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 Post subject: Radiator air ducting.
PostPosted: August 18, 2006, 1:43 am 
****This was split from another thread, I thought it derserved its own thread.*****

slngsht wrote:
i think the general shape of the 7 has really no strategy for radiator air exit, which i plan to accomplish by an openning to the top on the back side of the radiator (similar to the hood openning in the GT40


Here is a pic of a V8 Westy note the air outlet on the nose.
Image

I'm building a 392(351) powered Locost and would be greatly interested in details and if you have an album somewhere.


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PostPosted: August 18, 2006, 2:03 am 
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locostv8 wrote:
Here is a pic of a V8 Westy note the air outlet on the nose.
Image

I'm building a 392(351) powered Locost and would be greatly interested in details and if you have an album somewhere.



That's just what I had in mind! Is that nose piece a custom job?

I was thinking about tilting the radiator forward a little bit, which would result in a longer, but lower profile nose.


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PostPosted: August 18, 2006, 3:28 am 
It is the factory nose on a Westfield Seight which has just been changed to a 1 piece nose/hood with slightly different ducts.
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PostPosted: August 18, 2006, 9:48 am 
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Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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So the hot air leaving the radiator goes straight into the airfilter. :wink:

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PostPosted: August 18, 2006, 12:40 pm 
In any standard configuration with out vent and the air cleaner under hood with no ducting this would be the case. If you were to go to the trouble of venting the hot radiator airflow it would seem logical to place ducting to pick up airflow from a cooler location.


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PostPosted: August 18, 2006, 11:21 pm 
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KB58 wrote:
So the hot air leaving the radiator goes straight into the airfilter. :wink:


That's exactly my problem now... my filter is directly behind the radiator. I've seen intake temps as high as 180 :crazy:

so, my plan is to slant the radiator slightly for a lower profile nose, with air exiting over the hood, then picking up air from under the car for the filter... even if I do nothing for the filter, just diverting the hot air over the hood, and leaving the filter under the hood will be a huge improvement.


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PostPosted: August 19, 2006, 12:13 pm 
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I know it's a fair change, but how about venting the radiator air out the sides instead of the top. Use ducting like you do now, but use a V-shaped piece to split the exiting air left and right.

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PostPosted: August 19, 2006, 3:28 pm 
What I am at least planning at this time is to build the nose/hood/boot plug off shapes splashed of the sheet metal of a Lincoln MK VII. Basically sectioning the headlights and turn signals out and using the corner lights as turn signals. That said this will leave a wide area for air intake using a vertical thin bar grill if more intake air is needed for the radiator then a chin breathe setup could be setup. Air evacuation will be accomplished by having an area about 2" the length of the hood open with a similar vertical grill, probably having the hood rest on the grill rather than the frame. Intake air will be done by the center of the hood raised at the scuttle forming cowl scoop, kinda like a Fox mustang. These could be easily done with a standard Lotus shape quite easily and with very little modification. This would allow a greater amount of air to be taken in for the radiator, with the chin breather it would allow a location for front plates as well. Air evacuation would be along the sides/bottom and trans tunnel, and intake at a relatively cool high pressure area at the base of the windshield.


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PostPosted: October 3, 2006, 4:05 pm 
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KB58 wrote:
I know it's a fair change, but how about venting the radiator air out the sides instead of the top. Use ducting like you do now, but use a V-shaped piece to split the exiting air left and right.


In the Rotus (I know you're very familiar with their setup) the front suspension is inboard, which really clutters up the back side of the radiator. Side exit may be an option - I have to look at it...


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PostPosted: October 3, 2006, 7:49 pm 
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Running it out the sides instead of the top will keep hot air out of the passenger compartment, at least to some degree.

Actually... I don't know for sure, since air swirls around the sides of the windscreen also...

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PostPosted: October 3, 2006, 10:03 pm 
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You might want to build the car in standard kit form, then do some aero testing to find pressure areas and the like, so you're not placing vents and scoops in areas that force the air back in.

If you're only worried about intake temps, perhaps re-routing the intake tracking, or (and this is a big "or"), build a new intake manifold that pulls from the opposite end.

Perhaps a smaller radiator with an engine oil cooler would work better.

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PostPosted: October 4, 2006, 12:21 am 
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Scott wrote:
You might want to build the car in standard kit form, then do some aero testing to find pressure areas and the like, so you're not placing vents and scoops in areas that force the air back in.

If you're only worried about intake temps, perhaps re-routing the intake tracking, or (and this is a big "or"), build a new intake manifold that pulls from the opposite end.

Perhaps a smaller radiator with an engine oil cooler would work better.


Great idea, but unfortunately this forum wasn't around 27 years ago :D

That's how old my Rotus is.

My intake manifold can be flipped, so I don't have to build another one, and that is one option. Still, getting the radiator air out of the engine compartment is a good goal *i think*


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PostPosted: October 4, 2006, 1:57 am 
A thought.

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthr ... pid=431759

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthr ... ?tid=52120


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PostPosted: October 4, 2006, 10:53 am 
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locostv8 wrote:


Since I have an inboard front suspension, that area is cluttered:

Image


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PostPosted: October 4, 2006, 10:58 am 
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Looks like you could duct it out the sides, in front and below the rocker arm.

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Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


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