Bonnet scoops and vents

[emako888]

The weathers getting hotter and with a car that has a propensity to over heat its time I start looking at extra cooling for the engine bay of my Legnum, i.e. bonnet scoops and vents.

While ideally Id like to get something like the evo style bonnets available ( http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VR4-gala...=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27d95ac558 ) the price of that is probably a little excessive for me at the moment.

So I was sort of wanting to know the opinions of other VR-4 owners out there on what sort of scoop or vent looks good and works well, or hell, just doesnt make the car look stupid! Havent seen many examples of what Leggys look like with this sort of thing. And if people think they look hideous then say. Id love any opinions before cutting up the bonnet of my car!

Thanks!

 

[mcs]

Car shouldn't overheat, I can drive mine up hill with high load in 40 degree weather and not move the needle.

 

[uzz320]

I have thought a bit about this too - my car sees a fair bit of track work and could do with lower engine bay temps and better airflow through the radiator. I would go for something with vents rather than scoops - this will lower the air pressure in the engine bay and increase the flow through the radiator (from the greater difference in air pressure), it should also be better for drag compared to scoops. I feel the same way on the price, especially once it is painted - I am also not sure on the looks. I was speaking to Jon @ Driven the other week about the Evo style vented bonnet on his old Legnum and whether it helped for temperatures at the track, he seemed to think that it did not - this has definitely affected my enthusiasm for going down that path...

 

[Guest]

Mine doesn't overheat here in townsville even in massive traffic.
I will soon have an evo style bonnet though courtesy of Quinton VR4WGN from this forum.
It definitely cant hurt to have more cooling.
I believe his bonnets are still road legal because of the way he makes them too.

Sent from the fires of Mt Doom

 

[emako888]

My cars got quite a few mods and gets hot easily (List of mods etc- http://ozvr4.com/forums/showthread.php?11464-SOLD-1997-Legnum-VR4-Donkay&highlight=legnum+vr4+donkay ) Its had a bit of heat related damage to bits and pieces under the bonnet before, like ignition leads melting and perishing and plastics perishing + more (The heat from the engine bay actually destroyed the inside wall of one of the front tyres. Ive never seen an inside wall so blistered. It blew out through these blisters after going around a corner. Not wanting that to happen again!) Its not just for when the cars running but letting it cool easier when its been turned off. Maybe its a bit hard to explain. The cooling system is fine etc but since its the only car we have at the moment I don't want to run any risks. We live in Adelaide with its wonderfully hot hot days and sitting in traffic for over an hour each way every day isnt going to do it any favours.

It had "bonnet risers" (washers) when its was bought for a bit of extra ventilation but those were removed. Maybe I should be looking into that again too..?

 

[96vr4]

If u get an evo bonnet dont get that one you linked.. I was shocked when mine arrived. Very poor quality

 

[naughtika]

If u get an evo bonnet dont get that one you linked.. I was shocked when mine arrived. Very poor quality

i would've thought that Topstage would've fixed this issue? I guess not...

 

[emako888]

Oh really? That sucks! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Guest]

Ill let you know how my one is when I get it in the next few weeks

Sent from the fires of Mt Doom

 

[dwarfmarine]

Im actually going to measure up and look into putting EvoX fender vents in...
purely aesthetic of course.. (have a mate going to photoshop it first)


Actually on that note, i wonder how X style bonnet vents would look on the Legnum, given the shape similarities between the VR4 and X front ends, could work really well...

 

[Dice]

I haven't noticed any difference in oil or coolant temps going from my vented cf monster style hood back to OEM. I've swapped back a few times, never noticed any difference in winter or summer. If you're melting things (which is not normal) it sounds like you have an unusual problem.

 

[AKKO]

Evo X bonnets for our cars were previously available on eBay germany if i recall...

 

[TME_Steve]

I would think you'll have hardly any effect on coolant temps but engine bay temps Erroll be way down, reducing heat on things like intake air temp....

Abusive runs a pod filter and a vented bonnet and his air temps aren't crazy high like they normally would be so....

 

[6A13TT TYPE S]

I got a monster style hood from speedfactory.co.nz good quality and the guys really nice to deal with he has quite a few styles available

 

[emako888]

Its more so the engine bay temperature that Im concerned about . As I said, coolant systen is fine. There was an issue with it late last year but that was fixed. I just want to try to keep the temperature of the engine bay down as much as possible so there is less risk to other systems and bits and pieces. Id imagine the ambient temperature more so than the coolant temperature ruined my Kumho's! Haha.

But thanks to the guys with their views and comments on the bonnets. Its something Im looking into and saving for but sadly cant afford immediately, hence why looking at a cheaper alternative to begin with. After a few of the hot days weve had in Adelaide so far I wanted to try and work something out sooner rather than later. But at the same time I didnt want to make my car look ridiculous. Maybe Ill look more at the evo x vents.

In saying that Im not so worried about the temps of other bits, will be looking at changing from a pod filter to a move-the-battery-to-the-boot custom cold air intake thing (sorry I dont know the right terminology for everything, Im still learning) Any little bit to help it! This cars a little more elaborate than the 2002 VRX Magna I used to drive haha.

 

[Guest]

If the heat is a result of components used in the turbo upgrade, it may pay to have the manifolds\dumps etc coated so they done burn everything.

Sent from the fires of Mt Doom

 

[emako888]

Theyre already wrapped in that heatproof wrapping. Simular thing I assume? But thanks for the advice

 

[Guest]

You can get them ceramically coated which should drastically reduce temps.
The only thing you jave thats terribly different is your turbo set up so that is most likely related to it.

Sent from the fires of Mt Doom

 

[emako888]

Oh really? Ill have to look into that too. Cheers mate. Hopefully its a quick thing to do. Only car and cant really afford to have it off the road for too long. (Also have a motorbike but thats not always practical) This appears more complicated then I expected haha.

 

[marc mtp]

Bonnet prices are out of my reach so I've been working on some vent ideas