GM's silly engine covers...

[dwightlooi]

GM has picked up the habit of putting dress up covers on their engines which succeed only to:-

(1) Make the build quality look cheap -- even Hyundai has nicer and higher quality (appearing) covers.

(2) Make some otherwise very good looking engines and manifolds look like a Rubbermaid trashcan.

This is the latest rendition... can anyone say that the "covered" engine (below) looks sexier, higher quality or more advanced?

Jeez... enough of these garbage can lids already. They are not worth $0.05. How about spending the money on say a suede leather cover for the owner's manual (or whatever) instead!

[gm4life]

My "cover" on my 3800 isn't that bad of quality. I would like it to have some color I am just leaving as is.

[pow]

It's part of "QuietTuning"... there's sound insulating material underneath them.

[gm4life]

My 3800 Series II Cover on my Bonneville has padding, and the plastic is well finished and isn't to bad. It does have the pad tho. I can do a photo tomorrow if you want... To sleepy tonight to go out and do it.

[balthazar]

>>"GM has picked up the habit of putting dress up covers on their engines..."<<

Here GM merely met the standard made commonplace by numerous foreign brands first.

I agree- I hate every single one ever made- the idea blows; putting yet another square yard of wretched plastic into a car: here to thwart most efforts at self-service or inspection or just plain admiration/curiosity.

>>"...which succeed only to:-

(1) Make the build quality look cheap -- even Hyundai has nicer and higher quality (appearing) covers."<<

Here we friggin' go again!!

Know what's even worse? Even kia has a nicer finish on the underside of their ash tray inserts than GM! C'mon, GM- you're the worst at every single thing you've ever done since 1908 (butI'mstillabigbigfan!!)

Edited May 15, 2007 by balthazar

[CARBIZ]

Okay, boys and girls, your mission is to drive a 4 cylinder Malibu (sans "beauty shroud, no "quiet steel") then drive the LS or LT Cobalt - same engine, but with the "beauty shroud" and "quiet steel" on the firewall.

Big difference. Huge. Same engine, but more money was spent on the Cobalt to make it quieter. It works. It's real. I know I am pissing in against the wind here, but most people (I'd say, oh I don't know - 75%+) never open their hood, except to add washer fluid. They wouldn't know an engine shroud from a tire iron.

[Cory Wolfe]

I dislike them, as well. I like to be able to see the engine. There's a certain beauty to it.

[Oracle of Delphi]

I actually like them. I like seeing the different logos on them.

[deftonesfan867]

Let's all remember something folks, not everyone out there is a car enthusiast. So car engine covers just make the engine install look complete to the consumer. The lil things matter sometimes. Don't like it...remove it.

[AxelTheRed]

I liked the cover on my 3800 and was actually a little disappointed that the engine in my Intrepid didn't have one.

[gm4life]

Seriously either way it is not a big deal. If you have one you don't like take it off.

[ToniCipriani]

At least it's better than the generic covers they put on the 3500s and 3900s.

[Cadillacfan]

No offense, but this thread is pointless. Why are we complaining about an engine cover when it's something that most people in the general public hardly ever see? The only people who should be complaining are the auto mechanics who have to pry these things off the engine block every time they need to change oil, do routine maintenance, etc. I think there are a lot of other things we can complain about.

[Intrepidation]

No offense, but this thread is pointless. Why are we complaining about an engine cover when it's something that most people in the general public hardly ever see? The only people who should be complaining are the auto mechanics who have to pry these things off the engine block every time they need to change oil, do routine maintenance, etc. I think there are a lot of other things we can complain about.

Well then people who like to do-it-themselves have a right to complain then

Also, while this may be small detail...presentation is everything these days. The details are what counts and part of why the foreign competitors has mopped the floor with the US automakers.

[carstar]

Well then people who like to do-it-themselves have a right to complain then

Also, while this may be small detail...presentation is everything these days. The details are what counts and part of why the foreign competitors has mopped the floor with the US automakers.

Yes, the small details count in what the customer see in the exterior and interior. An engine cover is almost pointless.

[Ravenfreak13]

I like em...old engines were nice looking...modern engines...not so much...

