Hi... sorry I missed this reply... as the NEW version here...
... is kinda a PITA for me to learn.
Yep... yur right... as the cutouts would make a lot of difference... but I betcha STILL if you moved that plate into the middle of the car's air intake, you'd see a difference in operating temp.
My experience was when I made a towbar adapter out of 2 x 3 angle iron and the left it in place after I detached it from our tow vehicle.
Just the 2" section stuck below the stock bumper and at speeds over 60mph, the car would start to run hotter and hotter. HA! At speeds less than, the air was able to re-collect and route through the radiator as it should.
The next day, under identical conditions, I removed the adapter and the problem went away. I used the same route on the freeway also to test in almost identical temps. I was convinced!
So when I tow... I now remember to to remove the adapter also if I'm gonna take any long high speed trips!
