Boomerang cosmetic?

[EdP]

No, I suspect that the engineers were asked by the design team if there was any issue with having a side vent of some sort. I imagine that the engineers said that they didn't see why that would be a problem.

But of course, I wasn't there for the conversation. I'm just speculating.

I suspect you may be right. If that is the case, they were smart enough to put some holes to make them do something. That would be a smart move. If the vent holes clogged from leaves and debris, I doubt you will see the G70 on the side of the road broken down.

 

[ikonn]

yeah, ~1/2 the little vent holes on the inside of the hockey stick are actual vents to the engine bay. so yes, it is functional.

What do the other 1/2 do? Any idea?

 

[canucklehead604]

^ nothing, they are blanks. The ‘middle’ region is where the vent holes are actually open. Near the top and bottom of the hockey stick they are just solid plastic - i.e. no vents. As goofy as the hockey stick looks, i suspect it would have looked much goofier to size it for just the open vent region. And there was likely no need for vents over the full length of the current design.

 

[G-790376]

Its my favorite part of the exterior, otherwise the side profile would look just as plain jane as the 340i and c43

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[G-229373]

After a lot of heavy driving there was some serious heat leaving my vents while the aux fan was on, I think they’re actually pretty functional. I even saw heat haze from them.

 

[roady]

Sounds like the "venturi effect"....

Gases moving through a constricted opening to an unconstructed space will increase in velocity...

 

[viciousCircle]

I agree that they're functional. Air can pass through the holes. What I wonder about is how effective they are. "Functional" and "effective" seem pretty different to me. A cell phone that is operating properly is functional. But if it's in a location where it doesn't receive a signal, it's not effective. The phone is working just fine -- it's not malfunctioning -- but an external condition necessary for it to be effective isn't present. A spoiler may be functional, in that it has the capacity to create down-force for example, but may be totally ineffective because the car it's on isn't capable of achieving the speeds where having the spoiler would matter. Fender holes are functional if air can pass through them. But they're only effective if the air flow achieves some practical purpose. It may on the G70. But it also may not.

With these air flow vents, I wonder to what extent they make a difference in engine temperature, drag coefficient, brake cooling, or some other parameter that might be impacted by air flow. I'm not even sure which, if any, of those "functions" they're intended to accomplish. They may be functionally important but I'm a bit skeptical. But it's not a big deal. As I said, something makes me prefer the fact that there's actually some holes under that metal boomerang even if their presence doesn't really impact anything. It seems less fake than just sticking on ornamentation with no functionality at all.

This is so silly. Have you conducted tests? Do you have the results? No? Hmmmm

 

[roady]

This is so silly. Have you conducted tests? Do you have the results? No? Hmmmm

You know of any tests? By anybody? Hmmmm. The whole thread is comjecture...folks musing...

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[FastEddie]

You know of any tests? By anybody? Hmmmm. The whole thread is comjecture...folks musing...

Run water in the vent it runs out under the fender liner.

 

[bearleton]

There's only one hole per fender panel. It's a T-shaped hole that is barely bigger than 1" x 1.5" at most, IIRC.
I'm not going to say it's not functional but not sure how effective it is.

Bummer. I had my dental floss out. Thanks for post

 

[canucklehead604]

There's only one hole per fender panel. It's a T-shaped hole that is barely bigger than 1" x 1.5" at most, IIRC.
I'm not going to say it's not functional but not sure how effective it is.

^ in my experience, ~1.5" holes can be quite functional. but i'm no scientist.

 

[Beefer]

^ in my experience, ~1.5" holes can be quite functional. but i'm no scientist.

Heck...an 1/8" hole can make quite the mess

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[viciousCircle]

True in the sense that the holes are operational and not merely "dummy" vents of some sort. How well they actually function as any sort of cooling mechanism is another question. I doubt that they actually do much but I do prefer that there are actual vent holes there to their being nothing but a piece of chrome over an unperforated area of fender. Not sure why. I guess I like the idea that it isn't just 100% fakery, even if the underlying reason for its being there is more cosmetic than functional (which I strongly suspect is the case).

The new G70 has expanded versions of these vents, the boomerang is gone, but the vent is bigger, so I would say it is not cosmetic, but something the engineers consider important. The vent itself is barely noticeable now, but larger, so not cosmetic and important for cooling. I know my 3.3 gets sofa king hot, and it can use all the cooling it can get. If the vent bothers people so much, why don't find somebody in the engineering or design division for Genesis and ask them? Tony Chen is the design lead, and he lives in Anaheim. His email is on LInkedin. Ask him.