klodkrawler05

I know we have a couple good how-to's for this already but they seem to be for C6's, not that the c5 is much different but for posterity:

Step 1: remove your hood or acquire a spare hood. (what I chose to do) We'll go ahead and assume if you can't figure out how to remove the 4 15mm bolts and 2 hood shocks from your car that you probably shouldn't be using dangerous cutting tools on any part of your car.



Step 2: following along with the directions Trackspec Provides is to put a stripe of tape roughly in the center of the hood.



Step 3: taking measurements side to side mark 3-4 spots that are exactly on the centerline of the hood. After doing that trace a line directly across the center of the hood connecting the dots. (despite the illusion the tape gives I promise that line is centered and straight)



Step 4: Next up we need to locate the included vent templates on the hood (a freshly waxed hood makes it much harder to get masking tape to stick I discovered) I followed the trackspec instructions and located the vents per their suggested measurements.
you'll notice I also taped the directions to the hood as that made it easier to reference the dimensions while taping.



Step 5: Once the vents are located I recommend taping all the way around the vent template (make sure not to cover the cut lines!) this will help keep the template from shifting as you cut.



Step 6: Now begins the fun/destruction! Using a 1/2" drill bit put holes in the corners of the template so that you can cut straight lines without trying to navigate the tight bends.



Step 7: Using the fiberglass cutter of your choice (I'm using a 3" cutoff wheel from harbor freight) connect the 1/2 hole "dots" you drilled in the previous step. Try to cut as deeply as you can without dragging the body of your cutter along the hood. Keep in mind, DO NOT START AT THE HOLES as the cutter slices down into the hood it will cut material both behind and in front of where you started, if you start at the hole you will wind up notching the hood in a spot you didn't mean to cut.

after connecting all the dots remove all but the center-line tape (this will come in handy again later)



Step 8: Because the cutter I was using didn't go deep enough to cut all the way through the hood bracing I had to flip the hood over and finish the cuts from the back, If you used a 6" cutoff wheel you might be able to avoid this step. Thankfully I had cut deep enough in multiple spots so I could easily see where I needed to cut/trim from the backside to get the holes cut.





Step 9: Now would be a good time to wipe the hood down and lay the vents onto your cut's to verify you don't need to file/cut/sand down any spots, I had a couple spots that slightly stuck into the vent but a file made short work of them. (note I removed the center line tape, I don't recommend that! keep it installed until after you drill the rivet holes)



Step 10: (This step is optional, at the time I started prep for this I was questioning doing it but I think the final results are definitely worth it.) After thoroughly blowing all the fiberglass dust off the hood with my air compressor I used a tack cloth to remove any lingering dust, then began masking the cut-outs to paint the cut lines black. The spots where you cut will be a bright white color and it really shows up next to the red hood and black vents.



Step 11: Moving the hood inside I then began misting on lightweight coats of black spray paint, I did 2 light coats waiting in between for each one to get tacky before spraying the next, after those 2 cuts I did 2 heavier coats, allowing slightly more drying time between each. After 4 coats I had this:



After allowing the hood to dry in the sun for several hours I peeled the tape and newspaper to see the final result:






Step 12: Ok! finally we are ready to start mounting the vents. The directions specify starting with the center holes of each vent using a 1/8" drill bit and then working towards the outside corners in opposite directions on each side. (this is where still having the tape on the hood makes it a bit easier to locate the center vent)

One thing they don't mention in the instructions which took us a few dropped washers and wasted rivets to figure out. After getting the 2 center rivets installed on each vent (which are relatively easy to access) flip the hood over and install the rest of the rivets with the hood in this upside down configuration. Its much easier to load a rivet into the tool, push it up through the hole in the hood from underneath and then hold a washer onto the back side of the rivet from the top when gravity is helping keep the wash in place on the rivet.



Flip the hood over after all the rivets are installed and vioala!




Step 13: If you are cutting your stock hood you can skip this step. If you're using a spare hood, remove the stock hood now!



Step 14: Install the modified hood and adjust hood gaps as needed:




Finished product:



And that concludes my install experience with the vents! All told it took me about 8 hours from start to finish but that included drying time for the paint during which I bled my brakes, changed the clutch fluid and popped the race seats into the car in prep for a HPDE I was attending the following day. See my next post below for a couple more finished pictures, detail pictures of the vents etc.

klodkrawler05

Included here are a couple detail photos of the vents, they're really beautiful pieces of artwork and I thought they deserved a couple photos showing that:

Topside:


Backside:


One other slick little detail, Trackspec includes a 3d Printed "spacer" which goes behind the back of the center vent so that you don't wind up with a gap between the bulges of the hood, its not needed but its a very nice little touch. I apologize for the potato phone quality of this photo:



Lastly I know I've seen mention of people being concerned with the rain affecting the underside of the car, I got to test that first hand as it rained all day for my first HPDE of the season. I can happily report not having a single issue! While on track the heat from the running engine as well as moving forward keeps pretty much all of the rain out, between sessions the vents seem warm enough to evaporate most water that falls on them, in addition following Trackspec's mounting dimensions for the vents places the center vent directly over the air bridge (which I don't see caring if it gets wet) the side vents are placed on one side over the empty fenderwell, on the other side it is directly over the washer fluid bottle (my car has had that removed so both side vents just sit over empty fender wells)

Despite that I'd still like to at least make some form of rain tray for the center vent. I have been researching some ideas and will likely try to build something over the next week or 2.

