Combating the heat

[Dipstik-sportech]

Yes I'm saying it can't be blamed solely on the placement of the turbo if other cars can get away with it. Do I have to post pics of my buddies civic engine bay? If it's air flow through the engine bay then we need to design ducting. I don't like how this thread is becoming an advertisement for AVO and P&L. Let's work on a solution not just say "oh you should've bought x kit instead." Fact is there are more front mount setups than low ones so a solution needs to be found.

The Frozen Nortn

[toekneehair]

Originally Posted by Dipstik-sportech

Yes I'm saying it can't be blamed solely on the placement of the turbo if other cars can get away with it. Do I have to post pics of my buddies civic engine bay? If it's air flow through the engine bay then we need to design ducting. I don't like how this thread is becoming an advertisement for AVO and P&L. Let's work on a solution not just say "oh you should've bought x kit instead." Fact is there are more front mount setups than low ones so a solution needs to be found.

The Frozen Nortn

I want to take a moment as well to remind people that this thread was intended to help those who already have a kit who are having heat issues fight it off a bit. Those who are arguing about Turbo placement are making a great point for first time buyers. I have nothing bet great things to say about the company I went with but yes the placement maybe wasn't the ideal location.

The fact remains though I have my kit. I Have invested a good deal of money and time into the build and switching from one kit to another is just pretty hard to do unless you have a lot more time and money on your hands.

So far what have we learned:
!.) If you are a first time buyer and you want to avoid most heat issues off the bat select a Turbo Kit that is mounted down low and just slightly behind the motor.
2.) Vented hoods are one of the most efficient ways to get hot air out of the engine bay.
3.) The BRZ stock cooling system is not the best for track use and if you drive it rough all the time upgrading it may be in your interest.
4.) Full Blown kits (at least the early ones routed pretty close to the fans and would burn them up. you might need to modify the down pipe to give you more clearance (Mine came fine from them and has shown no side of burning up the motors on the fans)
5.) An oil cooler can be a good option as well.
6.) The stacking of all these items. Radiator, oil cooler, A/C, and Intercooler can cause the temperature to raise through the ones placed later.
7.) Heat wrap and a turbo wrap is your friend if you have a top side front mounted turbo.
8.) E85 and Meth injection can cool the operating temperatures of an engine
9.) Run your heater if you are starting to overheat. It helps to let off the heat of the coolant system.
10.) A fan shroud dramatically helps pull air through a radiator.

I hope I hit most the major points made here so far.

We have had some great suggestions made I just don't want to see this discussion get into a debate about who has the best kit. There are other Discussions based on the best Kit. It is good that we have pointed out which ones work well and which ones don't.

The goal here would be to identify ways to help those who have a kit that doesn't have the best designed placement find some relief as far as the heat goes.. hopefully with less effort then just changing the whole kit.

I had a great suggestion from an experienced person in the community who talked about in theory some good ways to direct heat flow. We talked about a plate on the back side of the intercooler that would direct the airflow coming out of it down and out the engine bay before it would go through any of the radiator, A/C or other areas. This could help to reduce the stacked heat issue. We also talked about some plate design that might better direct the air flow to go through the radiator and not get around it like it does in some areas. the more cool air you can get pulled through the radiator the more efficient it can be.

My oil I have noticed gets pretty warm as well. And so I have plans to install two miniature 5" fans on the back side of my oil cooler which is off too the side with hopes that this will improve the cooling efficiency of it when not at high speeds.

Lets make sure that we keep helping others in mind as we discuss the heat issues. It is good to point out flaws, but if all we do is point out flaws and call out poor designs by companies we are not doing the community justice. Point them out, but pair your comment up with good suggestions that hopefully can be reasonable solutions to help improve or alleviate some of the issue. It may not be one thing that fixes it all but maybe its that one more thing someone hasn't thought of that becomes the tipping point for someone trying to get their heat under control..

Thank you to all who have been contributing to this discussion it has been a major help for me. I'm running much cooler now because of it.

[Pete156]

Toe,
You left out one critical point. Call it my suggestion.
11.) DON'T draw hot air into your engine from the engine bay itself. You're already going to compress that air and make it hotter. Why not draw in cool air to start?

[toekneehair]

Absolutely. Trying to get cold air in is always a good point. There was some discussion about high and low pressure areas. You want to create low pressure areas above the heat to draw the heat out and you want to direct outside air into the engine bay if possible.

[shaunsweeney]

I would like to see someone mount their smaller coolers in the fog light location. This is what I'm going to look into once I go FI. I think that space would be great for an oil cooler.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by shaunsweeney

I would like to see someone mount their smaller coolers in the fog light location. This is what I'm going to look into once I go FI. I think that space would be great for an oil cooler.

That is a crazy idea and one that @FullBlown thought of awhile ago, haha:

[shaunsweeney]

Thanks smart as do they supply ducting to direct the airflow like a radiator shroud?

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by shaunsweeney

Thanks smart as do they supply ducting to direct the airflow like a radiator shroud?

Nope. You get basically what you see there.

[kmbkk]

I'm thinking of ceramic coating my downpipe & turbine housing to help with the temps. Any thoughts on this? I have a turbo blanket (turbo is mounted up front, like FBM's kit) and vented hood right now. I also have a Koyo radiator going in soon.

[King Tut]

I had my downpipe ceramic coated and then still wrapped it. Perhaps that is why I didn't suffer any of the same fan melting experiences as some Full Blown kit owners. Did you ever get your 3" exhaust and a higher PSI tune for your car?

[kmbkk]

Originally Posted by King Tut

I had my downpipe ceramic coated and then still wrapped it. Perhaps that is why I didn't suffer any of the same fan melting experiences as some Full Blown kit owners. Did you ever get your 3" exhaust and a higher PSI tune for your car?

I have the exhaust, new wastegate spring, boost control solenoid and 4 bar MAP sensor sitting in my garage. I'm still waiting to get the tune e-mailed to me so I can install everything. The tune has been completed for a few weeks, just no support from the tuner.

[toekneehair]

Originally Posted by King Tut

I had my downpipe ceramic coated and then still wrapped it. Perhaps that is why I didn't suffer any of the same fan melting experiences as some Full Blown kit owners. Did you ever get your 3" exhaust and a higher PSI tune for your car?

I did not ceramic coat mine but I did wrap it and I still haven't had any sign of melting on mine. Doubling them up though is a great way to hold the heat inside the Pipe.

[mike the snake]

What radiator are you running? The Robispec I have moves the fans back and left only 1mm clearance between the fans and downpipe/upper header. The fans both died within minutes on the dyno.

I'm getting the FB radiator, and I was told that it is designed such that the thicker portion is to the front, so no clearance is lost.

I'm also getting the Spal fans and shroud, and revised downpipe. My old DP was coated and wrapped, but the new one will only be wrapped.

This all should gain me the clearance I need to have everything work as designed.

Originally Posted by King Tut

I had my downpipe ceramic coated and then still wrapped it. Perhaps that is why I didn't suffer any of the same fan melting experiences as some Full Blown kit owners. Did you ever get your 3" exhaust and a higher PSI tune for your car?

[Pitman]

Originally Posted by shaunsweeney

Thanks smart as do they supply ducting to direct the airflow like a radiator shroud?

Like this?