NA & NB Miata Hood Louvers - Gauging Interest
Stop with all this "is it going to be cost effective" nonsense, and just tell me how much of my money you would like, and where I should send it to.
If I don't have louvers in my hand next March/April, you can refund me.
If I don't have louvers in my hand next March/April, you can refund me.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,310
Total Cats: 1,236
From: San Diego
Group buy should be opening within a week mlev
I just won't open the group buy and start taking people's money until I'm totally happy with everything and have been as thorough as possible.
But then once that's done and the group buy is going, it shouldn't take long at all to get these in everyone's hands
I'd rather make people wait longer during the development phase than make them wait while I have their money and they keep checking their inbox for a tracking number.
-Ryan
I just won't open the group buy and start taking people's money until I'm totally happy with everything and have been as thorough as possible.
But then once that's done and the group buy is going, it shouldn't take long at all to get these in everyone's hands

I'd rather make people wait longer during the development phase than make them wait while I have their money and they keep checking their inbox for a tracking number.
-Ryan
Well then make sure that the material is thick enough to do the job of the material that you removed.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,310
Total Cats: 1,236
From: San Diego
Stock hood is, frankly, overly-stiff. This is definitely being taken into consideration though.
-Ryan
-Ryan
Of course, so the Chinese knockoffs will have that etching as well. Makes it easier to spot the fakes, as they tend to not get minor details correct (and they wouldn't know enough to delete this detail anyway).
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,310
Total Cats: 1,236
From: San Diego
Hey now, I've got two more days for my 'within a week' estimate 
Today I went through an install to try and anticipate any possible issues that might arise for you guys. Tonight I'm designing the cut templates for NA and NB. Finishing up a before/after on an MSM tomorrow.
Lots of work but I believe we're on-track.
-Ryan

Today I went through an install to try and anticipate any possible issues that might arise for you guys. Tonight I'm designing the cut templates for NA and NB. Finishing up a before/after on an MSM tomorrow.
Lots of work but I believe we're on-track.
-Ryan
[QUOTE=ThePass;1156875]Hey now, I've got two more days for my 'within a week' estimate 
Today I went through an install to try and anticipate any possible issues that might arise for you guys. Tonight I'm designing the cut templates for NA and NB. Finishing up a before/after on an MSM tomorrow.
Lots of work but I believe we're on-track.
-Ryan[/QUOTE
I know just want to keep up to date. I just blew my first bp motor. So Uhm yea... Get er done so I can have an excuse to buy louvers to help with heat issues. -Wink wink-

Today I went through an install to try and anticipate any possible issues that might arise for you guys. Tonight I'm designing the cut templates for NA and NB. Finishing up a before/after on an MSM tomorrow.
Lots of work but I believe we're on-track.
-Ryan[/QUOTE
I know just want to keep up to date. I just blew my first bp motor. So Uhm yea... Get er done so I can have an excuse to buy louvers to help with heat issues. -Wink wink-
Hey now, I've got two more days for my 'within a week' estimate 
Today I went through an install to try and anticipate any possible issues that might arise for you guys. Tonight I'm designing the cut templates for NA and NB. Finishing up a before/after on an MSM tomorrow.
Lots of work but I believe we're on-track.
-Ryan

Today I went through an install to try and anticipate any possible issues that might arise for you guys. Tonight I'm designing the cut templates for NA and NB. Finishing up a before/after on an MSM tomorrow.
Lots of work but I believe we're on-track.
-Ryan

Except I'm not celebrating with champagne.
I'll give you a hint.

