location to show off. Sure it's not an 8 liter engine with like 12 cylinders, but it's not ugly either. I mean, YOLO for heaven's sake lol.

Chuck: cleaning the engine was just the beginning, expect some more additions, i.e. Silver intake manifold with acid green lettering and accents to match my interior, exterior, and soon to be brakes.

Great work! Love the look!

Great job! I would totally be interested in buying one of your clear covers. :cheers:

Wow...... just wow. Got to be one of the coolest mods I've seen so far. :cheers:

Looks good, I'll be cleaning my motor soon too.

Very nice! I've lost count of how many times I've been asked "can you show me the engine" and had to decline because its buried. Super cool!

Wow....fantastic. Please update us when you get your pricing sorted.

Great job.

Very nice Mod, I think a bit of colour in the engine bay, in my case Speed Yellow would really set it off.
Well done.
Guvs.

Very nice mod good work sir. How long have you been driving around with it ? I'm curious if road dust gets onto the engine side of the lexan ? Just wondering how often it has to be cleaned ? I may be interested depending on the price.

Very Cool!! Kudos for the original (I haven't seen this before on a Box) concept!! It's too bad the Box motor kind of looks bland to begin with.

You know, I owned a Boxster for 6 years. I never did see the engine...

:cool:

/

Why did I clean my engine?
 

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.

That's superb....great work..... I will order....:)

It's too bad that it won't show with the top down :(
Maybe do the front cover, too? :confused:

Great work!

I was joking about doing the front cover earlier, but since it's only the timing belt, I don't know if you'll get more than an annoying belt whine all the time.

With the top down, you can see still see a fair amount, but only if you are in the car or if you have the engine lit up with some lights.

Lights?! Now you're speaking my language! :D

This has got to be one of the top three home mods to date. Edged only by the guys doing there own ixx versions. Can you can make one for the 987 box also? Great job by the way.

Ok, now that would be very cool to do! The only problem with this mod is losing the shelf with the speakers, which I do enjoy. I love the look though and I really look forward to what particleweave is now going to do with the lights:D

Haha, i already have them in there waiting to be wired up. I'll take some pictures tonight with them. I've just been waiting for the dash footwell light switch to control them.

Trust me, at night they make the car look insane!

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

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/amepepa9.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/yqy2y6ab.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/6ahazu9a.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/a8ahuve3.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/7ebunyqu.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/y6ujahyn.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/zu4a8y4y.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/5upu9ene.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/pu4uhy3y.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/uqyse3ev.jpg

Wicked !!!

All it needs now is a flux capacitor! Definitely one of the coolest mods yet. I think I like the blue light the best.

Why did I clean my engine?
 

Here's a video to give you an idea of what it's like. My rear window has a substantial rip in it so I get a lot of wind noise at high speeds. I'll take another one with the hard top on to give you a better idea. I also have a friend with a decibel meter so if he lets me borrow it, I'll be able to do an object test that can actually be quantified.

Let me supplement that video by saying that this is under hard acceleration.... Like flooring it to 6k through 1st and 2nd, then into third.

http://youtu.be/E5LlE-M0MXI

love it. How long does it stay clean? Do you have to clean the dirt out every year? Not sure if the dust and dirt gets sucked up into the engine bay and all over everything.

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?

Why did I clean my engine?
 

So I've been using it for almost two weeks now and is say I collect more dirt from cabin side of the screen rather than the engine side. When you're driving all of the dirt from the engine side get blown away. And anything left is few and far in between that it doesn't detract from the engine cover.

I haven't ran with the cleaned engine yet but I imagine you might want to just give it a once over every oil change to keep it's shine. Unless you have a leak, moisture should evaporate with engine heat and so dirt should just blow off. But, of course, I don't know yet.

The main concern here is that plexiglass and lexan aren't hard surfaces like glass. They are scratch prone. I'm currently looking for somewhere to buy a clear plastic cover (like what you put on your phone and tablet screen) to protect it. This way, wiping off the dust won't cause small scratches in the cover.

FOR EVERYONE: since there is an appreciable interest in the cover, I'm going to try and get things together to offer some for sale. I want to tweak it some such that installation and maintenance will be straight forward and to refine some points like seals, mounting hardware, etc...

Once again, thank you to everyone for the compliments and positive remarks :)

Stock exhaust but with the drill hole.

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.

Very cool. I saw this on a Cayman (black/tan). The owner did some nice engine painting.

This thread is filled with so much win, it's practically earned a trophy. Really good work Shehadehd!

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.