[sakthishanmugam]

I don't think we need to open the hood for old or new generation of engines. My Brother-in-law used to advice me not to stop the engine as soon the vehicle is parked and to keep the engine on for couple of minutes as it will help in cooling the engine and result in good engine life. I don't follow this procedure.

But I do feel when the vehicle stops the engine tends to cool down as I observe the fan running for few seconds. Is it good to stop the engine after the fan stops working?

[blackwasp]

Had a drive to Nashik today morning - entire Kasara ghat was jammed and had to traverse it in first gear in my Punto. Time was around noon. Just after the ghat, the temp gauge needle was still on the higher side so pulled the car to side and kept bonnet open for 10-15 mins. That seemed to cool down things. While this is the first time I saw the temp needle go high, depending on circumstances it might speed up the cooling process if the hood is kept open.

I saw many cars with their hoods open in the ghat. While normally modern cars don't require this, but events like the traffic in ghat might make it necessary to open the hood if the temp goes high.

[nkghai]

Originally Posted by sunsetorange

If no one's looking I kiss the steering wheel boss :-)

Love the gesture.

A little off topic, but in our case my steed is treated like one in true sense. After any long drive, which is anything in excess of 200 Km or a full day drive around town, when we reach back home self and my lady instantly pat it three times on the dashboard.

It is a tradition learnt from my horse riding days, when after a good ride before getting down we used to pat the horse on the neck three times and say "Shabash Ghoda".

Well i continue this tradition with all my cars also after a good ride.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sunsetorange

If no one's looking I kiss the steering wheel boss :-)

Me too! My family thinks I've gone crazy.

Originally Posted by VW2010

May be in colder climates. In India, the engine is warmed up in garage with temperatures already over 35 deg

Only question is if we stop for a break and are idling the car with family sitting inside enjoying the AC, then opening up the hood, will that help as the car is no longer sucking in volumes of cold air to remove heat generated?

Don't sweat, your high rpm electric fan will take care of it.

Originally Posted by YaeJay

Maruthi changed everything.

Maruti indeed changed everything. It made Indians alter their driving style & maintenance habits.

Originally Posted by mustysekhon

On long drives when I have to stop for an unavoidable meal or coffee break for more than 5 minutes, I drop the family close to the entry door and drive to a shady spot. It's my irrational belief that all parts (rubber, beatings etc) deserve a cool down.

Shade is awesome! Also protects your car's paint, plastics etc.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Forget a highway drive, I pop the hood almost every day when I get back from work. I know it is not required but I still do it. The thought of all that heat trapped in there for several hours is the reason I leave the hood open.

Seriously overkill, buddy. You are wasting your time by doing this.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Had a drive to Nashik today morning - entire Kasara ghat was jammed and had to traverse it in first gear in my Punto. Time was around noon. Just after the ghat, the temp gauge needle was still on the higher side so pulled the car to side and kept bonnet open for 10-15 mins. That seemed to cool down things. While this is the first time I saw the temp needle go high

If it hovered near the red mark, please have your cooling system checked up. Modern cars shouldn't overheat like this.

[scorpian]

Well on numerous occasions on my E-Zen drive of 500 kms, i notice after i shut down and then put on the ignition after mins the fan kicks in which makes me feel there's a lot of heat generated even after i have shut down so i eventually just pop the hood open and if there's wind i can feel the hot gust of air.

Opening the hood definitely helps lower the temperature,i just do it to hasten the cooling process before continuing on next leg of journey. Just peace of mind to know she's cooled of better and faster.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by GTO

If it hovered near the red mark, please have your cooling system checked up. Modern cars shouldn't overheat like this.

Thanks. The temp gauge was at 75% level. Usually it's at 50%. I contacted the Fiat support as well and they said unless the red light beside the temp gauge glows, it's not a cause of concern.

The car is at Nashik, I'll ask my dad to take it to the fiat service for a check up.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Well on numerous occasions on my E-Zen drive of 500 kms, i notice after i shut down and then put on the ignition after mins the fan kicks in which makes me feel there's a lot of heat generated even after i have shut down

This is why after every drive before shutting down the engine I will :

1) Listen for the fan motor. If it is running I will wait for it to go off and then shut down.

2) If the fan motor is not audible, I will idle the engine for a minute or so to see if it switches on, and then shut the engine down.

After shutting down also I will once again move the key to ignition on position and check if the fan motor comes on. It should not.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by GTO

much like the habit of starting the hazard lights in tunnels)

Daily on the Mumbai - Pune expressway I see this and am seriously surprised. It's enough to put on the lights such that folks behind and in front can see the car. In fact, I think it's better to switch on the headlights in first position in any case on highways and I religiously follow that habit. One of my foreign clients was with me in the car and freaked out in the tunnel because he thought so many cars were stationary and we would smash into one of them!

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I saw many cars with their hoods open in the ghat.

