Combating the heat

[mike the snake]

That might be true, sounds solid.

I wonder though, if that much air were making it through the radiator, condensor, and intercooler that fast, then that same air should be exiting the engine bay at the same rate, and if that were happening, the air-exchage in the engine bay would be really good I would think.

But, it seems the main issue we have heat-wise, is evacuating the hot air out of the engine bay.

Good quality fans last a good, long time as well, at least on my previous cars they did.

[sw20kosh]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

That might be true, sounds solid.

I wonder though, if that much air were making it through the radiator, condensor, and intercooler that fast, then that same air should be exiting the engine bay at the same rate, and if that were happening, the air-exchage in the engine bay would be really good I would think.

But, it seems the main issue we have heat-wise, is evacuating the hot air out of the engine bay.

Good quality fans last a good, long time as well, at least on my previous cars they did.

I am thinking about experimenting with an add on spal 16" pusher fan on the condenser operated by a manual switch in the cabin. Turn it on for hot track days. But not if that is gonna over spin the fan and destroy it. Have others tracked fans that are permanently on?

[Reaper]

we need more ways to get the air out. When my car comes back from paint I will be modifying my cowl. I have an idea to hole saw it and put pvc pipe through it as vents and try and make it clean looking.

[MyRx]

Fun reading this thread. So I took measures into my own hands and executed some ideas onto my currently-down FR-S. Unfortunately, I can't test any validity at the moment (Vortech has my unit).

Here's just a sample pic of two 8" fans wedged perfectly against the bumper beam and condensor. Extra security with 2 bolts along the top edge of the Koyo rad and strapped to each other. It's resting on the fmic atop foam tape. It's wired to a dedicated led switch in the cabin next to the trunk release. I had to rebuild the fans to reduce some noise with additional lube and finer washers.



After the fans, difficult to see, but I added more foam on the top edge of the radiator, existing OEM foam is still there. In theory directing more air in between the condensor and radiator. Then with left over foam, I taped and spray-adhesive strips on the leading sides of the radiator on both sides and above/below the bumper beam. This fun evening of cutting foam was not over, I then made "fins" from more foam and reinforced them wire mesh (desk organizer) and taped/adhesive spray them onto the front face/edge of the radiator. Again, in theory of funneling incoming air to the radiator. And to finish up this lil protect, I drilled holes into the bumper beam foam in hope to allow incoming air to go up the foam vs blocked by it.

With the fans on, I can feel the air going thru the radiator and behind the factory fans - these ~380 cfm each do push a lot of air! With the cost of being loud, I'm sure I can tell when they are on or off (if the blue led switch is not enough of an indicator).

Can't test the validity of this work but I do know what my temps are via Torque app and engine compartments via temp-gun. It'll be another 2 weeks or so before I get my SC back, installed and tuned, before hitting the roads again to test these fans.

I do have have concerns to this project and by which, I don't plan to run them full time. Rather run them during cool-downs be it at the track or spirited driving. More so as helping fans rather than replacement ones.

[Dipstik-sportech]

My worry with pusher fans is whether they will block air at speed.

[BRZPDX]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

The AC triggers one of the fans.

Running the AC (and subsequently, the other fan) helps keep the temps down better than running the heater.

I think the AC fan also is triggered by higher temps as well.

Not sure, but Ecutek might be able to turn both fans on at a low temp. With both fans running all the time your temps will stay solid and not go up or down.

Especially on a front mount turbo car, both fans running really helps.

I did not have any luck getting the coolant temps down by turning the AC on. rather it did the opposite. I can definitely see a drop in temp when the heater is on full blast. I'll try the AC again tonight.

[mike the snake]

That's weird, because the extra fan turning on has made more of a difference than the heat on on my cars.

I usually only post when I know for sure or have personal experience, I may be wrong here in this case.

I do know that the shroud made a huge difference as well.

My car runs solid at 200-204. I think that's where our cars run at. I wouldn't worry about 200+/- a few degrees.

Originally Posted by BRZPDX

I did not have any luck getting the coolant temps down by turning the AC on. rather it did the opposite. I can definitely see a drop in temp when the heater is on full blast. I'll try the AC again tonight.