[Nick]

Seriously...For the most part with modern engines, they look a lot better with the engine covers on. Go ahead and take off your engine cover sometime. Go snap some pictures of your engine with the cover on and with it off. I can bet it doesn't look nearly as good or clean with the cover off as it does with the cover on. My engine looks much better with the engine cover on. It's not just an intake manifold under there..you have vacuum tubes, fuel rails, electronics and wiring, a whole plethora of things under there...granted, while it is still arranged somewhat neatly, it can still be somewhat of a mess to look at. Doesn't look nearly as good as if you had the engine cover on. Some cars especially get away with it, like the e39 or even e60 M5's whose intake plenums also double for an engine cover. LS engines seem to get away with it alright, but they still have covers, and you still get the rail going across the intake manifold...it's not bad looking though.

[Paolino]

I'd say, oh I don't know - 75%+) never open their hood, except to add washer fluid. They wouldn't know an engine shroud from a tire iron.

Sad thing is, I taught my friend how to open her hood and add windshield washer fluid. She used to take it to a gas station to have them do it. That's common mentality for the area I grew up in.

[Newbiewar]

i think GM is trying to go toward the new camaro engine display... but its hard to make the engine cover look that classy as in the concept...

[gm4life]

My 3400 has no engine cover and I think my 3800 cover is alot nicer looking the "pops" for the intake are pretty cool.

[ellives]

GM has picked up the habit of putting dress up covers on their engines ...

I have no idea what prompted this comment... just more spin as far as I'm concerned... The Northstar (released in '93 -- "read 14 years ago") has one of these so called "dress up covers" so I don't know what "the habit" would be. Been there a LONG time. Ever taken the cover off a Northstar and looked underneath? It's not a pretty sight by anyone's imagination. Mostly the fuel rail and plug wires, plus a few other important things like the FPR...

We don't live in the old days when the air bonnet was the focus of the eyes when you open the hood. A cover is essential for the aesthetics of the under hood. As ToyMotor has proven, so much of the selling of cars these days is in the presentation... and not the substance. In truth you need both in big quantities.

[Sixty8panther]

Engine covers are a stupid idea, GM or not they all suck.

Just another thing about ALL modern cars that pisses

me off. I really liked the fact that the 4th gen. F-body's

LS1 motor had NO cover. Form follows function.

You wanna see a BEAUTIFUL motor? This was the first

motor to by STYLED cosmetically by designers. Talk

about beautiful, if they put 5% of this effort into modern

car's valvecovers & tucked away most of the wires they

would not NEED covers.

[Flybrian]

As long as the covering is reasonably removable for those that want to, I don't care.

[76ChevyTrucker]

Well, I bitch and piss and moan a little as someone who has to tear the damned acoustic cover off the engine for oil changes. Sure, I know that it helps make things quieter and the like, and while I'm all for quiet, they could probably put more sound insulation into the firewall than pulling a cover on the engine....

[emh]

Jeez... enough of these garbage can lids already. They are not worth $0.05. How about spending the money on say a suede leather cover for the owner's manual (or whatever) instead!

Methinks this is WELL below the threshold of justifying a thread complaining about it. But since you did bring it up (and the picture is of a Cadillac engine), my Caddy's owner's manual did come in a nice leather cover.

[Nick]

Well, I bitch and piss and moan a little as someone who has to tear the damned acoustic cover off the engine for oil changes. Sure, I know that it helps make things quieter and the like, and while I'm all for quiet, they could probably put more sound insulation into the firewall than pulling a cover on the engine....

Well, while engine covers aren't usually hard to take off (mine isn't anyway), that is pretty annoying that you have to remove the engine cover to get to the oil cap. Edited May 16, 2007 by Nick

[dwightlooi]

I don't think some people are getting the point I was trying to make. I am not against engine covers per say. What I was trying to say is that GM's covers are so cheap looking and so poorly integrated with the engine or the bay that they are better off simply saving the money. If they want to do it, do it right! Do it in a way that actually makes the engine bay look premium!

This is really no better than...

...this!

If GM wants to play dress up, they should do it right. Like this!

[Cory Wolfe]

Gotta love the "curved neck" intake of the KLZE V6.

