I'm new here and just getting used to my 2000 A6 2.7t. I took off the 5-6plastic covers (the ones thatsay biturbo, 5 valve, etc..)thatthat snap on over the engine because I'm hoping itmight help the engine cool down a littlefaster after I shut it off, and I just dont like the way there is so muchplastic. Do these pieces provideprotection from waterto the electronics or shield any exposed electrified parts (One covers the ignition control modules)? It doesnt seem like they do but I dont want to make a stupid mistake. Thanks in advance for any advice

 

You'll find most German cars use such parts to clean up the engine bay and make it look more professional (nothing ruins the image of a luxury automobile than oil and grease residue on a dirty engine block).

For the most part with rare exception they are merely cosmetic, so removing them should not affect anything. I don't recall off hand if any of them directly protect electrical connections, but unless you decided to pressure spray your engine from above it shouldn't be an issue because the belly pan protects water from entering the engine bay from below and thus it would be very difficult to get connections wet to the point of failure (most of those connections use water tight connectors regardless).

I doubt removal will impact the temperature of your engine bay however as the insulation on the hood is still going to serve that same purpose. The plastic pieces really don't have much of an R value to keep heat at bay, and thus the only thing which will result from you removing them is an engine bay that looks rather untidy in my opinion.

 

Hi,
for example for V6 ABC, the plastic cap is used to improve cooling of the igniter coils, like decreasing the reheating of the pipes of the admission caused by the radiation top of the engine.

 

The only thing that will be gained by taking off the plastic covers, is a weight savings of around 0.00003 lbs....[sm=hail.gif]

And making your engine bay look ugly very very ugly.

They put the plastic there for a reason....like when you put a paper bag over the ugly girl's head...you dont want to be looking at the face of an ugly looking chick while your getting busy do u?[sm=WTFsgign.gif][sm=icon_quiet.gif]

 

The cover's are there strickly for cosmetic reasons, removing them will actually disapate heat a little better but it does look ugly. [:'(]