The 3UZ-FE is a beautiful engine. Why is it hidden under plastic covers? I would like to remove them if they provide no significant enhancement. Engine cooling, protection from contamination, what??

 

I'm not a big fan of those covers myself. I imagine that they might provide some sound deadening function as well as hiding ugly looking engine part finishes.

You are not going to hurt this engine by letting it dance naked. Go for it...

 

The engine will undoubted be fine with the covers removed. However, the covers may have an effect in cooling underhood electronics and other components. In the mid nineties, I remember a friend that was a staff of GM's Desert Proof Facility, brought a BMW home for the weekend and pointed out to me that they had installed temperature probes under the hood to determine various temperatures. He said they had very little ability to predict temperatures as design changed frequently. He showed me that the BMW had a CPU installed inside the car near the glove box to keep it at a cooler temperature.

I don't know what the current technology is regarding knowing how to design for underhood temperatures is. However, I am just pointing out that making statements just from our unproven intuition may be in error. We don't always know what we don't know. Just my opinion.

 

I think that intake manifold is very attractive. I just may remove the covers.

 

I don;t like plastic engine covers so I run the LS430 and the SC430 without the plastic engine covers. The covers are in plastic bags up in the attic.