ouch its so so so hot !!!!!

[tuxman]

went to engine shop yesterday to have engine set up on the road ,it meant i had to drive the can-am for 4 hours whilst rejetting and setting carb etc, got absolutely fried now i know what a its like to be a chip in the fryer :eek: will air con work in a can-am , has anybody retro fitted a factory kit , is it worth ripping the car apart to fit it ? i have my doubts about how affective it will work with the top off .simon

[gtr-gaz]

It's possible to retro fit air con.

I know Nigel Dean did it on his GTR. It will mean standing on your head for several hours! Might make you feel a bit queasy though!!

Gary

[tuxman]

i now fitting it would be fun gary but will it work ? if i drive my audi around with all the windows down and the sunroof open the air con does next to nothing ! simon

[Graham-P]

Simon,
Now the weather has 'cooled' down are you still considering air con????

(If you're going to the factory open day I'll collect my 'bit' from you then?)

Graham

[andygtt]

Its the huge heater vent that overheats you.

I very much doubt air con will be able to fight off this onslaught of heat.

maybe a few strategically placed panels on the rear clip around the vent may divert the heat to the slots.

[tuxman]

Hi Graham , don,t know when open day is will go if i can ,have part safe so don,t worry ,would still consider fitting aircon but i have my doubts as to whether it will work ,have not been able to find someone with it fitted in a can-am to ask . How is build coming on ? simon

[crafty]

What about a fan with ducts to draw air in through the vent....

[Graham-P]

Simon,
Factory open day is I believe Aug 7th (5 Weeks away)
Build is a bit slow at the moment (more money going out than coming in!!)
I'm installing four eyeball vents in the dash, they are fed by the heater motor which is fed by outside air from the passenger brake vent. I'm guessing that the forced air from these vents will 'move' the air out of the cockpit. As for heat from the engine I'm heat shielding the rear bulkhead (engine side) I've installed sound deadner/heatmat in the double panelling plus I'll do as Andy did on his CanAm and leave the hood rolled up behind the rollbar to stop some heat coming in from the intake when you stop.

Graham

[usagtrman]

Hi Simon:

Take a look at Mark K's website:
www.markkoch.net/canamMain.asp
under the July 05 section and you'll see what he's trying to cool himself off in the Can Am.

Good Luck!

Brad Z
www.bradzeman.com

[USCANAM]

This heat problem is one that we addressed several years ago on this forum. We even posted the factory's solution from Ted, which was to run ducts from the brake ducts (as Mark has done), and block off the engine air intake.
I'm not in favour of air pickup for the cockpit 4 inches above the road, and with my setup, if I block off the air intake for the EFI, I'll just about starve the engine for air.
Actually, that low air intake probably doesn't work at all anyways, as you can see by some F1 cars of 20 years ago with the high intake pylons, and some sports-racing cars with intakes off to the sides.
Our temporary solution, until we feel like cutting NASA scoops into the bodywork, is to just use the small windscreen (stops a lot of the cockpit vaccuum that's created by the larger screen), and basically don't drive the car when it's hot out.
This temporary creation helped quite a bit, and could be a solution with a neater fabrication that could be easily removed.
http://home.comcast.net/~rosenracing5/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-793875.html
These helicopter vents ( installed in the side screens) which I purchased from Aircraft Spruce, helps a little also.
http://home.comcast.net/~rosenracing6/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-2002893.html

We've also just installed a steam bath in our house to climatize and prepare our bodies for whatever summer driving we will do. 140'F. should be a good starting point for the conditioning.
Jack

[andygtt]

I agree about blocking the scoop as this would mean the engine would only suck in extremelly hot air in the engine bay at all times.
definatelly a very bad idea unless you have ducted cool air to the air filter.

[steve_D]

andygtt said:

I agree about blocking the scoop as this would mean the engine would only suck in extremelly hot air in the engine bay at all times. definatelly a very bad idea unless you have ducted cool air to the air filter.

I would have thought a hinged flap inside the duct would work. At a standstill it would hang down in the closed position but when under way it would either be sucked open by lower pressure in the engine bay or blown open by the cars forward motion.

Steve

[pb3]

I heard the advice for canam people is to block off the top intake as it serves no useful purpose. When the car is stationary or at low speed hot air from the engine just serves to heat the driver/passengers neck and cockpit area. When moving, an insignificant airflow is achieved as the windscreen, seats etc block the path to fresh air so any air would come from the cockpit area. This would rely on the suction of air as opposed to a ram air type effect. So providing cool fresh air is available else where (say from the side pod intakes all should be ok.
For the GTR it is a different story of course, but I am not sure if this is the best place to duct air from, to the filter. I asked a similar question a while back, but would still like to know what the air pressure is like around this area of the roof; is the intake under positive or negative pressure? Carbs should not be ram fed ideally but then I don’t want low pressure either, just fresh air.

[mkoch1]

Like brad was saying I just installed air ducts from the front end to the cockpit. I just fiberglassed in some brake ducts from www.pegasusautoracing.com/
The hoses attach to the vents on the dash inside the car. At highway speeds a lot of air is moved through and really helps with the heat. I drove the car last week in 90+ degree weather and was pretty comfortable. I was still sweating but it wasn't nearly has bad as it was prior to installing the ducts.

Plugging the rear scoop also helps a lot, I did this before I installed the ducts. However the engine bay got really, really hot and I decided to remove the plug.

mark

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[tuxman]

don,t think i will block top scoop , under bonnet temps raise to 60 degrees when in traffic but when moving drops to mid 40,s so some air is getting in somewhere , will fit some hoses as mark has done ,but i did wonder whether fitting air-con would actualy work in a can-am ,been out today and wow the sweat just dripped of me ,must be good for loosing weight !!! simon

>> Edited by tuxman on Sunday 10th July 19:52