I did it to mine when I made my cai. used a dremel with small carbide bit, a little time consuming to make it look nice I opened up all closed openings. Looks way better than removing it all together plus 3 times as much air.

 

have you had any issues with melting?
since i'm on my 2nd one i'm not going to chance it with the warranty again.. the people at the dealership probably think i'm nuts

 

I have not had any problems before I opened up the openings but the more air the better. I am going to look into making a heatsheild type decretive cover to go over the turbo to clean up the look a little too.

 

Holy Melting Hood Scoops BATMAN!
Been reading this post for a while now and thought, hmmm, I must be a lucky one, but alas, ye olde scooper is melting! I noticed the first signs of it today and am just under 10,000 miles. Felt the washer fluid hoses and just a lil' too toasty for my liking. I got no problem taking my car in continuously for this same warranty issue. Besides, mines also has the "idle squeal" backed with the washer weeping blues, and the stubborn sunroof! So looks like I'll be having one of those MINI-loaners for a while.

 

I'm really surprised with your double problem. You live in a climate similar to mine. What is your typical driving profile? Distance? Time? Speed? Spirited or average (it's a MINI!), etc.

For everyone else, what are the possible downsides to just removing the scoop screen altogether?

 

I can see this being an ongoing issue with my clubbie. I still have my original hood scoop and will get it replaced this month, but I'm sure the next one will have the same problem. It doesn't have anything to do with driving profile since the hood temp will get extremely hot after any type of drive I make. The car just needs to sit for 5 or 10 minutes and then the heat off of the turbo (and other components in engine) turn the hood and scoop into a frying pan. The only fix will be a turbo wrap or a heat shield above the turbo to reflect the heat down. Also, my hood scoop screen is 80% open and I still have this problem.

 

I'm just wondering why some cars have it, some have it in spades, and some don't. There has to be something different. Yes, my scoop is extremely hot after shutdown (I've cooked bratwurst on it at picnics), but mine is a fully closed week 3 build. What's the variable here?

 

The problem seams to be after you stop not while you are going down the road. I took temp readings on my bonnet directly after stopping. Hotest part of the bonnet was 140 deg and the hotest part of the scoop was 110 deg. after 10 min. it was 195 and the scoop deg after 20 min bonnet and scoop 180 deg. i made a cover to see if it would help keep the heat from the bonnet and this are the results 125 bonnet and 105 scoop 10min 165 bonnet 165 scoop 20min 170 bonnet 165 scoop so it helped a little going to try a insulation on back side of aluminum heat sheild to see if it helps.

 

Hi all,
The problem of high under-hood temps results from the high temp thermal masses ( heat sources) in the engine compartment and the lack of ventilation ( to allow the heat to escape). It is common for under-hood temps to rise after shutting down the engine. After shutting down the engine, the engine, the radiator fan will run to transfer the heat from the radiator to the air in the engine compartment, and then down under the car. Unfortunately, this doesn't carry much heat away from the engine block, turbo (exhaust side), and catalytic convert. Of these three heat sources, the turbo and the catalytic converter have the highest temps, as the engine is moderated by the coolant system.

After the engine is shut down, the turbo, catalytic converter, and engine block are the thermal heat sources. The thermal heat sinks ( the places where the thermal energy can be transferred), are the air in the engine compartment, and into/through the hood, car body, and other components in and around the engine compartment which are at a lower temperature then the engine compartment air temp. Whenever the rate of heat transfer from the heat sources exceeds the rate of heat dissipation, the under-hood temp will rise.

There are two ways to reduce the under-hood temps:
1. Decrease the rate of heat transfer from the heat sources ( this is what the turbo wrap does).
2. Increase the rate of thermal dissipation by adding ventilation ( opening the hood scoop, and possibly the fake side vents) or some other active heat transfer system to remove the heat. This is why some cars have ventilation openings in the hood.

I hope this helps with the discussion. Sorry if I put it too bluntly.

Marty

 

Hey that looks great. Hopefuly when you add further insulation it will help reduce or reflect the heat. I thought M7 was coming out with something like this but I haven't seen anything from them.

