Weather Stripping

bmohr225 · Post by **bmohr225** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:49 am

Cool forum. I was on forums.neon.org and somehow got linked to a topic on here. Glad I found it!

So my question is what are the pros and cons of, as your FAQ says, "removing the weather stripping" to cool down engine compartment. Also is this talking about the black plastic grill-like thing up around the windshield wipers?

JeffM · Post by **JeffM** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:06 am

No the 'black plastic grille-like thing is called your cowl; Keep that on.

You can remove the weather stripping that attaches to the back of the engine bay (along the edge) but some turbo'd 2.0l and SRT4 drivers claim that, by taking off the weather stripping, you will melt the cowl.

The benefit is that you may experience a slightly cooler engine bay, but at the cost of air turbulence under the hood.

Also, welcome to 2gn.

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:19 am

Also, you don't have to worry about putting it back on. Mine kept shimmying off so I said screw it and dumped it.

bmohr225 · Post by **bmohr225** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:32 pm

Thanks for the quick responses! I just put a 2.5 dynomax catback in yesterday and was so satisfied with the performance that I'm now looking into other simple modifications. I heard that putting a CAI onto 2nd generations was sort of null and void due to the fact that the air input is already outside of the direct engine bay. Is this true? If not what other performance mods would I be able to do for about the same amount? Love the response time here. Thanks!

JeffM · Post by **JeffM** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:56 pm

The stock 'snorkel' intake is more than efficient, since it essentially is a cold air intake with the use of pulling cold air through the fender.

For other mods, I suggest you take a look around the site some more. We already have a ton of threads on the subject that I think you'd find very helpful (check the Naturally Aspirated or Engine sections). Don't forget to use the search function if you can't find something right away. Then, if you can't find the answers you need, just post it in the correct section and we'll try to help more.

chappybmode · Post by **chappybmode** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:59 am

The CAI kits that you can buy are sort of like a bling part. They just look really good compared to stock. I have the AEM on my 01, and all it really did was give me more of a peppy throttle response, and a deeper engine sound. A little expensive for what you will pay for a name brand peice.