Cooling Mod
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,447
Likes: 1
From: Katy TX
Cooling Mod
We've had a heat wave the last few weeks here in Houston and ambient temps have been around 110-112 degress. I haven't been comfortable with how warm my car has been running with the A/C off. On the highway I'm seeing 205* and in stop and go traffic it has been 219*. Before the heat wave, ambient temps were 101-105* and with A/C off on the highway I was seeing temps of 196* and stop & go traffic, 212*. So I finlly bit the bullet and tried to do the front plate mod. Cut hole in bumper and removed radiator shroud, but I chickened out when it came to cutting a hole in the license plate cover. So I scrapped the project and put the license plate cover over the hole I cut in the bumper and called it a day because I was too lazy to put the shroud back on. I took the car out today in the same ambient heat wave temps and WOW! what a difference. On the highway I saw 178* in freakin 111* outside temps and it went as high as 183* and in stop & go traffic I saw 180*. That's a ginormous difference. I think the radiator cover was trapping all that heat...
Last edited by All_Motor_C5LS6; Aug 6, 2011 at 02:03 PM.
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Big difference in the temps. 
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 3
From: Hawaii
Make or buy the license plate cover that has the center cut out and screened in. I bought a clear cover (they are cheap), cut out the center section, painted the inside of the cover to match the color of my car (black), hot glued a screen on the inside of the cover and ya got one easy mod. Took a hole saw and cut three holes in the back where the plate attaches.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 3
From: Hawaii
Make or buy the license plate cover that has the center cut out and screened in. I bought a clear cover (they are cheap), cut out the center section, painted the inside of the cover to match the color of my car (black), hot glued a screen on the inside of the cover and ya got one easy mod. Took a hole saw and cut three holes in the back where the plate attaches.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,447
Likes: 1
From: Katy TX
No pics yet, but its simple. I started doing the front plate mod and aborted mid way into it. The center section of my bumper where the license plate go was cut open but I didn't cut the cover piece because I was too nervous. So I placed my cover back on covering up the center section I cut open. I didn't reinstall the radiator shroud and left it off. Its now sitting in the corner of the garage. The shroud was trapping heat in the raditator/condensor area while stopped at stop lights. With the shroud removed the heat can escape thus the car stays cooler in hotter temps.
Last edited by All_Motor_C5LS6; Aug 6, 2011 at 09:28 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,771
Likes: 141
From: Kaukauna WI
I agree. And the shroud and radiator cover kinda help hold everything in place too. I just installed a Honker today, and without the shroud and cover, the radiator and cooling fans are kinda loose... Sounds a little sketchy to me! 
