thinking about hood vents

GRM's webcast the other night got me thinking about those vents on my disco. I have no intention on going off into places where the water might rise up over the hood or where mud will cake the windshield. Going off road, yes. Going mudding, no.

I also use my Disco for towing my boat. 3200 pounds before the trailer is included. While it handles this with aplomb, I will be taking that boat down to florida in a year or so and I want to keep a handle on the excess heat.

What does the hive think? it is one of the vents they added to that stang worth it? My hood is already flat black in the middle, so a black vent would not be too noticible to the unwashed masses. My biggest issue is keeping rain out of areas where it shouldn't be (like the alternator, up front and on top of the engine)

I think it will help with heat control. Check out 5th gen Camaro 1LE and ZL1 heat extractors, GM used a tray under the scoop to route the water away from the engine and belts. Same idea should work for your Disco.

Most things underhood already have decent waterproofing. I wouldn't worry.

I once parked my vented car under a sprinkler for an hour to prove this to someone :)

Keith Tanner wrote: Most things underhood already have decent waterproofing. I wouldn't worry. I once parked my vented car under a sprinkler for an hour to prove this to someone :)

The Targa or the Seven? :)

I say go for it, it will probably help.

I usually end up cutting holes into the hood of everything that I race; either to get air in or out... and I agree with all that has already been said.

Sometimes I make a a 'tray' or 'flap' underneath to protect and direct water as appropriate. Plastic containers and aluminum flashing are my go to materials in this case.

Also, I never have issues with too much moisture getting onto stuff either. The main things I try to protect are the intake path and electrical connectors but they really are typically pretty robust.

Looking at TrackSpec's vents, which I think would add a nice look to my disco as well as help control temps, and re-watching GRM's video, what is the best way to find the low pressure area: Tufts of yarn taped to the hood?

Vents can definitely move some air, especially on cars that have cooling issues at higher road speeds due to engine bay pressure buildup. I've got a picture somewhere of a top-down view of the Jeep hood after a road trip in the winter. The whole hood is coated in salt and grime except for 2 clean stripes behind the pair of hood vents (there was enough air coming out of the vents to keep the grime from being deposited there).

mad_machine wrote: Looking at TrackSpec's vents, which I think would add a nice look to my disco as well as help control temps, and re-watching GRM's video, what is the best way to find the low pressure area: Tufts of yarn taped to the hood?

A magnahelic gauge is going to be better than yarn, but yarn is going to be better than nothing. The tough part with yarn is that it's basically all going to blow back toward the windshield. Yarn blowing at atmospheric pressure looks almost exactly the same as yarn blowing at double atmospheric pressure.

That said, in general, your lowest pressure area is going to be forward of the center line, but slightly behind the leading edge. If you just start looking around the 1/3 point on the hood you'll probably not be too far off. Pressure increases from there back, and turbulence increases from there forward.

So look at the 1/3 point and assess what's under it. You probably don't want the vent in front of the radiator or any cowling that comes off the back of it. Think abut creating a path from the grille through the rad to the vent.