Your thoughts on the enormous new hole in my bumper.
 

I've seen this done a few times, so last week I finally bit the bullet. I needed more airflow to fit an oil cooler, and I figured a little extra air to the top of the radiator couldn't hurt either.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/IMG_0025.jpg

I dont really like it but hey if it works.

are you going to make a shield to deflect/force air to flow down into the radiator area?

I have always thought "function over form" and good mechanical solution carry a certain beauty, so I think it is ok. (Yes, I am an engineer...) But the car did look better before, sorry. It would probably look a bit better if you covered the openings with some black net.

If you are worried about the looks, you can probably put some trim around it and some screen over it.

I am not an expert, but I plan on getting more cooling by cutting vents in the hood. The more air you let out the more that can come in.

At high speed the screen will act about the same as the solid cover so i don't think that would help him much. I agree that a hood vent would help that alot though keep us posted save. :D

I like it. Even did mine too. I agree that screen is counter productive. I am looking for some moulding to go around the edges. I am going to put the turn signals back in though.

I like it Sav- and if you can trim it up, all the better. I'm all about function over form myself, and if you can make it look good, great!

I've been thinking about where I'm going to stick an oil cooler myself....

need more pics.
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hole saw and jig saw? I've been trying to sack up and do this myself.
just clean up the white edge, then go after the hood situation.

paint the edge with touch up, and fill it with mesh.

I am not looking forward to this on my car.

anyone ever thought about cutting the bottom side of the bumper, and directing air over the intercooler to the rad? What about the bell air scooper?

Get some automotive door molding from a parts store. I'd replace the turn signals, they're only creating positive pressure behind the rad reducing airflow through it. Hustler, cut out the front mouth black plastic reinforcement and you'll get significantly more airflow through the front, but you'll have to add some shielding to the sides to keep air from spillout out. Leatherface did the same thing as Sav, came out pretty nice. I think he added some black plastic inside to clean up the appearance, would also help straighten airflow through there. He said he used a jigsaw.

I'd love to see some better pics. This probably looks fine on a black car, but will look terrible on other colors.

I think that's the perfect air source for a bigger oil cooler (2nd rx7 or mercedes diesel might fit - around 20x30x4). Though I agree with Robert- the big hurdle is getting the air out on the other side of the exchangers.

OTOH - I believe Mazda engineers attempted to implement a design principle used in race cars for front end air entry. Simplified - the air is accelerated as it enters the expansive volume of the 'mouth' after passing by the smallish perimeter. I say attempt because the bottom of the mouth follows theory while the top doesn't. Here's the article I've cited before, scroll down. My guess is, this is just another instance where turbo charging changes everything about the adequacy of existing engineering (like the cooling system etc.)

I'm in the process of upgrading my oil cooler to a unit that's more than double the size of current (I believe it's same as Sav's) and going to stick it in front of the rack. If that doesn't yield the temps I'm looking for, then I'm going to channel the two NA OE spoiler ducts to it. I'd like to avoid cutting up the nose too. The hood is a different story. :D

Read the article. The abs pieces included in the TDR IC kit do what the article states, keeps the air attached and directs it into more area of the radiator instead of just in front.

I have the same format of cutting in the front. I did it with the same intentions also. Once I finish doing ducting work up front (blocking off the sides so all air is forced through IC/Rad... I think it will be a great flow enhancer.

Oh and the automotive trim stuff fits perfectly around the bumper thickness. I put it on mine and it made it look so much cleaner.

Its safe to say that an intercooler in the front changes everything, and will not move enough air to the radiator...right?

How about white?
http://www.systemstrategies.com/miat...121007_005.jpg

lol...I don't think it looks good on any car to begin with.

doesn't some ricer JDM garbage company make a duct for the front? I see it on the poseur cars all the time. Its probably retarded expensive though.

maybe that grinder/autokonexion guy would be willing to make a miata bumper shaped drop-in ducted vent. that is, in the unlikey chance he's actually willing to listen to the market.

look, he made a hood for an NSX, he knows what he's doing, ok?!?! Maybe you should show a little more respect and just buy his product without questioning him. Do not disrespect a potential sponsor.

Me thinks that each car and install is different enough to justify a "try and see if it works" approach. There are various ways to resolve each issue too. I have a big ass radiator and fan which seem to manage my coolant temps quite well in the SE summer heat, in traffic (sans a/c).

Below is an image showing my plans to restructure the interior of the mouth. The top section may be wishful thinking, but the bottom is absolutely feasible. In my case I've got a larger radiator, but even the stock radiator could be lowered some to provide direct exposure to oncoming air by dropping the lower part of the mouth shrouding as pictured.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/mouthmod.jpg

I agree- that hole just needs an insert with a finished edge :bigtu:

so should I consider that no air going through the intercooler is going to contribute to cooling the radiator from loosing flow and heating the air through the intercooler?

you left out the air directors / straighteners / unstraighteners rob

Rotozip all the way, baby. I should have gone a lot slower, and I can still go back and clean up the edges quite a bit. I do have some touch-up paint, but I was also thinking about some black trim around the edges just to clean up the close-up aesthetics a little bit. I used a LOT of painters tape, a tape measure referenced off the top edge of the bumper to get the curvature right, and the cap from a bottle of kitty litter to get the curves at the ends.

