by dominoSLEV6 » Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:16 pm
Hood scoops have been done. however they're usually not too functional.
Think about it this way, your goal is to cool the engine bay by letting in fresh air. LEt's examine why a hood scoop is one of the least effective methods of doing this. A hood scoop sticks up to induct air to the engine bay, the theory is that it works on the concept of 'scooping' in air that would otherwise flow over your hood. Now consider that your grille (which flows a lot of air on a gen 1 Solara) is there taking in air as you're driving, afterall that radiator needs to cool somehow. Now picture a plastic ziplock bag if yuo will, and imagine blowing into the open end of one. It will inflate with the air pressure as long as you're blowing in. now imagine is you fastened a little tiny hood scoop on the bag and had a friend blow in there. Hardly a thing would happen because youi already have so much air flowing in through the end that there is pressure actually trying to be relieved through the hole tyour friend is blowing in... now how's the air supposed to get in through there? It's the same idea with an engine bay only an engine bay isn't an absolute pressure as air is escaping through the cowl and underneath the car, so we're not creating a force that would be as great as the bag (as the bag doesn't have these extra exit point) but we are still creating it, and not enough air is being let out through these small pockets for air coming in through a hood scoop to be effective, if it comes through much at all. You'll notice some fast V-8's with What's called a cowl hood (that semi-ugly looking hood with the center raised up sloping upward from the nose of the hood all the way to the cowl (hence the term cowl hood). This is basically a reverse hood scoop, instead of the open end being in front, it's in back, and much larger. This allows al the air flowing in through the grille to escape through this top 'port' and allow much more free flow of air in an engine bay than a hood scoop ever will.
Not that they can't be slightly functional, but just don't do it.
Take a look at Greg Anderson's car. He had a hood scoop he put on there and fashioned up a nice mesh type piece he made himself to protect entering air. He quickly found with the advise of that rally guy (forget his name) that the idea is novel, but not so functional. I believe he ended up turning it around and still has it on there... which is as functional as he ever could have gotten with that same hood scoop... simply by turning it around.
I used a lot more words than I had to to describe this, but I feel I still fell short of conveying the principle, so shoot me, just don't put a flippin hood scoop on your car...
Unless you like men...
-chris
It will run one day, RPMs EVERYWHERE!