[ponchoman49]

This is yet another in a long line of modern day fads. Some of the European makes go so far as to totally hide the entire engine bay with land o plastic. Other silly fads include no interor colors other than black, tan and gray, smooth generic slab sided cars with no bodyside protection whatsoever because it makes the vehicle look "cleaner", that is until all the dings and dents show up after the first year of ownership and the vehicle in question looks like a fat womans ass, everything needs to be rear wheel drive again even though interior space, front seat legroom, Winter traction, mileage and weight are all compromised, the foreign is automatically better fad, the buy Toyota because they build the greenest cars fad and last but not least the Detroit builds crap fad unless were talking trucks.

[balthazar]

My neighbor was farting around with a '97 maserati for a few months- you'd think on a supposedly no-compromises brand, a brand that perhaps out of sheer curiosity- the hood would get popped occasionally, that there would be at least a token effort to stylize the motor. WTF are you getting for your $70K anyway?

Nope- a slab of plastic so huge and so formidable he couldn't find anyway to top off the radiator. More idiocy from overseas.

[Cory Wolfe]

This is yet another in a long line of modern day fads. Some of the European makes go so far as to totally hide the entire engine bay with land o plastic. Other silly fads include no interor colors other than black, tan and gray, smooth generic slab sided cars with no bodyside protection whatsoever because it makes the vehicle look "cleaner", that is until all the dings and dents show up after the first year of ownership and the vehicle in question looks like a fat womans ass, everything needs to be rear wheel drive again even though interior space, front seat legroom, Winter traction, mileage and weight are all compromised, the foreign is automatically better fad, the buy Toyota because they build the greenest cars fad and last but not least the Detroit builds crap fad unless were talking trucks.

You... are an odd, odd man.

[dwightlooi]

Gotta love the "curved neck" intake of the KLZE V6.

It's one of the smoothest, creamiest engines ever. The light reciprocating elements of the 2.5 liter mill, 60-degree bank angle and relatively low 9.2:1 compression all helps I guess. But one of the things they did with the K-series (including the 1.8, 2.0, 2.5 and the 2.3 SC-Miller) was engineer the block to eliminate low frequency resonances. 7000 rpm in a K-series feels like 3500 rpm in terms of shakes and there is absolutely no strain or valve train racket. It was an all whirl no rumble engine, and particularly endearing because of it.

Unfortunately, these engines aren't particularly high performance. 164hp (later 170hp) isn't much out of a 2.5 and 156 lb-ft (later 160 lb-ft) is really on the soft side. Whats worse is that the engines doesn't seem to get "on cam" until about ~4000 rpm or so. They are also a little "old fashioned" in their use of a traditional distributor fired ignition and a "bullet plug" style mechanical MAF meter which is quite restrictive. It was a traditional timing belt engine with 60K replacement intervals so thats a little annoying especially when you buy a used car with it. Well, its also a non-interference engine so you can -- if you really want -- drive it till the belt snaps and all you will be forking out will be the towing bill. The V-RIS variable manifold system doesn't do very much. Flaps open at 3800~4000 rpm to connect the plenums of both banks to raise the reasonance frequency. For some reason thy close off again after 6000~6200 rpm. I tried tying them to be open all the time and noticed a little softness off idle to ~2000 rpm. No difference after that. I wasn't too impressed. Ford continue to use this general intake design and layout on their Duratecs -- which unfortunately do not share the creamy smooth character of the K-series. There was a 200hp version of the K-series... but it was never available in the US market Mazdas or Fords.

Edited May 17, 2007 by dwightlooi

[hyperv6]

Bottom line is the covers are a cheap way to hide the maze of wires and lines under a hood to giv it a clean appearnace. Also the covers are padded to reduse sound.

Most are not hard to remove and do not require tools. If it is hard to remove you really should not be under a hood to start.

Most of GM's covers are not bad and I cona understand them being just being plactic due to cost. I do believe they should improve with the cost of the car. Cadillac should have dressed up engines with more Aluminum and real metal parts. Save the plastic for the Chevys and Staurns as you should get what you pay for.

Take a look at a stock Fiero V6 engine and you are rewarded with real Aluminum covers and a painted intake with real polished stainless bolts. If GM sould do this in the 80's they should be doing better on cars north of $40K today.

The plastic cover on my stage III 3.8 SC may not be fancy but for what I paid for the car I understand. But I would be disappointed with some of the other engines I have seen for the higher price.

If GM could do this on a $14K Pontiac in 1985 they should do better on a $40K and up car today.

