Some people will probably give you crap about cutting out the scoop in the first place, cutting the reinforcements in your hood...yadda yadda yadda, but I say way to go! I also removed the scoop piece and left front grille portion of the scoop in. I like what you did with your truck, and think it looks good! In my eyes, I am not going to have a fake hood scoop, I want it to be functional. Good job!

 

Some people will probably give you crap about cutting out the scoop in the first place, cutting the reinforcements in your hood...yadda yadda yadda, but I say way to go! I also removed the scoop piece and left front grille portion of the scoop in. I like what you did with your truck, and think it looks good! In my eyes, I am not going to have a fake hood scoop, I want it to be functional. Good job!

I am not going to criticize cutting out the hood scoop so it at least makes it look functional. The hood scoop was one of the reasons I went with the offroad and not the sport. I did not like looking over something I knew was purely decoration.

However, I question that opening it up is actually making it functional. How is it now truly functional?

 

What function is provided by doing this?It's not tied into the air intake and what happens when you drive in a downpour,aside from your engine department being a mess?I would be concerned of accelerated damage of exposure to parts under the hood.

 

One reason I bought the Sport was because of the hood scoop.
I love the look of it from the outside and even more from the inside but I agree with Buzz5.
Water will eventually do damage.

 

Seeing this first hand it looks awesome. I told him he was crazy when I lent him the dremmel tool. It turned out great. I want to do it to mine, I just don't have the balls to cut on a truck that has less than 2000k.

 

Provides engine cooling?

 

Maybe,but I doubt he needs it in Wa. Like someone said,to each his own,but imo I think this mod,although might look and seem like a cool idea,is just problems waiting to happen,or Toyota would have made it this way from the factory.The water getting in from underneath while driving in rain is totaly different from being force fed through the top,but time will tell,keep us posted on any electrical problems.

 

water really isn't gonna hurt anything.....

think of all the water that gets up in the engine area from the bottom and front when driving in the rain

heck, i hose my engine out every now and then to clean off some of the dirt

 

JMO but......To each his own. It's not gonna make a difference either way. Like stated above. When it's raining water is splashed up under the hood not causing an problems. It just may collect more debris than a non opened hood. BAD ASS truck BTW!

 

I wish all Tacoma's came with a factory true scooped hood.

 

I don't believe any good will come from an open air scoop but I do believe there's a great possibility of bad things.
Plenty of electronics under that hood.
Warranty as mentioned is another issue.
Keep us posted.

 

It's just to keep the engine cooler. And if you have a short ram intake, the intake will be drawing in cooler air.

 

just measure the middle part of the scoop, draw it on whatever you want, cardboard, fiberglass, etc...cut it out. Attached it to a hanger or whatever you want, drill a small hole into the firewall. :clap:Make a clip to clip the hanger or whatever it is. Push to open, pull to close. Put a weather strip around the flap for the best protection if you want to. Paint it to the color of the hood.

 

Sounds great but even if it's simple hook and unhook right at the flap under the hood.
Weather nice,pop the hood and open the flap.:naughty:

 

Alot of work for no good reason other than being a novelty mod.In the long term there will be counter issues not worth it.But if you do it,post it;so we can all see.

 

Just an FYI for all those thinking that this mod will cause undue problems under the hood....mine has been open since last april...I have never had a problem with anything under my hood. My engine gets no dirtier than any other truck I have had with no hood scoop (My ford engine actually got dirtier during the winter) Any water that gets into the scoop drops onto the plastic engine cover (most likely running down the engine cover to the front onto the fan).

While I can't say whether or not any air gets in through the scoop, I can say that my engine gets no dirtier during the winter than it does in the summer (being in the northeast), and my engine barely gets dirty enough during the summer to warrant being washed more than a couple times a year.

Anyway, just my opinion, no harm done in doing this mod, IMHO.

 

^^^ Well there you go;have at it;I,myself will pass on this one.

 

It sure does look nice though.

 

Like I said before, I told him he was nuts for doing it. It turned out great, with no issues, yet. Comparing my engine bay to his, the difference is negligable. It looks sharp though. All I have to say is that all mods with any vehicle start this way. Someone has an idea, plans it out (kind of), and does it. It starts with somebody having the balls to try something and see how it goes. I give him props for doing it and sharing.

 

Wow I got a lot of replies on this mod, clearly people have a difference of opinion….

First off if any of you plan on going four wheeling in the mud or water, you better hope you don’t get your engine wet according you some of the guys on here. It might mess things up!:lol: Yes when I drive some water does go in throught the hood scoop and on the engine cover and whatnot, but not enough to hurt it. When parked, rain might get in a little, but I haven’t noticed anything. I did this mod in August, this picture was taking today and I haven’t cleaned the engine since I finished this mod. Yes I live in WA, and yes it rains a lot here.

Second, the flapper idea is good for those that might be worried about debris, but as stated above I haven’t had any problems with that. I would consider a flapper if I did A LOT of off-roading, but I don’t. In addition, I did this mod because I didn’t like the look of the stock hood scoop plug and grill. When I removed them I noticed that there was a section of the skeleton visible, so I cut it out. Therefore, I would NOT want to put anything in it’s place, defeating the purpose of the mod to begin with. I had actually removed the plug from the hood scoop almost 2 years ago and replaced just the grill. In that time I haven’t had any problems with water. As you can see the grill doesn’t prevent water from coming in.

Thirdly, I have almost 40,000 miles on me truck and the manufactures warranty is no longer an issue.

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Jake

 

looks cool man.

 

are you able to mate a subaru intake with the hood scoop?

 

I dont know, I dont have a Subaru.

