The removable covers by the fangs
 

So... what's up with the removable covers over the side inlets in the front bumper by the "fangs"? Would opening them up provide any significant additional cooling to the radiator, etc? I'm trying to comprehend why they left them closed at the factory, and also why they bothered to make them easy to pop out at the same time. I guess I didn't bother to look at exactly where they point at when I had my bumper off.

how easy are they to pop off? haven't paid much attention to them just know i want to take them off

+1

I would love to take those covers off.

Wonder if it would look too weird if that area was all a fog light.....you know like if it were from the factory. Maybe it did look stupid so Nissan didn't put them in there. I'm just thinking out loud with my keyboard......

I've wondered if they could route air for some aftermarket brake cooling vent, or be used to route air to the intake?

John

Too low for an intake IMO, you just pick up the hot air radiating off the pavement.

I think they would be good for brake vents.

They're no lower than the rest of the grill opening where the rest of your intake and cooling air comes from.

IIRC there's a couple of screws or bolts in the back, would be easiest with the bumper off, but probably reachable with it on too.

You guys are slow :) Im already looking at brake cooling ducts... planning it all out..

The part that im trying to figure out is how to make the adapters that go on the actual brakes. Its pointless to just route air that way without focusing it on the rotor.

If I owned a 370 that's the first thing I would have done! Plus "depending on what is behind" the "black license plate holder", I would remove that also !

:tup:

John

If you open those up, you will be adding drag and lift to the car. I guarantee that's why they're closed. It's like the new Mazda 3 or Miata, which have massive "grills" but very little actual open space. The rest is just for "styling (which is, unfortunately, a failure on those two).

That said, it can be worth the additional drag to get more air to the rotors if you're tracking the car - I know I'll do it if there's a good kit available. I just thought it was worth mentioning that if you open those up, you should probably have a good reason other than just "more air under the hood".

What license plate holder? Oh, that rectangular black thing with screws and junk that I found in my trunk the first day, and promptly deposited in the 55 gallon circular file in my garage upon arriving home?

You mean you didn't put it on eBay? ;)

No not that! This.

There is one bolt that screws in from behind that can be accessed with the lower tray removed. The other one bolts in from the top but is blocked by the front member. You might be able to get it with an offset wrench, but the bumper cover probably needs to be removed to get to it.

That's part of the same single piece of black plastic as the front grille. That whole chunk of plastic seems to be glued into the rest of the bumper, at least as far as I can see from the outside right now.

Just running through some old posts and thought I'd add a pic to this thread. This is what the removable covers look like from behind the bumper, where you can see the two bolts:

http://www.the370z.com/members/wstar...red-remove.jpg

Maybe it helps keep dust out of the engine bay?

air deflector?

What's intriguing is the fact those covers are removable. :confused:

You would think for the sake of cost, that those things are molded for cosmetic purpose.

The fact that it is removable is quite suspicious. This brings back the good ol Z32 twin turbo days where the individual intercoolers were situated behind a small opening on each side of the bumper.

In this article, on another blog, you can see two photographs where they have both opened the fang area, and fabricated a slotted/meshed the front fender well liner for air to pass through. I do not believe that the fender well slots are there to evacuate heat off the oil cooler like the article mentions, but more for brake cooling, although remedial with this setup.

TechnoSquare

RCV.....Maybe some ideas here for you. I made some up on my old Audi TT with some aluminum flanges to accept 2.5" hose... Cut and modded the brake backing plate a llittle. More pics here: Cooling album | Ttschwing | Fotki.com

http://images112.fotki.com/v586/phot...scf0039-vi.jpg

http://images112.fotki.com/v580/phot...SCF0132-vi.jpg

^ 10-12% reduction in heat? Not too shabby!

Very nicely done! Thats what I'm looking to do with mine too.. I just need to see if theres enough room.

Thanks!c I have the flanges if you need them.....I use them in an airbox I build for Audi's..Email me..

Will let you know.