Edited May 17, 2007 by hyperv6

[Ravenfreak13]

Eh,...it's under the hood 98% of the time.

[bowtie_dude]

It blows my mind how the same people who can't understand why people make a big deal about interior plastic make a huge pissy fuss over something as stupid as some plastic sitting under the hood or a B-pillar.

This isn't directed at the OP, btw.

[Sixty8panther]

WTF does ths have to do with B-pillars?

I think ALL neing covers... or at least 99% of the ones I've seen

look like ass. I also think that people on this forum make WAY

too big of a deal over interior plastic texture & such other silly

crap.

Now as far as B-pillars they're visible from 1/4 mile away and

they effect the styling of the car, esp. from profile.

Balthazar:

Didn't you get the memo?

Maserati has been a joke since the late 1970s.

[bowtie_dude]

Your problem is you're stuck in an outdated, obsolete, and completely irrelevant time period. What YOU desire in a car does NOT sell cars. But you'll piss and moan for PAGES and PAGES about something the vast majority of the buying public doesn't give two &#036;h&#33;s about. Thankfully GM isn't listening to people like you.

[Sixty8panther]

Bowtie_dude:

Not sure what your problem is but you're just instigating.

The vast majority of the buying public are nufcking idiots,

why else would the Camry be the best selling car in the

USA? You want generic, watered down cars? Fantastic, I

am more picky and dream of a 2010 car that has at least

50% of the style and originality of a 1959 ANYTHING.

If classic cars sucked as badly as you think they do then

people would not pay millions for some used car with a

big V8 at Barrett Jackson.

I think there is a LOT we can learn about making cars that

do not SUCK from the classics. If you disagree and want

to have a knife fight about it then I'm sorry but you will

have to find someone else.

Discussion is fun, hostility is not.

Okay then, enjoy your 2dr and 4dr sedans, rubbermaid©

engine covers, faux deer-skin arm rest cover & last but

not least FWD layout that forces you to get raped at a

dealership every time you need $5 plastic component

because to do it yourself would be like trying to work on

the space shuttle with a plumber's wrench.

Edited May 17, 2007 by Sixty8panther

[Flybrian]

Why do people think modern American cars are so hard to work on? They're not, unless you're dropping the transmission, which is something 97% of people don't ever do by themselves.

[bowtie_dude]

Bowtie_dude:

Not sure what your problem is but you're just instigating.

The vast majority of the buying public are nufcking idiots,

why else would the Camry be the best selling car in the

USA? You want generic, watered down cars? Fantastic, I

am more picky and dream of a 2010 car that has at least

50% of the style and originality of a 1959 ANYTHING.

If classic cars sucked as badly as you think they do then

people would not pay millions for some used car with a

big V8 at Barrett Jackson.

I think there is a LOT we can learn about making cars that

do not SUCK from the classics. If you disagree and want

to have a knife fight about it then I'm sorry but you will

have to find someone else.

Discussion is fun, hostility is not.

Okay then, enjoy your 2dr and 4dr sedans, rubbermaid©

engine covers, faux deer-skin arm rest cover & last but

not least FWD layout that forces you to get raped at a

dealership every time you need $5 plastic component

because to do it yourself would be like trying to work on

the space shuttle with a plumber's wrench.

Classic cars don't suck, but the way classic cars were built are not the way modern customers want their cars. Sure, your Buick LeSabre is absolutely beautiful, but NOTHING about it would sell today. Not the styling, not the handling, not the interior, not the weight, or anything else about it. You want to see GM do well yet you're constantly screaming for them to do the exact opposite of what they need to do to succeed.

[97regalGS]

Bowtie_dude:

Not sure what your problem is but you're just instigating.

The vast majority of the buying public are nufcking idiots,

did you just say that the vast majority of people are 'f**g idiots'. so, you're questioning the intelligence of 50-75% of the population?

I'm not quite sure what that says about you, but certainly makes me wonder how it is you manage to survive amongst the imbeciles that interact with on a daily basis.

btw, it's outlandish comments like these that make this board such an amusing place.

[CARBIZ]

....sorry, but I gotta side with Sixty8 on this one....I would say 75% of the people out there are F&^king idiots! I just watched a guy at my gym today get on the scale, weigh himself fully dressed and with a full back pack on!

