The hood of my 2007 s gets so hot it would burn you if you held your hand there . Is that normal?

 

What color is your car and where do you live? My wife's RAV4 is black, and gets very hot just from the sun.

That being said, it's normal for the engine to make the hood of any car hot enough to be painful to the touch. It's not very clear just how hot you are talking though. Fry an egg hot, or ouch! hot? The latter is acceptable IMHO.

 

Did you mean bonnet?

The turbo is right in the front, despite the heat shields it will always be hotter than your typical engine simply because of that. If you are concerned, call your SA and ask them about it. Im sure they wouldnt have a problem talking to you about it.

 

Mine is fairly warm as well...but nothing extreme. No paint bubbling and no warping= no problem

 

I noticed the underside of the '07 bonnets almost have no insulation....

 

You say that like it's a bad thing...

 

Can you tell us your experince with autos....what all have you driven in the past? My experience is that most cars have hoods that get very hot especially on sunny days.

But there is supposed to be all this crush space between the engine and the hood now! Coupled with that "functional" hood scoop to "cool" the engine compartment.....I would expect the heat transfer to the hood to be less than the previous model

 

C4 made an observation, and a valid one at that. MINI has found that one of the biggest problems will be heat so i dont think they need any insulation adding to that.

 

Just an observation. I do not know for sure whether it is a good or bad thing

 

Valid point, yes. But insulation doesnt add to the heat problem, it protects the bonnet from the heat generated. Even my Eclipse had a big heat shield on the hood.

 

 

It lines up pretty much with the exhaust manifold. Looks like all that's really needed to me.

 

Trinity, I am only asking because I don't follow you. Wouldnt insulation under the bonnet trap heat in the engine bay, therefore increasing the amount of heat under the bonnet?

 

Seems like exhibit #101 of more R56 cost cutting

(Putting on the flame retardant suit)

 

LOL! my first post (which I changed) was "next you'll be telling us it's cost-cutting".

 

Great minds think alike dneal...

 

Or the engineers determined nothing more than that was needed. I mean, if we are going to speculate, then let's cover all the bases.

 

It seems that way to me. Leaving it uninsulated allows the hood to absorb heat and radiate it away.

 

Thats what I would think.

 

Hood insulation is more for noise than anything else these days.

However, I could see a use for a full insulation blanket. In extremely cold environments, I would think it would be beneficial to have the bonnet fully insulated. That is just a guess on my part.

But for the most part it does indeed trap heat inside the engine compartment.

 

Let me just preface my reply with that fact that I am nowhere near an expert but in my experience if the insulation is trapping heat then it is a negligible and really only becomes an issue when the car is at a standstill. Otherwise when the car is moving, air is circulating through the engine bay and the insulation shouldnt be a factor if at all. Thats my $.02 anyway.

Amy

 

If there are no adverse affects, what difference does it make whether Mini saves a few (million) dollars by not installing heat shielding on the bonnet.

 

Ok that makes some sense, but if the insulation is mostly for sound deadening then I dont want anymore than there is. The car needs to get louder as is.

 

Turbo engines are well known for generating heat... combine that with the minimal hood insulation, and the result is a hood that is very hot to the touch. I wouldn't be overly concerned...

 

That's my bet. They also don't want heat bubbling paint. The turbo will get very hot, and it's an open question so far if in real life (not just endurance testing) as to whether or not the heat on the hood is too much.