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HybridZ

Rev B on the front aero


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Some of you may remember my posting these pics in a different thread about air ducting and front end mods:

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Well I built the cardboard part out of sheet metal to test it better and then use it to make fiberglass parts from. I found that it was not working they way I had hoped. Even though the opening acted like a vacuum when I would turn on the fan I noticed that I would start to overheat if I got aggressive with the car and turning on the fan did not help at all unless I was stopped. I took a piece of string and tied it to a stick then turned on the fan and started looking at how the air was moving through the "box" and the radiator, what I found was that the air would pull through the middle portion of the radiator very well but everywhere else inside the box the air would just swirl around and not get pulled through. I spent some time looking at the way my wifes 07' Camry was set up and realized that when they boxed the radiator they did not taper the box, instead they left it open with air able to enter the box from several places top to bottom at the front but everything else was sealed.

 

I have made a revision to my original box by opening it up considerably on the inside, it seems to have evened out the air flow quite a bit. I still have only the small (ish) opening in the front but at this point it seems to be working much better during my testing. I am going to be doing more testing and if needed I will be opening some holes up in the upper portion of my "upper air dam". Here are a few pics of how it looks now (this is sheetmetal and cardboard/tape for testing purposes).

 

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Dragonfy

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my that looks amazing

 

notice differences in temperature drop or front end lift?

 

I took it up to about 120 for aprox. 15 sec and the car felt quite stable. Temp stayed normal (180*) at speed but raised a little when running through the gears with 7k shifts, using the fan as well as a constant speed brought the temp back to 180* about 25 to 30% faster than running at a steady speed with no fan running. In short yes I did notice a difference in temp drop. I do intend to do some more testing as the ambient temp increases and making longer runs in lower gears to get the rpms up but keep the speed lower.

 

The other thing of note is that I no longer have the hood flex that I had before. I am running John C's CF hood (pinned on each corner) and the hood used to flex at about 75 mph and as speed increased it would flex enough that I think it was letting under hood air out between the hood and fenders. Now I can not see any flex at all in the hood.

 

Dragonfly

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That is very similar to what guys run on the dry lakes and Bonneville for "Altered" classes. Miles, do you have a functional splash pan from the radiator support to the K-Member?

 

With the effort you are expending, you may want to seriously consider segregating the airflow for your triples now that you have 'hood flex' under control. That 3" pipe should allow for plenty of cool air into the carbs, but they will make better use of it by sealing a flexible box against the hood, the inner fender well, and keeping all that cool air right at the mouths of the carbs.

 

That box you made is probably similar to what will happen with my 'Shark Car' when it gets reworked. The Aero Testing confirmed what I thought, it's good to see people making use of the results in a concrete way!

 

Your spoiler ducts go directly to your brakes, right? I can't remember looking under there at MSA...

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That is very similar to what guys run on the dry lakes and Bonneville for "Altered" classes. Miles, do you have a functional splash pan from the radiator support to the K-Member?

 

Yep... I've got the stock one with the holes in it toward the back. I have all the openings at the front sealed with aluminum tape.

 

With the effort you are expending, you may want to seriously consider segregating the airflow for your triples now that you have 'hood flex' under control. That 3" pipe should allow for plenty of cool air into the carbs, but they will make better use of it by sealing a flexible box against the hood, the inner fender well, and keeping all that cool air right at the mouths of the carbs.

 

I've got that design in my head at this time and it will be added in and tested in steps as I continue on.

 

That box you made is probably similar to what will happen with my 'Shark Car' when it gets reworked. The Aero Testing confirmed what I thought, it's good to see people making use of the results in a concrete way!

 

I am glad you like the work I am doing... my ego will get quite a boost if people actualy follow the design that I am working on. I will aslo copy anyone who makes any improvements on it.

 

Your spoiler ducts go directly to your brakes, right? I can't remember looking under there at MSA...

 

I'm still lagging on that one, at this time they are still just open. I plan on running some ducting from those vents to the front brakes I just have not decided exactly how I want to set it up. I also have plans for modifying the inside of the fender wells and extending the airdam out to cover the outer edges of the tires when they are pointed straight ahead.

 

Dragonfly

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He said the car cooled better. He didn't mention any aero differences...

 

I can see why it cooled better... that is very similar to what I have done. The aero difference on mine is from the metal piece that I have between the bumper and the bottom of the hood. That piece combined with blocking all the openings at the front of the car that let air into the engine compartment has made an aero difference in that my CF hood no longer is bowed up in the middle due to under hood air trying to escape when at speed.

 

Dragonfly

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