I'll leave this how to with a couple photos of my car at the event:

klodkrawler05

Reserved for rain tray build.

blkbrd69

Nice job.
Looks very familiar, quality is in the details.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...r-louvers.html

klodkrawler05

Thanks! I read through your install tutorial several times before tackling mine! yours turned out fantastic as well!

fmcokc

One thing I will add is the use of Cleco's will not only make assembly easier, it helps a bunch in forming the vent to the contours of the hood. With some pressure, you can all but remove the gap in the middle of the hood if you start there.

808EB03Z06

I am curious, did this save you any weight taking that much out of the hood, or did the vents make it a null gain?

klodkrawler05

If it did its very small, on the order of ounces, I had meant to weigh the vents and then weigh the cutout pieces just for science but I forgot until after I had already started riveting the vents in place.

Next time I have the hood off to swap back to stock I'll weigh both to compare, I suspect I saved as much weight from the vented hood not having the heat/noise insulation pad on the backside as well as no engine bay light

braknl8

Nice job. Those larger side vents with the smaller t1 center look good.

Crepitus

a little yarn testing would be cool

klodkrawler05

Someone did that on the c5 with the trackspec GT2 vents and noted a pretty big difference: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...pec-vents.html


For posterity I suppose I should probably try it out with the T1 vents to see how it compares to the GT2

808EB03Z06

What is the size difference between the T1 and GT2 vents? Hell, I didn't even know they made different sizes for the C5 either.

Eckler's

Very nice craftsmanship

klodkrawler05

Good question, I'm not sure the answer to that but I shot John at trackspec an email asking him to clarify the size difference.

based on the photos here it looks like the center GT2 vent is bigger than the T1 while the side vents are smaller than the T1
http://trackspe.nextmp.net/shop-by-v...tte-97-04.html

Dan H.

Would like to know if this helps oil temps at all?

808EB03Z06

That is interesting. The side vents are quite a bit bigger on the T1 kit. I wonder if he would do a GT2 middle with the T1 one side vents, if that is even feasible. Also, have you auto-x'd the car with the vents in yet?
So far it seems that everyone sees a 10-15 degree drop in oil temps sitting in traffic. I haven't seen numbers on track yet, but I would guess it is a little bit more.

klodkrawler05

I haven't really driven the car in anger yet so I don't have good track data for you just yet. I did do one track day with the new vents but it was 50 degrees or cooler and pouring rain most of the day so nothing on the car got much over street driving temps of 175 for coolant and 200-210 for oil.

I suspect if you ask nicely he probably would although at that point you'll darn near have the entire middle of the hood covered in a solid vents.

I've noticed the approx 10-15 drop on the street you mention, my car hasn't gotten over 185 during road driving. I helped our local auto-x group do a dry run setup on a new to us lot on Monday and got to take 5-6 hot laps on course driving about 8/10 and oil temps were just touching 204 at the peak during 65 degree weather.

This weekend I'll be doing a car control clinic with my wife at the Tire Rack, I don't know how strenuous that will be for the cooling system/oil but I'll report back, Next weekend (May 10th) is the first auto-x of our season and I'll have 2 drivers in the car so should have some good datat after that to report.

808EB03Z06

I guess I didn't think about that. As far as the autocross goes, I am looking more at it helping front end grip at low speeds more so than oil temps. The courses we run on here are nowhere near the speeds people get on the mainland, and they rarely go over 50-52 seconds because of lot size. The joys of living on an island I guess. Also, if I run in 2nd gear I don't see more than 215 normally, and it gets to about 225 if I stay in first. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on low speed racing and if you think they would be worth the investment.

Mahalo,

Kerry

klodkrawler05

Aloha Kerry!

I haven't forgotten about this thread or your question. First off! Yes John will do a mixed set of T1 and GT2 vents simply get a hold of him through the website. I copied a snip of his email below:

GT2 large center: approx 26" wide by 13" tall
GT2 side vents: 5x12"

T1 center: approx 17" wide by 12" tall.
T1 side vent: approx 10" wide by 16" tall.

The main difference is that the Gt2 has a larger focus on radiator boxed ducting set ups (more square and larger) and smaller side vents above the wheels.

T1 is a good street/track kit that balances both areas. Medium center and medium sides.

GT2 area is about 40 square inches bigger overall than the T1 kit.

I'm slightly hesitant on posting the exact measurements and angles for obvious reasons, but those should be fine. I have no problem putting a mixed kit together for someone who wants the larger center and sides. We have done that before.


As far as the autocross goes I think its going to be hard for me to give any reliable input on if it increases grip at auto-x speeds (at least enough that my hack self can notice) I did new swaybars/shocks/tires at the same time as these vents so while I'm sure they increase grip to some degree I can't say exactly by how much. What I do notice is the temperatures staying lower and more stable which in my book is a win!

Per motoiq.com a good rule of thumb is an 11 degree Fahrenheit reduction in temperature is good for a 1% increase in horsepower so keeping the car 15-20 degrees cooler should be helping me not lose 5-10hp so that's certainly a plus.

Hopefully that helps! if you have any other questions I'm happy to answer them and I know John has been very helpful with answering any questions as well!

Cheers,
Brad

(ps, John is also on this forum his username is: John@TrackSpec )

808EB03Z06

No worries. I had actually forgotten about it with other stuff going on, but that is good info John. My main concern is trying to reduce the heat from the headers burning up wires since I don't really feel like pulling everything and wrapping them right now. I think a little loss in HP isn't such a bad thing for me, since I am just a little under 500 to the wheels right now, and for not having any aero (plus being a new driver) leads to lots of sides ways time. I can't imagine the front grip is too much different on a 20-25 mph turn with them, but I would agree that any reduction in temps would be a benefit. Thanks for all the help.


Kerry