Increase Engine Bay Venting Methods?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2025
Posts: 130
Likes: 4
From: San Marcos CA
Increase Engine Bay Venting Methods?
Hello! I am looking to increase the venting in my engine bay to allow for better airflow and cooling through my c5 corvette. So far the only way I’ve seen that you can add extra venting to the car is by adding hood louvers to allow the hot engine bay air to escape via the top of the car. However, call me a wimp lol!, I don’t want to necessarily cut up my hood and add vents to it. My question is has anyone had any success with cutting the dead end side vents on the c5 corvette into the engine bay to allow for better venting?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,465
Likes: 1,167
From: Dyer, IN
Hello! I am looking to increase the venting in my engine bay to allow for better airflow and cooling through my c5 corvette. So far the only way I’ve seen that you can add extra venting to the car is by adding hood louvers to allow the hot engine bay air to escape via the top of the car. However, call me a wimp lol!, I don’t want to necessarily cut up my hood and add vents to it. My question is has anyone had any success with cutting the dead end side vents on the c5 corvette into the engine bay to allow for better venting?
Pro
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 646
Likes: 346
From: San Jose CA
The 'real' way to do it; make the fender ducts functional.
https://www.electronsportusa.com/pro...5-fender-duct/
As tempting as it may be, do not just cut out your fender liners, there's 'stuff'' in there like your ECM that will get wrecked by the road debris and water.
As an addendum, if this is a street car, you absolutely do not need this or engine bay venting. The C5 is designed to run coolant temps in the 220-230F range, there's absolutely no reason to change that.
https://www.electronsportusa.com/pro...5-fender-duct/
As tempting as it may be, do not just cut out your fender liners, there's 'stuff'' in there like your ECM that will get wrecked by the road debris and water.
As an addendum, if this is a street car, you absolutely do not need this or engine bay venting. The C5 is designed to run coolant temps in the 220-230F range, there's absolutely no reason to change that.
Last edited by Lowend; May 14, 2026 at 11:32 AM. Reason: update links
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 929
Likes: 615
From: Navarre, Florida
My car had a Vararam CAI on it and the two fog light ports are used to feed that. However, I removed most of the components of the Vararam and all of that air is coming into my engine bay. I have a Trackspec hood vent but, even with that, my hood rapidly buldges on the freeway while at speed. So, there is absolutely such a thing as having too much air in the engine bay. I would check to see how air is entering the engine bay and if there are prudent ways to help eliminate it if that's something that is concerning you. For me, my plan is to block those two ports and do the best I can to channel the air specifically out of the hood vent using some well-placed aluminum ducting. Is it overkill for the street? You bet. But will it make me happy knowing that I'm properly controlling air through my engine bay? Yep. I'll need to get a proper front splitter at some juncture, too but, that's a conversation for another day.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2025
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There's no "dead end". That's a fable perpetuated by them that haven't looked closely. When you reach in the side vent you can feel a plastic sheet, but that sheet is actually loose and flops around a bit (only attached on the inboard side) and has space around it for air to move. You can see that by taking the wheelwell cover section at the rear of the front wheel. It is open to the engine bay down under your brake master cylinder where the udders hang (shine a flashlight down there and then look into your side vents) , and by the computer on the passenger side. Between the two of them and taking into account that there are no large openings to the bay at the front of the car, there is plenty of room for the air in there to be sucked out of the side vents by low air pressure of the slipstream. The better plan would be to vent the fog light bezels like a Z06 to force air into the front.... it should still have no problem venting out the side vents.
Here's a link for proof: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/88qqYR8_***
Here's a link for proof: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/88qqYR8_***
Last edited by Gorn Captain; May 14, 2026 at 02:45 PM. Reason: add link
Pro
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 646
Likes: 346
From: San Jose CA
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 129
Likes: 84
Try again. https://youtube.com/shorts/88qqYR8_*...W_QvFPnf0IcdRK
edit: that’s not working. What gives, a YouTube link copied and pasted. Weird.
anyway, we all have lights on our phones. Shine yours in the vent and look in under the wiper motor.
edit: that’s not working. What gives, a YouTube link copied and pasted. Weird.
anyway, we all have lights on our phones. Shine yours in the vent and look in under the wiper motor.
Last edited by Gorn Captain; May 14, 2026 at 10:45 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 929
Likes: 615
From: Navarre, Florida
Try again. https://youtube.com/shorts/88qqYR8_*...W_QvFPnf0IcdRK
edit: that’s not working. What gives, a YouTube link copied and pasted. Weird.
anyway, we all have lights on our phones. Shine yours in the vent and look in under the wiper motor.
edit: that’s not working. What gives, a YouTube link copied and pasted. Weird.
anyway, we all have lights on our phones. Shine yours in the vent and look in under the wiper motor.
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Drifting
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,962
Likes: 694
From: Avon Lake OH
I would suggest removing the insert from behind the driver's side wheel well making the fender side cove vent truly functional, but do NOT remove the passenger side unit due to the location of the PCM and issues with water splash intrusion.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2025
Posts: 130
Likes: 4
From: San Marcos CA
this seems like exactly what I was looking for. How would I gain access to the screws holding it in? Also would there really be a huge risk removing the passenger side to if the fender liner is still in?
.
Joined: Apr 2013
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From: Oregon
St. Jude Donor '14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2025
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Enter through the wheel well, there’s a panel that comes off with about 7 or 8 screws. You will see the divider and the empty space around it. there’s enough space around the flap to let enough air by to vent out of the side vent. Space is at least the same area as the side vent opening. Also at speed, the air over the body will create low pressure at the vent which will suck the air through naturally. I see no advantage removing the flap when the goal is engine bay air. If the goal is to evacuate the air in the wheel well to help brake cooling, that’s another matter.
While you’re in there, clean your udders, they’re right there. They drip into the big open space there and the water runs out between the bottom plastic cover panels.
Last edited by Gorn Captain; May 16, 2026 at 02:34 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 303
There are a couple companies that make hoods with vents molded in. I have ACProducts' "louvered air extractor" hood, for example.
Peak oil temps on track days went down about 15F, and the shift **** no longer gets too hot to use without gloves.
Peak oil temps on track days went down about 15F, and the shift **** no longer gets too hot to use without gloves.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,169
Likes: 523
but you can do tufts, temp measurements and ride height measurements to determine effectiveness of aero mods
its what we did in the 60s and it still works today
there is also a ton of information posted freely and for low cost that will get you "well within the ball park" and for a street car and limited track car- that's more than good enough
I like this book a lot:
