I made an impulse purchase of a roll of Dynamat Hoodliner (http://www.dynamat.com/products_car_...hoodliner.html). USD 130 per roll.
Its basically a heatshield that prevents the top of your hood from getting hot and therefore protects paint finishes (that was my motive for buying it). Dynamat Hoodliner is very effective as a hood heat shield, there is no doubt about that.

But I've heard two strong opposing views about its usage especially on a 350Z.

View 1 (Trusted Mechanic) - "The 350Z hood get's extremely hot.....more than normal cars. The hood acts as a heat dissipator and therefore prevents heat from being "locked in" the engine bay. When you're driving you can actually see the heat rise up from the hood. Putting the hoodliner will lock up heat in the engine bay and degrade rubber hoses and seals faster."

View 2 (Cocky Dynamat Salesman) - "**** it. Stop being a queer and just put it on. Heat can dissipate from the bottom of the engine bay. And you do really look queer."

Appreciate comments/guidance. Thanks.

 

Do not buy this. Enough said, save your money for something that might actually help you and not hurt your cars ability to reduce under hood temps. You want a cooler engine bay buy some heat wrap and wrap your headers and cats.

 

an oil cooler is also a common mod to help with heat issues

 

I love your threads...

 

You mention being queer ever so much.

 

People wont be able to hear your engine if you dynamat it... That would be queer.

Same goes for Dynamating your exhaust... Stealth 350z??

 

Seems like a total waste of money. I've seen cars where the paint fades because of exposure to sunlight but never because of under engine heat.

 

So it appears the general consensus is against using a hood-liner for 350Z. It also appears that I might be the first here to use it....?

I don't mind that the engine growl might get softer .....I care more about the heat shielding protection. I mean that 350Z hood gets really really really hot.....fry-an-egg type of hot. For sure this constant extreme heating-cooling will have an effect on the paint finish. All new BMW's and other premium continentals have hood-liners. There must be a reason why 350Z's don't come with one.....that's what I'm trying to figure out. The "hood heat dissipation vs. heat lock-up" is the only convincing argument.

 

Worrying about your hood's temperature is queer.

 

you realize that many painted finishes are baked on right?

the heat from the engine will not hurt the paint, you should worry more about the sun, and bird poop....well and those Rouge Monkey's ya'll have.

You also might want to talk to a Psychologist about these "queer feelings".

 

+1

 

Don't trust everything you are told my friend.

 

Great points above^, really who has had their paint boil off their hood? 15 years old rust buckets don't count of course lol. Of course the Z's hood won't rust since it is aluminum which gets to my next point, we all know that aluminum as a great heat sink. It sucks up heat energy from the engine bay and dissipates it to the air passing over it at far better then steel. An overly hot engine bay causes your engine to run less efficient, dries out grease faster, degrades plastic/rubber fittings faster, breaks down oils faster and also increases the potiential for boiling clutch/brake fluid. Then the weight factor comes into play, by adding the dynamat your hood will probably weight just as much, or more than a steel hood.

Cole's notes: Don't do it.

Extra hood insulation should only really be used with hybrid cars in an attempt to keep the engine from cooling down below operating temperatures between operation (while the other power source propels the vehicle).

 

I sent Dynamat Technical an email and and referred them to this thread. See their response below.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you for your interest in Dynamat. The Hoodliner will significantly reduce the temperature you experience on the hood. We read through the posting (Very entertaining) and have some additional comments.

□ The Hoodliner will significantly reduce the temperature of the hood. Long term, this will reduce the amount of paint fade experienced.

□ It is true that paint is “Baked On” however; this is a production process that speeds paint curing and improves the consistency and quality of the paint. Long term exposure to significant heat can fade paint.

□ Nissan did not include a “Hoodliner” for one of two reasons: save money or reduce weight. Noise reduction is not as important on a sports car as a luxury sedan like the Maxima.

□ Installing our product will increase the under hood temperature. However we are only talking a couple of degrees. Ambient weather conditions and driving style will have a greater effect.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Best regards,
Technical Department
Dynamic Control of North America, Inc.
http://www.dynamat.com
513-860-5094 Phone
513-860-5095 Facsimile
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

a couple degrees? no i think it'll be a lil more than that, even TT zs displacing more heat have had no issues with hood paint, try to sell it to someone on ebay, maybe you will feel less robbed of your money.

 

+1


dynamat sounds like a complete waste of money

 

Nissan worked hard trying to save 50 pounds on the 370Z, and you want to add 50.

 

seriously? I suppose its only a waste if you consider it one.

No, scratch that. That's a waste of money!

 

I dont think it will hurt you to bad if your N/A but this mod would be death to F/I. You might also want to add a CF air duct to the front to push air to the E-bay. Another thing to think about is doing this to an aftermarket non CF vented hood. THe vents will take care of heat in the E-bay and the liner will keep the paint from turing to a hot plate. Me personally I am F/I and would be to worried about heat.

 

queer.