Summer is coming!!!

[eddie]

Summer is here once again, Althought I am not looking forward to it. It is part of nature.

And if you have seem the movie "The Day after Tomorrow" you would know the problem of globe warming.

But I am not here to start a topic about that, rather as a car owner/Lover what can you do to help the car getting pass summer nicely without over heating the engine.

Well.
(A). Making sure you have a good amount of coolant in your radiator.

(B). Make sure your cooling fan actually work.

And for most of the people thats it.


Coolant make sure you got the right one, and never mix with different brand. Expensive experience. Empty the whole thing and flush it before you put the new coolant in.

But Wait There's More

This is another trick from me (Eddie).

Go to Bunning or any hardware store and get six to ten 1/4" washer cost around 6 cents each so total cost around 60 cents!!  you need a calculator mate??

Open the bonnet and remove the bolt that holding the bonnet and the arm.

Only the back one!!

Do one side then the other!!

And simply jam the washer in between the bonnet and the arm.

You are all done.

Effect: It will help the heat excape from the engine bay keeping it nice and cool.

[glow=red,2,300]NEVER[/glow] over do it. 5 is the max washer you can put it in. Over do will bend your hood and the pressure will build up and snap your hood.

[Smithy]

just wondering really how much strain it would put on
bonnet... ...

...I can see minor aerodynamic benefits too directing air
slightly more over the wipers and all that (although to
much of a rise will cause a swirling air pocket mess I imagine).

I've considered this before myself...but always worried
about RAIN, and once you get over about 70 or so the air pressure and wind may have undesired effects
upon the bonnet as its not in full contact with the
rubber seals and its only got one locked contact point in centre of bonnet.   No on ewants a flapping bonnet.

But I can see where only a minor rise would still keep good contact along sides still whilst still leaving air to escape at back some what   .....so yeah, DONT OVER DO
IT WITH THE WASHERS!!

[si]

[quote author=Smithy link=board=GEN;num=1098145779;start=0#1 date=10/19/04 at 16:38:32]...but always worried about RAIN,  [/quote]

speaking of rain, i managed to kill my car yesterday.. pod filter + big puddle = bad. saw the puddle up ahead, slowed down to 30 or so and went through it, water was spraying out the sides and all, then by the other side of the puddle the car is sounding like a wrx :-[ i somehow managed to get some water into my engine bay and onto my pod, not cool.. try to limp home (bout 5km) then it eventually just dies completely.  so end up leaving the car in some street and off to tafe i go on the train, come back in the arvo and it starts first go ::)

so i've learnt my lesson, and i'll be trying not to drive with the pod on when its pouring down rain..

and good tips eddie, i think i'll be trying the bonnet thing. it gets pretty toasty under the bonnet in summer, especially in traffic.. :-/

[Henry]

A couple of points to consider,
1: there will be less air flowing down the back of your engine and out as there normally is so manifold and exhaust system temps will be higher.
2: When you open your air vent to get some cooling air in the cabin, you will be getting heated engine room air along with any smells it may contain.

[K1W1]

I Mentioned this on an earlier post yonks back .
I remember it worked perfectly on my VB V8 comode, dont know how it would affect a City. Guess you can only give it a go to see . As Henry has said the engine bay was designed with air flow in mind. But putting a V8 in the early Commodore was as much an after thought as slapping a Turbo on the City .

[Totoro]

The idea, with lifting the bonnet and creating that gap works well, because right infront of the windscreen is a low pressure zone  ??? the air changes direction, causing it to roll over itself. If you create this gap the air flowing over the car will draw the hot air out from underneith the bonnet  :D .Mini cooper racers do this and if you look at pic's of 400-600 turbo group B rally cars, they had holes at the back of the bonnet to do the same thing.....

[eddie]

What Henry saying is true as well.

If you know we have quite a few drops of rain here at brisbane. And it doesn't seems to be any water going in the engine bay.

But the air vent thing is right. I didn't notice it until today. It have a little exhaust gas/burning smell. Nothing major, unless you are looking for it or put your nose right up the vent. The air is normal temp that I usually get.

Exhaust bit I am not too sure since my exhaust temp senor has been remove when I install the 2" system on my car.

And I still think it is a good idea at this point, I usually go to the city and always stuck in traffic and the water temp has improve alot ( I think). Rather than kept hearing the fan turning on and off. It didn't happen that often now-a-day.

But again I post those up to people only as an idea and suggestion.