Engine Bay Heat and Muffler Heat Shield

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have exhaust mod. My Capristo muffler is position a lot higher and closer to the air boxes. It melted the K&N filters, so I had to go back to factory paper filters. the heat also warped the center brake light. My sports cats are also very hot, I like watching it glow in the dark, wondering which rubber component will melt next.

 

Interesting topic!

Regarding the paper air filter in a CF airbox, no problem at all. Although, I don't know if CF airboxes build up less or more heat than the stock airboxes. The main reason I keep the stock airboxes are the horns.

The only way to find out how much the muffler heat affects the air temperature in the intake would be to mesure it. It's something I'm going to do soon by building up a graph comparing outside temp, temperature at the air intake, speed at the wheels, water cooling temp and oil temp + average load/revs. This would show the impact of the temperature of the air flow in the intake when the engine is at full load. Full load with little speed would bring a higher temperature in the engine bay as the air flow there would be reduced. A drive test uphill on a mountain road would be a good candidate for such test as the speed is quite reduced but with an engine running at max load.

It's difficult to predict the impact of a heat shield between the muffler and airboxes. It may help direct heat on the airboxes but it may reduce the engine bay air flow. It may build up also more heat around the muffler. That's why I installed the Capristo remote control so that I can control the exhaust valves myself. With the valves open, exhaust gases take a direct route and the difference of temp in the engine bay is greatly reduced.

I've been thinking already to install air fans at the rear. I would be useful when you're stuck in trafic jams with high outside temperatures. But there are not easy to install as you'll have to build up a frame to support the fans. And all this is pretty close to the muffler so I'm not sure the fans would support such heat. But the Italia has now fans there, so maybe I need to give a deeper look how they made it.

 

I made my own carbon fiber heat shield to protect my Gruppe M air box from my Capristo. Also the CS side shields helps a lot.
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Been thinking in the same direction. Maybee large computer cooler fans. Would be great to be able to cool the F1 pump also.

//A

 

Ferrari's own CF air box upgrade keeps the horns, no idea on temperature issues.

 

I googled "racing 12V hi temp fan" and came up with this one: http://www.fluidyne.com/products_fans_engine-cooling.html. Wonder if any of these these can be mounted inside the challenge grill?

 

I think we need a Pusher fan and the smalles were 11 inch. To large. Will have a look tomorrow.

//A

 

Interesting website, need to be studied. It's just a pity that their catalog download doesn't work

 

Quick note : They have the old noisy fans. Newer ones must hace "swept" blades to be quiet.
Take a look in your computer.

// godnight
A.

 

I downloaded it OK from here: http://www.fluidyne.com/technical-center.html (8M file).

If you can not download then I can try to send it to you through yousendit.com BUT will need an email address from you.

 

Also another source (maybe smaller ones) from here?

http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?form_cat_id=835,52,363&action=category

 

Don't you think Anders that an extractor fan would be more efficient to extract the engine bay heat?

 

http://www.silenx.com/ixtremaprofans.asp?sku=ixp-76-18

Example of forward swept blade fans used for computers.

120x120x38mm
rated dba 18
cfm 90 (Cubic Ft./Min)
current draw 0.32A

And a CFM calculator :
http://www.csgnetwork.com/airexchangecalc.html

 

If you have a challenge grill one could mount several cooling fans. Direct the air outwards?
Would you be able to get sufficient airflow through the relatively small holes in the challenge style grill? The grilles for the challenge race cars and CS have a larger bore hole, I think?

 

3" Bilge Blower Fans for boats flow about 100CFM, are waterproof anf relatively inexpensive. It seems as though there is plenty of space in the void above the exhaust pipes, which already has a heat shield.

They do draw about 3 amps, but used with a thermostat / timer the fan(s) would create quite a bit of air flow with .

http://squirrelcageblowersale.co.cc/johnson-pumps-of-america-54124-bilge-blower-marine-flange-mount/

 

I agree to look toward marine fans for this type of application. I used some similar to this to cool an intercooler once. They are VERY powerful and somewhat efficient at 230cfm from 4.4A in a small moisture tolerable package. Also inexpensive from $27 to $35 (water resistant). I have used the water resistant ones and you could spray them with a hose. These fans will blow your hair back from across the room!

http://www.twinsrecreation.com/fs365082.html ( not the ones I have used, but similar, many brands / vendors out there)

I did a bit of research on what the challenge racers use and it "appears" to be similar units. Here is an image. I love the carbon 6" intake hoses, too bad they feed a 1" restricter pipe.

2x fans blowing toward the top vents.
1x Fan Y Piping from the header area.
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Might improve the aero by filling a low pressure region at the rear of the car?

 

Another approach would be to use the small computer fans in the slit grill next to the rear deck glass.
Again could improve aero by disrupting boundary layer and reducing drag

 

How about these water waterproof case fans for the rear deck glass grill? Could work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170631475823#vi-content

 

Those water proof fans look excellent for this application. Hopefully they can withstand the heat cycles.

 

Just found this thread... I have thought about adding Heat Shields for my 360 speed for a long time. I also wanted to clean up the look of the rear engine bay area. My car is a six speed and I bought the c.s. rear engine bay tins. The rear engine bay tins did not fit my car exactly and the right side had a space for the F-1 pump. I decided that this was not an appropriate fit for my car. So off to the local fabricator for some custom work.

I had four pieces designed and fabricated for my car. It has reduced the under hood engine temp by at least 100 degrees. It also happens to look alot cleaner in the engine bay area. I hope that you like the results. I might also add the fans after somebody has done some testing.
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Very good possibility that you will experience a variety of failures in the future.
Utilizing a heat shield between the exhaust and air box can possibly have the advantage of providing a cooler intake charge, thus in theory increasing horsepower.
In completely covering the exhaust area, you will be concentrating an enormous amount of heat in a reduced space which is already void of cross ventilation.
Do realize that besides the wiring looms, there are multiple parts that will be subjected to much higher temperatures, including your transmission mount and transmission oil lines.
While it is true that the the engine compartment gets hot, it is well within the parameters calculated by many Ferrari engineers.
Once you get stuck in one of our typical California bumper to bumper freeway commutes you will cook something.
Looks over functionality is not a good formula .... !

 

Well maybe I should have showed all the parts that went into making the shield. There are four sections which box out the exhaust area. Exhaust system is now in its own separate compartment. I believe that the wires that are around the rear lights and the engine compartment will be cooler as a result.The side pieces are just like the challenge stradle ones.I will enclose some more pictures to show that this is not just a cosmetic change. I was just putting my project out there for you to see.

The first picture is the bottom of the shield, the second is the top and the third is the side. I can possibly see your point for added airflow of the exhaust , so I do have the option of removing the top portion if I want. I do have a challenge rear grill on my car, and a bi-valved capristo.

Thanks for the comments.
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more pics
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