i went to take my xb in for the free oil change i get, and i checked out the 2 new RS 2.0's they had there, its all right i dont think i would pay the extra 2 grand for the like 800-1000 bucks work of stuff on it, but anywho i was checking out the grill they put on it and i noticed they blocked out the back of the grill with a solid sheet of metel, and i also noticed that our regular xb grills are solid, as to not let any air pass. does anyone know the purpose of this?? why would you not want air to get into the engine compartment? i tried doing a search but didnt come up with anything that would explain why you would want to make a big air blocking sheet of metel to cover up the grill area

 

Well I would assume it's to prevent bugs and debris from getting in there. But I could be wrong.

 

Air gets in thru the bottom two grilles which are better alligned with the radiator anyway.

 

It creates a pressure differential between outside the engine bay and inside when the car is moving that creates better overall cooling and airflow than if it were flo-through.

 

I have an aftermarket grille on mine & it is flow thru at the moment. The engine does get a little more dirt on it but, I have had no cooling issues or performace losses to speak of at the moment.

I may block mine off in the future as well to keep the dirt out !