[wishitweremanual]

id leave the back bolts of the engine cover off so the front two can be removed and you can slide it right out.

or do you mean the "scuttle plate" because coils 5 and 6 are underneath that?

[mmmnot]

Originally Posted by wishitweremanual

id leave the back bolts of the engine cover off so the front two can be removed and you can slide it right out.

or do you mean the "scuttle plate" because coils 5 and 6 are underneath that?

Yeah, I'm going to try the two front bolts and see how that works. It's a plastic material, so there should be some flex.

Not sure what the scuttle plate is to be honest, but I'm talking about the black plastic cover with the BMW roundel on it.

[Three_thirty_I]

Like most that has been said, it's mostly decorative, but does offer some protection to the coil packs, so for long term I would say it's better to keep it on. Not so familiar with the black top N52 covers, but with the older grey top, all you do is lift to release, then slide out, it's as easy as that, so I am sure you can just leave the rear bolts off and when the cover needs to come off, just remove the front bolts and it should also slide out.

[DaZuc]

Originally Posted by SDemetris

Ive had mine off since oct 31, 2012. No problems here

For weight reduction?

[StealYourFace]

No cover for at least two years here. Was rattling and have had no problems other than a slightly more unsightly engine area.

[SDemetris]

Originally Posted by DaZuc

For weight reduction?

because I was lazy and it was a pain to get off. My dad's '06 just snaps on and off, super easy.. Mine had 2 screws underneath the cabin air filter that sucked and I didnt feel like messing with it again.

[mike-y]

back in the "old days" (like pre 2000 haha), cars didn't have fancy plastic engine covers, and people drove around with exposed spark plug wires, distributors, etc, and nothing ever happened. I've driven my old cars for 100s of thousands of miles without engine covers, and they did just fine.

There's still a ton of exposed wiring and connectors in the engine bay that don't have covers, so I wouldn't worry about it, it's for cosmetic purposes.

[tc535i]

Originally Posted by mike-y

back in the "old days" (like pre 2000 haha), cars didn't have fancy plastic engine covers, and people drove around with exposed spark plug wires, distributors, etc, and nothing ever happened. I've driven my old cars for 100s of thousands of miles without engine covers, and they did just fine.

There's still a ton of exposed wiring and connectors in the engine bay that don't have covers, so I wouldn't worry about it, it's for cosmetic purposes.

yeah, but back in the "old days" those wires went in underneath the head, not right on top



and the ones on top had seals around the holes





just sayin... not exactly the same thing

[mike-y]

they don't go under the head, though on that first pic, they plug into the side of the head, and all the wiring is still exposed. The 2nd two pictures you posted show the wires running on top of the valve cover (on top of the cylinder head), which was exactly what I was talking about. either way, all those engines have exposed plug wires, distributors, and valve covers.

There is no plastic cover over the valve cover on the pics you posted.

The valve cover on our cars is actually very similar to those, except it doesn't look pretty, because it has a plastic "beauty cover" over it. our ignition coils have the same rubber seals that fit around the valve cover openings. They even "snap" into place like the old spark plug wires did.

regardless, running an exposed valve cover would be like how the engines were on those two M3's you posted, with exposed plug wires and distributors. You could even argue that on our cars, there is even less of an issue, because we don't have distributors and spark plug wires anymore.

[Taskmaster]

None really, it's there to make the engine look "neat" or "more attactive."

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by mike-y

back in the "old days" (like pre 2000 haha), cars didn't have fancy plastic engine covers, and people drove around with exposed spark plug wires, distributors, etc, and nothing ever happened. I've driven my old cars for 100s of thousands of miles without engine covers, and they did just fine.

There's still a ton of exposed wiring and connectors in the engine bay that don't have covers, so I wouldn't worry about it, it's for cosmetic purposes.

the M50 had a plastic cover back in 1991, so you're wrong.

[mike-y]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

the M50 had a plastic cover back in 1991, so you're wrong.

So? You know what I mean. I'm not going to argue semantics. The VAST majority of cars back then (and probably few to none before that) didn't have plastic engine covers, so my statement still stands.

[hassmaschine]

They also didn't run COP.

[SDemetris]

OK... Our cars are BMWs: which means every engineering decision was analyzed to death. If youve ever dealt with German engineers, you know this to be true. Those engine covers dont have any grommets, seals, or anything.. It is clearly a part from their industrial design department (which is one of the best in the world)... Regardless, it was designed as an aesthetic piece, not a functional one.