Low dollar solutions for limp mode.
- Thread starter TroyV
- Start date
It would probably work but not too many people would install it for a couple of reasons, the cost is over 400.00 and how reliable are they for a street car.
On a side not los angeles buses are being fitted to electric water pumps to reduce their gas consumption. Changing it would be a big pain in the ass.
I suppose I am looking all the options. I don't have the cash to buy the large array of cooling mods available, and based on info you and the others have posted, it doesn't look like any single one is the end all be all.
Perhaps I would look at the top two or three things, one of which being the hood. The paint on my hood is starting to peel in spots, right in the area of the heat extractors, so I think my donor hood has been found. That could be a winter project. Speaking of which....Carlos, do you have any sketches, drawings, or templates of your hood mod fabrication?
Another thing, which I will hate doing, is to pulley up to the 3.4... :sleeping:
That would leave room for one of the more expensive mods, or two moderately priced ones....like perhaps a new rad and HE..
This is assuming I keep the car at all. This 328 I just got drives awful nice..
I suppose I am looking all the options. I don't have the cash to buy the large array of cooling mods available, and based on info you and the others have posted, it doesn't look like any single one is the end all be all.
Perhaps I would look at the top two or three things, one of which being the hood. The paint on my hood is starting to peel in spots, right in the area of the heat extractors, so I think my donor hood has been found. That could be a winter project. Speaking of which....Carlos, do you have any sketches, drawings, or templates of your hood mod fabrication?
Another thing, which I will hate doing, is to pulley up to the 3.4... :sleeping:
That would leave room for one of the more expensive mods, or two moderately priced ones....like perhaps a new rad and HE..
This is assuming I keep the car at all. This 328 I just got drives awful nice..
If you have not already done it yet,the radiator box in and wider deeper front air dam, should be done at the same time as the extractor hood, before actually.
The box in and air dam mods are dirt cheap, just take a bit of time.
The Tiger Racing extractor hood is available in fiberglass, as well as CF. The glass version is MUCH CHEAPER, I would already own one but I don't know if it would clear a 3.50" Whipple pulley.
Perhaps I would look at the top two or three things, one of which being the hood. That could be a winter project. Speaking of which....Carlos, do you have any sketches, drawings, or templates of your hood mod fabrication?
Another thing, which I will hate doing, is to pulley up to the 3.4... :sleeping:
There is no reason why you can't run a 3.10 pulley with the boxed radiator, deeper front air dam and hood mod. Below is a couple of pictures.
Cut the hood along the recessed body lines.
Attach a couple peices of tape to the recessed part of the hood. Pull the tape down til you get a measurement or 3" (from the top of the hood to the recessed part) and wrap the tape underneath the hood to hold the recessed part in place.
Place the triangle looking piece and place it almost in the same place you cut it out of. Use tape to hold it in place.
Now the fun begins, you will need to fiberglass in these peices. It is a sticky, dusty time consuming adventure. The lip at the front of the hood vent will also need to be made. Mine is about 3/4 of an inch high.
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I run a 3.1 pulley and a ported blower and have never had a problem. The car runs like a 2.76 upper only but only makes 10 lbs of boost.
Hi Guys, Im new here. In terms of boxing in the Radiator, should the area under the bumper be boxed in all the way to the radiator support, covering the power steering cooler? For what boost is worth, I am running 14-16 psi with my Kenne bell and stock cooling system. The highest temp I have seen is 240 durring a 20 minute session. I have not hit limp mode.
Yes. Can I assume from your P/S cooler description you are talking about an 03/04 Cobra??? (No info in sig)
As you get faster you will likely see the temps getting up there. The tracks you run on do make a difference though. Where do you guys run in N.M.?
When I changed my H/E I turned my P/S cooler 90 degrees to vertical and made a little bracket. Not tough to do. Just wear thick leather gloves when you twist the cooler to bend the lines.
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what air dam is available that fit the 99-04 cars? you are talking about the piece that goes under the radiator support, correct?
also, can the tiger racing hood be bolted on like a stock hood? I had one guy tell me that they are lift off hoods only and won't bolt onto the stock hinges.
I may need to look at this a bit closer.
The air dam under the rad... yes.
It is a make it yourself type of deal using landscaping divider material, available in a roll at places like Home Depot, Lowes, Ace hardware, True Value, ETC.
It is a semi-rigid roll of black plastic. I used some Aluminum angle strips and bolted it up and trimmed it to length(Depth), You will want it to be as wide as possible, the ends should come out to/past the middle of the tire. This helps the wheel well act as a vent, which it is already shaped correctly to do.
