A good oil cooler will not open to the radiator portion until the oil is warm so the real cheap ones are not desirable, and with the mounting and line routing issues it seems to me that a larger radiator for coolant is the practical mod. Measurements with heavy track running shows coolant temps will stay ~ 200F and oil ~ 250F.. I can live with that but would buy the radiator if I did anything.

 

You have a very good point, you want an oil cooler and a thermostat to let the oil bypass the cooler until it is up to temps.

A bigger radiator is definitely better looking than the oil lines snaking all over, but you can relocate the oil filter at the same time which adds some desireability.

I did that on my MIata and now I can not only use a much bigger filter but oil changes are a snap. No spilled oil either. I have the oil filter right beside the radiator. I don't even have to bend over to change it.

 

Makes me wonder about the placement of the cooler in Vortech SC kit. They mount their heat exchanger right in front of the radiator. Is this going to cause problems on the track?

 

I haven't seen any hard results for the S2k because there aren't that many out there and very few people are running standalone ECUs with the datalogging capabilities, but most ICs are placed ahead of the radiator.

I know that in the Miata and RX7 world adding the IC there usually necessitates a bigger radiator IF you are spending much time on the track, but seems to have no effect on the street.

 

With respect to the intercooler issue, on the Speedcraft kit we found that coolant temps are slightly affected by the intercooler in normal driving. Looks to be 5F on average. The real issue tends to come at idle when the fans have to pull air through significantly more restriction. It takes a lot longer for temps to stabilize at a normal level.

The upside is that the intercooler is very effective, keeping intake air temps to no more than 30F over ambient with 7.5 psi of boost.

I would certainly be concerned if I was road racing a FI kit with a front mount intercooler. I'd want a higher water/anti-freeze ratio, Water Wetter, upgraded fan switch/thermo/cap at a minimum. Even better would be a thicker radiator core. I've road raced several FI Hondas and out here at the high desert tracks in CA (like Willow) they will overheat if you don't upgrade the system (usually on the second session after the oil has had a chance to heat soak and loses its ability to absorb any more heat).

UL

 

That was exactly my concern UL. I dont know if you have had a chance to look at the vortech kit yet, but they mount a small oil cooler in front of the radiator as there heat exchanger for the aftercooler. It s apparently very effecient, but i dont know for how long. I m looking for an upgraded radiator as well, but are obviously limited by selection. I m going to start with the basics thermo, cap, and switch and i guess go from there. Im also looking into an amuse style hood.
What other options are there? What do most of the comptech guys do?

 

Well, I guess the simple answer to why it isn't being done is that there isn't an aftermarket FI kit on the market that I've seen designed to handle the abuse of serious, continuous, long term boost usage.

I haven't seen the Vortech kit yet (supposed to be dynoing one next week), but if the heat exchanger doesn't obscure more than about half the open radiator area, I wouldn't worry too much about it in most situations. I ran similar setup on my supercharged CRX with a water to air intercooler and had no issues on the road course.

Clearly, the reason that FI kit makers put their heat exchangers (whatever the type) in front of the radiator is that its where they get the best cooling effect. With a smaller water setup like the Vortech seems to be, I think you could get very good effect by placing the intercooler behind one of the "fake ducts" with a proper divergent duct from the opening to the intercooler itself. You'd have to make sure that there's plenty of evacuation space behind the intercooler, but the low pressure behind the front wheel spats would probably be good enough.

With an air-air setup, that wouldn't work as well. Most OEM turbo cars have one or two small intercoolers mounted in similar locations. They work fine for short bursts of power, but under extended use they heat soak and power drops (particularly notable on VW/Audi 1.8T apps on the racetrack, and apparently even on S4s, but I don't have any experience with the latter). Any true performance app uses a front mount wherever possible. Perhaps the difference in design and cooling efficiency with water-air allows the different mounting locations (you're dissipating a lot less heat from the intake charge than you are from the engine's cooling system, so your water-air heat exchanger can be much smaller than the radiator).

UL

 

I love the hood and obviously you found low pressure areas to situate them, but the scoops under the car do what?

Placing them there would seem to add pressure behind the radiator which would reduce the air flow thru the rad.

What about water in the engine compartment? By now you have had the hood done long enough to see the effects.

What about placing the Air to water IC radiator behind one of the faux brake ducts? I have opened mine up, it is very easy. I don't know how big the rad is that comes with them, but the ones I have seen are pretty small.

The front compartment on the driver's side has the electric air pump, but it is easily moved to under the hood without having to even cut the factory wires.

 

Here are some ductwork/overheating findings from one of the other lists. Basically managing your ducting prolongs the time you can run hard and speeds recovery. I can get more.

http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.p...p?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=013249#000000

http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.p...p?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=013341#000000

These same conclusions have been reached by the BMW and Porsche lists.

 

I think blocking the gaps would allow greater pressure buildup in front of the radiator and hence more radiator air flow, with some of the air being channeled around the car as well.

My one concern is how secure the foam is at speeds over 100 mph, since the foam seems mobile enough to take pictures of it in different positions. Perhaps the foam with duct/racing tape reinforcement would be a good way to go.