 

So is this a warranty fix? Id like a new one too. I opened up my scoop, but after the melt had already occured You would think something like BMW would have forseen this issue, I vote they just give us a CF scoop Hell we are all loyal to the MINI brand anyways. why not reward a consumer for putting up with some major BS. I have owned many cars, but none ever melted.

 

I realize there is heat under the hood and that is not what I was trying to eliminate. what i was trying to do was reduce the direct heat from the top of the turbo going directly to the top of the hood the seems to be the problem. even rapping the turbo I dont think will reduce the temp under the hood that much at least with a cover it still lets some air get thru to the turbo. i am sure there is more than one opinion on this.

 

I don't think that we should have to pay to wrap the turbo.. that's the main reason I haven't done it yet.
It's a design flaw of MINI.. so they should fix it.
...that and I'm broke and if I'm going to mod Ollie mysef it's going to be something else...

 

That is why i am trying a heat shield it does not cost me anything but a little time and if it works it adds a little looks to the engine bay on top of that.

 

The only fix will be a turbo wrap

I would not recomend a heat wrap, youll end up cooking the turbo. It generates a lot of heat.
You'll want to add a good quality heat shield around the scoop to keep the heat off of it. Also making the scoop a functioning one will help get the heat out when the vehicle is parked.

 

My scoop melted this month too. 9000 miles on a 2007 MCS built 9/2007. I recorded as high as 200 degrees 10 minutes after being parked. It's amazing how concnetrated an area that hot spot is where the scoop melted.
Going to the dealer tomorrow to discuss, hope it's not a hassle to get them to fix, or should I say replace it.

 

It would have been more beneficial if MINI had just made the darn scoop out of aluminum instead of plastic. No more issue (except everything else in the engine compartment is still getting cooked).

My SA saw a slight dip in my scoop and he is having a new one painted up for me and installed. I'll probably have this done with every oil change since I'm sure the new scoop will melt as well.

I also like the idea of a heat shield above the turbo. It should reflect some of the heat and help clean up the engine bay looks (IMO).

 

MINI of Monrovia SA was quick to offer a replacement, a week turnaround to order and paint. He said he hadn't heard of the issue and then asked if I wanted a chrome replacement instead of plastic. In and out of there in 10 minutes.

 

Tell them you'd like a carbon fiber replacement instead of plastic .

 

Hmmm. An SA saying he hadn't heard of the problem. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, SA 101. (Sorry if any readers are SAs, but it's true, darn it!)

Is that replacement really chrome, or just a colored plastic like the gas cap lid?

Today I was conversing with my friend with the "open" scoop in his '08. Until I pointed it out, he hadn't noticed that this scoop was "dimpling," which may or may not advance to a true melt-down. It does show that MINI still hasn't figured it out. I think we're just going to remove the grate completely.

Now, how to do it...

 

Do you know if the carbon fiber can be painted to match car color? ......Just checked on the net carbon fiber can be painted. Maybe you could ask MINI to replace the scoop with a carbon fiber scoop and get it painetd if the color is an issue.

 

the carbon look is much nicer then stock painted! keep the fiber, people pay extra just for the look alone

 

Mine hasn't shown any signs of melting yet, though when parked in a hot garage the temperature reached 202 degrees after 15+ minutes. I just replaced it with a JCW carbon fiber scoop, which should stand up to the heat. It does seem to conduct better than the polyurethane scoop, as it topped 200 degrees after only 10 minutes with a cooler ambient temperature in the garage. Still, I think it would have to top 400 degrees for the resin to begin to melt.

I have read that heat will cause carbon fiber to fade noticably; I guess I'll have to wait and see.

 

I have seen many carbon fober parts fade real bad out here in the AZ sun, but, they dont warp.

 

Took my mini to MINI of The Woodlands, went home, and 30 min later i get a call from the SA(Denise) to tell my that a new scoop is on its way. I then asked her "if" (more like "when") the scoop melts again, will they replace it? She said yes because are still trying to discover what is causing the problem. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Sounds like it time for a recall MINI!!!
I'm thinking carbon fiber for everyone