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I'm going to attempt a ducting project this weekend. I just put in a precision 350 intercooler and TSE radiator and removed the AC. I plan to box it as best I can. I'm thinking of removing the plastic piece that sits in the mouth of the bumper on my NA and just put a box of aluminum around the opening. My question is should I worry about the air moving backwards? The box will be sealed to the radiator and the intercooler so any air moving forward will be forced through those 2. I plan to basically wrap the mouth of the bumper in sheet aluminum and fasten that to the box. The aluminum around the mouth might not be sealed to the bumper exactly but any air entering should be forced towards the exchangers.
To maximize pressure differential you want to make sure no high pressure air can leak out of the box. Something as simple as weather stripping can seal nicely. I've even seen the aluminum duct tape used with great success. You're going to be so close to having it perfect I wouldn't pass up sealing it.
Ive attached the photos of what I've done so far. I will need to get some foam and tape as it's not great. The structure is there though and I certainly aren't aiming for any fabrication awards. I had a hard time with metal so I ended up using a sheet of ABS. The bottom piece I heated and bent the ends up to attach to the side ducting section.
The car car is a '91 1.6 with a Greddy turbo kit running 7 psi. It's got a precision intercooler, TSE radiator and FM oil cooler (sentrab 13 row by the steering rack). The car is used for DE, I'd consider myself a novice / intermediate driver. Certainly not redlining at ever shift and finding every tenth of a second. That's years away for me. I'll be running mostly in NJ.
Im thinking about leaving top open (running out of time and skill!) and just using the hood latch area block off plate i have.
Ive attached the photos of what I've done so far. I will need to get some foam and tape as it's not great. The structure is there though and I certainly aren't aiming for any fabrication awards. I had a hard time with metal so I ended up using a sheet of ABS. The bottom piece I heated and bent the ends up to attach to the side ducting section.
The car car is a '91 1.6 with a Greddy turbo kit running 7 psi. It's got a precision intercooler, TSE radiator and FM oil cooler (sentrab 13 row by the steering rack). The car is used for DE, I'd consider myself a novice / intermediate driver. Certainly not redlining at ever shift and finding every tenth of a second. That's years away for me. I'll be running mostly in NJ.
Im thinking about leaving top open (running out of time and skill!) and just using the hood latch area block off plate i have.
I've got the same turbo, IC and radiator as you. I did a lot to close up gaps around the edges of the intercooler with foil tape. If you can block off the top it will surely help because there is a lot of volume up under the top of the bumper and you really want to drive all that air into the radiator and not give it any room to escape.
i was overheating with a thick koyo aluminum radiator and a mishimoto double fan shroud. I'm sure TSE rad made a huge difference and not running a fan shroud but I have to think (believe) that my duct work really improved things since it was so much f'ing work! I did successfully run in 95 degree heat at 8psi without getting near the danger zone and I'm not running an oil cooler yet.
Thanks for the advice. I bit the bullet and added the top portion. I bent the ABS using a heat gun and slid it into the lip at the top of the radiator and then bolted the sides in. It looks great on the sides, no light shows through. I'll still tape it for insurance but I'm really pleased with how it worked out. It's not the prettiest....it's a track car.
I also did some quick tests with the ABS last night. It gets more pliable around 250 degrees and soft around 280-300. If the radiator hits those temps I have other problems ahead of me. As you can see the ABS also bent easily and took rivets well. In the end the ABS was great to work with, I'd highly recommend it.
I've got the same turbo, IC and radiator as you. I did a lot to close up gaps around the edges of the intercooler with foil tape. If you can block off the top it will surely help because there is a lot of volume up under the top of the bumper and you really want to drive all that air into the radiator and not give it any room to escape.
i was overheating with a thick koyo aluminum radiator and a mishimoto double fan shroud. I'm sure TSE rad made a huge difference and not running a fan shroud but I have to think (believe) that my duct work really improved things since it was so much f'ing work! I did successfully run in 95 degree heat at 8psi without getting near the danger zone and I'm not running an oil cooler yet.
