<SNIP> from Holiday Gift Guide thread Originally Posted by Dr Obnxs And I don't know if I'd reccomend the heat sheilds at all. it's the wrong way to do something about turbo heat. It doesn't hold it in to the turbo, it keeps it from rising as fast to the hood. The heat has to go somewhere, and where it goes isn't where it should. Both the one that Mini Mania sells and the M7 piece probably sell well, but are the wrong way to solve the problem The turbo wrap you can get from Way Motor Works is the right way to deal with the issue. Maybe Santa will give them to those that were naughty, not nice! Matt --------- Matt, Was having a similar discussion with a member of our community. (Perhaps Nate might want to move this to the appropriate section) I installed the M7 and my thinking was that it diverted heat away from the hood scoop and hopefully slowed down/stopped my scoop getting all melty again. I did not get the Wrap cause is seems counterintuitive to wrap a heat producing piece of equipment (the turbo). As you said the heat has to go somewhere and it would appear it would head straight up to the hood scoop anyway. Also questions around containing more heat in the turbo itself and ill affects that may cause. Would welcome your thoughts
a heatshield works better on a turbo manifold than fiberglass wrap does. As for a turbo blanket vs. a tight heatshield....I'd agree with the good doctor.
it covers the turbo? I stopped caring about M7 long ago when Peter showed himself to be more concerned with image and profits than customer service and quality.
I would consider the M7 a manifold. The Way wrap is a tight wrap. The turbo can take the heat, the plastic bits can't. Mark
right. Like the thread Orangecrush posted (on Nam not sure bout here)...his valve cover melted because the shield deflected all that heat right to it. a tight fitting wrap is probably the best way to go. ... a heat shield with heat wrap stuck to it isnt going to do nearly as much and Tim, you said it seems counterintuitive to wrap it tightly... Where's the heat go?...well it goes out the exhaust while the turbo is doing its job and building heat.
Thanks Adam, I did read Orange Crush's post and he made it very clear that the heat shield was not the cause of the melted valve cover. Someone tried to go there and OC made it very clear that was not the case. Root cause was shutting engine down and not allowing coolant to continue to remove heat. From my perspective it appears both the M7 heat shield and the wrap do a good job. Bottom line is my hood scoop did not get all melty again and I had it on over the entire summer. I'm still not buying the wrap the turbo and keeping the heat in, but thats me. I really haven't seen anything here yet to dispell other than personal preference which is part of the whole MINI mod thang Sounds like M7 has made some "friends" like I feel about some of the other after market MINI parts companies!
Weird, since the valve-cover isn't cooled by the coolant I don't know if I'd agree with that. I always thought that a heat shield was to prevent heat going somewhere you didn't want it (like the hood scoop or the intake) while the wrap was designed more towards increasing exhaust efficiency by...well the exact physics for it escapes me at the moment... basically exhaust flows from areas of high heat towards cooler areas so wrapping the exhaust from the turbo to the catalytic converter retains heat in that area and improves flow to the cooler area behind the cat. I'm sure someone on here can give the exact scientific terms and some cool equations to match this. You're right to be a bit concerned about trapping too much though, a rapid shut-down of a hot turbo stops the flow of oil and coolant through it and trapping even more heat in there can lead to increased coking, I'd think this can be avoided with some gentle driving before shutdown though.
That was the conclusion that the recipient of the valve cover scorch came to as well. Perhaps in my somewhat challenged mechanical abilites I've missed something. Heres the post MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Didn't see that coming... melted valve cover (Sorry for the NAM cross ref Nate but I thought relevant)
Thanks for the cross link, I don't read too much of the sewing site these days. I only read the first page but I don't think idling down would've prevented his valve-cover from melting. He said he burned through the Kevlar under, I've seen other turbocharged cars with EGTs reaching 1200-1500 degrees but only under severe loading, I'd imagine this was when the Kevlar failed, once that was done the heat from the turbo was directed towards the valve cover and resulted in the melting. It's probably a pretty rare occurrence and most people with heat shields won't experience this. Back when most valve-covers were metal this was never an issue with a heatsheild setup, that and previously turbos would often be mounted lower on transverse applications from the factory. Now we've got a plastic that probably doesn't do well when subjected to jets of air in excess of 1000 degrees.
Tim...relevant cross references are always supported and welcome. I'll jump on that was an extreme example boat too. But I'll also state that for heavy track use on modded R56 that heat shield may not be the best solution.
Has anyone actually documented EGTs on an R56? It occurs to me that although I'm more familiar with traditional multiport fuel injected vehicles with turbos and what their EGTs are that the newer direct injection engines can safely run leaner under a wider range of conditions which could mean the EGTs remain high even when not loaded.
Thanks Nate, brings me back to the OP. Up to now I have heard personal pref for heat management. I get Ken's point the physical property of hot air moving to cool. While the car is operating heat moving away from the engine via the exhaust makes sense. It's when the car comes to a idle/turned off after a hard run is where I wonder about turbo wraps. With no airflow through the exhaust hot air will rise to my thinking. The wrap may slow it down but if it does the turbo stays hotter longer. Is it wise to let that turbo 'cook' longer than need be? Long term effects? Guess thats the nux of my thinking
We need Way to get in on this, but from what I understand, the internals of the turbo can take VERY high heat, it all the plastic bits around it that can't. Mark
Dumb question but with the stock hood scoop, the grill only has about 1/2 of the honeycomb grill holes drilled out. Is taking a Dremel to the ones that remain blocked going to make any difference at all to improving airflow (and reducing heat build up to the hood scoop)?
It would help airflow and I think others have done that, but I don't think it solves the melting problem in the long term unless you never stop moving.
I suggest that MINI, under warranty, start replacing the damaged hood scoops with the higher temp resistant carbon fiber units. It seems they have a fix waiting in the wings. Not sure what to suggest for the damaged hood stripes.