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cooling alternatives

B

BAD SVT

Addicted CEG'er
Joined
Dec 19, 2005
Messages
6,521
Location
Formerly Las Vegas, now Dallas TX
hey guys. what are u all doing to keep underhood temps down? its summer. our cars will suffer from very high temps cos the AC has to come on. i found out this week that my car can't be driven with the AC on in the middle of the day. it simply gets too hot. i searched and found that some use ice. how practical is that? at best, it could only work for a track run or two right? One more question... why does the fan turn on in the morning after a cold start. it only happens when i turn the ac on. isnt the motor supposed to get to a certain temp b4 the fan comes on regardless of the ac being on or off?
 
The a/c will kick the fans on (at least the low speed). It needs to move air across the condenser.
 
I haven't had a problem with cooling here yet in 90 degree heat. I set my low speed cooling fan to turn on at 200 degrees and the high speed at 212. For the most part it just sits at 204 degrees.
 
BrApple said:
I haven't had a problem with cooling here yet in 90 degree heat. I set my low speed cooling fan to turn on at 200 degrees and the high speed at 212. For the most part it just sits at 204 degrees.
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90 degrees? LOL! we got that in april. its 110. i'd still like to know what alternatives are there for aftermarket cooling tho.
 
BAD SVT said:
90 degrees? LOL! we got that in april. its 110. i'd still like to know what alternatives are there for aftermarket cooling tho.
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thats really high for New England ... humid to, like just walking outside and you break into a sweat ...
 
Have your face feel like its going to melt off by the sun.

Julian you might want to think about putting on the turbo blanket and getting some wrap for the exhaust side.
 
TourEnvy said:
Julian you might want to think about putting on the turbo blanket and getting some wrap for the exhaust side.
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this is a good idea. my turbo blanket only gets to around 220 or so depending. the turbine side under the blanket gets upwards of 700 degrees.

the down pipe normally sits around 340 from what I have seen with header wrap.
 
BAD SVT said:
90 degrees? LOL! we got that in april. its 110. i'd still like to know what alternatives are there for aftermarket cooling tho.
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In the past... someone suggested that the Focus radiator *might* fit.. if so, they have larger aftermarket ones. I'm sceptical about this though.

If you have a spare radiator, you can send it to Griffin for them to copy (and make bigger). That will run you about $500... unless there's a group buy (as low as $300 each).

For those that don't live in hot areas like Phoenix and Las Vegas... even the high fan speeds have difficulty handling the mid-summer heat.
 
TourEnvy said:
Julian you might want to think about putting on the turbo blanket and getting some wrap for the exhaust side.
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i had that put on a couple months ago actually. its the shiny one from heatshield products. i don't think it does its job well tho, cos the blanket is impossible to touch even with a finger when the motor warms up. i touched the blanket the other day, and all i heard was "crunch crunch". its already "crispifying" after two months. i'm gonna have to get the ones that most get. i think joey sells them too. i dont have a downpipe wrapping either.
 
morbid said:
In the past... someone suggested that the Focus radiator *might* fit.. if so, they have larger aftermarket ones. I'm sceptical about this though.

If you have a spare radiator, you can send it to Griffin for them to copy (and make bigger). That will run you about $500... unless there's a group buy (as low as $300 each).

For those that don't live in hot areas like Phoenix and Las Vegas... even the high fan speeds have difficulty handling the mid-summer heat.
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so u're saying even after getting this bigger fan, it still might not help too much?
 
BrApple said:
yeah the turbo blanket NPG sells is a real nice one.
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i have one that is the same. you can put your hand on it after several boost runs and its warm to the touch. i don't have anything wrapped other then the blanket. but, i am not running a splash guard under the car since it doesn't rain idk if that helps dissipate heat better or not.

in 115 degree temp with the a/c i haven't even bother to worry about it; water+oil go up-- only a couple of time i have seen oil over 230 but full boost still comes on fine.

since having my a/c fixed, the compressor takes away about 1 pound of boost but i take that would probably be normal.
 
First make sure your cooling system is up to par. I like to do a couple runs of 50% water and simple green to clean out the :censored::censored::censored::censored: inside (drain, add simple green, run for 20 mins, repeat). For summer I like to run more water than anti freeze since water runs cooler (about 10% anti freeze just enough for the water pump to have lubrication). Bigger e-fan will definitely help, a thermostat that opens earlier (i used to run with a gutted thermostat), foam all around the fan shroud to keep everything air tight. I'd prop up the hood in the back by adding washers to the hood bolts so hot air can escape (lower windshield is a high pressure area).

Most importantly would be water/methanol injection. I used a spare fuel pump and spare fuel injector (550cc), put the injector right near the throttle body, run a hose from that to the fuel pump in a spare coolant resevoir, wired up that fuel injector to my secondaries injectors (only comes on during boost), wired the fuel pump to my aux input on my ECU, and it worked great. Lowered my air temps by almost half. No bogging or nothing. Of course the fuel pump and injector eventually locked up, because it wasnt meant to pump water. I'll be buying some meth injectors and water pump especially for WI though.
 
All good ideas newbie but you forgot the Redline Water Wetter, good product (Royal Purple also makes similar). Higher psi radiator cap can also help prevent overheating.
Also you can research Evans NPG+ coolant, good for high heat applications. I decided not to use it on my Mustang because some racers said its REAL slippery and can even walk up the head bolts (not good on a SBF).
I still might try it soon as my turbo motor makes ALOT of heat :laugh:.
-J
 
I used to run water wetter, but the :censored::censored::censored::censored: is expensive. And right after summer I just drain it and run 50/50 mix again.
 
I see some cars without the plastic plastic piece under the fascia. That piece helps direct air through the radiator and create low pressure where the lip curls down, causing more air to flow through the radiator. So if you don't have that in, your not running as cool as you could be. Also, I've seen some of our friends in Europe who have cut slits in their hood and bent them upwards creating vents. I was thinking of doing this one myself.
 
CSVTnewbie said:
I'd prop up the hood in the back by adding washers to the hood bolts so hot air can escape (lower windshield is a high pressure area).
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Actually that's a bad idea. You're right that the cowl area (the entire length) is a high pressure area. That means if the rear of the hood is lifted, that high pressure air will enter the engine bay from the back of the hood... which will add pressure and resistance to the air coming in through the radiator.


BAD SVT said:
so u're saying even after getting this bigger fan, it still might not help too much?
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Not bigger fans, I was referring to the possibility of aftermarket (larger) radiators.
 
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