Just had my second computer replaced since being turbo-d. Went like 10 monthes before the 1st computer fried last august, and then the second one was just replaced this week.

The dealer (took it to the dealer cuz Mopar parts have a 12mon/12K mile warranty, so it was free this time ;) ) thinks that it has to do with the increased underhood temps. I agree, but I dont get why the 1st computer lasted so long and this one went so quick. Also, it was obviously a slow degradation over time, since it didnt nec. cut out when temps were highest, like beating on it on a hot day...sometimes it would die after babying it around on a 70* day.


Anywho, on to preventing this from happening again.

Ive heard those "turbo-socks" by therma-tec do a good job, but also shorten the turbos lifespan by not allowing heat to vent away, and keeping it all right at the surface.

So, i was looking at the thermo-tec heat shield sheets. Do these really work? I was thinking about just wrapping the computer with this stuff, anyone have any experience with it? heard good or bad?

I don't know about wrapping it. That doesn't sound right to me. I think it might be a good idea to heat sheild it if you're having alot of problems overheating it though. You could probably even vent(somehow) some fresh air into the shielded area to make sure shit stays cool. Venting probably won't help much when you're standing still, but it could help down the road a bit. I don't know, just telling you what I think.

I really don't know anything good or bad about wrapping the mani/turbine/downpipe. I would also appreciate if someone could give some tips on this.


95 Eclipse RS : 5 speed
Jeep TB writeup - http://www.dimensia.com:81/jimbo/JeepTBfor2gnt.html

Not sure about you guys, but I'm trying to find someone that can make us a hood, with OEM quality vents in it, without the hood looking like a insect. OEM vents, meaning it can be used all year round, and able to drain away water. For example, the hoods on the new EVOs would be nice. One hole above the turbo, another at the back of the hood, and one right at the front of the hump for intake.

I would recommend a NACA duct or an extractor duct. I have a friend who has one on his GSX, and you can feel the heat being tossed out of the engine bay when you stick your hand out of the moonroof. Serious stuff!
-=B-=

For temporary help with heat getting out, remove the weather stripping from the back of the hood, should help a little.

I also don't think wrapping the ECU would be a good idea.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Injen CAI, 55mm TB, P&P Intake, Crower Cams, Hooker Header, ERT/Catco Cat, GS-T Muffler, AFX UDP, Crane Ign Amp, S-AFC

I say wrap the downpipe with some thermal wrap. That will help some and it won't have any affect on the lifespan of the turbo. After that, I agree with the others......get a vented hood.

Don't wrap the downpipe ceramic coat it. Better all the way around. Could ceramic coat the manifold as well.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Injen CAI, 55mm TB, P&P Intake, Crower Cams, Hooker Header, ERT/Catco Cat, GS-T Muffler, AFX UDP, Crane Ign Amp, S-AFC

Hey Kaiser, definitely include me in as someone who would like something less obvious looking, but definitely functional for dissipating heat. I like some of the vent locations you spoke about.

i asked a body shop who does crap like this a long time ago, ( he does very good work ) and he said, it going to cost way to much to do this unless you got the $$$ to waste on it.. or unless you got like 15+people who would buy it..
but yah, if you find a place who does oem work etc like that i would be up to buy one..
hehe
oh yah, after long drives/racing when i get home or whatever i pop the hood and let the heat get out...

Michael 99gs
HRC Stage 2 @12psi :D
Stage 3 process begins gathering parts for rebuild
2GNT Member #32

http://www.dreamwater.net/purplebeast

alright, so wrapping the computer seems to be a no-go, since the ecu wont be able to dissipatate the heat it generates....

so what those thermo-tec mats, and making a line-of-sight barrier next to the ecu, blocking out the direct heat from the manifold/turbo? heat is like light, so a line-of-sight barrier should reflect most radiant heat, right?


about the venting, i already cut out the bright in my driver side headlight, so some air has to be coming in to the engine bay from there

a vented hood would be nice, but theres only two made for the avngers, a ugly one that looks like the camaro SS hood, and a cowl induction hood. I would conisder the cowl hood, but i would prefer a carbon fiber hood....regardless, neither are in the budget right now, was hoping for a low buck solution


thanks for all the repsonses so far :thumbsup

well Ive seen members take those ducts for your boiler and run it into the intake of the turbine frone the front brake scoop. how about doing that and also doing it on the other side for the turbine and manifold? also I rigged a heatshield made out of steel plate on the turbine and im working on puttint thermo wrap on the dp. the shield alone helps alot.

This is ghetto ridged but it works for me.

Go to Home Depot and buy some of that air ducting stuff, you know the metal that you can bend (it's a pipe that you can bend any way you want). Anyways, be careful because it's thin and can tear. I have a front grill on the car and my litte side vents (i think that's what they are called) is where I put on end of this pipe. I just used zip-ties and tied it to the grill. Then basically being VERY VERY VERY careful I was able to route it into the engine bay.

Basically I got this idea from NASCAR. The use it for there brake cooling system. It works well for me, but you've got to remember that you have a turbo car, under hood temps are always a constant problem which is reason #1 that the turbo computers are in teh cab of the car. just a thought!

