I recently bought a 2009
Porsche cayman
(Base) and look at the side vent. The drivers side is blocked/covered by a piece and the drivers side is not covered. Is this a
normal thing for the cayman or am I missing something?
They’re both doing something, even though one
looks
fake.
What each side vent actually does
On a 987.2 Cayman (including 2009):
One side is the engine’s intake for combustion air
Fresh air comes in through the side vent, goes past a plastic baffle and “snorkel” duct, then through the air filter and MAF into the engine.
The other side is for engine bay cooling
There is an engine compartment blower that moves air through the other vent to keep the engine bay temps under control when things get hot.
Both vents are functional. They just do different jobs: one feeds the engine, one cools around it.
So why does the driver side look “blocked” with plastic?
What you are seeing behind the grille is not a blanking plate. It is:
A
baffle / restrictor / “impact absorber” plate
in front of the snorkel to:
Shape the airflow smoothly into the intake duct
Separate water and debris so it drains out the bottom instead of going straight to the filter and MAF sensor
Reduce intake noise to meet NVH and legal noise requirements
The plate is designed so air flows around its edges and into the snorkel; from the outside it looks like a flat plastic wall, which makes it look “blocked”, but there are gaps around and behind it where the air actually goes.
A lot of owners remove this piece (“desnorkel”) for more intake sound, which is why you will see threads and photos of that plastic plate coming out. It is not there because Porsche forgot to use the vent; it is there to control airflow, noise, and water ingress by design.
So short answer:
One vent = intake
, with a plastic baffle that just makes it
look
blocked.
Other vent = cooling air for the engine bay
, often with ducting and a fan hidden behind the grille.
So would I be able to drive in the rain? My whole concern was that water would get sucked into the engine potentially causing issues.
Thousands of people including us drive ours in rain. Nothing to be afraid of.
That's the whole purpose of the baffle, to prevent water from getting sucked in.
There are many threads where people "desnorkel" and say they have had no issues. I personally have not, so I can't speak on that behalf.
