Jump to content

Warm Feet


geordie40

Recommended Posts

During this glorious weather we have been having I have had the misfortune to be stuck in some rather slow moving traffic and whilst the car temp does go up not that it over heats but I dont like it creeping up near the red I can manually turn on the radiator fan to help bring temp back down but it doesn't half roast my feet and the same thing will happen if we start moving again.

 

I thought that the foot wells were sealed or one piece, not the case ?

 

Basically if I fit side vents into the bonnet will this help to keep engine bay temp down if so any idea where to get some also does wrapping the exhaust manifold in heat tape help?

 

Any other suggestions appreciated

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You will be grateful for that in the winter :)

 

Why do you need to manually switch the fan on ? Does it not come on automatically as the engine gets hot ?

 

Both Andy and I have lagged our exhaust pipes and I have fitted vents either side of my bonnet. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/316-Stainless-Steel-Marine-Boat-Yacht-Louver-Vent-8-Slot-Ventilation-Grill-Cover/332422388275?hash=item4d65eb1a33:g:uZAAAOSw-xVZ7Ztl

 

But it is still like sitting in a sauna. Although to be fair these temperatures we are seeing are pretty abnormal.

 

Al

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I thought that the foot wells were sealed or one piece............?

They should/can be. That's the way they were designed. It's up to the builder how effectively how well the bulkhead is sealed.

The car produces a lot of hot air under the bonnet. Anything you can do to reduce the production of hot air or assist its escape from under the bonnet will help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fully sealed the bulkhead with expanding foam and metallic trunking tape but my feet still got hot where the 4 branch gets close to the footwell.

My solution was the cover the inside with heat mat and the outside with similar, I wrapped the manifold and the final light bulb moment was to just prop the rear of the bonnet 5mm.

Heat rises and the wide gap lets a lot of heat out.

I then hid the washer jets bellow the bonnet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good ideas everyone, like the one about propping rear of bonnet a bit, I have seen the side vents but it scares the s**t out of me to cut my nice titanium bonnet!!

 

Were the vents easy to fit Alan?

 

I think the fan does come on by itself Alan but I've never had the car that hot on the driveway to check, maybe after next run out will leave it running when i get home and check, I just flick fan switch when sat in traffic for any length of time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wrapping the manifold made a big difference to the under bonnet temperature on my car but beware that heat has to go somewhere so the exhaust will be mega hot, ready to burn the unwary or careless. I used some vents I got off ebay, they are a marine grade stainless steel. Just cut a hole and rivet them in. I have seen them on several other cars and they are available in different sizes. It's easy to get air in through the front of the car as there is a big gap in the nose cone but harder to get it out so any vents or louvres will help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The footwells arent very well sealed or insulated on the Superspecs. On my car the centre tunnel area under the dash above the gearbox where the wiring loom hangs, doesnt have any covering, so theres a big hole where the hot under-bonnet air can get into the interior.

 

As Al says, its great in the winter (no heater needed), but in this hot weather temps in the footwells can become almost unbearable. I can tell when my radiator fan turns on as I get a rush of extra hot air into the footwells!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Were the vents easy to fit Alan?

 

I think the fan does come on by itself Alan but I've never had the car that hot on the driveway to check, maybe after next run out will leave it running when i get home and check, I just flick fan switch when sat in traffic for any length of time

 

As Kevin said, very easy. Just used an angle grinder to cut the hole and then pop riveted them in. But I take your point about the titanium, it wouldn't match.

 

As Andy said, you should be able to feel the fan come on when an extra 'slug' of hot air comes through, although I have wired in a warning light to let me know. The thermostatic switch for the fan is embedded in the bottom right of the radiator. but mine didn't work so I plumbed a switch into the top hose instead. With the fan running my coolant temperature never goes above the 'O' of 'NORMAL' on the gauge (equates to 87C).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks all again.

 

Alan I have a feeling my thermostatic switch may not work hence the builder wiring in a physical switch. On a normal day then mines about the same as yours and when I turn fan on it drops to about where it should be

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, don't try removing it as it is held in using a 'Do Not Reuse' washer and you cannot buy them any more. It's almost impossible to make it leak-proof afterwards.

 

I used one these in my top hose: https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/aluminium-modular-inline-housing-38mm with a 95C thermostatic switch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...