it doesnt need to be covered...its a rally car, i wonder about all the muddy water and junk that gets sprayed everywhere during a rally event. Evos are meant to get wet as well as the girls

 

I beg to differ on that. You do not see any race cars with it on, and if that was the case, you would.

 

I don't know which of you is correct, but I can't side with your reasoning importjake00. A lot of people leave their tail gates down cause they think "it helps gas mileage" on their truck. But instead it lets the pocket of air that helps aerodynamics for airflow on a truck and you actually get LESS mileage. So using the reasoning that other people do it, doesn't mean it makes it true.

IMO, if it was to let air IN, or simply let air out easily, the slots wouldn't be tilted towards the driver. I'm speculating though. I have seen people on these boards say it helps the engine be cooler. I think the only way to tell is to actually test it yourself. :shrug:

 

Test it, and I bet you find out it keeps the engine bay cooler with it out.

 

I would venture a guess that the large open area under the engine bay lets in a lot more water than the little whole in the hood while driving. When sitting in the rain I just leave mine open. In most climates your engine gets pretty wet with condensation every morning anyway.

Not sure about the airflow idea but the engineers with the wind tunnel put the vent in. I see a lot more heat rising without it in at a stop. fill your engine bay with smoke and go for a short drive and you'll get your answer.
(disclaimer: I'm not condoning starting a fire in your engine bay but if you do take pics to post here)

I personally put mine back in because I'm sick of people leaning over the front of my car in parking lots to look in.

 

It was left out for about 4 days while I was away, and it rained the whole time. Came back and the connections on the battery were wet. Car wouldn't start.

Took off the negative terminal, to reset ecu, plugged it back in and it fired right up no issues.

I am seeing similar effects to that, except without rain. Every couple days or so the car wont start. Unplug the negative terminal for a minute or two and it fires right up. The battery needs to be changed, and the connections need to be cleaned (some stupid aftermarket things, they were on the car when I bought it) this I know. Could it just be just that the terminals are clogged up and the battery needs to be cleaned? Or could the alt be dead?

 

LOL@ fill engine bay with smoke.
cheech and chong under your hood!

 

If you don't care about your exhaust manifold looking like a one mass of rust then it doesn't matter. How hard is it to find a piece of plastic to cover the vent anyways??

 

you be aight, mine's never been on.

 

Don't you think mitsu thought of rain when they cut the big hole in the hood lol?

 

I agree, they didn't just cut a hole in the hood and call it a day.

I have one on my Talon in a similar area and haven't had any problems, it wasn't even designed for one.

 

i have the metal vents out in the hood and i dont cover the hood. i will throw a car cover on the car when it rains alot.

 

my vent is out and I personally haven't had any issues, you could always relocate the battery to the trunk and be done with it.

 

+1. then again it never really gets hot here, so the engine bay temps don't get as hot as say if we lived in AZ.

 

this is gonna sound wierd but when i took my metal vent off yestderday, the car seemed to have a little more pep to it. did anyone else notice this? i also have the injen intake, been on the car for bout a year now.