# Radiator shroud



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

I removed the radiator shroud last night to get an idea of what everything looked like between the belts and the bumper. If I leave the shroud off, will it have a positive or negative effect on engine temps? I'm wondering whether or not its a necessary part, or if its just another aesthetic cover.


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## FastFrank (Jun 12, 2009)

Poncho Dan said:


> I removed the radiator shroud last night to get an idea of what everything looked like between the belts and the bumper. If I leave the shroud off, will it have a positive or negative effect on engine temps? I'm wondering whether or not its a necessary part, or if its just another aesthetic cover.


Radiator fan shrouds used to have quite a bit of effect on engine cooling in older cars when the fan was mounted to the water pump pulley. But with electric fans, the shroud is pretty much aesthetic because the fans are mounted so close to the radiator.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

the _fan shroud_ increases the fans cooling ability. the _radiator shroud_, which is the one on top that's easy to take off, also has been shown to help by correctly directing air... i know, mine's missing in my avatar but i'm working on a replacement that fits around my intake.


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

By saying 'radiator shroud' you actually mean 'air baffle'. That's the actual name of the part you're describing.


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## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Well, I've been running like this for a week, along with pulling the hood plugs, and my temps seem to be just a hair cooler (just under the third hash mark). But its not like it really gets above 85 much here either. :lol:


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

That's where mine runs, just under the third mark, and I've not done anything to mine. And that's in 95 and up degree SoCal weather.


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## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Well the needle isn't as high as it was before, hovering over that 3rd mark.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

the temp gauge in the car is notoriously vague. logging or doing the "Mode/Set" button at start up will tell a lot more


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## FastFrank (Jun 12, 2009)

svede1212 said:


> the _fan shroud_ increases the fans cooling ability. the _radiator shroud_, which is the one on top that's easy to take off, also has been shown to help by correctly directing air... i know, mine's missing in my avatar but i'm working on a replacement that fits around my intake.


This is true on cars that have the fan mounted to the water pump pulley. But with electric fans mounted so close to the radiator, the shroud really has no affect. I would argue that yours may run a bit hotter because of your intake blocking some of the air that would normally flow through the radiator.:cheers


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

i run 192* with the stock stat. i think that if i did very extended high rpm runs the temp would go up but it makes no difference in DD or short "spirited" runs. i log it with HPT also. i'd argue (just 'cause i do ) that the fan shroud helps. look at the difference between the air output of an open box fan and a ducted fan. ducting it is an accepted and often used technology in many applications. vortexes on the ends of the blades make it loose efficiency. just as with my setup you may not notice the difference in normal driving but for extended performance driving it will make a difference


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## FastFrank (Jun 12, 2009)

svede1212 said:


> i run 192* with the stock stat. i think that if i did very extended high rpm runs the temp would go up but it makes no difference in DD or short "spirited" runs. i log it with HPT also. i'd argue (just 'cause i do ) that the fan shroud helps. look at the difference between the air output of an open box fan and a ducted fan. ducting it is an accepted and often used technology in many applications. vortexes on the ends of the blades make it loose efficiency. just as with my setup you may not notice the difference in normal driving but for extended performance driving it will make a difference


I agree with you for a conventional fan setup (mounted to the WP pulley). And like I've stated before, a shroud is very effective, even necessary, when the fan blade is several inches away from the rad. But when the fan is mounted basically right on the radiator as ours are, the shroud really serves no purpose as far as cooling goes. As our blades are connected to each other by what basically serves as an integrated shroud right on the blades, there are no blade "ends" to create the vortex you described. 

The other variable in this equation is the fact that at speeds over 35 mph the fans are pretty much unnecessary because you move more air through the radiator than the fans do.

If you really want to test the theory, place 1 inch spacers between your fans and the radiator and see how much longer your fans run at idle, even with the shroud in place.


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## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Something else I just noticed... that shroud was starting to buff some of the paint off underneath it, especially at the mount points.


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## LOWET (Oct 21, 2007)

Poncho Dan said:


> I removed the radiator shroud last night to get an idea of what everything looked like between the belts and the bumper. If I leave the shroud off, will it have a positive or negative effect on engine temps? I'm wondering whether or not its a necessary part, or if its just another aesthetic cover.


you can drive without it but I would leave it on. As SVEDE stated. It is there for a reason and not just to protect your hands from getting caught in a belt with the motor running


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