Keeping cool on track

[IainXE]

When I was building my track car I thought it'd be a great idea to do away with my cold air blower and the firewall that separates it from the engine bay. I've got rollcage and gauges where the vents would have been.

In our glorious English summers trackdays are brutally hot in my motor and the windows up rule doesn't help.

Reckon most organisers would let me get away with a drivers window net and my window half down? Awaiting some responses from organisers just thought I'd bounce some ideas off you guys.

[nitrodave]

perhaps fit a roof vent

[andyiley]

No help to you unfortunately, but for exactly that reason I still have a/c on mine.

[Steve H]

Most circuits will allow the windows down a couple of inches but I can't see any reason for them to object to them being fully down if you have correctly fitted nets on there.

[e36er]

I wish I knew the answer to this. I can tell you that side NACA ducts make absolutely stuff all difference.

I've just learned to live with the sweat.

[towelie]

Cut the roof off?

[Mound Dawg]

Last Sunday I drove all day at at Donington with the window open.

Oops.

[IainXE]

Roof scoop is an option but trying to avoid looking daft (or as undaft as you can look in a track spec shonky 90s hatchback) while on the road at weekends too, and wasn't planning to swap back to my polcarbs with sliders.

Roof chop is also an option thankyou. Haha.

That was my thinking with the nets, I usually open them a crack but it's not enough. That said my rear polycarb window flaps around like a goodun at anything over 60mph with the windows open!

Edited by IainXE on Friday 13th February 09:10

[eldavo]

I've seen quarter windows in polycarbonate with a NACA duct and an air hose attached to the back that was bent round to blow towards the driver. Dunno how effective it would be but better than nowt I s'pose!

[wellground]

Looking daft is great. How about one of those bright pink dash mounted 12v fans facing at the driver no one would take the pi$$, honest

[McSam]

eldavo said:

I've seen quarter windows in polycarbonate with a NACA duct and an air hose attached to the back that was bent round to blow towards the driver. Dunno how effective it would be but better than nowt I s'pose!

Pretty good, actually, but you'd need to have a good way for all that air to vent back out of the cockpit. The usual method would be to put some two-inch holes in the rear window, but if the car's still used on road this might not be ideal.

If you don't have a good vent, your polycarb rear window can quickly go from "flapping" to "entirely absent"

[IainXE]

Nothing screams motorsport like a pink 12v fan on the dash!

Happened to someone I know with the same car, the rear window came out around Donington! I guess a couple of holes in the rear window with closable vents (or at least the little covers over them) would solve that.

[upsidedownmark]

Can you not find some way of routing an air duct / collapsible alu pipe type thing from somewhere in the front bumper area through to the cabin?

[e36er]

eldavo said:

I've seen quarter windows in polycarbonate with a NACA duct and an air hose attached to the back that was bent round to blow towards the driver. Dunno how effective it would be but better than nowt I s'pose!

That's exactly what I have, it seems to do stuff all. Having said that, I don't have any vents/holes in the rear screen...

[IainXE]

I think that's definitely an area to look at, venting out the back to allow cooler air flow rather than it circulating round.

Ducting from front sounds like a long way to go, the scuttle is available but you'd probably need a scoop there too for that to be useful.

[QBee]

Ironically, is you have an open top car they are quite happy for you to drive with the windows fully down. No logic.....

[QBee]

Ironically, is you have an open top car they are quite happy for you to drive with the windows fully down. No logic.....

[Mound Dawg]

QBee said:

Ironically, is you have an open top car they are quite happy for you to drive with the windows fully down. No logic.....

Yup, this is me at Combe where they've always been rather picky about open windows in saloon cars. Anyone else see the elephant in the room?

[QBee]

and one of me at cadwell park - windows like that through choice

[Steve H]

They probably just figure that other than banning open topped cars or insisting on arm restraints for every driver/passenger of an open car there isn't going to be much difference whether your windows are up or down :scratch chin:.