I was cleaning my engine bay today, removed the radiator shroud and cleaned that area underneath since it was pretty bad. After it was all nice and cleaned, I thought that I kind of like the way it looks. Is anyone aware if there would there be any negative impact to keeping the shroud off? besides dust which i don't mind cleaning when I wash the car but more along the lines of cooling or if anything would not work as efficient as it was intended? I'm no expert, I just don't want to sacrifice efficiency for impression. (Now I really want to upgrade that upper intercooler piping.)

 

Yeah I'm just going to keep that $#!+ off and keep her clean 🤣👍

 

It's there to keep the air from hitting the radiator and traveling up and around the radiator. Hence it is called a radiator shroud. If you're the hard-park Evo type then go for it. If you actually drive the car hard or live in a hot climate you may regret your decision.

 

Thanks Jaraxle, I suspected something like that could be an issue. Being that I live in the Devil's backyard it's already getting hot out here so I might just pop it back on. With that being said, I noticed that the stock snorkel for the intake made a complete deal with the hood and I wanted to keep that seal. Even though I went with the ETS intake which doesnt utilize that portion anymore, I had cut the snorkel to still in it's OEM spot but short enough to not come into contact with the BOV. My thinking was that even though there was a heat shield in the way, at least air was being sent in that direction to maybe A. Keep the shield cooler and B. Direct more air in the side of the engine bay where the intake is.
Am I living in Lala Land here and it makes no difference ? Or is it the same with the shroud on but with the snorkel removed?

 

Thanks for the input @Jaraxle, I figured that there could be some issue with that but wasn't sure. It's already hitting over 100 degrees daily out here so I'll probably throw it back on and at least feel better knowing its clean now underneath. Nice Evo build by the way 👍

 

IMO, the car looks unfinished and cheap without that piece installed. It also serves to help direct air to go through the radiator instead of over it. Same thing with the trim pieces in the bumper that cover the intercooler end tanks. Never understood why people remove those as well.

 

Yeah I threw the shroud back on because I don't feel like it's worth losing efficiency of the radiator regardless of liking the look or not. And I agree with you on the intercooler, keeping the side plates maintains the squared even look in the front. I wouldn't get rid of them either.