Will running an SS with the filter top box off do anything bad to the car such as throw codes or do any damage?

It may be a cheap easy way for more air flow and as a side benefit just get more throttle sound out of the car.

Ive never seen this asked before or even brought up in any of the threads I read here about air filters.

 

188 views and no opinions?

 

nothing bad...the filter may get dirty faster...but the sound is worth it

 

Use it for a Frisbee

 

Ran my 2.4 without it for about a year. Started throwing codes and missing. Dealership said it was getting to much air. Made a new cover out of plexiglass because I had lost the other one. Runs fine now.

 

I deal with engineering thermodynamics at my job, but not with HHRs, so this is only to provide some insight to why the airbox has a cover. It may well be to start the condensation of O2 molecules for more fuel delivery, but this is only in theory. Don't know what GM Performance Division was thinking on this one, but it might make sense. Some theories about temp rise, but since the air path needs to run through the turbo, may be a moot point. I doubt that the rise is linear, but one would think that lower temp in, lower temp out. It would only be a static measurement, but to give you an idea, maybe after a good run, an IR thermoscan at the cold side of the heat exchanger with the top off, run it again, then with it on? It would only provide an idle measurement; a lot of things happen at higher RPM, but at least it would give you an idea if the cool air duct feeding the airbox has relevance vs taking in higher temp at the onset from right under the hood. At higher intake temp with the cover off, you could be taking in more volume (CFM), but less air (molecules per UM2) because the molecules are disbursed. With the cover on, using the remote intake duct, the molecules will condense, thus taking in more air. Which is what you're trying to achieve in the first place? Bottom line, hot air = less fuel/ cooler air = more fuel, even if it looks like it's getting more when the hood is open.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking! (Not really)

 

Im pretty sure I understood what you were talking about. The intercooler is part of the whole turbo system for dropping the air for that very purpose...cooler air is denser air which is good for making more HP. Right?

Drawing air from the engine compartment would be hotter air. But in motion, it may not be all that hot under the hood.

With this said, I guessing our air/fuel gauge would be very handy in seeing any real changes here.

My real concern is any damage that may occur.

 

Since you have the RPD, you can check the inlet temps. Check it with top on and off and see if there's a big difference.
Yes, cooler is better for performance.

 

Being a Jeep guy, I was always aware of where the intake to the air box was with relation to how deep the puddle I was in. (FYI, just behind the right headlight. If you submerge the hood on that side, you're pretty much screwed.)
That said, I'd wonder how water moves around the engine compartment in a rain storm. The box pulls air from behind the right headlight I believe, the downward slope would prevent any water from going up there.

Lord knows I'm no mechanic. And yes, I've had the Jeep up to the headlights in puddles. The proof is in the picture below with the watermark on the grill...
JIm