Louvered Bonnets

[omar]

I have an XJS and a Daimler Doublesix with V12 engines both of which live in a very hot country. I need to get the trapped hot air out from under the bonnet or risk overheating. Has anyone tried louvering the bonnets on these cars? These cars are no good at ambient temperatures of 50 Deg C in traffic jams. I have a spare XJS bonnet which I am willing to experiment with. I have toyed with the idea of drilling several thousand 1mm holes all over the bonnet but I am worried that it may look naff. Any ideas?
thanks
Omar

[Petro]

Lister XJS had louvres fixed into bonnet, also XKR has a louvre either side of bonnet. Try local Jag dealer for these louvres, but get a specialist body repair company to fit

Peter

[Hosier77]

Hi there,
Lots of little holes are not as good as one big hole, the reason is that on the edge of the hole the air is hardly moving.
If you are going to fit some louvred holes in the bonnet make sure they wont let engine bay fumes into the cabin air intake!
I am currently trying to sort out some ventilation for my racer, using a spare bonnet.
Holes above the exhaust manifolds, at the back near the bulkhead seem to work, from the various discussions i have had with other racers. I am also considdering a couple at the front specifically to let hot air out of the back of the radiator.
By the way, the XJ-S bonnet is double skinned, which makes things more complicated (as is the Jaguar way!).
Louvres really dont seem to suit the car though, i would be interested to see a smart looking conversion, if such a thing exists.
Hope you find sucess.
Ralph

[omar]

Ralp and Peter,

thanks both for your words of wisdom. as a matter of note, no one in Dubai lets fresh air into the cabin as this elevates the cabin temperature to unacceptable levels. these cars have great aircon in temperatures below 40deg C but above that, they seem to go down hill exponentially.

one thing I did consider, is to use the fresh air intake as an engine hot air exhaust. this would make it look original, serve the purpose and not interfere with the operation of the aircon for use in Dubai.

thanks
again for your help.


Omar