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Improved Cooling on 2012's

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I know some 2012 cars seem to have more cooling issues than others. Early on, I hit Limp Mode with high Coolant Temps after 20+ minutes of high ambient track time. After a series of mods, I ended up removing the stock Water/Oil cooler, installing a Setrab 948, removing the grill and the A/C condenser. Coolant is now never an issue, rarely getting above 230-235, but in high ambients with sustained high rpm I was having to back off after 20 minutes to avoid Oil Temps at 280-285.

A couple of weeks ago, I made up baffles to prevent air leakage behind the facia (I have the tubular bumper beam with no foam). These are similar to the plates that Watson make for the 2013 302S (but not available for the 2012's).

Success: Peak Oil Temps have dropped 20-30, and peak Coolant by 10-20 degrees.

The first change I made was to bridge the gap made by removing the A/C Condenser, using Aluminum strip plastic riveted to the stock plastic /rubber baffles:


IMG_1184Medium_zpsf5f17118.JPGIMG_1185Medium_zps287b6698.JPG


I used aluminum angle to attach the rear of the extended baffle to the condenser mounts on the radiator:



IMG_1186Medium_zps7b93a841.JPGIMG_1187Medium_zps01e468f6.JPG


This mod alone only helped marginally, and obviously you don't need it if you have A/C.

I then made up a cardboard template for the facia baffles and modified with a few trial installs:

Facia.jpg

Cut the Aluminum sheet and plastic riveted to the front of the plastic/rubber baffles:

IMG_1226.JPG

IMG_1227.JPG

Used sticky backed neoprene to seal the gaps, and also (not shown) applied to the top, front and lower edges to seal against the inside of the facia, effectively extending the baffle by about 1/2" on these edges.

If anyone needs a pdf version of the template, let me know and I'll PM it.

I also closed off a couple of small gaps along the bottom of the radiator -- will take photos and post when I get a chance....
 
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Nice work. So this is not applicable to cars with the stock bumper bar and Styrofoam?
 
VooDooBOSS said:
Nice work. So this is not applicable to cars with the stock bumper bar and Styrofoam?

I haven't checked, but I bet there is a smaller but significant air leakage path with the stock set-up, as I'm sure it's purpose is low speed crash, not airflow. This baffle design will not work stock, but I think the leakage could be reduced using well positioned neoprene on the styrofoam in front of the radiator baffles......
 
Here are some pictures of the 1 1/2" Aluminum strip that I added to the Left and Right side of the Ford Racing Radiator -- There were big gaps in the locations circled in Red before the mod and this is a high airflow area....



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BlackBoss - this is your racing buddy from Miller. Great pictures on filling the gaps on the radiator install. Wishing I would have done that now. I am running 5 degress hotter than you with the V3 after the 302S radiator and SVT fans install - it seems based on our phone conversation. Looks like I have a good winter project to add some side shielding. I was hoping the the 302S radiator being twice as thick than the OEM combined with being able to move the radiator forward on my install would not require this - but after reading your posts I am thinking not...

Well Done with these posts sir.
 
ColoradoBoss said:
Nick - curious how are you picking up Oil Temp? - would like to add this to my setup - thanks, Bob G.

Bob, I have an oil temp and pressure sensor in an oil filter sandwich plate. I installed mine so that it's before the oil cooler port, so I should be reading close to peak oil temps, before the oil passes through the cooler....
 
Received a PM on this topic, so following the Photobucket disaster, I re-loaded the photos. Will do the same on other major upgrades posted here and will never do business with them again (a shame as their Aluminum prints used to be a deal -- but they've also recently reduced discounting offers on those too)
 
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Quick Question, What was the limp mode like? Might have experienced it a couple weeks ago.
 
Hmmm, it's been a while, but I thought it reduced power, before limiting rpm. Need others to chime in......

Either way if it's cooling related, it is triggered by CHT Temps of 245* or higher. In stock config, my Oil temps were 285* at that point.
 

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