Been looking at doing the cooling plate. Do these help as much as I've read that they do?

** I'm looking at making my own custom plate. Anybody ever seen a rough template of one of these plates? I can't justify spending $100 (or so) on something that I could make for about $5 or less.

Thanks in advance.

 

I havent seen any data to support it does work. Its mostly for cosmetic purposes on most street cars...

 

if you look up @ your hood , you'll see the rubber seals that do the same thing...


so I say it’s just for looks.

 

Without data stating otherwise, the gains are all hypothetical. I have never seen any report with hard facts.
That being said, I have a CF shroud

 

+1 nissan already took care of the purpose for one. so just for looks

 

Ahhh... I kept reading, in mutliple forums, that the plate forces air to stay in the radiator "bay", thereby keeping the engine cooler.
I appreciate the info guys.

Tanks.

 

Like how it looks, and it might help keep radiator temps low. Anyways if your thinking about making one, this is what I made in a couple of hours + the pop-charger cover:

I made a stencil using computer paper and tape, cutting and fixing as I go. I then used carbon fiber sheets, cut, sanded, and drilled them.
- goodluck and enjoy creating it
PS: if you decide using CF instead of aluminum, use gloves and mouth/nose cover when sanding.

 

Nice mod

 

Very mod nice indeed. I was thinking of using very light sheet metal for mine. That CF looks awesome tho....maybe I will look into the CF sheets (Price dependent of course). I'm still looking at a custom, or used, "ram air" tube also. It gets so friggin hot/humid here that I want to take any steps that I can to keep the temps down. Thermostat should prolly go first LOL.
Thanks guys.

BTW... A buddy of mine has started using a thin, almost clear, set of pantyhose to sleeve his K&N filter. helps keep his "charger" clean as a whislte, and is a HELL of a lot easier/cheaper to clean this way. He just yanks the sleeve off the filter and strings a new one on....occasionally oiling/cleaning the charger if necessary. I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I think that this is a GREAT time saver...and if nothing else, added protection for your intake. No adverse effects on F/A ratio or flow. Just an FYI for a mod I have never seen.

 

I think it's different for every car, depending on the design of the bumper and airflow under the hood.

Here's an article some S13 guys came up with using decently scientific data-collecting methods....Scroll down to the part where they test the radiator panels. It lowered their water temps on the freeway quite a bit.

http://home.satx.rr.com/nissanweb/RadTest/RadTest.htm

 

I did this mod with aluminum. Then ripped it out. It's hard to make it fit and besides when you close the hood, the latch area may not close on it properly. Or I just suck at tracing. Another reason is that if the material is too thin, it actually flaps up and down from the incoming air. You need something stronger and sturdier to have perfect seal without the flapping. Besides, we already have an oem shroud that does the job just fine.