In racing cars, all aerodynamic body kits are of great practical importance. They are not a tribute to fashion or the desire to enhance the aesthetic effect, but serve certain purposes. For example, an installed air intake on the hood during a rally directs a stream of cold air to an engine operating in heavy duty, which provides additional cooling.
It is not permissible to open windows during car races because the car body must have good aerodynamic characteristics. At the same time, the engine compartment is just as serviceable as incandescent heaters, it distributes heat, heating the interior. In order for the pilot not to overheat, they installed an air intake on the hood so that it began to form air flows and distribute it in the necessary directions, creating a ventilated space.
Do-it-yourself overlay or store-bought patch
Since every car driver in his heart always remains a racer, many began to make a decorative air intake on the hood with their own hands to give the car a sporty style and stand out from the crowd. To do this, some simply applied
mounting foam to the sheet of film
. A decorative element was formed from it.
Very carefully so that the foam does not touch the paintwork, it is applied to the spread film. When it hardened, they took a knife and created from this mass an element similar to the air intake mounted on a racing car. It was attached to the hood after gluing the mold with fiberglass, dried, cut out the slots, covered them with a net and painted in a suitable color. Rivets or sealant were used as fixing material.
Today, if you do not want to bother with foam and paints, you can buy a ready-made overlay depicting an air intake. It will be installed reliably on the hood, so the first wind stream will not disrupt it.
Air intake for better engine cooling and interior ventilation
There is another category of motorists who have little interest in decorative qualities, but are focused on practicality. These include those who live in the southern latitudes or make long non-stop transfers and therefore are interested in enhancing the cooling capabilities of the engine and in the ventilation of the passenger compartment. Many of them are handymen, they can easily find schemes, study the principle of operation of such a system and make an excellent air intake on the hood.
Others will order it in a specialized auto repair shop, where professionals will make a complete calculation of the system, according to which the air flows will be directed with a certain force exactly to the place of the engine compartment, where the temperature at high engine loads can be much higher. Also, experts will distribute flows in the right directions and ensure maximum design efficiency. If necessary, they will install not one, but two air intakes, connect ventilation systems made by engineering calculations to them.