I was recommending anextractor duct, which creates negative pressure in the engine bay, rather then creating positive pressure. Right above and slightly behind the radiator, on the top of the hood, is a negative pressure area, as the air flows past it with great speed. A cowl hood is positive pressure, since the air flows up the hood, and interferes with the windsheild. That is why the HVAC intake is always there, it's high pressure.
An extractor would be perfect, though.
Pull the heat out of the engine bay.
-=B-=

what exactly is an extractor scoop? like the evo scoop, or something liek the W-vent hoods?

Yeah, like the Evo scoop. Here's a pic...



This is a low pressure area. Think of the Bournelli effect, as you blow air over a piece of paper, the piece of paper is pulled up. This same principle applies, and the air in the engine bay is pulled out. Air moving over a surface creates a low pressure area. I was thinking that this would be the optimal way to eliminate heat from the engine bay.
-=B-=

Would the vent that Shuwa29 has on his car work in a similar way?





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Another thing, sounds like it's time for some computer case mods!!






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would it be possible to extend all the wires to the ECU and relocate it inside the car?//

Sure its possible, but it would be a hack job and you might end up with more problems then when you started.

I would try to seal off the ECU area as best as possible, and run some sort of duct to it. Under the hood of our celica the ECU is inside a plastic box of sorts, and there is a small plastic tube that runs from a vent in the side of the fan to this box. When the inside of the box reaches a certain temperature it will kick on the fan, just as your car does when it gets warm.

Yes, Kyle, Shuwa's vent, if it is open, should evacuate heat from the engine bay. I would prefer to do something with the stock hood, since I like the stock body style oh-so-much, but that should work fine.
-=B-=

PS, love the computer case mods...

i do have some venting already, i cut the bright out of my driver side headlight:

(copy paste and add the g)

http://www.aseclub.net/uploads/119-04.jp g

http://www.aseclub.net/uploads/119-05.jp g



A new hood or scoop (esp the evo scoop) would be nice, but thats not in the budget right now ;) i think im going to get some of that thick thermo-tec mat stuff, and isolate that computer area as much as i can, kinda created a barrier b/t the area behind the headlight and the rest of the engine bay

relocating the ecu would be nice too, but that would be a HUGE headache

The only problem with that vent evacuating heat could be location. It is so far forward it would do a great job of pullign air across the radiator. But will it really pull air from back behind it well, and away from teh turbo? Just a thought.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Injen CAI, 55mm TB, P&P Intake, Crower Cams, Hooker Header, ERT/Catco Cat, GS-T Muffler, AFX UDP, Crane Ign Amp, S-AFC

why dont you try putting a fan on the ecu? I have seen small electric fans that are used for oil coolers that look like they would be a good size. You might have to move some things around but it might be worth a shot. Just a suggestion.

the duct idea sounds good to me.. making some kind of duct that will pull air from the the center opening or side openings in the bumper and moving it to the ECU.
I would also add to that then maybe cutting the back of the opening to the "hump" on the AEM hood so that the air going to the ecu can flow out.
wonder if something like that would work.

Cowl up the back of your hood by adding a few washers between the hood bracket and the hood. Lifts it away from the body, and coupled with the removal of the weatherstripping at the rear of the hood helps in removing heat from the engine bay. Same principle as a cowl hood, only its stock and it doesn't look like ass.

But by doing the washer trick and removing the seal, will rain water leak on anything important?

i agree on the washer idea in the back of the hood u could duct a litle bit of air back into the bay for cooling since next the windsheild it one of the highest pressure areas on the car...

The key to effective heat removal is pulling it out, not pushing it out with cooler air. Pulling it out will draw heat from the hot spots more effectively. To do this, you need a high velocity, low pressure area, such as the front of the hood. A cowl, or the washer trick, will force air into the engine bay, which is a good thing. I would also duct an extractor as well, though.
-=B-=


Dude, Boeing called. They want their wing back.

I went ahead and pulled the weather stripping off tonight. Im going to add a couple washers as well, prolly get around to that this weekend, but question about it....should i add the washers on the hood side of the hinge, or the fender side of the hinge, or does it matter?


Im also looking into the evo scoops, but still not hot on the idea of cutting into my hood..


another question, is it true that carbon fiber hoods allow heat to dissipatate through them better than our stock metal hoods?

yeah sound like a hood vent would help. never had a problem with my ECU :thumbsup then again my car isn't crazy fast like yours either.

>yeah sound like a hood vent would help. never had a problem
>with my ECU :thumbsup then again my car isn't crazy fast like
>yours either.


lol, my car is far from being crazy fast, maybe one day ;)

I did the old school ghetto cowl hood today tho :)

i removed the weather stripping from the back of the engine bay, then got longer bolts for the hood hinges. W/ those longer bolts, i put nylon spacers b/t the hood and the hinge. When the hood is closed, the back of the hood sits about 1/2" higher than it does normally, basically creating a cowl-hood effect.

havent driven the car yet, just finished it about 5-10 minutes ago, but judgin by the results the dsm guys see, this should help a bit :)

Get a parts list and write up together and post a how to stock hood mod for the board. :thumbsup



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