Has anyone removed the blocked off piece of their hood scoop yet? I would think it add some cooling under the hood. Or maybe let the hot air vent out while stopped. What do you guys think? Looks like it just pops out.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...36&hg=51&fg=20

Still waiting for my R56.

 

I was thinking of taking my scoop piece off, drilling some nice holes in it for ventilation and spray painting it chrome. I think a chrome insert would look quite nice. I wonder why the engineers didn't want any air blowing through there?

 

There is a chrome replacement scoop available in the Configurator. Seems like that would be better than paint, unless there is some great new chrome paint I haven't heard of. Could easily be, I'm not up on auto paint technology.

Then there is the carbon fiber scoop. Anyone know if it is really solid carbon fiber, a carbon fiber layer over plastic, or vinyl imitation carbon fiber over plastic?

 

I'd be surprised if MINI hadn't considered that. Some considerations:
1) Water will pour over your engine in the rain.
2) The flow of air into and out of your engine bay is by design, not just random and thoughtless. That's not to say that it can't improve things, but I think if I were to try it, I'd score a temperature gauge first and monitor to see if it's helping or hurting.

 

I would say this is not a good idea. First, your letting water flow into your engine department, which will not lead to anything good. Second, it will not have any positive impact on cooling a water cooled engine, and may in fact, have the opposite effect. Finally, your turning a fake hood scoop into a poser hood scoop. I would hold off and wait to see if the aftermarket comes up with something interesting...

 

Looks like the newer cars are coming with somewhat un-blocked hood scoops from the factory.

Ryephile posted a pic of his... but it disappeared. Showed the honeycomb grille in place with small sections of the grille opened up (not the whole thing, just parts). Basically 4 or 5 one-inch wide vertical strips where the holes passed all the way through. I'm probably not explaining this right... but I'm sure someone will post a new pic sooner or later.

Looks somthing like this if your looking from the front (with the "O's" being opened sections of the honeycomb, and the "X's" being closed):

XXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOO XXXXX
XXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOO XXXXX
XXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOO XXXXX
XXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOOXXXXXOOOOO XXXXX

Look at me, a budding ASCII ar-teest!