Jake

 

Wow, you never cleaned your engine since August! Holy cow, my truck is only over a month old and its so much dirtier then that.

 

Do you do any off-roading? I haven’t recently, I really want to I just need to find a place where I wont scratch up my truck.
My engine could also be cleaner because of the fact that the air is pushed out through the hood scoop causing the engine to be cleaner.:thumbsup:

Jake

 

First off most of the air goes into my engine compartment from the grill, it then pushes the air out through the hood scoop. This will bring in air into my cold air intake and cool down the engine a little. It will keep out rain water and debris from coming into the engine compartment while driving and it also helps with the aerodynamics of the truck itself.

This makes no sense.If you are driving,air is being forced into the open scoop not out,any air entering through the grill will be pushed partially into the radiator and tranny cooler and pass under the truck.True it may help the intake if it is open and not boxed and somewhat cool the engine a little,but help aerodynamics,:lol: come on!Especially if like you claim air is pushed out the scoop,which I doubt,creating drag,or even air going in,on a truck lifted as yours is, aerodynamics are at a minimum at best!I am not saying this mod is not cool;if you are happy with it that's cool,I'm just not convinced it has any function other than looks.Also the reason your engine is not filthy is that it gets rinsed off everytime you drive in the rain.You will not convince me no water goes in that open scoop while driving in rain.

 

First off most of the air goes into my engine compartment from the grill, it then pushes the air out through the hood scoop. This will bring in air into my cold air intake and cool down the engine a little. It will keep out rain water and debris from coming into the engine compartment while driving and it also helps with the aerodynamics of the truck itself.

This makes no sense.If you are driving,air is being forced into the open scoop not out,any air entering through the grill will be pushed partially into the radiator and tranny cooler and pass under the truck.True it may help the intake if it is open and not boxed and somewhat cool the engine a little,but help aerodynamics,:lol: come on!Especially if like you claim air is pushed out the scoop,which I doubt,creating drag,or even air going in,on a truck lifted as yours is, aerodynamics are at a minimum at best!I am not saying this mod is not cool;if you are happy with it that's cool,I'm just not convinced it has any function other than looks.Also the reason your engine is not filthy is that it gets rinsed off everytime you drive in the rain.You will not convince me no water goes in that open scoop while driving in rain.

Thank you for pointing this out....as I was going to comment on it.
What he describes would be valid if he had a cowl induction hood, but not with a scoop facing forward.

 

I doubt significant water gets in through the scoop...Its not much different than the bed of your truck not getting really wet when its raining.

Now when your stopped its a different story, but the water would most likely roll off to the side due to the design. The water that would get in wouldnt be much of an effect.

It could also possibly be "more aerodynamic" as well...If the stock scoop is closed off its a perpendicular "wall" to the flow path. The opened scoop would push air down and then come back out through the cowling at the windshield.

I of course do not believe there is a functional reason to do this mod, but I dont think it hurts!

 

I really don not see what the big deal is? Who cares, functioning, or not. It still won't hurt it that much, except fording water over the hood..

Te engine will not cease to work, from a sprinkle of water that it most likely going to get. You guys act like its going to be dumping gallons of water into the scoop while driving in the rain......maybe it doesn't rain much where he is from? Even if it does. I am also sure Toyota planed customers would cross a stream or to just as well. So cutting the hood to make the scoop "functional" would be no different.

Good job on the Mod! now lets give the guy the credit he deserves, not ridicule.

 

I really don not see what the big deal is? Who cares, functioning, or not. It still won't hurt it that much, except fording water over the hood..

Te engine will not cease to work, from a sprinkle of water that it most likely going to get. You guys act like its going to be dumping gallons of water into the scoop while driving in the rain......maybe it doesn't rain much where he is from? Even if it does. I am also sure Toyota planed customers would cross a stream or to just as well. So cutting the hood to make the scoop "functional" would be no different.

Good job on the Mod! now lets give the guy the credit he deserves, not ridicule.

No big deal,just discussing the mod,this is a forum is it not?Where he is from is part of the reason for my discussion,Wa. is known for alot of rain;I've been there 4 times and it rained all 4 times the whole time,but I had a great time there.I don't recall anyone saying gallons of water would get in,just that some would and problems might result from it.No one has ridiculed either,just discussed the functionality of the mod,which is what I thought was the purpose of a FORUM.My appologies to the OP if my comments offend you,like I said b4,if your happy it's cool!
:chug:

 

i like the mod, but i'm still waiting for someone to take it further, and the air comes direct to the air flow inlet from the scoop on top.

most mods, are just like baseball cards in your bicycle spokes... they just make you feel better doing it...

add to that, it actually might improve something performance wise. win, win...

on the topic of air flow, high and low pressure areas. low pressure beneath the truck (at speed, more air flowing over the top causing lower air pressure beneath) the vacume is really pulling air through, from the radiator area and the engine bay, exiting through the back/bottom. it's just as possible that the open scoop is diverting air from the radiator inlet... causing it to over heat?

as far as cold air goes... colder air is always better. our stock systems are as cool as any... but, a bit more restrictive than most. i've done the math a 10* temperture change is only worth about a 1% hp change....

 

I apologize as well, no offense was taken. Just a Rant, my $.02:thumbsup: cheers.

 

It’s all good guys, no offence taken! I figured people would have a lot to say about this mod, that is why I posted it and not kept it to myself.

Now I just like to point out it's starting to get stormy and it's raining hard over here in Vancouver, WA. I’m not having a problem under my hood yet, and it still looks dry and clean. (Wait maybe a little wet, I did just opened the hood, I better closes it real quick huh!) Now if I drive under water or drive to an area where there is a flash flood I will let you all know if I have any problems. :thumbsup:

Jake