Series II 3800 engine cover

I have owned several GM cars over the years and all of which had the Series II 3800 motor in them. Currently i own a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with the 3.8L non supercharged. Now on every one of these cars they have an engine beauty cover. Every time i take this cover off. I always figured that it trapped the heat in and robbed power from the motor. Is this true or are my theorys based on nothing? I figured it hasent done any harm in the past so it must not be a bad thing. Right?

Whatever heat it's holding in is not enough to affect engine preformance.

Wow, I thought I was the only person who thought about this...In Summer here I remove it anyway to dissipate any excess heat in the engine bay...Just my preference...

In theory keeping the intake cooler can help power but, the slight amt of trapped heat is, as mentioned, is inconsequential.

Basically, it just keeps engine noise down, like injector ticking......

I like to remove it, because it eliminates a place for those mice to build their nest and eat the wires(secondary, injector, purge harness, etc.)....

i removed mine because an engine should look like an engine...not a piece of plastic. plus, i had to show off the supercharger :rofl:

I would not worry about the engine cover on the NA series II. it is not going to hold a lot of heat. I have a GTP and I do take mine off in the summer to try and help the supercharger stay cooler. I have performance mods that produce a little extra heat so my thinking is every little bit helps, but not enough to notice a difference. The only way to know for sure is to scan for knock retard before and after the cover is removed. or infrared technology.