NB: Whats with the holes guys ?

Aussie Stig · Postby **Aussie Stig** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:35 am

Seems counterintuitive as it allows air to bypass the radiator.
There must be a valid engineering reason, but feel free to speculate.

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 1:38 am

Hmm, I thought that when the bonnet is closed, it presses against the holes and blocks them, so the air can't escape?
Unless someone drives around with the hood up lol
But yeah I would like to know the proper reason aswell.

emexv · Postby **emexv** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:27 am

Probably just to let the water out that gets in there when it rains or you wash your car.

As far as temps go your right. I've never seen an issue with a properly operating cooling system on the road but I have seen proof on the track that taping up these holes along with the gap between the radiator and the support panel improves cooling efficiency markedly,

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:27 pm

It is an aluminium pressed metal component and it is quite common to blank out pieces to improve dimensional requirements or to avoid distortion etc. My guess is that it has nothing to do with air flow but with manufacturing requirements.

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 6:39 pm

Don't know bout the NB, but for NA it's used to check the air con gas canister. If no AC canister, then perhaps its because Mazda made a million of them already and can't be stuffed changing the design.