Interior Exterior
Q:
Saw this on Audiworld OT. Interesting look, not sure how much cooling it would add. This would only increase the air passing over the radiator not through the radiator, i.e. entering from the bottom and expelling from topside.
A:
that looks terrible... and i see absolutely no real benefit...
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"interesting" - agreed. That doesn't mean good though.
If the Toyota-powered Elise had a cooling problem it'd perhaps be something to consider, but before doing something like that I'd eliminate the vents to remove that obstruction first. That naca vent really looks out of place on the Elise, if they want a vent there I think they'd be better off just cutting a slot in the clamshell that follows the curve of the larger vent above it.
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He must of knew it looked like @ss so posted it over on Audiworld rather than here, hoping to score praise on the rest of the unmolested car that is still cool.
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I don't get it.
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Maybe this mod makes sense if you knock a big hole in the front clam and don't want to buy a new one.
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that belongs on a Civic
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Pure rice - and ugly rice too...
As someone else pointed out - a vent there would just route air above the radiator, not through it. There is absolutely no purpose for the NACA duct at that location. And they installed in crooked to boot - which negates any aerodynamic advantages of a NACA duct...
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I have considered making this modification to my Elise as well. My windshield wiper motor is constantly over heating. Here in California the weather gets warm, in fact yesterday it was well into the 70s (sorry, you folks in the NE, I could not resist...)
So, anyway, the temperature under the access panels gets hot and the wiper motor overheats. Not from running, mind you, but from the under bonnet temperatures. You will note Lotus already had the foresight to put on a heat shield on the motor.
Well, in California, that shield is not enough! Adding a NACA opening and a small duct to the wiper motor means we are prepared should it ever rain here in sunny California. With this modification, I will feel confident that my windshield wipers will run when (or if) I ever need them.
It never does rain, but you got to be prepared...
Michael (happily getting his tongue out of his cheek...)
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so is the owner a member of this forum????
hmmmm....
speak up!
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Looks like it could be photoshoped to me.
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I have considered making this modification to my Elise as well. My windshield wiper motor is constantly over heating. Here in California the weather gets warm, in fact yesterday it was well into the 70s (sorry, you folks in the NE, I could not resist...)
So, anyway, the temperature under the access panels gets hot and the wiper motor overheats. Not from running, mind you, but from the under bonnet temperatures. You will note Lotus already had the foresight to put on a heat shield on the motor.
Well, in California, that shield is not enough! Adding a NACA opening and a small duct to the wiper motor means we are prepared should it ever rain here in sunny California. With this modification, I will feel confident that my windshield wipers will run when (or if) I ever need them.
It never does rain, but you got to be prepared...
Michael (happily getting his tongue out of his cheek...)
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Michael (happily getting his tongue out of his cheek...)
And here I almost took you seriously.
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so is the owner a member of this forum????
hmmmm....
speak up!
I'm fairly certain he's not. He's a regular on AWOT, seems like a good guy.
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Looks like it could be photoshoped to me.
I was just thinking the same thing.
if it is real, I could see how some people would call us a bunch of snobs on this forum (as has been done in the past)!
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http://forums.audiworld.com/lrqc/msgs/59861.phtml
In Reply to: Just curious... What's the NACA duct for? posted by loTTusmark2000 on 2005-12-21 10:10:15
... addit'l radiator cooling (a la the slits cut in the front end of many Cup cars). The air asked to go in the front bottom of the clamshell and then up over the radiator sometimes doesn't do its job and the coolant temps on the track on hot days last year showed that.
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... car saw about 2500 miles last year (I took delivery 12/4/04), pretty much all track miles. Will probably see 1300 to 1500 miles this year, since it won't have any need for break-in mileage (as it did last year).
For those who doubt the advantage, I'll see you at ACC, RA, etc. this year and we'll see how the temps stack up. I know I've seen a significant drop after this mod. May not matter to those who aren't running in 100F for trackdays, but I ran three very hot days last year and did a few hot ambient temp PCA events where I brought my Elise (rather than the 930)...
Just FYI, your mileage may vary... would definitely not have done this mod if it were mostly a street car or an only car, but as a fifth car that sees little non-track duty, it was worth doing, imho.
But I guess I'm "that guy" - the dreaded person who never gets exactly what he wants out of the showroom. I did the Tubi and the intake mods on my Gallardo a few weeks after I got it (second Gallardo delivered in Chicago and first with these mods...), put all the GT goodies on my DB7 Vantage Coupe a few months after I bought it... more motor mods on my 993 than I probably needed to enjoy the car... I guess I'm just not a person who buys into the "stock is best" attitude. My Gallardo was at the track within two weeks of when I got it and I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more with a few mods - and mine was probably the first in the midwest to spend hours and hours on the track and find the heat issues on that car (ended up slotting the car's undertray and making other mods as a result... with positive results. Actually got the Gallardo so hot at Gingerman that the taillamp melted. Personally? If it's one my cars with two doors, and I'm going to bother having it in the garage, it better be optimized around being beaten on at the track. And everything else should either be daily-able or able to be towing something to the track.
But that's just me... again, if it were mostly a street car or I cared about resale value or whatever, then I probably wouldn't...
Hope to see you guys at the track :-)
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I know I've seen a significant drop after this mod.
Welcome to the board!
So how much did it drop?
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JnC,
4F to 6F, if you trust the stock coolant temp instrumentation.
This is on a car that had been seeing consistent temps around 210F when run hard in hot weather.
I think you'll enjoy that car you have on order... I've had mine for almost 15 months now and it's a fun little car.
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hey it's your car, go out and do want you want with it and have fun. i for one think that part of the fun of having a car is what you can do to it to make it unique in your own way.