I couldn't believe it! Then I watched him scrutinizing the results and I could see him doing mental math - what, was he deducting the weight of his back pack?

I just shook my head, looked for hidden cameras (you never know!) and shrugged. I should have asked if he drives a Camry! I am sure this guy wouldn't have a clue how to check his oil or change a tire, so his engine shroud is finger-print free!

[FloydHendershot]

Bowtie_dude:

Not sure what your problem is but you're just instigating.

If classic cars sucked as badly as you think they do then

people would not pay millions for some used car with a

big V8 at Barrett Jackson.

Because the vast majorityminority of the buying public are nufcking idiots, (that have entirely too much money)

why else would the Camry be the best selling car in the

USA?

Why do people buy camry's and accords? Because people want to get where they are going. LOL

Before you tight asses have a heart attack it was a joke. They have picked up where the US cars have left off and that is what the people who can afford new cars that arent rusted out piles choose to buy.

and nice logic you genius.

I don't even understand why this would be considered GM News.

[gm4life]

Honestly sorry but who really cares...

[bowtie_dude]

....sorry, but I gotta side with Sixty8 on this one....I would say 75% of the people out there are F&^king idiots! I just watched a guy at my gym today get on the scale, weigh himself fully dressed and with a full back pack on!

I couldn't believe it! Then I watched him scrutinizing the results and I could see him doing mental math - what, was he deducting the weight of his back pack?

I just shook my head, looked for hidden cameras (you never know!) and shrugged. I should have asked if he drives a Camry! I am sure this guy wouldn't have a clue how to check his oil or change a tire, so his engine shroud is finger-print free!

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WE THINK ABOUT THE MAJORITY OF THE BUYING PUBLIC'S TASTE.

Does not matter one iota, not even a smidgeon. Why? Because we are enthusiasts. An incredibly small (relatively) percentage of the buying public. We do not make automakers any money at all. The idiotic majority are where the automakers make their money. What does that majority care about? High quality materials, tight fit and finish, and good design where they spend the majority of their time: The interior. What do they NOT care about? A 3' x 4' sheet of molded plastic someplace where the majority of them rarely see or a 12 inch piece of sheet-metal splitting the side windows in a 2+2 coupe.

[longtooth]

Okay, boys and girls, your mission is to drive a 4 cylinder Malibu (sans "beauty shroud, no "quiet steel") then drive the LS or LT Cobalt - same engine, but with the "beauty shroud" and "quiet steel" on the firewall.

Big difference. Huge. Same engine, but more money was spent on the Cobalt to make it quieter. It works. It's real. I know I am pissing in against the wind here, but most people (I'd say, oh I don't know - 75%+) never open their hood, except to add washer fluid. They wouldn't know an engine shroud from a tire iron.

This sounds like a rational approach to the matter, and should quiet the dissenters.

[CaddyXLR-V]

I happen to agree with 68, about B pillars. I can tolerate them, but only if they are done right, like the GTO. I absolutely can't stand the B pillar on the Mustang. Location of the B pillar is one of the reasons why I like coupes so much more than sedans, in a sedan the b pillar is basically right where I like to put my arm, and in coupes, its further back. But I'm also someone who puts the windows down in 100+ degree weather. Another annoying trend I have seen in newer Chevys, is that they keep making the door lock stick up, even when the doors are locked. Is it that hard to make it sit flush?

[Flybrian]

Another annoying trend I have seen in newer Chevys, is that they keep making the door lock stick up, even when the doors are locked. Is it that hard to make it sit flush?

If the lock is flush and your power locks fail for some reason, how will you unlock the door?

Solution: put the lock with the handle. Cleaner, classier.

[Oracle of Delphi]

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WE THINK ABOUT THE MAJORITY OF THE BUYING PUBLIC'S TASTE.

Does not matter one iota, not even a smidgeon. Why? Because we are enthusiasts.

Why dems fighting words!!!!! Put dem up, come on put dem up and fight like a man!!!! I am not no damn Enthusiasts, I am an Aficionado, I have you know!!!! It has a much nicer ring!

[CaddyXLR-V]

If the lock is flush and your power locks fail for some reason, how will you unlock the door?

Solution: put the lock with the handle. Cleaner, classier.

Most cars automatically unlock when you pull on the handle and the car is off.