I take my hood louvers seriously.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,310
Total Cats: 1,236
From: San Diego
Alright guys, here is the culmination of our work over the last few weeks. This is a bit of a teaser with the full release and group buy coming tomorrow in a separate thread!
The percentages below are the reduction of the under-hood pressure from a stock unvented hood. A higher % change is better. By placing vents in the hood, the pressure behind the radiator is reduced, which increases the differential between the front of the radiator (very high pressure) and behind it (lower pressure). This increases the airflow through the radiator.
Reducing pressure here also reduces front end lift, which, in other words increases downforce.
Vents tested:
Basic DIY holes covered with mesh (my old hood): 13.5% pressure reduction
The hole’s simple orientation in the surface, no element forward of the vent to facilitate lower pressure over it and a mesh that impedes flow all contributed to giving this a “barely worth it” ranking.
Same DIY holes and a larger horizontal opening added between the headlights, with a gurney flap: 19% pressure reduction
The extra opening showed a better result, but the area of the opening (1.5” x 18”) limited the amount of air it can move, Vent position was the killer here, focusing just center and rearward of the radiator doesn’t utilize the best areas of the hood in terms of pressure.
GT500 vent: 27% improvement
The overall shape looks like it should be effective, but area of the openings are surprisingly small for the size of the part. Airflow is further restricted by the mesh of the GT500 vent. Coupled with very little lip forward of the opening and the same positioning issues as the options above, the GT500’s effectiveness is limited.
Autokonexion/Garage Vary composite vented hood: 31% improvement
This is a whole replacement hood. There are a lot of ‘right’ things about this one. The rear of the vent drops significantly below the hood level and a small gurney feature is shaped into the front edge of the vent creating low pressure over the vent. This hood had the largest hole area of anything we tested which made this the most effective, but we felt there was still room for improvement. We used this as our benchmark.
Singular Motorsports Hood Louver System: 49% improvement
The louver fins create a low pressure area across the entire surface of the vent. Specific fin design and the vent’s orientation on the hood are based on real-world airflow testing, Exact hole positioning based on pressure testing above and under the hood. Gurney flaps further increase efficiency. We tried multiple variations of just about every little element before deciding on the final version.
We set out to match or beat the Garage Vary hood and after wrapping up the tests yesterday, I’m very happy to report that the numbers speak for themselves: Nothing else comes close to these in terms of performance.
Group buy will be posted by tomorrow!
*pic is an unpainted prototype during testing*
The percentages below are the reduction of the under-hood pressure from a stock unvented hood. A higher % change is better. By placing vents in the hood, the pressure behind the radiator is reduced, which increases the differential between the front of the radiator (very high pressure) and behind it (lower pressure). This increases the airflow through the radiator.
Reducing pressure here also reduces front end lift, which, in other words increases downforce.
Vents tested:
Basic DIY holes covered with mesh (my old hood): 13.5% pressure reduction
The hole’s simple orientation in the surface, no element forward of the vent to facilitate lower pressure over it and a mesh that impedes flow all contributed to giving this a “barely worth it” ranking.
Same DIY holes and a larger horizontal opening added between the headlights, with a gurney flap: 19% pressure reduction
The extra opening showed a better result, but the area of the opening (1.5” x 18”) limited the amount of air it can move, Vent position was the killer here, focusing just center and rearward of the radiator doesn’t utilize the best areas of the hood in terms of pressure.
GT500 vent: 27% improvement
The overall shape looks like it should be effective, but area of the openings are surprisingly small for the size of the part. Airflow is further restricted by the mesh of the GT500 vent. Coupled with very little lip forward of the opening and the same positioning issues as the options above, the GT500’s effectiveness is limited.
Autokonexion/Garage Vary composite vented hood: 31% improvement
This is a whole replacement hood. There are a lot of ‘right’ things about this one. The rear of the vent drops significantly below the hood level and a small gurney feature is shaped into the front edge of the vent creating low pressure over the vent. This hood had the largest hole area of anything we tested which made this the most effective, but we felt there was still room for improvement. We used this as our benchmark.
Singular Motorsports Hood Louver System: 49% improvement
The louver fins create a low pressure area across the entire surface of the vent. Specific fin design and the vent’s orientation on the hood are based on real-world airflow testing, Exact hole positioning based on pressure testing above and under the hood. Gurney flaps further increase efficiency. We tried multiple variations of just about every little element before deciding on the final version.
We set out to match or beat the Garage Vary hood and after wrapping up the tests yesterday, I’m very happy to report that the numbers speak for themselves: Nothing else comes close to these in terms of performance.
Group buy will be posted by tomorrow!
*pic is an unpainted prototype during testing*
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,310
Total Cats: 1,236
From: San Diego
unnecessary, we chose a material thickness that provides enough rigidity.













