i removed rear weatherstrip under hood - no water

[mino]

i removed strip to see if it got wet when i washed car - nothing got wet - i think i am going to put a few pieces of it on though to support the hood from being flimsy

[Hooligan]

Good idea for support

[CREWZIN]

I've had it off for about a year now. Covered the thin strip of metal with chrome door edge molding for looks and I'm pretty sure someone ran a test and hot air was allowed to come out when the car was parked helping to cool down the engine.

[littleblueGT]

I remove the seal a couple years ago. It really seems to help by allowing the heat to escape in stop and go driving. I used the black door edge strip to cover the area, and a 5 inch long piece of heater hose that I split to support the hood in the center, so no bounce. Last week another benefit was that I saw steam right away when the turbo coolant hose blew. If the seal had been in place there would not have been any warning until it was too late! You will also notice when you park it all that heat venting out of the engine bay, which is a good thing.

[Mean Green]

I cut out the center section when I first had my '03 GT. Then it was explained that the air is directed to go over the manifold heatshield and the turbo to help cooling. When the rubber is removed the air is no longer directed down to help cool the manifold and turbo, but now goes up and escapes where the missing rubber was. The cooling effect is defeated. I put my rubber back on. I now have a '05 SRT-4 which has the same turbo'd engine as the PT turbo. Nobody with one of these cars removes any rubber and we run a lot more hp than all but a very few PT turbo people do. It seems only some PT turbo people remove the rubber. I've always wondered what the long term effects would be with the rubber removed

[mino]

i think i will cut about 10" off on each side to allow a vent area while still keeping center area tight - another person did a test and found ( with a piece of string , air is actually sucked into hood crack during travel - i have a pyrometer and will take a few readings before and after strip removal . thanks for input

[quicksilverdon]

Originally Posted by mino

i think i will cut about 10" off on each side to allow a vent area while still keeping center area tight - another person did a test and found ( with a piece of string , air is actually sucked into hood crack during travel - i have a pyrometer and will take a few readings before and after strip removal . thanks for input

Yes, the base of the windshield is a high-pressure area when moving. The air intake for the interior is there. When stopped, of course, it's different.
There are intakes that poke thru the hood that face the windshield to make use of the high pressure area.

[07GTDriver]

Originally Posted by Mean Green

I cut out the center section when I first had my '03 GT. Then it was explained that the air is directed to go over the manifold heatshield and the turbo to help cooling. When the rubber is removed the air is no longer directed down to help cool the manifold and turbo, but now goes up and escapes where the missing rubber was. The cooling effect is defeated. I put my rubber back on. I now have a '05 SRT-4 which has the same turbo'd engine as the PT turbo. Nobody with one of these cars removes any rubber and we run a lot more hp than all but a very few PT turbo people do. It seems only some PT turbo people remove the rubber. I've always wondered what the long term effects would be with the rubber removed

I've been looking for a way to vent the hot air when stopped too but don't want to mess with the weather stripping. Has anyone done any modifications to add actual vents to the hood? MG, one long term effect is children.

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by 07GTDriver

I've been looking for a way to vent the hot air when stopped too but don't want to mess with the weather stripping. Has anyone done any modifications to add actual vents to the hood? MG, one long term effect is children.

How much you willing to spend?

[07GTDriver]

Well maybe not THAT much...I've seen some hood side vents that look like 3 little circles in a row. I believe they're cosmetic but if they are actually mesh, a little hole saw behind where they stick on might help? Maybe?