Snowy Exige

dezzy · Post by **dezzy** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:30 am

I'm glad I wrapped a couple of bin bags round my engine cover last night . . . don't know if snow lying on the engine is a good thing!

D

mac · Post by **mac** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:40 am

it's not as bad as forgeting to take them back out again when you start the car

r055 · Post by **r055** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:49 am

mac wrote:it's not as bad as forgeting to take them back out again when you start the car

....you smell something burning?

dezzy · Post by **dezzy** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:47 am

They're on the boot lid / engine cover - I didn't mean the engine itself! I'd probably not notice if I forgot to take them away though . . . black bags over the wire mesh on the lid won't make much difference to the rear visibility!

meatball · Post by **meatball** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:41 pm

I didn't bother doing that....we'll find out later if it makes a difference!!

GregR · Post by **GregR** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:09 pm

I often wondered about that

More important is to ensure there's no snow blocking the airflow your radiator. i reckon us oldies will have more bother with water - in the distributor and the like.

alicrozier · Post by **alicrozier** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:38 pm

I remember shovelling a foot of snow off the top of the engine cover one year, fired it up and guess what? The remaining snow melted.

Likewise I cleared snow off the rad but more so it wouldn't blow onto the windscreen and/or melt and steam up.

I think snow on the rad would probably melt before causing a cooling issue. Is melting snow as efficient at cooling as airflow from the fan...

...one for Robin (or our resident 7 driving cryogenics engineer!)

Post by **Shug** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:42 pm

I'd think it would be an issue on the rad, as the surface would melt and the rest would insulate, creating a boundary layer of warm air (think igloo) actually warming the rad....

/awaits shot down by Robin

dezzy · Post by **dezzy** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:52 pm

Yeah, I've always been warned about the radiator thing. I've just cleared the snow off the grille above the radiator but not driving the car today anyway, so will just hope it's thawed before I need to drive tomorrow. If not, then it'll be the train!

I'm glad I didn't buy the car for it's practicality . . .

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:55 pm

Its usually fine, the mesh is close enough to prevent the snow from falling through, provided you clear it off before it all melts the engine bay stays near enough bone dry.

Cleared the snow off the engine bay roof and radiator before it started to melt.

jj · Post by jj » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:59 pm

Dezzy, you worry far too much!

alicrozier · Post by **alicrozier** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:07 pm

Shug wrote:I'd think it would be an issue on the rad, as the surface would melt and the rest would insulate, creating a boundary layer of warm air (think igloo) actually warming the rad....

/awaits shot down by Robin

I think we need an experiment.

/Mythbusters mode

...needless to say I don't have any snow here...or indeed an Elise...

Edin430 · Post by **Edin430** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:47 pm

could you not just pore a bucket of "slightly" warmer than cold water over the rad before starting it?

would melt any snow almost immediately.

ExigeKen · Post by **ExigeKen** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:17 pm

Dezzy just use your portable hair drier to melt it all

meatball · Post by **meatball** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:32 pm

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