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QUESTION: What's the purpose of the under hood carpet/insulation ? ..............

17K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  BeastPower 
#1 ·
Hi Guys, Im sure for some of you, this seems like a dumb question, but I do not know the purpose of the foam like insulation, which is located undere the engine hood. What would happen if you removed this carpeting and did without it? What does it do for the hood? Is it some kind of heat shield, so the sheet metal hood doesn't cook, due to the high hi temps ????
Thank you.
Robert:confused:
 
#2 ·
It's for heat and sound insulation.

Why would you want to remove it?
 
#3 ·
Yes, don't know why you would want to remove it since it could affect the surface temp of your hood and overall the life of the paint.
 
#4 ·
kwalls said:
Yes, don't know why you would want to remove it since it could affect the surface temp of your hood and overall the life of the paint.
Not to mention all the neighbors' cats sudden affinity for your (super-warm) hood. :hihi: :hihi:

CP
 
#5 ·
Here is why I asked the question............

After reading all the posts about the carbon fiber hood topic, I was wondering, what would happen if you left off the insulation under the hood, so you could show the carbon fiber, when there is only clear coat applied as being the finish. No paint. Do you know what I mean?
Thank you.
Robert
 
#6 ·
Hey Robert,
I had the same Idea. Leaving it off. I think the major reason it is there is too lower Noise.

But with a louder exhaust, you won't here the induction noise anyway, so I think it will be cool to leave it off.

The plenum chamber will get much hotter as it is actually a lot closer and touching things. Their is at least a gap to the bonnet, and with increased air flow Via the Vents and M3 PB Vent, that should keep the hood cooler. I think if heat were a problem, then they wouldn't make plenums out of it.

I have herd of the Clear coat yellowing after a period, but that generally adds the the real look. Pretend stuff doesn't yellow and looks fake.

Poping the hood and seeing Full clear coated C/F will be awesome.
:eek: :eek:
 
#9 ·
Chris Foote said:
Isn't it possible that it's there to serve as a fire blanket? I seem to remember hearing something about that....

-Chris
yes the little plastic holders melt to let the carpet/insulater thing drop to hopefully smother the fire:confused3
 
#11 ·
Bmxbikergtss said:
yes the little plastic holders melt to let the carpet/insulater thing drop to hopefully smother the fire:confused3
LOLhiha

Whilst I doubt that to be the case, its not a bad theory.

I'm sure the material is probably fire resistant, but I don't see the point of saving the $500 metal hood whilst the $50,000 Motor burns. hmmm
 
#13 ·
Bmxbikergtss said:
yes the little plastic holders melt to let the carpet/insulater thing drop to hopefully smother the fire:confused3
Hey suit yourself -- the 10lbs in savings they will have I'm sure will make them feel like they gained 15HP :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:
 
#14 ·
um whatever.
if the fire was burning the engine and it fell on it trying to smother it. it could save your " $50,000" engine. so its like a fire blanket.
 
#15 ·
I believe the M5 engine is a meer 20, 000 but, be that as it may, should there be an engine fire, the point is to protect the driver and stop the fire as quickly as possible. One way to do this would be to remove all available Oxygen from the blaze. I don't know if the dropping hood theory does this, but it does seem plausible.
 
#17 ·
Chris Foote said:
Hey suit yourself -- the 10lbs in savings they will have I'm sure will make them feel like they gained 15HP :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:
Umm Chris, the main purpose for leaving it off, is so you can see the Carbon fibre bonnet. The C/F bonnet will be where the weight saving is. I'm painting the top to keep it subtle, but underneath would look cool when you popped the hood.

I was talking $50K AUD for the motor, which was the price quoted to me by BMW Australia. Thats about $25K USD.

Biker, if the blacket had to weight until the plastic melted before it dropped, your motor would already be screwed.

Its main purpose is sound deadening, with only minor heat synk capabilities.:byebye:
 
G
#18 · (Edited)
MIB,
I agree with your analysis.

It doesn't look like the blanket could do much in case of a fire, and if one really wants protection from fire (which incidentally seems to be one of the more frequent things that happen in M5 accidents), then I would get an SPA fire system for a $1,200 (installed). This will save the occupants and the $25K engine. The beast is a capable machine and does not need a blanket to protect the engine. I wonder if the e46 M3 GTR has a blanket under the hood? I would guess that the blanket is for sound insulation.

Just my $0.02. Cheers.
 
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