I have an idea to improve my car's cooling, but I wanted to get some expert opinions before I get to cutting. I haven't had any serious problems with cooling. The only time that it got hot was after 5 or 6 hot laps at Pitt Race (a lot of acceleration opportunities) when it was 87°F out, which I feel is reasonable. Right about the time that my oil temp gauge showed 270° was when I noticed the coolant (cylinder head) temp gauge on my dash moved higher than it usually stays. I stopped when I saw oil temps of 280° and the dash showed the needle a little over 3/4 of the way over (still short of the red). Temps got back to normal after a cool-down lap, and I understand that this is a street car that is being treated like a track car, but I'm wondering if anybody here has any suggestions for easy cooling improvements.
For context:
I love the look of the Cervini hood, but I am concerned that it might not be helping with cooling. My main concern is that air is coming in the front holes and that the holes in the back (under the vents) aren't large enough to let enough air escape, causing a very high-pressure zone in the engine bay and reducing the airflow through the grille and into my oil cooler and radiator. Additionally, the previous owner didn't buy a new upper radiator cover when he rebuilt the car. I'm concerned that this could be another chance for air to go up and bypass the heat exchangers.
Question 1: Would getting an upper radiator cover help, or are those just cosmetic?
I've been looking on Facebook Marketplace and junkyards for that part, but might have to bite the bullet and buy a new one.
Question 2: Would opening up the vents in the rear help?
The picture below shows the small hole that I was talking about. I marked my proposed cut lines in red. This cut would allow for the full surface area of the vents to be used for airflow, not just the tiny slot.
Question 3: Should I just look for a stock hood and put Tracspec or Race Louvers vents in it?
I'm not sure if I'd have any clearance issues with the Cobra Jet intake manifold. I'm also not sure how much I trust the Cervinis hood latch strength, which this would help with.
For context:
- Cervini Ram Air (Type 4) hood
- Boss 302 grille w/o fog lights
- Setrab 934 oil cooler w/ -12 lines
- Stock radiator
- 5w-30 Mobil1 synthetic oil <-- I'm likely going to run 5W-50 next track day
- Shifting at 7,000-7,200 RPM
I love the look of the Cervini hood, but I am concerned that it might not be helping with cooling. My main concern is that air is coming in the front holes and that the holes in the back (under the vents) aren't large enough to let enough air escape, causing a very high-pressure zone in the engine bay and reducing the airflow through the grille and into my oil cooler and radiator. Additionally, the previous owner didn't buy a new upper radiator cover when he rebuilt the car. I'm concerned that this could be another chance for air to go up and bypass the heat exchangers.
Question 1: Would getting an upper radiator cover help, or are those just cosmetic?
I've been looking on Facebook Marketplace and junkyards for that part, but might have to bite the bullet and buy a new one.
Question 2: Would opening up the vents in the rear help?
The picture below shows the small hole that I was talking about. I marked my proposed cut lines in red. This cut would allow for the full surface area of the vents to be used for airflow, not just the tiny slot.
Question 3: Should I just look for a stock hood and put Tracspec or Race Louvers vents in it?
I'm not sure if I'd have any clearance issues with the Cobra Jet intake manifold. I'm also not sure how much I trust the Cervinis hood latch strength, which this would help with.