cooling the front brakes

[shorttimer]

Credit given for doing a well thought out/executed job on your disc coolers. However, at the speeds we are driving, to get the mileage we're after, is a moot point. They started doing mods like yours on road race cars back in the late 60s as I recall. They work especially well for high speeds. Please don't take this comment in a negative way. You have skills that will help you achieve mileage gains.

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by shorttimer

Credit given for doing a well thought out/executed job on your disc coolers. However, at the speeds we are driving, to get the mileage we're after, is a moot point. They started doing mods like yours on road race cars back in the late 60s as I recall. They work especially well for high speeds. Please don't take this comment in a negative way. You have skills that will help you achieve mileage gains.

However, at the speeds we are driving, to get the mileage we're after, is a moot point.

Please define 'we'.
New posters often think that the world of ecomodders is all the same. Nothing couild be further from the truth.
THe 'we' you refer to is actually a subset of the much larger group who are ecomodding.

I frankly, I would never....and I mean NEVER, do some of the mods or drive the way some do. But I (and many others) are still concerned about geting good mpg and are willing to make adjustments (at times) to achieve that.

as an example, I would NEVER drive without the a/c on. period.

I appreciate the comment concerning my skill set.

[Otto]

For ducting to fit other geometry inlets on various cars, consider plastic plumbing ducting at Lowes and Home Depot, etc.. Some of this stuff is fairly thin wall, perhaps can be stretched or formed somewhat with a heat gun, and being plumbing ducting already has smooth internal contours and shapes, for better flow.

Another possibility is to make a male mold for the particular duct shape out of polyurethane foam and Gorilla glue, sand to exact shape, wrap with aluminum foil, and then lay up fiberglass over it to make a corresponding female duct shape. Or, use such male mold as a master, and thermoform PETG or acrylic sheet over it to make the duct.

I'm also wondering about use of 2 liter PETG plastifc soda bottles, heated with a heat gun and stretched or reformed to particular shape, for ducts.

Thoughts?

YouTube for "PETG" and see how ductile this stuff is. It's in virtually every clear blister pack or soda bottle around. Tough, clear, cheap.

[mcrews]

otto,
great`input!

Once you have the 'size' of the opening you can stroll the rows of tubing, hoses, plumbling, drainage etc and look for a size that fits.


Funny you mention the soda bottle. I used the neck of a bottle the other day as a 'reducer' between to odd shapes and it worked amazingly.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by mcrews

otto,
great`input!

Once you have the 'size' of the opening you can stroll the rows of tubing, hoses, plumbling, drainage etc and look for a size that fits.


Funny you mention the soda bottle. I used the neck of a bottle the other day as a 'reducer' between to odd shapes and it worked amazingly.

Go on YouTube and search keywords "PETG". There is a vid of a guy who takes a small sheet of that stuff (same as soda bottle plastic), heats it in his kitchen oven, then stretttttttches it over a wood mandrel on a stick, to make the forward fuselage shape of a hand-launched glider.

Note how ductile and workable that stuff is. For your brake cooling duct, what would happen if you heated up a 2 liter soda bottle, and had a way to properly handle it and stretch it over a mandrel properly shaped for such a duct? Stretched to an elongated wine bottle, it would have an elegant and fluidically efficient shape.

I've not tried this, but cannot help but wonder what such uses we might make of otherwise discarded plastic bottles and other common "trash."

Or, how about taking such PETG 2 liter soda bottle, cutting the ends off, slitting the remaining cylinder lengthwise, so laid flat you have a sheet ~10" X ~15". Such sheet, if held in a simple frame and heated in the oven, could maybe be thermoformed into stuff like mirror blister fairings, protective headlight glass covers, smoothing covers for needless holes in grills and car noses, etc..

I'm also considering use of such 2 liter soda bottle to split down the middle into halves, for aero hand protecters/handlebar end fairings on a motorcycle, to streamline an otherwise draggy shape out in the breeze. Painted from the inside, a clear plastic piece would have excellent finish. Same story with plastic disks for wheel covers, painted to match the car.

[mcrews]

Here is where I used the curve of a soda bottle to 'reduce and fit"
This is the stock air box. the was a mushroomed shaped resonator that I removed so I could run 'cool air' from the lower fender,

[gone-ot]

...you plan on "running" White Lightning across state lines (wink,wink)?

[Exalta-STA]

great information there buddy! Will try to do the same on mine. Thank you

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...you plan on "running" White Lightning across state lines (wink,wink)?

says the man with all the dodge/plymoth muscle in thr garage!!!

[gone-ot]

...ah, the bad tendencies of youth (ha,ha). I even had an engine oil cooler on my AAR'Cuda for awhile (oil leaks were a problem)...why? Coolness (wink,wink).

...I owned those MoPars back when they were "new" so you can figure how many years ago that was, back when OPEC and Oil Embargo were buzz words.