The hood I believe will need hood pins. Though you could call and find out if they make a reinforced version that would accept hinges and latch.
I'm thinking that with all the stones thrown up chipping paint while tracking, a track only hood would spare me from some of that. Just takes a helper to lift off the stocker and lay on the race hood. The pins could be used for both if you wanted or removed for the street hood.
Or just reinforce the hinge mount area yourself and just pin the front.
Jimmy, Yes sir, an 04 cobra. We run at Sandia motorsports park in Abq. It is all turns at a whopping 1.6 miles long and 14 turns. Thanks for the tip on rotating the steering cooler.
N/angel, I just made an air dam for my car like Jimmy described. The hardest part about the job is jacking the car up! Get some new plastic pushpins for the factory air dam and then use the angle pieces to attach the plastic edging to the factory air dam.
N/angel, I just made an air dam for my car like Jimmy described. The hardest part about the job is jacking the car up! Get some new plastic pushpins for the factory air dam and then use the angle pieces to attach the plastic edging to the factory air dam.
Hey at least you have some place to run.
That type of track tends to give the advantage to light little import type stuff, but still it's a good place to get it out of your system and improve your driving and your familiarity with your cars capabilities.:rockon:
The air dam under the rad... yes.
It is a make it yourself type of deal using landscaping divider material, available in a roll at places like Home Depot, Lowes, Ace hardware, True Value, ETC.
It is a semi-rigid roll of black plastic. I used some Aluminum angle strips and bolted it up and trimmed it to length(Depth), You will want it to be as wide as possible, the ends should come out to/past the middle of the tire. This helps the wheel well act as a vent, which it is already shaped correctly to do.
The hood I believe will need hood pins. Though you could call and find out if they make a reinforced version that would accept hinges and latch.
I'm thinking that with all the stones thrown up chipping paint while tracking, a track only hood would spare me from some of that. Just takes a helper to lift off the stocker and lay on the race hood. The pins could be used for both if you wanted or removed for the street hood.
Or just reinforce the hinge mount area yourself and just pin the front.
ok, never ever seen this landscape thing around here... how much does it cost? willing to ship a package overseas? :-D
will definitely give tiger racing a call once I'm ready for the hood. hood pins should work good for the front. never looked at where I could mount pins on the rear though
I lost my factory air dam a long time ago in the whole deconstruction of the car when the motor went boom. do I need the factory piece or can I just use that landscaping thing all the way?
what about another Mach 1 chin spoiler but mounted underneath the radiator? would that work? also heard about an explorer air dam that may fit our cars?
You don't need the factory one , it just makes the install a little easier.
You can use the plastic strip stuff and attach to angle strips of Aluminum. Using a roll of plastic 4'' wide, gives you much more flexibility as to how wide(preferably right out to the center of the tires) and how deep(ride height and local roads and driveways angles will dictate how deep you can go) you can make it.
The ranger/explorer dam is used mostly on fox body cars. It may work though.
In Sweden you probably don't have grasses and weeds that spread rapidly and over run gardens like we do in the southern US. I know it was much less of a problem when I lived in Syracuse, NY.
When you are looking for it.... it will be listed as a product that keeps weeds, grass, and certain types of herbs(some herbs will spread like crazy) contained in a certain area of your garden and not spreading out to areas you don't want it covering.
For the splitter I would just run the 03/04 lip for the street, which isn't a splitter at all. And run a real splitter, like the Y2K-R only something rigid in fiberglass so it doesn't flex and vibrate at speed. You may have to reinforce the bumper cover to take the air loads at speeds above 80MPH. I don't run a splitter so this is just from what I've seen and heard other guys running.
You can use the plastic strip stuff and attach to angle strips of Aluminum. Using a roll of plastic 4'' wide, gives you much more flexibility as to how wide(preferably right out to the center of the tires) and how deep(ride height and local roads and driveways angles will dictate how deep you can go) you can make it.
The ranger/explorer dam is used mostly on fox body cars. It may work though.
In Sweden you probably don't have grasses and weeds that spread rapidly and over run gardens like we do in the southern US. I know it was much less of a problem when I lived in Syracuse, NY.
When you are looking for it.... it will be listed as a product that keeps weeds, grass, and certain types of herbs(some herbs will spread like crazy) contained in a certain area of your garden and not spreading out to areas you don't want it covering.
