Do you know what the plastic cover of your car’s engine is for? Yes, you can remove it without problems, but it has an aesthetic function and some other mechanics…
The plastic engine covers They have been present in our vehicles for a few decades. A fashion that began to spread in the 90’s and that does not leave any block free today. But why are the engines covered with these plastic covers?
We are going to review all the reasons, because of course there is one more than the market ‘esthetic‘ of not seeing all the injector ducts, rocker cover and even the coils and much of the wiring.
What are plastic engine covers for?
Officially, for hide everything below. Yes, many motor lovers like to see the injection rails, intake manifolds, coils, wiring and even the famous trumpets of many racing cars.
However, it is not entirely aesthetic in cars that aim to maintain a generally clean line throughout their design. To do this, this cover is placed, usually with the logo or emblem of the brand and even the inscription of the type of engine or the technologies it uses.
In addition, many manufacturers do it to avoid comparisons with other brands… Anyway, we all know that the engine of a Skoda Octavia RS is the same as that of a Volkswagen Golf GTI, but that is why the aforementioned cover with the logo is put on of the Czech brand.
But apart from all these aesthetic aspects, it has a mechanical function. Mainly, prevents the engine from getting dirty too much due to the conditions of the surfaces on which we drive, thus preventing it from being impregnated with dust, dirt, etc.
In addition, it offers a slight acoustic isolation, in that effort to avoid any type of mechanical disturbance to the occupants of the vehicle or the exterior. On occasion, you could even come across plastic caps covered in their lower part by a Heat-resistant tape or adhesive what is the use of thermal isolation the hood and the engine or intake area.
However, there are not a few fans of the motor world completely against this element, sometimes even removing it (it is usually joined by some screws or staples to the engine block).
In fact, even today, some manufacturers advocate leaving everything bare. It is the case of the Toyota GT86 or the Subaru BRZ (the same is) with its great boxer engines. On the opposite side, a notorious case was that of the Mazda RX-8… Yes, we wanted to see the Wankel rotary engine in all its glory next to the anti-torsion bars, not a mess of plastic caps. Thank you Mazda.
In the end, the same thing doesn’t matter. Details of the world with some coherent explanations and others without much sense. To taste, colors.
This article was published in Top Gear by Rodrigo García Vita.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism