I had an idea... right now I've got headgasket issues, so I've been running my heater at full blast to keep from overheating. I verified with the datalogger this lowers the coolant temp about 30 degrees. It does get very hot in the cabin though, even with the windows open.

Could we hack and re-duct say, the "defrost" to vent to atmosphere?

Basically just dump all the hot air from the heater outside the car, but retain most of the stock hvac system.

This would give us a nice second radiator (heater core) for track or race days.

Sure its ghetto, but its a compromise if you can't afford a $400 racing radiator... what do you think?

I'd be interested in your write-up after you do it :D Honestly.. that sounds like a good idea to me. My car runs very hot in these AZ 110+ summers.

seems to me it'd be easier to fix your head gasket. a $400 fluidyne is going to perform alot better then a heatercore + stock rad. besides i've seen them around for $360. :rolleyes

if u go to do this i'd re-direct the foot part of the hvac... perhaps u could just block it up w/something that way if u ever want to use it again...

dunno if would work or not by blocking it up... but it's worth a shot... + if u did sumthing to the defrost and u needed to use defrost one day u'd be SOL

if it works let us know, i'd be quite intrested in doin' this...

later

WTB: Dodge Omni


http://www.geocities.com/shadyporshe851proof/frame_content/indexframe.html

mods: star stage III clutch + 60mm tb + the normal mods, bass, lights well u get the picture

Get a better radiator, and a cooler thermostat. Fix your headgasket. Anything else is just a bandaid to the real problem.

True Dark0ne! But what about if you did this AFTER fixing the problems? Would a 30* difference in coolant temps make much of a difference if used on an intermittent basis? I'm sure that lower temps overall lead to longer engine life, but would there be the possibility of a performance gain when lowering coolant temps on an as needed basis? If nothing else, an interesting idea. :)

thats exactly what i'm looking at, i have no cooling problems just want a lower temp...

would that help any?

tia

WTB: Dodge Omni


http://www.geocities.com/shadyporshe851proof/frame_content/indexframe.html

mods: star stage III clutch + 60mm tb + the normal mods, bass, lights well u get the picture

No way in hell I'm doing this... I just wanted to get people's thoughts on it, and throw it out there in case someone wanted to do it. It's a HACK and I labelled it as such.

I'm fixing the cooling problems the right way (Fluidyne, SPAL, HG) because I plan to actually race this car someday. :rolleyes

I just thought it was suprising the heater lowered the coolant temp so much. I'm not sure if it would give the same "gains" on a fully functional cooling system. Anyone with a datalogger and a working car can investigate this.