Tracking with Forced Induction

[xwd]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

If there were any decent plastic insert style vents I'd consider modifying my stock hood as well.

Just need to find something that looks good and is effective. Placement might be tricky with the under-structure though.

I wonder if the WRC-style WRX ones would fit on a BRZ hood. Not sure if the contour is right to make it work or not. Something like this. You can get fiberglass versions of them for like $75 on Ebay.



Here is one installed along with hood louvers on a more track-ready WRX

[glamcem]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I've modded my skidplate, hoping to possibly avoid having to buy a vented hood. I still might need the hood for tracking, but I know my skidplate mod works. A LOT of heat is exhausted out through the hole in the skidplate, and the trip strips help pull the hot air out at speed.

interesting, have you logged before and after the change? the one thing that bugs me with this DIY mods is the possibility of hurting the characteristics of the car ..same thing with Aero mods so I am a bit skeptical about the real functionality of the side vents, hood vents. .etc if the aesthetics and regulations are the only reasons for manufacturers I have no problem making my own modifications

[protpibe]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

If there were any decent plastic insert style vents I'd consider modifying my stock hood as well.

Just need to find something that looks good and is effective. Placement might be tricky with the under-structure though.

Seibon makes a few different types of vented hoods now. Once my oil cooler goes in, I may move on to swapping out hoods for some ventilation

[mike the snake]

I haven't logged oil temps. Coolant temps remain stable even before the skidplate mod (FB radiator/spal fans/shroud).

Underhood temps do seem lower when checked directly after driving.

Also you can feel a LOT of hot air being blown out from under the car by the fans when stopped and idling.

I still have to install air dams/ducting around my radiator as well, but the engine bay temps are lower than before the mod when the car is moving.

Before I track the car I'll be installing gauges and an oil cooler too. With my Hydra standalone I can't use my OBD port, so I have to find the correct adaptors to run the PLX multi gauge.

I understand that the hot air exiting out from under the car might upset some of the aero, but without all the other aero mods (splitter, side skirts, rear wing) I'm not sure how much it affects the aero, and if it did, it would only be at really high speeds I would think.

Originally Posted by glamcem

interesting, have you logged before and after the change? the one thing that bugs me with this DIY mods is the possibility of hurting the characteristics of the car ..same thing with Aero mods so I am a bit skeptical about the real functionality of the side vents, hood vents. .etc if the aesthetics and regulations are the only reasons for manufacturers I have no problem making my own modifications

[sw20kosh]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I haven't logged oil temps. Coolant temps remain stable even before the skidplate mod (FB radiator/spal fans/shroud).

Underhood temps do seem lower when checked directly after driving.

Also you can feel a LOT of hot air being blown out from under the car by the fans when stopped and idling.

I still have to install air dams/ducting around my radiator as well, but the engine bay temps are lower than before the mod when the car is moving.

Before I track the car I'll be installing gauges and an oil cooler too. With my Hydra standalone I can't use my OBD port, so I have to find the correct adaptors to run the PLX multi gauge.

I understand that the hot air exiting out from under the car might upset some of the aero, but without all the other aero mods (splitter, side skirts, rear wing) I'm not sure how much it affects the aero, and if it did, it would only be at really high speeds I would think.

I challenge @CSG Mike to do a few laps with and without the skid plate and report back how much slower removal of the plate made him. If it is <0.5 sec per lap then it may be worth it for us track junkies that don't care about every last 10th

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

This is concerning. @csg_mike here is an overheating supercharger setup

I'm not convinced the Koyo is an actual upgrade. It's bigger, but we aren't overheating with a *stock* radiator on the CSG BRZ.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

I challenge @CSG Mike to do a few laps with and without the skid plate and report back how much slower removal of the plate made him. If it is <0.5 sec per lap then it may be worth it for us track junkies that don't care about every last 10th

I can tell how it affects aero with data and subjectively based on how the car feels...

[sw20kosh]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

I'm not convinced the Koyo is an actual upgrade. It's bigger, but we aren't overheating with a *stock* radiator on the CSG BRZ.

Are you on stock fans too @CSG Mike?

[jflogerzi]

Also did you add a shroud with the radiator upgrade. Without it, you would probably get worse performance than stock.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

Are you on stock fans too @CSG Mike?

Yup

[HRTROB]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

I'm not convinced the Koyo is an actual upgrade. It's bigger, but we aren't overheating with a *stock* radiator on the CSG BRZ.

Just because you aren't overheating with the stock radiator in your car, doesn't mean that the Koyo isn't an actual upgrade. I would get 105C (221F) coolant temps at the track when I was NA with the stock radiator and that's with a lower ambient temperature. So an 11F increase in temperature with an aftermarket radiator and a supercharger seems understandable since the engine is making more power.

Next weekend I'll reinstall the ducts on the sides of the grille which I removed because the driver side was touching my oil cooler lines. I'll also stuff some foam around the radiator to channel more air into the radiator itself. Hopefully it'll help lower the coolant temps.

