Hi Folks, did a search and came up blank on this.

The back of the radiator is plastic and holds the fan and motor for electrical cooling, it also kind of blanks off a large portion of the radiator and has flaps which open under airflow.

This seems to be designed with cold temps in mind to get the engine up to temp faster and reduce emissions etc.

I live in california and it doesn't get cold here, plus we all know these cars run very hot, I'm considering removing this plastic plate or parts of it to allow my car to run cooler. Anyone else done this?

thanks!

 

Remember, the MINI engineers did test the entire car both at hot and cold temperatures. Removing a piece of ducting that's designed for thermodynamic cooling / heating may have some side-effects that you may not be taking into consideration. Also, due to the direct injection fuel delivery system, the engine is SUPPOSE to run in the ~220deg F range; modifying that will result in fuel trim issues.

- Erik

 

Good point, I took a look at the part at realOEM and it seems like not much is covered up so it would not make much difference.

Thanks