Initial Impressions of the Trackspec T1 Hood Louvers
 

Hey guys, I just installed the Trackspec T1 Hood Louvers. Although I haven't driven it much since I just installed it, I'd like to give my initial impressions and move on to a more in depth review later on.

A little background about my car. It's a turbo track car which I've spent quite a bit of time trying to make everything run correctly. Latest issue has been cooling. I'm using a Mishimoto oil cooler, thermostat (just keep it stock), and Mishimoto slim fans (don't get these either), and Koyorad radiator. Opted for the slim fans because the oem fan shroud was melting due to the turbo being so close and hot.

At the last event at Shenandoah, my p3 gauge showed coolant temps hit 245 before going into limp mode until the temps came down. Ambient air temperature was between 85-88 degrees. The amount of hot air trapped under the hood after coming off track was immense. The hood release latch was burning hot to the touch.

Now onto the actual review, I received the box in good condition. There was plenty of bubble wrap and packing material. They supply you with a template and all rivets and washers you'll need with detailed instructions. The installation was straightforward.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6302d3f152.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...30776bf250.jpg

The quality of the vents are top notch. They sit nicely flush against the hood without any gaps in between. My coolant temps at highway speeds dropped between 10-20 degrees and temps come down much faster after idling and start moving again. It's also pretty cool to see the hot air come out of the vents including more choo choo noises from the engine bay. More testing will be done soon and updated accordingly.

Highway temps
Before: 200-220
After:190

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...763ff7c10d.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...9b82e68cf7.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...edd42a81d9.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d3cf87e723.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...a04418e06a.jpg

Any thoughts on the structural impact of running these?

These do not reduce the structural integrity. There wasn't any additional flex in the hood after the vents were installed. Maybe @counterspacegarage can chime in.

It sounds counterintuitive cutting structural ribbing out of the hood and adding these vents. It's quite the contrary. Those who have installed it have had no issues with the hood flexing. In effect, they have noted that the hood flexes less and also found that the hood does close tightly to the engine bay due to the high pressure differential at speed. Track guys with good pace will note that the OEM hood (even those non-functional vented hoods) actually wobbles (and slightly bulges open) on the track or in a high speed section. That issue is nonexistent with the Trackspec Louver Kit. :)

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'll be at NJMP Lightning tomorrow to test it out.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

That's what I assumed. The vents appear to have a strong structural ring that would strengthen the opening and tie the ribbing together.

I believe the vents, technically, add more material than is removed. AFAIK the vents are not a weight reduction either, but the additional cooling and pressure reduction is absolutely worth it.

I have the mishi oil cooler, but haven't installed it yet.
I was considering adding the thermostat because I tend to cruise around town in the FRS every now and again. I was worried about the oil cooler making the oil TOO cold(if its even possible). Cold enough to be out of operating temperature.

Thoughts?

We have had guys here without them. In the summer (30C they live in colder climates) they would get the oil to 70C on the highway. Arguably high enough to drive in most conditions but perhaps not perfect. Of course heat up is slower too. In the winter it was to cold for comfort for sure. For me with 50C ambient temps for most of the year it doesn't make much difference at all.

Add a thermostat for the oil line and you'll be fine. I've been running the Jackson Racing Oil Cooler for a while now (comes with the thermostat sandwich plate that installs below oil filter) and it gets far below 0F in Iowa during the winters. Car warms up fast enough and the thermostat regulates it to 185F'ish.

I can corroborate this 100%.

I have the mishimoto thermostatic oil cooler. Not sure if the thermostat is defective or some oil just leaks thru but my oil temps only goes up to around 165-170F at highway speeds in cooler weather. 50-60F days. The thermostat is supposed to regulate it to 185F.

I cant really monitor mine (closed when tuned by ecutek if trying to log with torque), but I did read somewhere in this forum that even when "fully" closed, some oil will still flow thru it. I have been thru 1 canadian winter (below 0 way too often) and over 10 track days after that winter without trouble, I dont think the temps are low enough to affect the engine (unless your normal driving involves redlining on every light).

The thermostatic plate always allows a small amount of oil through to avoid creating an air lock in the cooler core. It is always possible that the oil wouldn't be heating up above 185F even without the cooler in some conditions, so seeing it below 185F shouldn't be a huge concern.