As GTO mentioned in his earlier post, it's about that one person doing it and everyone else following which is what probably happened after the ghats! I have done the Nashik drive innumerable times before the 4-laning (including 3 years in an Indica) and never had this issue.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by Gansan

This is why after every drive before shutting down the engine I will :

1) Listen for the fan motor. If it is running I will wait for it to go off and then shut down.

2) If the fan motor is not audible, I will idle the engine for a minute or so to see if it switches on, and then shut the engine down.

After shutting down also I will once again move the key to ignition on position and check if the fan motor comes on. It should not.

I too follow the same rule. Switch off AC, Lights, Music System and wait. If the fan is on, i wait till it switches off and only then kill the engine. More so now since mine is a turbo, i make it a point to let it idle after i stop.

[jensjoseph]

I did this on my first road trip from Bangalore to Mysore. Just before reaching Mysore, I stopped and opened the hood for about 5 minutes, even though the temperature gauge was at the expected levels.

Now that I look back, I realize how stupid it was. Imagine if someone stopped by to help and I responded by declining his offer stating I’m cooling the engine down.

I have travelled close to 600 kms at a stretch since then and dont bother opening the hood at all.

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by sibitg

Do we need to keep the hood open after a 500KM drive? Does this help the engine to cool off after a long drive? Or is this not required for modern engines?

Modern machines have internal cooling mechanism which keeps them maintained at optimum temperatures no matter how long you drive them. As such they do not require to be turned off for cooling, unless the driver or passengers needs a break. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge and unless it crosses the prescribed limit there is no need to stop midway. Remember, the temperature gauge shall not cross the limits under normal circumstances unless a fault is developed in the cooling system such as faulty fan, leaking radiator etc.

Given the road conditions of our country, the time to cover 500 Kms should take not less than 7 hours. This time is sufficient enough to induce fatigue and concentration lapses. Therefore taking breaks at regular intervals of say every 200 Kms shall relieve the driver from fatigue and help him rejuvenate for further journey.

As some great person has said, I love the journey than the destination, we all have various reasons to take up long journeys in our cars and the best way to do that is by enjoying each km of the distance travelled and having fun all along. By the way, what is the need to test the limits of our vehicle by placing ourselves into stress?

[vnabhi]

Not required to open the hood for faster cooling in cars that came up in the 80s, starting from the Maruti 800. I've driven for 500 to 720 kms without having to do that on my cars like the M800, WagonR, Fiesta 1.6 and Figo 1.4.

However, I make it a point to pop up the hood of my cars every Sunday to clean the engine bay of dust that accumulates. A week's use is enough to cover the bay with a fine layer of dust. But I am too lazy to move the cars to the vicinity of a plug point in order to blow air from a vacuum cleaner onto the radiator.

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Opening the hood definitely helps lower the temperature,i just do it to hasten the cooling process before continuing on next leg of journey. Just peace of mind to know she's cooled of better and faster.

Sir, why do you want to cool down the engine, at the first place unless it crosses the limit on the temp guage? Your car is designed to run at an optimal temperature so even if you cool it down for a while, it attains this temperature once again within seconds of restarting.

The onboard computer on your car is already aware of the engine temperatures and maintains it by its own way. Your car is designed to run as such, without your additional efforts each time by opening the bonnet.

[VeyronSuperSprt]

The opposite is true - when starting off from a hill station and going down hill the engine does not generate enough heat and this results in oil not reaching normal operating temperature for a long period with its resultant drawbacks.

Some cars used to have grille covers / radiator slats that could be closed to prevent air from getting into the engine when you are driving downhill. As a DIY, folks would use a piece of cardboard to block the airflow into the radiator thereby allowing the engine to reach normal operating temperature quicker.

I remember Dad would stop our Amby on very long ghat sections (4-5 hour journeys) that we frequently travelled on to change the radiator water about half way through. This would result in better cooling and better acceleration for the rest of the journey.

@sunsetorange - me too - that's the secret to increase engine power by 10 Bhp without touching the engine.

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

[b]Dad would stop our Amby on very long that we frequently travelled on to change the radiator water. This would result in better cooling and better acceleration for the rest of the journey..

I have had first hand experience in watching this same technique followed in Matador fitted ambassadors which are cooled with Regular water.

After several hours of drive in mid day in ghats, the driver who is pretty aware of the spots to get water, will stop by, without turning off the engine, will pop the hood and grab the required qty of water required from the known pit stop and first pour it carefully over the entire length of the radiator to kind of give the super heated radiator a respite and after a couple of minutes of breather would slowly open the radiator cap ensuring the steam does not cause it fly upwards, once opened. he will pull the throttle cable directly and cause the engine to revv and simultaneously fill up the radiator with fresh cool water, the more he revvs the more the radiator will gulp up without water over flowing. This was carried out till the radiator was full and was cooled completely and stopped steaming.

Upon questioning he says this is the best way to cool a over heated engine and is being followed for decades, of course after the 10 minute instant cooling ordeal, the engine did feel better while accelerating (gut feeling), the radiator steamed less.

Can only imagine all that nowadays.