I am also going to do a vented hood eventually, but you can see the oil cooler on the left in the photo. Vented hoods are great for getting air through whatever fits in the stock opening, but the oil cooler was going to have to go in the fenderwell, where it would be destroyed by road debris, or behind the intercooler, further sacrificing the current airflow situation. I agree the car is a lot cleaner without the hole, but I think it's growing on me. It's definitely more race-car than street car at this point anyway.

Stacking exchangers works best when you have the hottest exchanger last to reach the passing air. So your boost air in the IC is going to be the "least hot", then the rad which will benefit because the passing air is still not as hot as the surface of the rad rows/fins.

The top won't work- not with the angle that steep. Another reason to build that bolted on front support so that it goes deeper into the bumper. I think that'd make a BIG difference in air movement into the mouth and through the exchangers.

If the support was moved deeper into the nose/bumper, then I think the contours would come closer to mirroring each other as the expand into the mouth.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...mouthideal.jpg

y8s I am awaiting your drawings :D

christ... if u want function over looks.... JUST RIP THE WHOLE BUMPER OFF! :)

I'm cutting a hole like the m3csl in the bottom of the bumper for my oil cooler. I can live with that.

Hustler, link?

I think it looks just fine. Once the edge is cleaned up it should be pretty badass. I like things like that.

http://www.weapon-r.com/english/images/838-111-106.jpg

hole saw + this

also, has anyone here used the bell air scooper? I'm going to get that shit on the car as soon as I get home to work on it again. It would be really cool if that worked...and I don't rip it off on my first trip to the track.

I'm using it, and it's a great piece, but it does hang a bit low and you have to watch the curb 'stoppers' in parking lot spaces, and some stupidly high speed bumps.

have you used it on the track in a turbo car? I have one to go under my r-pack spoiler. Its going to be stupid low.

I didn't know you drove a turbo miata...cool.

Him and Ben are in competition for the fastest 1.6 turbo in the county.

I'd have a Bell scooper, or something like it, but then I heard it hangs BELOW the R-package lip. My lip is under 4" from the ground. A meaningful scooper would reduce that to sub-3", which is just absurd.

Myron (2/3rdsCobra @ M.net) has done this really trick setup that's like a BEGi scooper, but he cut a slot in the R-package lip. The duct goes right under the IC into the rad.

I understand that I want to pull air through the radiator, but what about the intercooler? I remember some discussion that turbulent air is best for an intercooler (which doesn't make sense in respect to radiator cooling) so would it be best to seal off my intercooler inside the sealed radiator air track? I'm thinking about building a rad box like matt andrew's car, with a seperate foil for air to the rad, and not the intercooler.

I wonder if sealing off this area alone would do the trick. I have a really fucking big intercooler (begi #3), so I don't have much room to work with for ducting.
Attachment 215077

Hustler, is that your car? Is that the way it sits now?

not my car (still travelling for work). My shit sits like that, with the same front to rear dimensions and spacing, but a much larger width and height intercooler.

he makes products if he thinks people will buy them. Id put money that if 10 people on here said theyd buy one hed make em.

I think it looks good, Id just touch up the areas that were cut with paint.

I love that look, im planning on doing it before i reapsray my car.

Touch it up somehow first, then post some pics!

I'd pay $25-$30 for one.

that damn sure ain't what happened with the hoods, and I don't think he understands the first thing about airflow. none the less, if someone will hold his hand through the development process, it would definately be a product that you'd see on many cars.

Brightning does: http://www.brightning.info/parts.html

Bottom of the page - and yep: not cheap.

Cheers!

Jeff

How much is that???

$250US for the fiberglass, $300US for the carbon fiber at current exchange rates. :eek:

Jeff

That's it. Fuck, it looks so good, I'd almost pay it I'd pay $100 for it without a doubt.
http://www.brightning.info/img/s_FN1.jpg

hmmm u mean like this cracker?:cool:

http://lh5.google.com/dkendal186/RwM...JPG?imgmax=720

http://lh3.google.com/dkendal186/RwM...JPG?imgmax=720

worked good enough

I like it. Prefer the functional look. Been thinking about doing similar myself, it's just having the balls to actually cut my bumper!

Love it. How would one go about buying it though??? Don't speak/read Japanese - is there a US or UK supplier?

http://lh3.google.com/dkendal186/RwM...JPG?imgmax=720
looks like i could cut a good amount of extra metal from there.

I'm starting to consider taking all the unnecessary shit out of my car...kinda like there's no turning back at this point. Its going to be irreversable...I don't know why I'm hanging on to that logic.

You can yank 8 pounds from under the bumper skin. Go to my website to see some pics (I only took 4.5 pounds out but when I go back in I'll get rid of the rest).

yup :) i'm happy with my VIS kit though....a much bigger hole in the front bumper

so I'm thinking about cutting along the red line. Will that free up some air flow, or a waste?
http://i6.tinypic.com/6kh4saq.jpg

I've also thought about cutting a semi-square hole, and doing something like this:
http://www.corvetteblogger.com/image...t/102107_3.jpg

Wonder why they would want to restrict the air flow like that?

probably to keep shit from puncturing the rad. I bet the splitters there help with the restriction.

I don't know if the marginal increase in airflow would compensate for the loss in structural integrity.

I expect you are getting more than enough air into the engine bay. I would consider ducting and extraction instead.

...my $0.02

- L

not my car. I don't really want to cut the top of the bumper because its so ugly. I have an FM hood, but I'm still worried about radiator airflow.