Does it damage my intercooler

[Champinco]

i have a HKS intercooler and piping at the front of my car.

will it or does it get damaged if i dont cover it up? ie: put meshing in front of it? I have seen many cars with the intercooler showing, and i reckon they and mine look sik. however i am worried about the potential damage.

when i mean damage i mean water, rain, pebbles, rocks, fumes?? etc..

cheers

[Sumo]

rocks are a fairly big problem, I wouldn't leave mine uncoverd but thats just me. Even things like birds could be a problem.

Sumo

[MrGTST]

On the other side of the coin I have heard that you shouldn't place mesh in front of the cooler as it restricts air flow. I have removed my mesh in front of my cooler for that reason and yes you do get a few bent fins from stones but every couple of weeks I just go outside and straighten up the bent fins as it only takes about 5 minutes....

[WazR32GTSt]

well the stock intercooler is exposed directly to the front, so it can't be that bad pending a HUGE rock or something that is just freakish anyway

[Al]

I have a mesh in front of my cooler to protect it against the bigger object. I could partly fit my little finger in the holes, so it does not really disturb the air flow.

My 2c

Alan