Engine cooling ductwork

[Legends16]

Hey guys,

      Im still pretty new to these cars.  When I bought my car used It had the typical ductwork from the front bumper with the tube going twards the engine. On my car the tube was tyraped to the left front shock tower and stopped. My car didnt have the ductwork that connects to the engine from the tube, or this part bellow:

http://store.uslegendcars.com/site/product.cfm?id=204DBAAA-B0D0-791A-65C56028D19DB12F&dept_id=4CC0408A-B0D0-791A-65AEA69C4BF104C4

A stupid question, everyone runs one for these right? No reason not too?

Thanks,

Eric

[knoxracing]

Throw it in the trash or hang it on the wall.  I am not a fan of ducting air to the tin box,  keep everything open and you will be fine. You may choose to run a fan set up on top of the engine or  on the oil cooler. We do not run fans on the top of the motor, it is a nice set-up though. We have always ran fans on the oil cooler, but with the new Fluidynes cooler package available we are even illiminating those too.

[legends13]

I would agree with Dennis. Fans are good. The ducting is not worth using. it does little to cool the engine. The best bet is the new Fluidyne setup with dual coolers. one is for the main oil, and the other for the top end oil. if you use twitter, I posted a pic of the setup to my twitter account yesterday @bsalatino

[justfreaky]

Eric,

Dennis and Brad mention a whole lot about the oil cooler and very little about your question concerning the ducts and hose.
Do a quick search on cooling and you will see a few different ways that others have been doing it.

The oil cooler is a VERY important part of engine cooling. As these are air cooled engines, whatever air you can get to, and around, the engine will be a plus. The ducts and hoses do not draw any current from your charging system. That is a plus! Down side; the ducts and hoses only work while the car is in motion.
I have seen combinations of both ducting and fans. (Check that cooling search)
If you choose to run fans for engine cooling; You can always use your ducts and hoses to cool brakes. OR, you can choose to use the combination of the fans and ducting to cool the engine.

Steve

[Legends57x]

Steve,

Sorry, but need to correct your last statement.  INEX 2012 Rulebook, page 43, Section 8 under Brakes says 'Any type of cooling duct to the brakes is prohibited'.  Just wanted to clarify that before someone goes thru the trouble of installing them....

[justfreaky]

Sorry Mark, You are correct.
Thank You for the correction!

Steve

[Winterracing]

The new Fluidyne cooler is a nice setup, however the one question about it that i have is, these are air cooled motors, with such a big cooler in front of the motor i wonder if it would block air flow to the motor.  Even taking it one step further I'd wonder if the space between the motor and oil cooler would create a hot pocket of air since it has no where to go.

Just thinking out loud,
Whats everyone else think?

Dan

[legends13]

The cooler is big, but it is not tall. Look at your engine. The cooling is done on the cylinders and head, where all of the fins are. The oil cooler does not block these.

The fluidyne system will drop oil temps 40-60*.

To Steve's point, the engine duct that you began asking about in the OP, take one look at it and tell me what you see. There is an input, but not outlet. Air needs to exit as much as it does enter, or it won't flow. Adding this duct to the exhaust side covers the cooling fins, and stops air from flowing over them correctly. Not to mention, the duct piece costs almost as much as the top end oil cooler.

[chadvarner85]

I modified mine by cutting the back out of it so it would have an exit.... I dont know if that was an over site or what but it was a bad design...

[pucky]

can somebody post picture of the fluidline dual system and what temperature is your engine with this setup and where are you taking the temp from
thanks

[Legends16]

Thanks Guys, some interesting answers, not what I was expecting . It makes sence what some of you are saying though. Its like trying to blow air through a straw and having it blocked on one end, doesnt make a whole lot of sence I guess. It seems like it would trap a lot of hot air but I could be wrong.

Most of the guys out this way run the duel fan system that sits on the top. Its pretty nice, its just not in my budget to get. In hearing great things about this new engine cooler I may just wait and get that setup someday instead.

As of right now I have a bottom end oil cooler with a fan (the brand name escapes me at the momenmt), an air duct in the hood pointed at the rear two cylinders along with the hose on the bumper that I mensioned in the above post.

I have done a little reading about engine cooling. Insteresting stuff, one guy mounted a buildge pump fan to the firewall to blow air across the back of the motor. My stepdad had one of these 4 inch fans. I eneded up installing that on the car as well. It works pretty well although I do question the load it puts on the system. Its a powerful little fan that uses a 10 amp fuse recomended by the mfg.

The car came with an engine oil temp and oil preasure gauge. I know many dont run these gausges but can anyone tell me what a good oil temp range is? What should I be seeing?

Thanks all!

Eric

[Chunk]

I have been thinking about trying the head fans. However, looking at them, I'm assuming they blow air down onto the top of the head, correct? I would think that under racing conditions the air going over the top of the hood and fans would create a vacuum? If that's the case, wouldn't the fan and the air going across them be working against each other? Would it be better to use them to evacuate the air?

[amp racing]

i thought the same thing chuck.. i did not put the fans up threw the hood, lowered them so they pull air from under the hood.seems to work ok...

joe

[thunder938]

I ran a duct from the side of the hood that put the air between the rear 2 plugs.  kept the rear part of the head MUCH cooler.  Checking with a temp gun the head bolts were all very close after adding the duct. It had no fan just a tube that would catch alot of air at speed

[justfreaky]

Eric,

The dual fan kit that they sell IS expensive. BUT... You can build your own system fairly cheap.
I bought 2 fans from Dan and picked up some aluminum plate from the local recycling yard. I have less than $60 tied up in the whole deal.
Seen the fans on eBay for less than $20 each (Do some shopping, and you can get a pair for that). Aluminum plate cost me $3.00. I bought the relay and wiring pig tail from Randy because it seemed to me to be the smarter way to wire everything together. I don't have it all bolted together yet, but will post pics when I do.

I like Brad's analogy. You need an intake of cool air; But it also has to have an exit.

Dave system didn't use any fans, and works good when the car is in motion. Cost is pretty cheap too!
Dave also had a fan that blew air between the engine and the firewall. There is a spot the doesn't get a lot of attention.
The system with the fans does have a plate that ducts the air around that area.


Steve