Need some explanation on this IC block off plate...

D

Doward

Banned
Jan 11, 2006
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Alachua, FL
I'm trying to figure out its purpose... Ok, prevents the air in front of the engine bay from coming up and over the top of the radiator, between the hood and radiator support...

BUT

Isn't that just going to create a high pressure point in front of the radiator, coupled with a high pressure point behind the radiator (fast moving air = less pressure) and the air's going to force itself out through the bottom?

It seems to really get the effect desired, you'd need to make sure you had the bottom of the area, between the nose and the bottom of the radiator support, sealed up as well...

Am I missing something here? It is early, after all :3d_frown:
 
M

MKIIINA

Destroyer of Turbos
Mar 30, 2005
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Plano, TX
but what if you have the elusive engine undercover that came stock? wouldnt that act as a lower barrier? the ic block off also is a handy place to put tools when working on the car and to hold an icy beverage :)
 
Stretch

Stretch

Tallest MK3 driver ever!!
Mar 30, 2005
1,275
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Toronto, Ontario
I saw this one dude on the net who sealed up his IC path with foam or something so the air could come in the front fascia and had nowhere to go but through the ic and then through the rad. It was the only real way to get a good change. He had to seal off all the cracks in the bumper the air could excape around the rad and it looked a bit messy from the foam, but I guess it worked.
eric
 
M

Mr. Sinister

Member
Aug 30, 2005
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Chicago
Doward said:
6-10degree C drop in what? IC temps? Underhood temps? Coolant temps? Exhaust temps? Specifics plz. :)
Click to expand...

I can't explain how it works (I can guess), but I can tell you that I saw a drop in coolant temps with a Defi gauge. Here's what I noticed with the plate in:

- It took longer for the temp to reach 90C from a cold start (this observation was over several nights)
- When the thermostat opened up, peak temps were lower (say 105-110C instead of 115-120C)
- After the thermostat closed, the new temps were lower (say 80-83C instead of 87-89C)

This was done on back to back runs on the same night and I saw varying levels of improvement as long as the plate was in over the course of several days. This was 1.5 - 2 years ago so the numbers might be a little off, but I remember how happy I was seeing the improvement.

Things I used to note:
- 3 inch thick FMIC
- Fluidyne radiator
- Stock fan and shroud
- Undercover in place
- Redline water wetter
 
Adjuster

Adjuster

Supramania Contributor
Apr 8, 2005
1,166
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Meridian, Idaho, United States
www.adjusteridaho.com
I'm with IJ and Figgie, beyond the nice drink and tool holder, the plates are really not going to do much but look great.

The lower panel is another story, and I belive sealing up the lower panel as much as possible is a good idea. As is keeping the stock type foam seals between the fan shroud and the radiator so the clutch fan is pulling as much air over the radiator as possible v/s just pulling it in between the shroud and the radiator.

I just replaced my old 170K+ fan clutch, and WOW what a difference. Sure it's louder now, but dang it's a cool SOB now in hot traffic with my AC blasting. :)
 
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