Proper cooling after drive?

[charlee]

I once owned a 300zx TT and because of all the excess heat and poor cooling, I would open the hood to help dissipate the heat. This has been a common practice with my NSX. From this practice, I believe my hoses and belts will stay healthier and for a longer period of time. Thoughts....

 

[junior40er]

I open the hatch after I shut of car once in my garage.

 

[Tangoman]

I open the hatch after I shut of car once in my garage.

I do the same thing - didn't know if it was a common practice or not.

 

[Sumeronthechain]

While those hoses and other components reach max temperature while driving, is them cooling down faster vs slower really going to make a noticeable difference?

 

[davidf]

And I thought I was the only weird guy doing this.:redface:

 

[OneRedNSX]

They never get hotter than when you are driving... So this probably seems like a useless step regardless of how fast or slow it cools...

 

[anesthesia]

They never get hotter than when you are driving... So this probably seems like a useless step regardless of how fast or slow it cools...

+1, might due more damage to latch from frequent opening needing replacement sooner

 

[A.S. Motorsport]

it isn't needed NSX cooling system is more than adequate, I do recall RX-7 owners doing it as FD's don't have good cooling

I do have similar driving habits
When i drive home i drive/roll the car stationary for the last half mile, weather permitting roll down the windows with a/c and stereo off checking for any sounds also i let my engine run idle for a minute before shutting it off.

 

[Grimeas]

I always thought when heating and cooling things like this usually slower is better. Doing it quickly usually cracks things kinda like how valves will get burnt and screwed up if lets say header to head gasket is leaking and allowing cool air in. But i think i am talking in extremes so just don't go pouring liquid nitrogen on your engine after running it lol. I think it is a good idea if you wanna have your car cool down a bit faster to throw on your car cover sooner or what not. I do this time to time but my struts are blown now:frown:

 

[Jose]

I do not own an nsx but when i drive the M3 hard I drive it in a low gear or in N if possible for the last couple miles to let it cool down. Being stationary (hood open or not)won't really do that much for cooling it down, especially with the high temps where I live.

 

[Tangoman]

+1, might due more damage to latch from frequent opening needing replacement sooner

I've noticed different. Driving hard, around 80 degs outside I've popped the engine hatch after I've parked and taken temps. Vacuum lines near throttle body for example are cool to the touch. Now, shut off the engine and all the residual heat that the radiator fan was taking care of starts to creep up and raise temps. Lots of thermal mass with all that coolant, and the car isn't moving to exchange that air. So, perhaps the block itself is never hotter than when you are driving, I agree, but everything else in the engine bay goes up in temp after you shut it off. That is why I pop the hatch, just to give all that hot air someplace to go.

Also, there is a thread from not too long ago where people talk about how their aux engine bay fan on the right side of the car only turns on after they track the car hard and then shut it off, it is set to come on at 190 degree or something close, that backs up my observation as well.

 

[charlee]

One thing is for certain, I never once had issues with any of my hoses in my 300ZX; however, those on the forums always had problems with cracked or brittle hoses which causes vacuum leaks and therefore failed their smog test.

The heat under the hatch is so great and for such a longer period of time, it warms up my 3-car garage to comfort level when ambient temperature is in the mid 30's.

Hatch struts are much less troublesome to replace than trying to find a vacuum leak.

 

[dirtbag]

I always do a proper warmup before getting into the throttle heavy and cool down procedures before shutting down the engine. It's just a habit I've gotten into from driving vintage turbo cars where the turbine housings tend to be brittle and also to prevent oil cooking on the journal.

I also pop the hoods after parking in the garage. I'm not sure about the NSX, but on the Viper the underhood temps stay cool when driving (about 20-30 over ambient) because there's airflow through the engine bay, after parking it'll heat soak bad and temps will for sure spike to around 180 degrees. I can't help but think how much energy is lost to heat, it'll make my garage rise 35 degrees for nearly 6 hours.

 

[Sylvan]

I'll pop the hatch open on a track day after a 20 - 25 minute session out on the track. It's just kind of a "feel-good" measure that may or may not be necessary, but it also reminds me to check oil and look things over before heading out to the track again.

At home though, I don't worry about it. My house is not right off the freeway or anything so by the time I get home I've been cruising around gently on neighborhood streets for a few minutes. I just don't feel like it would be necessary or beneficial to open the hatch at that point.

 

[jond]

As a daily driver with over 120,000 miles on it, I just turn it off.....
It's an over-engineered Japanese supercar. You're not going to hurt it.