Best ways to keep 98 cobra engine cool??
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From what I've seen, I think as long as it's as wide as the radiator then you will get enough air flow going up into the radiator. Accoridng to Jummiysidecar, he said to run it the width of the bumper. In my situation, my saleen front bumper does not have a "kip" underneath the bumper as his does, so I had no where to mount the ends if I went that wide. I'm hoping my attempt at boxing in the sides with foam and the 3.5" air dam will help improve cooling. We'll see come september 24:beer:
Also, the underneath my front bumper I dont have the end pieces that cover the bottom of the left and right sides (as Jimmysidecar has in his picture above). I hope not having these end pieces will not affect the flow. If it does, and if anyone has input on this please let me know, I will fab end pieces to cover the bottom ends that go in fron tof each front wheel.
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That looks great. I'm considering undertaking this project in the next few weekends.
Are you going to box the bottom at some point as well?
Are you going to box the bottom at some point as well?
Thanks! I was expecting it to be a tougher project but it wasn't difficult at all. Since I used foam, it made it easy for me to squeeze it through without removing the front bumper. I'm not sure if I'm going to box in the bottom or not. If I do, then that means I have to get rid of my custom air dam and I kind of like it:thumbsup: Depending on how this setup performs I may or may not do the bottom.
The bottom is more important then the sides. You can still keep the air dam. All you did was channel the air that wasn't going thru your radiator to escape thru the bottom. The idea is to force all the air that enters the bumper cover opening to pass thru the radiator.
ps... looks great so far. All you need now is some abs plastic, trim it so that the abs sits inside of the bumper cover lip and secures to the radiator support.
ps... looks great so far. All you need now is some abs plastic, trim it so that the abs sits inside of the bumper cover lip and secures to the radiator support.
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So if I did box in the bottom of the radiator how will the air dam still work? I thought that the larger air dam would "scoop" more air up and into the radiator??? For example, I inteded to setup my car like Jimmysidecarr and GCassidy who are both running deeper air dams without boxed in radiators...am I missing something here? Now I'm confused:shrug:
My understanding is that the air dam spoils the air passing under the radiator which allows the air trapped behind it to escape more easily. Allowing this trapped air to escape allows more air to flow through the radiator.
Boxing the bottom will force more of the air entering the bumper cover through the front. The air dam allows more to escape from the back.
Boxing the bottom will force more of the air entering the bumper cover through the front. The air dam allows more to escape from the back.
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Ahhh gotcha! Well if that's the case then I guess I'll be adding a bottom piece to my box next weekend. With the bottom piece in place will I still need my custom air dam? What will benefit from it if I leave it?
The bottom air dam is also a must.
Thanks for the input! After boxing in the bottom of the radiator, should the air dam remain in the same stock area or should I make a new one that goes on the bottom of the front bumper?
Same area, you are trying to create a high pressure at the air dam which in turn will cause a vaccum behind the air dam getting the low pressure air from the engine compartment/radiator.
What effect would occur if I placed the air dam on the bottom of the front bumper (like the mach 1 chin spoiler but deeper) instead of on the radiator support? I've seen a lot of cars like this but not exactly sure what it does. I assume it helps draw air through the bumper opening and into the radiator box:shrug: For instance, the pic of your car in your sig...you have the splitter but you also have an air dam between the splitter and bumper. Do you have an air dam in the stock location as well?
Thanks to everyone from various forums that commented on my boxed-in sides and deeper air dam, I went ahead and tackled the next step: boxing in the bottom of the radiator.
I bought some thin aluminum, a pop rivet gun, and some rivets and went to town! I basically boxed in the bottom the width of the radiatorand sealed off any gaps with some high strength Gorilla duct tape. It's not nearly as "pretty" as some of the fab work I've seen on other cars but I think it'll do the job.
I retained the foam sides of the box that I previously made but somewhat recovered them in the lower bumper opening for better "boxing" and so It'd look a little better LOL!
Now I have to figure out if I "need" an air dam still...whether it be in the stock location (I can re-install the air dam I made) or on the bottom of the bumper, somewhat like the Mach 1 lip.
Here are some pics...It was dark when I finished up so the pics didnt come out as clear as I would've liked, but here you go:
Bottom of the box:
Driver side - inside the lower bumper opening:
Passenger side - inside the lower bumper opening:
Driver side - underneath the car
Passenger side: underneath the car
I bought some thin aluminum, a pop rivet gun, and some rivets and went to town! I basically boxed in the bottom the width of the radiatorand sealed off any gaps with some high strength Gorilla duct tape. It's not nearly as "pretty" as some of the fab work I've seen on other cars but I think it'll do the job.
I retained the foam sides of the box that I previously made but somewhat recovered them in the lower bumper opening for better "boxing" and so It'd look a little better LOL!
Now I have to figure out if I "need" an air dam still...whether it be in the stock location (I can re-install the air dam I made) or on the bottom of the bumper, somewhat like the Mach 1 lip.
Here are some pics...It was dark when I finished up so the pics didnt come out as clear as I would've liked, but here you go:
Bottom of the box:
Driver side - inside the lower bumper opening:
Passenger side - inside the lower bumper opening:
Driver side - underneath the car
Passenger side: underneath the car
Now that looks really good. Now just add the air dam and your all set.
Thanks man! I did this "full box" primarily due to the advice you gave me:beer: I know you've been saying to throw my air dam back on in the stock location (which actually is the easiest option), but why not on the front bumper? I've seen so many cars that have boxed radiators with a deep lip/air dam on the bottom of the front bumper and dont understand what this method would do compared to adding the air dam onto the bottom of the radiator.
Sorry for all the questions, but you really seem to know how this all works together so your advice is GREATLY appreciated:thumbsup:
I'd imagine that moving the air dam forward from its stock location would be less effective in creating the desired vacuum effect. Air pressure will be lowest immediately behind the area where pressure is highest.
True, and I believe this is what racebronco is saying as well, but someone also told me that if the air dam remains under the radiator support, since my radiator is now sealed off at the bottom, I'll get front end lift. He explained that the air dam under the radiator will create the vacuum effect, but also push air upwards where there is no longer an opening for it to pass through, causing lift and less front end grip. These two facts are what confuse me:??:
What the air dam does is force air down, not up. By putting it back in the stock location under the radiator, what it does is force air down toward the pavement under the engine. This in turn pulls a vacuum on the back of the radiator and in the space between the radiator and the front of the engine. Helping air flow out of the radiator.
-kevin
-kevin
Thanks for the explanation Kevin! Very useful to know that the air dam actually pushes air down and not up. Now I'm wondering why a local fox body road racer told me air is pushed up???
What kind of foam did you use?
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