[evo4g63]

I have my AC blasting and with the Full Blown radiator/shroud combo my car runs at a nice 195-199f in the warm PHX summer weather.

[sw20kosh]

Any idea if that white foam actually helps direct airflow through the IC/condenser/radiator? If the foam piece is not there wont the air be able to bypass the IC and go up over the bumper support.

[BRZPDX]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

That's weird, because the extra fan turning on has made more of a difference than the heat on on my cars.

I usually only post when I know for sure or have personal experience, I may be wrong here in this case.

I do know that the shroud made a huge difference as well.

My car runs solid at 200-204. I think that's where our cars run at. I wouldn't worry about 200+/- a few degrees.

just the shroud or is it the FB radiator/shroud combo? If I can fix the coolant issue with vented hood/shroud only that would be great. I'd hate to replace my radiator core since my IC pipe is right in front and it may be too tight.

[sw20kosh]

Originally Posted by MyRx

Fun reading this thread. So I took measures into my own hands and executed some ideas onto my currently-down FR-S. Unfortunately, I can't test any validity at the moment (Vortech has my unit).

Here's just a sample pic of two 8" fans wedged perfectly against the bumper beam and condensor. Extra security with 2 bolts along the top edge of the Koyo rad and strapped to each other. It's resting on the fmic atop foam tape. It's wired to a dedicated led switch in the cabin next to the trunk release. I had to rebuild the fans to reduce some noise with additional lube and finer washers.

I do have have concerns to this project and by which, I don't plan to run them full time. Rather run them during cool-downs be it at the track or spirited driving. More so as helping fans rather than replacement ones.

Nice J! I was thinking about doing something similar. What are your concerns about running them full time?

Hard to say from the picture but make sure the tops of those fans are not just blowing into a cavity. It is recommended to place fans flush onto radiators/condensers so that the air has no choice but to go through the rad/condenser. If there is an open space the air will go up and over the rad/condenser.

[mike the snake]

I had serious clearance issues with my FB kit and aftermarket radiators. I ended up moving the radiator forward.

I think the shroud is probably the most important part. I believe FB makes a shroud that fits on the stock radiator.

The fans I believe mount to the shroud, which is spaced back from the radiator a little bit, so some clearance will be lost, just something to keep in mind.

Things might be different depending on what fans/radiator/turbo kit you are running.

IMO moving the radiator forward is almost mandatory.

Originally Posted by BRZPDX

just the shroud or is it the FB radiator/shroud combo? If I can fix the coolant issue with vented hood/shroud only that would be great. I'd hate to replace my radiator core since my IC pipe is right in front and it may be too tight.

[MyRx]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

Nice J! I was thinking about doing something similar. What are your concerns about running them full time?

Hard to say from the picture but make sure the tops of those fans are not just blowing into a cavity. It is recommended to place fans flush onto radiators/condensers so that the air has no choice but to go through the rad/condenser. If there is an open space the air will go up and over the rad/condenser.

Hard to tell yes but I stuffed more padding (denser than the OEM one) above and into the koyo's top rail. Prior to that and relying on the OEM pad, the air would blow right thru and can be felt above the fans (engine bay side). The extra padding adhesive-sprayed into the top rail and onto the OEM padding more or less created more restriction and more air can be felt half way down behind the fans (engine bay side) vs on top of the fans.

Concerns would be that too much air going into and less air exiting the engine bay, another load(s) for my battery to carry w/o computer controlled, noise (then again, I haven't put the bumper back on yet), and these were ~$30 ea from Amazon, I don't think they were really designed to run full time - heck, a little extra lube and replacement of the original washers and snug fit during rebuild reduced their noise. It was an $80 project so I'm expecting $80 worth of good out of them haha

Edit; yea it was more fun to put it together and have it working rather than reading too much and having done nothing at all. The car has been down for 2 weeks and it looks like 2 more weeks - ample time to get bored and do some silly things to it. Right now, it's jacked 14" up on all fours - ample space for me to get under and change a few things haha

[Reaper]

im building an oil cooler and have a mishi 19 row. Any quantitative evidence on oil cooler core location? either in between the intercooler and the rad, or in the fog light area. I also thought about on top of the crash beam next to the air filter with a thermostatically controlled fan on it, but im not sure if it will fit.