^^^ Yup....

By going this route, the Cabin air filter is not exposed and you retain the windshield washer nozzle....

 

As well as keeping misc debris (leaves and whatnot) out. Pretty smart.

 

But at reduced effectiveness. I understand many people can't do the authentic UCM. But for the record, I want to point out that these alterations to the UCM (creating a mini UCM as it were) will significantly reduce the effectiveness.




The mini version that seems to have the most merit is where the whole center 1/3 is *completely* removed from the cowling (see pic above). I would estimate that this version would have 80% effectiveness of the authentic UCM.




Also, Bert's version (see pic above) would probably offer 80% effectiveness of the authentic UCM.





Whereas for the version with three plastic vents (see pic above), I would estimate that it would have 35% effectiveness of the authentic UCM.





For the version with a single plastic vent (see pic above), I would estimate that it would have 20% effectiveness of the authentic UCM.

 

^^^ bro i agree word for word and i did try to explain earlier that this version might have a stock look but wont be as effective....

I will put some pix of my version tomorrow....I think you will like that a lot

I can still retain my cabin air filter + windshield nozzle + 90+% effectiveness

 

What if you removed part 12:



You would get atleast 1/4" of clearance across the whole engine bay.

I would prefer not to cut up $120 worth of cowl.

 

^ I had that rubber seal piece removed since mid 2006 when my car was just a few months old. Very meager cooling effect compared to the UCM. It is named UCM for a reason.

 

Do you think installing the plastic vent material will allow water into the engine bay during heavy rain?

 

No more than what gets sprayed up into it! AND, yes, removal of 12 was a no brainer once you start doin it.

Inaccurate...35%...JEEZ! My calculations gave me closer to 62%. Honestly though...my main goal was the inverse relationship of keeping the cowl LOOKING 90% oem. I tried the TOTAL removal for a day...but my pork and beans aren't as big as yours. I didn't like it!

 

I agree mine does not have as much effectiveness but 20 percent if you look closely at my pic it appears my accord has holes cut in it from factory on the drivers side that I dont see the tls have...

 

You guys are, I think, guessing at the change in AIR FLOW. The measure of "effectiveness" is change in TEMPERATURE. I'll bet there is a correlation, but I'll also bet it's not 1:1.

For example:



http://www.lytron.com/Tools-and-Tech...abinet-Cooling



IOW - once you reach a certain amount of air flow, the rate of temp change slows down. Now I'm not sure, but I don't think anyones done a full-on air flow vs temp change vs HP engineering study on these mods to say what is and is not optimum.

Although I would agree that in this case the principle of "if a little is good, more is better" probably works. That is, the minimum air flow restriction might be over-kill, but even IF it is, it doesn't hurt anything.

The point I'm making is no one is 100% sure where the "tipping point" between "good enough" and "over-kill" is.

 

It's not, and moreover, the equation driving these graphs is more of a ballpark range than the ACTUAL calculation, which is a first order differential equation...but eh, the theory is right.

The other 'dark horse' here is that, depending on HOW it was modified, you may be introducing turbulence and static zones...but whatever. I did this mod, IMHO is a no brainer!

 

I agree 100%, that it's a good mod.


I'm just saying that quibbling over this cut-out style vs that cut-out style 1.) based on estimates of air flow and 2.) without any comparative data, is mostly .



Edit:

I also wonder if some kind of die or punch would be useful for speed, accuracy, uniformity, etc. Something on these lines, but probably more heavy duty; a "chisel"-style punch would be great, I think.

 

^^^That's exactly how I felt about it, but didn't want to say it that way

 

This. I originally went in to this mod thinking, "Eh, the price is right, why not?"

...BOY, WAS I WRONG. I drive an hour to work each way...in the latter portion of the drive, having the speed to overtake turtles is a huge plus, and this mod has absolutely proven itself in maintaining performance over long hauls!

 

I love watching the convection currents exiting in front of the windshield. This is a mod that atleast for me I can see working and how much hot air is escaping.

 

I'm planning on doing all of this during my XMAS break. Innacurate wanna come to my place to help me?

 

^ Champ, are you sure you want my help? You might end up with more than your cowling removed

 

Haha.

I think I may do the cowl and the TB.

 

btw Inaccurate you have a PM

 

You're a good sport.


I think every mod thread you've posted has been well thought out and generally very popular. They're valuable additions to the forum.

 

Which "version" did you do DM?

 

hey inacurate, I saw you had two pieces disks somewhere and I cant seem to find the post and was wondering if they requiered modding to install and how they worked out up till now.

I was also wondering what kind of changes you saw in your MPG with all that weight gone compared to original.

 

Go check out his "TL diet" thread...it has ALL that information (and a whole lot more) in that one.

 

Ya I tought I was on that thread too, thats what I get for looking at too many different threads at once

 

Im def goin to do this, Houston summers are no joke! any advice on where to look for the plastic grill pieces?

 

Read on page before this one...I got lucky at home depot, but death metal had to go to ace hardware online or something.
But, who knows...it's just a plastic grill piece...you can buy ANY of those and cut them and shape them to fit. This one just happens to work well cause it has a lip that you can use to slide into place.

J

 

i was just on the acehardware website and couldn't find it, can someone please provide me a link?
or sell me a couple?

 

Ok thanks, I figured it was something from a hardware store guess ill just look around

 

Yes sir...well, I don't have a "stock" of it! LOL Was just letting you know where the other forum members have found it. Look for posts by Deathmetal specifically.

 

I saw something somewhere about putting spacers between the hood and the hinge which raised the rear of the hood something like 1/2 inch or so....
Looked a little odd, but still retain some the stock looks...

Being an "Old Hot Rodder"....you could use the old hot rodders technique of putting in louvers....that would get ya some out flow

 

IMO, raising the back of the hood is the easiest approach and also a lot uglier and noticeable than removing the entire cowl.

 

Just a friendly fyi to anyone whos going to do this mod, be patient when fighting the wiper arms to break free so you dont crack your windshield like I did today :/ I guess I hit the edge of the glass just right with my elbow and it split the hell out of my windshield!

 

Here is my contribution to the thread, $220 later with a shiny new windshield! I wanted to make it look as oem as possible and I think I suceeded but let me know what you guys think...


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

good job bro

 

Wow. Looks like it could had been oem to me. I would think that most people (non TL owner) will not realize that you made the cut-outs.

 

Thanks guys took some work but Im happy with it...a dremel tool was a must to pull it off and there are minor imperfections but Im probly the only one who will notice them

 

^Nice work...Now i just need to get mine done and quit thinking about it. Will be doing the MDX spacer mod while im at it.

Looking back at those pics, did you use any kind of stencil or guide, because your lines are near perfect

 

Thanks I used a ruler and drew out the lines before cutting then I made the holes just big enough to fit the sanding wheel on the dremmel so the holes were all as wide as the sanding wheel...it did take a while!

 

bump

 

^^^why?