I am looking for innovative engine cooling ideas. I am aware of having a larger radiator, a larger fan, louvered hoods and oil coolers. I am looking for ideas that change the structure of the front end. For example, duct work where the front license plate is that leads to the radiator. Lets see what is out there. Thoughts and suggestions?

 

You didn't provide any info regarding your concerns as to year and miles on car and is it presently running hotter than you like. Before you start throwing money at your problem you should clean the radiator core and a/c condensor. It's not that difficult to get to those components and they can be moved forward without disconnecting any hoses or lines. Blow them out with compressed air, vacuum them with a powerful vacuum or wash them out with a hose. All these methods will work. Due to the bottom feeder design of our cars they pick up an extraordinary amount of dirt, including larger foreign objects sometimes. A screen across the bottom opening will prevent leaves and other large objects from clogging your radiator. It's probably a good idea to do this maintenance every two years. My car was running hot lately so I just did this cleaning procedure myself. I usually do it every couple of years. The temperature dropped a significant amount. It was very hot today here, close to 100 and my car was running fairly cool with a/c on full blast, temps between 180 - 190 max in stopped traffic!

 

An innovative idea for me would be to not always try to reengineer what the professional engineers from the factory did.

No disrespect intended but so many forums I've read over the years have discussed this subject.

It really boils down, pun intended, to 3 major things. Flow, volume and surface area. Flow of water and air. Volume of coolant. Surface area of the radiator presented for heat exchange.

Ensure that the factory duct work is in place and sealing properly. Ensure that there are no restrictions preventing air flow through the radiator. Ensure your coolant is topped up, mixed correctly and of the right type. Be certain the water pump is working correctly as well as the rad cap and overflow tank.

If you mod for power you will need to add surface area and volume, ie a bigger radiator.

It’s not rocket science!

 

No disrespect but the engineers did not design a 2002 Z06 to have a maggie with an intercooler blocking air flow to the radiator and producing 540 at the wheels. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that the car was not designed for this nor was it designed to do repeated hardcore autocross runs at relatively low speeds that do not generate sufficient air flow across the radiator particularly with an intercooler that blocks air flow. Thus, my request for innovative ideas. In particular, has anyone developed a way to improve air flow to the radiator using duct work that feeds additional air directly to the radiator while bypassing the intercooler.

Thanks for the comments regarding cleaning the radiator. I am aware that this can be an issue but it is not my problem. I am currently using a larger radiator, oil cooler, trans cooler, diff cooler, lower fan temp settings etc. The cooling system is not a mystery to me. However, I am looking for a way to improve air flow. I would appreciate any constructive ideas that are out there. If you don't have constructive ideas then please keep them to yourself.

 

So you added a super charger. Did you add a bigger radiator, higher cfm fans?

 

Per my earlier post, I am using a larger radiator. According to Ron Davis, there is not enough space for the aftermarket fan with the larger radiator.

 

Im pretty sure there is one guy on here who converted his from bottom to front somehow. Im pretty sure it is only used on the track but Im not sure, not sure of his user name either but I believe his car is yellow not that that helps any. Ill see if I can find a couple of his threads for you.

 

Thanks. I just want to see what others have done and if they have had any success. Thanks again.

 

No problem, Im still looking for any of his post just cant seem to find any. If I remember correctly he actually blocked off the entire bottom so air couldnt be pulled from under neath.

 

A&A supercharged here with intercooler in front as well. What I was told and then found out myself was the larger radiator helps but not as much as you would think compared to better cfm fans. I have the DeWitts radiator with their fan setup as well that will also bolt right up to the stock radiator (I know you don't have a stock one). But that helped a great deal in keeping the car cool. Sounds like a plane taking off when they come on, but they pull a lot of air.

Another thing to consider is the middle air dam. Is yours on the car. Helps divert the air to the radiator when moving.

Not sure if the DeWitts fan setup will bolt up to the ron davis radiator, but if it uses stock mounting brackets it might.

My fans are set to come on at 210. Never seen over 210 in any environment I have been in since putting them in.

 

I looked at the aftermarket fan offered on the web (SPA or SPAL?) but Ron Davis said that there was not enough room to use it with their radiator. I will check to see what fan DeWitt is using and whether they think it will work with the Ron Davis radiator. Thanks.

