Does anyone else do this?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2026
Posts: 277
Likes: 203
From: Atlanta
Does anyone else do this?
I just got home from a drive and it's 80F outside and going up to 84 today. Just out of curiosity, I opened my engine bay and it was hot! The carbon fiber surrounds were very hot where they attach to the rails but not so bad where they are open and vented. I am going to start leaving the hatch open 8" or so to help get the heat out. I just wonder how long the carbon fiber pieces will last getting so hot. They are covered with reflective insulation on the bottom side but still very hot on the top. It will only get hotter here in the coming weeks. I think the engine bay lights turn off after about 10 minutes, so I'm not worried about the battery.
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 35,000
Likes: 12,392
From: NE South Carolina
I just got home from a drive and it's 80F outside and going up to 84 today. Just out of curiosity, I opened my engine bay and it was hot! The carbon fiber surrounds were very hot where they attach to the rails but not so bad where they are open and vented. I am going to start leaving the hatch open 8" or so to help get the heat out. I just wonder how long the carbon fiber pieces will last getting so hot. They are covered with reflective insulation on the bottom side but still very hot on the top. It will only get hotter here in the coming weeks. I think the engine bay lights turn off after about 10 minutes, so I'm not worried about the battery.
i recall folkls with C7s opening the hood to let "Hot Air Out!" GM selects materials than can stand the heat! They have instrumented the engine compartment at high ambient temps. Recall my friends son, and Engineer at GM at the time, testing AC in Death Valley. Why worry!
SIDEBAR
Per Google AI:
Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. Summer daytime temperatures routinely exceed 120°F in the shade, with recent summers averaging well over 104°F overall. Ground temperatures can reach a blistering 201°F.
Last edited by JerryU; Jun 5, 2026 at 01:47 PM.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2024
Posts: 334
Likes: 105
From: Annapolis, MD
I do it after parking in the garage to let the heat out while the door is still open (before I go to sleep). I close the garage door when I go to sleep and would prefer any heat from the engine bay to have a chance to equalize with the outdoor temps. As you can guess, I don't do this when we have cold nights in the fall/spring and would prefer to have the heat stay in if I choose to go work on something with the garage door closed.
Last edited by joeyofblades; Jun 5, 2026 at 03:37 PM.
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I leave the hood up a bit on my C7 to help with the heat after a drive.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,060
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From: TX
I just got home from a drive and it's 80F outside and going up to 84 today. Just out of curiosity, I opened my engine bay and it was hot! The carbon fiber surrounds were very hot where they attach to the rails but not so bad where they are open and vented. I am going to start leaving the hatch open 8" or so to help get the heat out. I just wonder how long the carbon fiber pieces will last getting so hot. They are covered with reflective insulation on the bottom side but still very hot on the top. It will only get hotter here in the coming weeks. I think the engine bay lights turn off after about 10 minutes, so I'm not worried about the battery.
Happy motoring
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E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: NE South Carolina
And will never be! GM tests cars in Death Valley! They actually measure temps all over the engine compartment!
Reminded of the old Kids joke:
Reminded of the old Kids joke:
- About snapping your fingers as you pass a refrigerator!
- When asked why they did it?
- The reply was "it keeps elephants out of the frig."
- Works! See any footprints on the pie?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: TX
BTW, the cars body panels are made from SMC which have plastic resins in them. Maybe that may be something to worry about too
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Commerce Texas
Does anyone else do this?
For more than a decade I've had to worry about my Ferrari not having cup holders. Now, I have to worry about my Corvette overheating. Should we warn C8 owners about going to driving school in Nevada in August?
For more than a decade I've had to worry about my Ferrari not having cup holders. Now, I have to worry about my Corvette overheating. Should we warn C8 owners about going to driving school in Nevada in August?
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I always lift the hood in the garage after a drive but REAL carbon fiber is some tough stuff
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: TX
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Oregon
I have done that from day one, and I don't even have carbon fiber panels.
When I pull in the garage and the car is hot, you can hear it ticking.
It just makes sense to me to lift the back deck and let it breathe instead of cooking all of the parts, metal, plastic, wiring.
When I pull in the garage and the car is hot, you can hear it ticking.
It just makes sense to me to lift the back deck and let it breathe instead of cooking all of the parts, metal, plastic, wiring.
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 35,000
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From: NE South Carolina
Yeah its kind of laughable on the c8 platform. Its by far the best ventilated corvette of any previous model. Mainly do to the mid engine design. After a nice spirited drive, the fans will run and suck in air from the sides across the motor and out the top of the vents in the hatch. Its designed really well. It will heat up a garage in a heart beat, but so would all my other corvettes.
And agree all corvette engines, be they in front or middle will have the same heat energy when parked. That heat will get into the garage more quickly if you open the hatch OR more slowly if not. If you let it take longer more heat will conduct thru the outside walls and typical metal doors to the outside. With hatch left closed some heat will be transferred to the outside before all energy raises the garage temp! Would be a slight reduction in increase garage temp increase (if anyone cares.)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Commerce Texas
And now I've got to worry about parking the C8 outside in Texas summers. Maybe I should go back to daily driving my 38 year-old mid-engine Ferrari. Oh, wait, I already often split the DD duties between the two cars. Guess I'm going to have to find something new to worry about.