No Engine Cover/Heat Shield

[lessthanbread]

I’m wanting to remove the engine cover and heat shield permanently so the turbo and down pipe are exposed (S5). I just love the look of it. I hear there is potential this will cause the hood to get too hot and it will damage the paint. Would getting a turbo blanket and putting heat tape on the underside of the hood be enough to make sure it doesn’t get too hot?

[XSWG]

Both would help with heat, but not enough to save the paint of your hood. Turbo blanket has seen decreased performance in some people on this platform (you can search for the discussion).

IF you truly want NEED to have both removed for your preferences, you might as well have your hood modified to have heat excavation vents inserted or buy an aftermarket hood. You'd also hear all the intake and turbo noises better.

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[JohnEnglish]

The engine cover is an integral part of the heat management system. A turbo blanket and heat tape won't be enough to save the paint from blistering.

[Dave10]

The hood has thick insulation as a hood pad and the hood has an inner and outer sections. Take it off if you want and everything will be fine. Don’t listen to people that have no clue on how heat disparates when a car is moving. The motor is not in a sealed box with the only way for heat to escape is up.

Also, your paint gets much hotter sitting in the sun then it does moving you will not burn your paint from the inside out. You will be fine.

[ninjamanRS5]

Solution? A vented CF hood with a little bit of heat insulation in the "hot" spots should work reasonably well. Good luck if you can make it work!

[SHCKR]

I've seen several people here run without a heat shield. Haven't seen any pain blistering, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen, and they simply haven't shared

[lessthanbread]

Thank you everyone. Sounds like there is a risk in doing it. Looking at everything it’s more risk than what it’s worth. I do hope to get a custom hood one day with vents but that’s a little down the road

[Liquid Smoke]

i know on the RS6/RS7 the engine cover is a must, the thing has it's own heat shield built into it and is pretty heavy. as for the S5 it's not as crucial but i wouldnt risk it anyway, what good is an exposed turbo doing when you're driving the car lol. if you're wanting to show it off at a car show or something when you pop the hood, just remove the engine cover then and stash it in the trunk. i dont see the point of wanting to drive without it though, hood stays closed?

[HyperM3]

Since you arent looking at your engine when youre driving, just leave the cover on until you pop your hood to show the engine area and remove the cover then. Simple.

[JohnEnglish]

i know on the RS6/RS7 the engine cover is a must, the thing has it's own heat shield built into it and is pretty heavy. as for the S5 it's not as crucial but i wouldnt risk it anyway, what good is an exposed turbo doing when you're driving the car lol. if you're wanting to show it off at a car show or something when you pop the hood, just remove the engine cover then and stash it in the trunk. i dont see the point of wanting to drive without it though, hood stays closed?

The RS4/5 engine cover also has a built in heat shield.

[TJay74]

The hood has thick insulation as a hood pad and the hood has an inner and outer sections. Take it off if you want and everything will be fine. Don’t listen to people that have no clue on how heat disparates when a car is moving. The motor is not in a sealed box with the only way for heat to escape is up.

Also, your paint gets much hotter sitting in the sun then it does moving you will not burn your paint from the inside out. You will be fine.

The only problem with what you are saying is if that was true then I wouldnt be seeing higher temps on the hood in the area directly over the turbo on my S4. So while moving you might be correct, the problem with blistering paint comes from once you park the car and let it sit while the super hot turbo is baking the underside of the hood while it cools off. Even in our 100°+ Oklahoma summer sun right now, when I park the car after driving the center of the hood is considerably hotter than the outer edges until the turbo cools off fully.

Is it going to kill the paint on the hood in 1 week, probably not. But maybe over the course or a year or so it could have some affect on the paint.

[arumikpart]

Auto paint begins to fail near 300 degrees Fahrenheit prolonged. Run it and take a infrared temp gun and find the hottest part of your hood. The turbo being on the top makes me think it’s not worth chancing it. While paint may not bubble it certainly can discolor over time.

[SHCKR]

Since you arent looking at your engine when youre driving, just leave the cover on until you pop your hood to show the engine area and remove the cover then. Simple.

Common sense to the rescue!

[Dave10]

All of these post from people that have no real world experience with paint in the automotive world. Your turbo cools down quickly when the car is turned off. The motor compartment has many places for heat to disparate and the hood pad absorbs a lot of heat. Paint does not start failing at 300 degrees unless you are holding a torch to it. Your cars pant like you brake caliper paint is heat resistant and your brakes see temps over 800 degrees.