Surprisingly, the next day after the track session, I did not lose any coolant. The coolant level was still at the full mark when cold. With the stock radiator, coolant levels would drop the next day.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by HRTROB

Just because you aren't overheating with the stock radiator in your car, doesn't mean that the Koyo isn't an actual upgrade. I would get 105C (221F) coolant temps at the track when I was NA with the stock radiator and that's with a lower ambient temperature. So an 11F increase in temperature with an aftermarket radiator and a supercharger seems understandable since the engine is making more power.

Next weekend I'll reinstall the ducts on the sides of the grille which I removed because the driver side was touching my oil cooler lines. I'll also stuff some foam around the radiator to channel more air into the radiator itself. Hopefully it'll help lower the coolant temps.

Surprisingly, the next day after the track session, I did not lose any coolant. The coolant level was still at the full mark when cold. With the stock radiator, coolant levels would drop the next day.

My reasoning is this.

- The stock radiator fully blocks off all the gaps around it
- The stock car has panels inside the bumper that force ALL air to either go through the radiator or intake
- The stock fans are shrouded

Now with an aftermarket radiator:

- The Koyo is "just the radiator". You leave a lot of gaps around it. YOu have to fill it in yourself, and 99% of the shops out there will skip this step.
- Most FI people delete the panels that are left/right of the bumper opening to put their charge pipes there. They should be trimmed, but not deleted.
- The bigger radiator adds more resistance, so air wants to go "around" it more.


Is your thermostat and fans working properly? I've NEVER seen a NA car get that hot, even with a higher redline and tuning. The stock car's coolign system is way, way oversized for the car.

[HRTROB]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

My reasoning is this.

- The stock radiator fully blocks off all the gaps around it
- The stock car has panels inside the bumper that force ALL air to either go through the radiator or intake
- The stock fans are shrouded

Now with an aftermarket radiator:

- The Koyo is "just the radiator". You leave a lot of gaps around it. YOu have to fill it in yourself, and 99% of the shops out there will skip this step.
- Most FI people delete the panels that are left/right of the bumper opening to put their charge pipes there. They should be trimmed, but not deleted.
- The bigger radiator adds more resistance, so air wants to go "around" it more.


Is your thermostat and fans working properly? I've NEVER seen a NA car get that hot, even with a higher redline and tuning. The stock car's coolign system is way, way oversized for the car.

Yes, fans and thermostat are working properly. I also bled the coolant system three times, an hour each time, to make sure there is no air in the system, using a spill-free funnel.

You have to keep in mind that I live in a tropical country. The cluster indicated 44C outside temp when I got into my car to get ready for the track session, even if the engine had been switched off for 4 hours. Our crazy ambient temp made my oil temp peak at 127C (260F) after just THREE laps, even with a Perrin oil cooler in direct flow of air. That's how hot it was.

After the track session yesterday, I asked a fellow Vortech supercharged 86 owner what his coolant temps were. We both did three laps together. He said the highest he saw was 100C. This was taken from his gauge with the sensor installed on the upper radiator hose. He said he used to see 105-110C coolant temps so he replaced the stock grille with an aftermarket mesh grille, removed the foam bumper support, and he swears this was the reason for the 10C drop in coolant temp. We have the same setup by the way, Vortech SC, Koyo radiator, 6MT.

I'll be installing a coolant temp gauge with the sensor on the upper radiator hose. I'm curious to know if there's a difference in temperatures between the upper radiator hose and the stock water temp sensor.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by HRTROB

Yes, fans and thermostat are working properly. I also bled the coolant system three times, an hour each time, to make sure there is no air in the system, using a spill-free funnel.

You have to keep in mind that I live in a tropical country. The cluster indicated 44C outside temp when I got into my car to get ready for the track session, even if the engine had been switched off for 4 hours. Our crazy ambient temp made my oil temp peak at 127C (260F) after just THREE laps, even with a Perrin oil cooler in direct flow of air. That's how hot it was.

After the track session yesterday, I asked a fellow Vortech supercharged 86 owner what his coolant temps were. We both did three laps together. He said the highest he saw was 100C. This was taken from his gauge with the sensor installed on the upper radiator hose. He said he used to see 105-110C coolant temps so he replaced the stock grille with an aftermarket mesh grille, removed the foam bumper support, and he swears this was the reason for the 10C drop in coolant temp. We have the same setup by the way, Vortech SC, Koyo radiator, 6MT.

I'll be installing a coolant temp gauge with the sensor on the upper radiator hose. I'm curious to know if there's a difference in temperatures between the upper radiator hose and the stock water temp sensor.

While I can't compensate for your humidity, we do test in similar temperatures. It's not uncommon to see 115+F here (46C) when we're testing in the desert, where all the tracks are.

My recommendation would be to add the biggest, most powerful fan you can fit.