For my next stage of cooling improvement I picked up this louvered hood. My car is silver so I guess I'll probably plasti-dip black for now? Eventually I might actually want to paint it to match the car. Hopefully won't look to bad to have a blacked out hood. Red is going to need to change before I put it on my silver car.
My Greddy system crapped out on me so I'm rebuilding with a TDR Rotrex setup. I'm using the TDR radiator as well as the filler cap on the TSE radiator conflicts with the boost pipe. There is a large separation between the intercooler and the radiator. I've read someplace in this thread that the heat exchangers should be sealed with each other. Can someone walk me through the theory behind this?
Air takes the path of least resistance, if it's easier for the air to go around the intercooler rather than through it, that's how the majority of flow will be.
Think of flow as being dictated by pressure differential across the core. If you duct the front of the radiator it will be be a high pressure zone. The back will be a low pressure zone, even lower pressure if you vent the hood. With the intercooler sitting inside the high pressure box you created the pressure is the same in front and back, by sealing it to the radiator your getting that low pressure zone access to the rear of the intercooler.
So, spring is warming up here, and after that comes summer. With the warmer weather, the insects start moving, and generally seem to end up in my radiator mouth. My usual fix is a layer of insect screen mesh from the local hardware store, draped in front of the a/c condenser and radiator. Always been warned about restricting the airflow, never had an overheating problem with it though. However now I have the SE, and will be undertaking the usual power-enhancing mods (ECU, intercooler, intake, exhaust), the question of cooling is at the forefront of my thinking. While a bigger radiator is also on the list, I am not looking forward to getting grasshoppers etc out of the IC and radiator cooling fins, so leaning toward the insect screen solution.
Are there any other solutions people here use? I have seen post 398, which is one way of handling the insect residues (below), but I'd prefer prevention to the cure. Grok me some ideas, smart people of MTnet!
Originally Posted by vehicular
AC shops will hose home/ stationary units down with a weak acid and then blow them out from back to front with water and compressed air. I actually just did mine this weekend with Awesome (like Purple Power or Simple Green) then scrubbed it with a really soft brush to knock all the crust and dead bugs loose. Be really careful if you scrub it, as the fins are wicked sharp and will wreck your knuckles, but they're also really easy to bend, and it really won't flow any air if you bend all the fins up.
Screen sucks. A quick look at McMaster shows nothing you'd actually use with better than 60% open flow area. The fact that you can see through screen doesn't mean you're getting any significant airflow through it, and for all the restriction it really doesn't give you any protection. Heat exchangers on race cars are wear items. For whatever it's worth, in my opinion you're better off cleaning them a couple times a year, and replacing them when they're too beat up to trust (if they live that long anyway).
If you insist on some sort of protection, American dirt track guys (and presumably Aussie dirt racers?) use Nomex honeycomb radiator guards. They're not better than screen for flow area, but they actually provide some protection, when screen is useless. Speedway Motors sells it up here in right side up world. A composite shop may have some if shipping it is as expensive as I bet it is.
I hear you. All I am interested in is stopping the bugs, on a bad day they could clog a significant proportion of the cooling fins especially the big green grasshoppers, I'm happy to take my chances with the rocks.
Thanks for the link, I never knew that stuff existed! You're right, the local shops are sure to have it and I will look and see what they have and what might work without too much damage to the airflow.
Right side up? Okaaay ... but you still drive on the wrong side of the road.
What are people using for coolant temperature gauges? Where's the best place to measure? Existing coolant sensor at the back of the head, or split the upper radiator hose?
What are people using for coolant temperature gauges? Where's the best place to measure? Existing coolant sensor at the back of the head, or split the upper radiator hose?
Patrick
Ill be ordering the below gauge Longacre Accutech SMI
Ill be ordering one of these in a few weeks, a bit over kill, but i only have 1 open gauge spot left and need both temps. Ill be putting the sensor into the front block off plate from a qmax reroute im ordering.
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