Please stop with all you Internet myths and BS assumptions. I drove a race car on the road without a hood headliner and the heat did not damage the paint at all. I am sure I would have see the issue on a bright red car.

[JohnEnglish]

The issue is these cars, like most new cars, have the turbos on top of the engine; just and inch or two away from the hood. It’s not like a traditional turbo setup where the turbos are down next to the block, far away from any painted panels.

[Numbahz]

Honestly I like it there .. most of my friends or family have absolutely zero clue about the purpose of its existence or power of the car but when they see the shielding they immediately jump to "wow that's serious stuff" because they don't know any better and life just moves on that way ! Haha

[Loe]

messages cleaned up, please keep the conversation civil.

[arumikpart]

All of these post from people that have no real world experience with paint in the automotive world. Your turbo cools down quickly when the car is turned off. The motor compartment has many places for heat to disparate and the hood pad absorbs a lot of heat. Paint does not start failing at 300 degrees unless you are holding a torch to it. Your cars pant like you brake caliper paint is heat resistant and your brakes see temps over 800 degrees.

Please stop with all you Internet myths and BS assumptions. I drove a race car on the road without a hood headliner and the heat did not damage the paint at all. I am sure I would have see the issue on a bright red car.

Again, prolonged (meaning a long time) exposure over 300 degrees can start to have a damaging effect on paint. Likely discoloration first. Then degradation over a long term. No, auto paint isn’t like caliper paint, that’s why they make… caliper paint.

It’s not likely, but possible. It’s not internet myth or “bs assumptions”, it’s 20 years experience professionally, 3 manufacture/OEM certifications and hours of I-car and paint company training. I’ve damaged auto paint with heat and fixed heat damaged auto paint. Auto paint is extremely durable and fragile at the same time. It’s essentially a plastic. If you reach its threshold, it will fail.

Will he have problems with no heat shield? Probably not. Can he have problems if certain variables are met - yes. Did Audi have a good reason to heat shield the downpipe, the downpipe tunnel, the engine cover and hood absorber or they just like redundantcy? Maybe engineers were on to something?

[Leo Gets]

I think it has to do a lot with driving style and many different variables. I am sure some people may have experienced issues and/or damage.
With that said, me personally (anecdotally) I have been running with no heat shield for about 2 years and have no visible damage to this point.
Mentionable factors/variables: I drive less than 10k miles per year, have a turbo blanket, added heat tape to the underside of the engine cover, and the car is garage kept.

[Leo Gets]

i know on the RS6/RS7 the engine cover is a must, the thing has it's own heat shield built into it and is pretty heavy. as for the S5 it's not as crucial but i wouldnt risk it anyway, what good is an exposed turbo doing when you're driving the car lol. if you're wanting to show it off at a car show or something when you pop the hood, just remove the engine cover then and stash it in the trunk. i dont see the point of wanting to drive without it though, hood stays closed?

I believe the OP is referring to the heat shield bolted on underneath the engine cover.

[Leo Gets]

Auto paint begins to fail near 300 degrees Fahrenheit prolonged. Run it and take a infrared temp gun and find the hottest part of your hood. The turbo being on the top makes me think it’s not worth chancing it. While paint may not bubble it certainly can discolor over time.

Many other cars run exposed turbos near the hood (say for example this MK4 Supra engine bay). In my time I have not met anyone who has experienced an issue with turbos cooking the hood or paint.
Doesn't mean it can't happen, but if you take a few precautions (like retaining the hood's heat shielding, adding a turbo blanket, and such) it should be fine.
But I'm not an engineer or expert, I'm just an enthusiast.

[ninjamanRS5]

People are still arguing about this? LOL.

[ChicagoNB]

People are still arguing about this? LOL.

Exactly

[Leo Gets]

People are still arguing about this? LOL.

No-one is arguing...lol
Well at least I am not. Just adding my anecdotal thoughts as someone who is currently running no heat shield.

[Dave10]

I gave up trying to talk common sense, but some people know everything and must always be right.

[Sir Soysauce]

I guess in continuing this thread. I would love to run without the engine cover and heat shield since I found a place that sells hoods with a tempered glass window above the engine. My initial plan was to use a funk motorsports turbo blanket. Would hope that added air vents help keep things cool as well but information seems sparse on this topic.

May just have to get a nicer engine cover as a compromise instead of the exposed engine? Some food for thought.

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