I have an 2004 Ram Rumble Bee 5.7
Any benefit removing hood scoop, cut opening in hood and front of scoop for more air flow.

 

It would help with getting hot air out from under the hood. That's how the open scoop on the SRT's works.

 

Is the intake on the hood ducted to the air intake system for the engine? If they just wanted to use it to evacuate hot air from under the hood, seems to me they could have come up with a MUCH better design for that.......

 

Nope lol, just lets air in. They used a similar design for the initial run of Hellcats, hood scoop to let air in, but with extractors to help that air get out. Only the SRT vehicles had factory hood scoops and of those, only the Viper had engine intake air ducted to it.

 

If you want to do custom work, you're already getting cool air through the ducts. I've added a reverse facing scoop on the passenger side of the hood on several cars through the years. These were all carbureted and those are most sensitive to hot air. F.I. engines have computer controls to get the most power. A reverse scoop on the passenger side and open underneath will allow hot air to evacuate from under the hood. It keeps under hood temperatures lower. I always put them on the passenger side in case I blow a hose of some type I don't spray water or oil on the windshield in front of me.

 

That works, so long as you don't have the opening for the *scoop* too close to the windshield. Then it really does become a scoop, as it is in the area of high pressure air at the base of the windshield, thus, higher pressure than under the hood, so forces air INTO the engine compartment.