Justin,
That's a serious looking skid plate on your car. It looks a bit new and undamaged, so may be not original (not that it matters in my view).
My 411 S5 has a piece of bare aluminium in the same place - not sure if it is original - probably not. I wouldn't really call it 'skid plate' compared to yours, but it would prevent stones from coming up into the engine bay. Mine doesn't have holes in it like yours does.
I suspect skid plates do play a role in air flow in the engine bay, but the water cooling system would play the biggest part in preventing the engine from overheating. It may also have an aerodynamic role. If I were you, I would keep it in place.
For what it's worth, our old ML Merc has one made of plastic, and my Discovery 3 has one that is like tank armour!
As David did, I also had to upgrade the alternator in my car. And you want to be using relays to switch the power to the new fans!
You could of course increase the performance of the cooling system incrementally. You might add puller fan(s) and find you don't need to do anything else. I suspect the modern puller fans with curved blades are far more effective than the old fans Bristol used.
Last edited by Kevin H; 07-10-25 at 10:55 PM.
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