For the splitter I would just run the 03/04 lip for the street, which isn't a splitter at all. And run a real splitter, like the Y2K-R only something rigid in fiberglass so it doesn't flex and vibrate at speed. You may have to reinforce the bumper cover to take the air loads at speeds above 80MPH. I don't run a splitter so this is just from what I've seen and heard other guys running.
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I'm in Switzerland, not Sweden ;-) we do have problems with grass going everywhere but I've never seen this kind of landscape thing around here. there's more thin plastic or aluminum stuff for that.
on the ranger/explorer airdam, here's a picture I found a while back, I may try to fit this onto my car.
on the ranger/explorer airdam, here's a picture I found a while back, I may try to fit this onto my car.
I'm in Switzerland, not Sweden ;-) we do have problems with grass going everywhere but I've never seen this kind of landscape thing around here. there's more thin plastic or aluminum stuff for that.
on the ranger/explorer airdam, here's a picture I found a while back, I may try to fit this onto my car.
Sorry
posting in too much of hurry.:bash: (hurricane Ike distraction)BTW: This roll of divider is a fairly thin plastic compared to the ranger/explorer air dam.
Might be worth asking about at the garden shops.
Another great thread...I've been spending more and more time in the "Open Track Forums" because these threads are very informative and are basically BS lacking...which IMO is a great combination.
Big HP doesn't mean anything if your car is limping around on the street or track because it runs too hot.
LOL
Carlos, Jimmy, Ashley and Bruce have all given me some great ideas in the past 2 years that I've been modding my Termy...Thanks alot fellas!!!
To tell ya the truth, I haven't open tracked the Cobra yet but I do drive for 20+ minute hardcore canyon runs from time to time trying to keep up with or get away from some pretty fast cars. On the street I haven't seen temps over 230 during these spirited runs. I was chasing some cooling problems on the street about 6 months ago but nothing that serious.
I have the following cooling mods...
Modified Termy hood. (I installed large aluminum vents...just behind the OEM extractors after seeing Carlos' hood at a car meet...thanks for the inspiration Carlos)
Modified OEM T-stat. (I drilled 4 holes in that sucker after discussing the benefits with Ashley)
I started boxing in the Radiator. (80% done, thanks for the pics Carlos)
Stock radiator with 80/20 mix of distilled water/coolant.
Larger I/C tank with 80/20 mix.
"40 Below" additive in both the Radiator and I/C tank.
Dialed in my Fan settings as follows:
190 HS ON
184 HS OFF
180 LS ON
174 LS OFF
Car runs great on the street (engine temps of 175-200 when the outside temps are between 60-100) but I want to dial in just a couple more things before I open track her. My IAT's are usually between 75-100 when the car is moving (depending on the outside temps) and doesn't usually see over 130 but that's only in stop and go traffic with 100+ temps. I think I hit 150 IAT's at the dragstrip last year but that was before my cooling mods and I was hot lapping. My last N/A Mustang ran like a charm at the track but that car was pretty simple...large Griffin race radiator, 180* t-stat and hi-flow water pump is all that 347 needed...the Termy on the otherhand has been pretty tricky in the cooling dept. to say the least. Luckily I haven't seen the limp mode problems but I'm doing all these mods in hopes that I'll never see it!!!
The last thing I'm working on is the "Deeper/Wider Radiator Air Dam Mod" that Jimmy, Carlos and others have done. (thanks Carlos for the pics) I was looking at some C5 and C6 Vettes today at my friend's shop and they have this exact same mod straight from the factory. Oh yeah and they also have boxed in radiators to boot.
My question is, do I need to use the aluminum angle brackets??? Can't I just attach it to the existing air deflector under the radiator support and follow along the curves on the OEM undercarriage???
I may look into the Evans NPG+ but the 80/20 mix with "40 below" seems to work well for me on the street. May be overkill for me since I may just hit an open track event once a year if I'm lucky.
Any opinions, comments???
I haven't seen the dreaded limp mode yet...and hopefully never do!!!
:burnout:
Thanks...
:beer:
Later...Dave
Big HP doesn't mean anything if your car is limping around on the street or track because it runs too hot.
LOL
Carlos, Jimmy, Ashley and Bruce have all given me some great ideas in the past 2 years that I've been modding my Termy...Thanks alot fellas!!!
To tell ya the truth, I haven't open tracked the Cobra yet but I do drive for 20+ minute hardcore canyon runs from time to time trying to keep up with or get away from some pretty fast cars. On the street I haven't seen temps over 230 during these spirited runs. I was chasing some cooling problems on the street about 6 months ago but nothing that serious.
I have the following cooling mods...
