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[Kneepad]

Are there any members here who have discarded the undertray. I am undecided about this. There are times when I'm in the mood to crawl under the car and check things out, but I'm put off by the thought of having to undo a million screws on the undertray just to get a look at the underside of the engine.

Your views, pros and cons would be appreciated.    :-/

[Omegatoy]

mines been off for over 4 years, did it originally to aid cooling here in spain and it seems to work, engine never gets above 96 here is spain even with temps above 40,in the summer, or clambering up a big hill flat out with turbo screaming,easier to see if anyproblems arrise such as oil leaks etc,down side is the engine is often covered in crap, but a good degrease with engine cleaner once a year sorts it, and ythe engine noise is slightly increased, especially when cold!!

[Jimbob]

The under tray on does increase cooling by improving airflow.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Undertray will improve cooling. This I have proed a few times by comparing with and without. It helps to ensure that the air passing through the engine bay passes over the engine without simply spilling out the bottom of the engine bay.

It alos helps protect the lower ancillaries from dirt grime and muck which can cause bearing failure, particularly on the aircon setups.

On the V6 its no major issue anyway as it does not cover the sump area.

[Omegatoy]

sorry guys but thats not my experience, admittedly mine is a diesel and it may be different on the petrols, but the diesel runs cooler without it, I looked at it carefully when it was off and the air has to travel out of a letter box sized hole at the rear of the engine, in other words hot air from the rad further heated by the engine etc,my cooling fans were on almost permanently out here, with it removed they dont come on till the airflow stops, i,e wehn the vehicle stops, like i say this only true of my diesel i cant comment on the petrols,do agree with the muck comments as said in my original post

[Kneepad]

I can't commemt myself on the cooling effect as I have a problem at the moment with the engine not getting up to temp, but that will be the subject of another thread.

I do know that many people leave the cover off thier computers in the mistaken belief that the components inside will run cooler. (Air flow design).

Main advantage I find of having the tray in place is it catches all the tools I manage to drop into the bowels of the beast. Otherwise I find it a PITA

[Varche]

I can't commemt myself on the cooling effect as I have a problem at the moment with the engine not getting up to temp, but that will be the subject of another thread.

I do know that many people leave the cover off thier computers in the mistaken belief that the components inside will run cooler. (Air flow design).

Main advantage I find of having the tray in place is it catches all the tools I manage to drop into the bowels of the beast. Otherwise I find it a PITA

Mrs Varche's computer kept crashing and I discovered that the front fan was seized. Replacement seems to involve a lot of dismantling. Removing side cover it never crashed once including all the August heat!

As far as engine undertrays, I left mine off after gearbox change two years ago with no ill effect even towing trailers on the murderous hills here and in murderous heat. I suspect Mark has a point about the undertray keeping rubbish out of the bearings of some components like air con.

[Teebee]

I toyed with removing my tray because dropped tools always seemed to land there but in the end I opted to leave it because once removed, cleaned & replaced it works as a handy tool for spotting leaks.

[plym ian]

I toyed with removing my tray because dropped tools always seemed to land there but in the end I opted to leave it because once removed, cleaned & replaced it works as a handy tool for spotting leaks.

[davethediver]

Mine's never had one since i bought it :-/ :-/

[waspy]

With yours being a diesel you'll notice a alot more engine noise. I left mine off for few weeks a while back & the extra noise was very noticeable
I'd personally leave mine on

[Kneepad]

I toyed with removing my tray because dropped tools always seemed to land there but in the end I opted to leave it because once removed, cleaned & replaced it works as a handy tool for spotting leaks.

I would have thought a leak mark on the ground where you park your car would be noticed much sooner than waiting till the next time you took the tray off.

[2woody]

at speed, the undertray does indeed improve the cooling - quite markedly.

[feeutfo]

It's only 4 bolts and I find it quite easy to remove.

If anyone wants a real pita under tray, buy an e39d. You wouldn't believe the aggro

[Teebee]

I would have thought a leak mark on the ground where you park your car would be noticed much sooner than waiting till the next time you took the tray off.

Actually no, I have a block paved driveway and when my daughter had a couple of Golfs they dripped oil all over it which just wont clean off. And i'm not looking at taking the tray off to check it, I can see from above if it's wet.