I haven't removed the middle air dam but you have to shave the top of it to make room for the intercooler. I don't know how much of an effect that has but there is not really any other option but to shave it so that the intercooler will fit.

 

Why do you think you have to do anything? There are plenty of cars with your setup that do not need re-engineering.

 

Hi,
Here is a item we think is a bit innovative. Its called the Cool It and it allows you to turn on the right side fan in high speed mode. Its plug and play and uses a wireless FOB to turn on the fan. It doesn’t interfere with the normal computer controlled fan operation. Great for things like Autocross so you don't have to wait for your temps to go up to 210-220 until the fans come on. Use it to cool down after the race too!
http://www.saccitycorvette.com/COOLITv2.html

 

You need to vent your hood. At least get an opening in the front like the C5R. You want to suck that heat from the radiator up and out as fast as possible.

I have a scoop mounted in reverse where the C5R has a hole. I also have vents that run up each side of the hood. I cut the inner fenders and put wire on them. At the top of the wheel well to vent my brakes out. Then the air flows up and out the vents. It works pretty well and drops the pressure in the wheel well area. I found it is also pulling hot air out of the engine bay too. I did this mainly to get heat out of the engine and the brakes for track. I also removed those rubber flaps inside the side vents in the quarter panel. This is on a 02 Z06. So it lets hot air flow out there. You need to remove the battery shroud also to make the passenger side useful.

I have brake ducts from the Z06 inlets feeding DRM ducts to home made spindle ducts. So I get a lot of heat in the wheel well that I need to remove. Hence the vents above them.

The very expensive answer is a $1,500 C5R style replica hood from ACP. I just cut mine and installed my own vents. Cost me less than $100. It doesn't look pretty.

I have an oil cooler mounted ahead of the radiator. Being a bottom breather isn't helping. I took that spring loaded flap that pulls air up to the radiator and have it taped down at it's default angle. On track, at speed, they go flat and don't help. Mine stays still longer. Don't hit a speed bump hard though with this. I'm making a piece to add to it that extends it's length and stiffens it more for track days. Along with side pieces so it funnels air better.

That spongy seal on each side of the radiator. Make sure they are there. If not get some rubber insulation and fix it. You want the air forced at the radiator.

I cut a hole in the license plate cover and the shroud behind it. I have a 3 tube installed in it that stops right in front of my oil cooler. It helps but is not working as well as I had hoped. I'm getting a new cover that has more of a venturi effect to help guide the air in better. That will get a little more air to the cooler.

Beyond that there is the tiger shark nose that converts you to a front breather like the C6.

You need 2 things for any cooling to improve. Get more air in and more hot air out. The engine bay with stock hood is not vented worth a damn. It's good for stock as a street car. For other purposes or modified it needs help breathing. So that theory of leaving it to the GM engineers does not apply.

Also on your cooling fans. Forget the aftermarket switch. Get the fan on/off temps changed. You want them on sooner. The factory setting sucks, even if it is kept stock.

If it's a Z06. I also found those cool screen vents in the front don't do what you might think. They just look cool. On track they cause lift on the front end. I tape at least half of it closed. Now I just added a piece of plexiglass over them. I have a the rest feeding my air filter so none of it goes to the engine bay. That is where the lift was coming from. Now with no aero at 140+ the nose is more stable and the hood flutters a lot less.

Just some thoughts.
I'm working on more ideas.

 

You might be fighting a losing battle with supercharged road race car. (Especially a Maggie)

As mentioned, better fans would help. You can also Install a switch & another relay to run both the fans at full speed while your racing.

Maybe get a fan cooled oil cooler also.

Vented hood sounds like a must.

Did you open up the license plate cover?

 

what about engine coolant additives? there is stuff called engine ice i think that alot of guys are running in race bikes down here in tx for 1/4 mile runs. supposed to get another 20 degrees on avg colder temps. been thinking about getting some for my cars as well due to the temps in the summer around here in setx

 

When I had a maggie on previous vehicle I added a snow performance water/alcohol injection kit. This significantly reduced the intake air temp into blower and therefore the intercooler below blower and thus engine temps. In 3 months of driving only had to fill tank up once.

 

Not sure how much this would help, but it caught my eye.....

http://www.racespecialtydesigns.com/...&cat=33&page=1


Good luck.....

 

some food for thought....

 

^^^^ yeah. That'll do it all right!