Modified Termy hood. (I installed large aluminum vents...just behind the OEM extractors after seeing Carlos' hood at a car meet...thanks for the inspiration Carlos)
Modified OEM T-stat. (I drilled 4 holes in that sucker after discussing the benefits with Ashley)
I started boxing in the Radiator. (80% done, thanks for the pics Carlos)
Stock radiator with 80/20 mix of distilled water/coolant.
Larger I/C tank with 80/20 mix.
"40 Below" additive in both the Radiator and I/C tank.
Dialed in my Fan settings as follows:
190 HS ON
184 HS OFF
180 LS ON
174 LS OFF
Car runs great on the street (engine temps of 175-200 when the outside temps are between 60-100) but I want to dial in just a couple more things before I open track her. My IAT's are usually between 75-100 when the car is moving (depending on the outside temps) and doesn't usually see over 130 but that's only in stop and go traffic with 100+ temps. I think I hit 150 IAT's at the dragstrip last year but that was before my cooling mods and I was hot lapping. My last N/A Mustang ran like a charm at the track but that car was pretty simple...large Griffin race radiator, 180* t-stat and hi-flow water pump is all that 347 needed...the Termy on the otherhand has been pretty tricky in the cooling dept. to say the least. Luckily I haven't seen the limp mode problems but I'm doing all these mods in hopes that I'll never see it!!!
The last thing I'm working on is the "Deeper/Wider Radiator Air Dam Mod" that Jimmy, Carlos and others have done. (thanks Carlos for the pics) I was looking at some C5 and C6 Vettes today at my friend's shop and they have this exact same mod straight from the factory. Oh yeah and they also have boxed in radiators to boot.
My question is, do I need to use the aluminum angle brackets??? Can't I just attach it to the existing air deflector under the radiator support and follow along the curves on the OEM undercarriage???
I may look into the Evans NPG+ but the 80/20 mix with "40 below" seems to work well for me on the street. May be overkill for me since I may just hit an open track event once a year if I'm lucky.
Any opinions, comments???
I haven't seen the dreaded limp mode yet...and hopefully never do!!!
:burnout:
Thanks...
:beer:
Later...Dave
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Almost forgot...Jimmy, Carlos, anyone...
The "boxing in" of the radiator requires you to "seal off" the power steering cooler. Is it ok to leave it lying "flat" in the factory position or do you have to turn it in the same type of position as the extractor/radiator/condensor???
Would the PS overheat if it remains lying "flat"???
I know which way is better but don't look forward to re-mounting it and changing the sheet metal I've already made it that area.
:burnout:
Thanks again...
Later...Dave
The "boxing in" of the radiator requires you to "seal off" the power steering cooler. Is it ok to leave it lying "flat" in the factory position or do you have to turn it in the same type of position as the extractor/radiator/condensor???
Would the PS overheat if it remains lying "flat"???
I know which way is better but don't look forward to re-mounting it and changing the sheet metal I've already made it that area.
:burnout:
Thanks again...
Later...Dave
Although my boxing is yet to be completed(health issues) I turned vertical and re-bracketed my P/S cooler when I did my rad and H/E. Yes I will be sealing off the bottom also.
I would plan on using the angle stuff at least on the outer sections in front of the tires, because the lip molded into the front facia is not very big.
There will be an advantage to running your dam out as wide as possible.
This will drop pressure in the engine bay and in the wheel wells, which are a big vent for the engine bay and the brakes.
Air moving out and around the front end and past the wheel openings pulls air out of them. This is true of even a completely un-modded Mustang just from the frontal shape.
Don't be afraid of a little scraping while street driving, it's tough stuff and isn't going anywhere easily.
I need to re-do my dam, since I trimmed it too short for my ride height.
Notice how even under fairly heavy braking with stock springs and shocks, the dam is not even close to scraping. It needs to be deeper than it is now.
I would plan on using the angle stuff at least on the outer sections in front of the tires, because the lip molded into the front facia is not very big.
There will be an advantage to running your dam out as wide as possible.
This will drop pressure in the engine bay and in the wheel wells, which are a big vent for the engine bay and the brakes.
Air moving out and around the front end and past the wheel openings pulls air out of them. This is true of even a completely un-modded Mustang just from the frontal shape.
Don't be afraid of a little scraping while street driving, it's tough stuff and isn't going anywhere easily.
I need to re-do my dam, since I trimmed it too short for my ride height.
Notice how even under fairly heavy braking with stock springs and shocks, the dam is not even close to scraping. It needs to be deeper than it is now.
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