I have just fitted a SS DP and am a bit apprehensive about cutting the heatshield to bits if I decide I ever want to put the old DP back on to sell the car - with mangled heatshield.

My question is - "will it help cool that side of the engine down if I remove the blanking plate behind the driver side front grill and swap the grills round ? Has anybody tried this ? and does it have any effect on performance/noise ??

Cheers - and fingers crossed to all of us out there currently running with no heatshield !

Someone once suggested that removing the blanking plates could CAUSE hotspots because of atypical airflow, but I don't think there was any evidence cited.

I don't think a cut heatshield would be a massive issue when buying a second hand car, but excess heat around the brake fluid reservoir and intercooler might be for you using the car now?