The Quest for Cool - The Final Chapter

[Jack Olsen]

Here was the test: a two-day track event in Las Vegas in August. The local thermometers read 106, and the track, baking in the desert sun, was a lot hotter.

The challenge? Cooling my 3.6-engined early 911. It has resisted adequate cooling measures, up to this point -- often surpassing 250 degrees on a hot day at the track.

My weapons against the heat:

1) Front mounted Turbatrol cooler with a remotely operated fan.

2) Additional Carrera cooler, mounted in series, in the front driver's side fender.

3) Both battery boxes removed so that air could flow through the horn grills to the coolers.

4) Additional vents cut into each side of the front spoiler.

5) For the track only, the headlights removed, with a 3x5 rectangle cut into the back of the bucket. I put some grating into an old pair of headlight rings. Looks kind of cool.

6) Extensive ABS ducting, making sure that all air scooped up would be sent through the coolers without escaping around the sides.

7) A Cool Collar sitting in the trunk of my other car, just in case I needed that little extra margin of cooling.

The control group: a similarly-assembled 1969 911S running in my same run group -- also with a 3.6, utilizing a front Carrera cooler plumbed in series with a front bumper-mounted cooler. But on the 69, the battery boxes are still in place. His fender cooler has the standard shroud, but no specific ducting. It's an S, after all. He shouldn't chop it up.

THE RESULTS

Unbelievable. It's the hottest day I've ever been on a track. My cell phone and pager, sitting in my other car, get so hot they no longer function. By the final session, I'm nauseus and have a fierce headache -- I may have suffered a mild case of heat stroke.

But not Black Beauty.

All day, even with an instructor driving the car full out (fifth gear twice every lap, speeds above 135 on the banked straight and curves), the temperatures never got above 235.

I'll say that again, because I couldn't believe it. 235 degrees. Confirmed with a pyrometer. My long months of scheming and plumbing have ended. I can't get the thing to 240 if I try.

The other 3.6 swap was as high as 260 on the same runs.

Plus, with all the black grills, and a set of old turn signal lenses that I spray painted black for track days, the car looks kind of cool, too:



While sitting near the car in the garage area, a racer's wife walked her two children past me. The son, maybe nine or ten, stopped the mom and wouldn't let her continue. He was pointing at my car. "That's the one I want."

Me too, kid.

The cool collar is still in the car. Maybe I'll try it tomorrow, just to see if miracles can be improved upon. But ducting works. Moving air over the coolers is what it's all about.

Without the headlight ducts, and with the normal turn signal lenses, it'll even look like a pretty normal early 911. Which is a shame, because that kid was right.

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Jack Olsen
My Rennlist page • My Pelican Gallery page • My Porsche Owners Gallery page

[This message has been edited by JackOlsen (edited 08-11-2001).]

[orbmedia]

AS usual a great bit of writing Jack. If you do end up going on strike at least you can still post here.

[rattlsnak]

Excellent! I just finished installing the second oil cooler and both fans on my conversion. I'll find out tomorrow what the results are!

[Rod Walter]

Nice work, Jack. Apparently you didn't leave your laptop in the other car?

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Rod Walter
'88 911 coupe

[Early_S_Man]

Jack,

That is great news, and it just goes to show that slow, methodical steps are the answer, not wholesale drastic changes!

As far as heat protection for the new electronic gadgets in Nevada, Mojave Desert, and West Texas heat in August ... do the same thing I have done for years with 35 mm equipment and film ... insulated food and drink coolers of the soft, zippered or magnetic closure kind. Has worked great for my laptop and digital cameras for the past three years in 117 degree F weather and somewhat lower, too! Over 25 years ago, I bought a couple of the 'Kodak' bags shaped and colored liked film boxes, 10 years ago, three of the aluminized mylar-covered bags with the magnetic strip closures, and most recently, a double compartment picnic cooler for my recently-axcquired Sony MVC-CD1000 camera ... all have worked great, and do not get anywhere near as hot inside as the traditional padded camera bags by Tamrac, Lowe-Pro, and other famous brands! Why those companies continue to sell black and navy blue bags for equipment that is temperature-sensitive ... is beyond me! I have measured temperatures of 130-150 degrees F inside a khaki Lowepro bag in July 1999, and I feel sure it is worse with the darker colors.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa
1992 Dodge Dakota 5.2 4X4 parts hauler

[island911]

Wow Jack that is fantastic. Thanks for the update.
. . .And I must say, Black Beauty, even with all the track mod's, has never looked so. . . grate.

---

'81 Platinum Metalic SC COUPE

[BRAINIAC]

Jack, better start work on writing a TV pilot starring Black Beauty. That thing looks menacingly gorgeous!!!!!!!!! I love the blacked out look!

"He's a renegade screen writer accused of a crime he didn't commit. She's the Teutonic embodiement of all that is sacred in the annals of German Engineering. At one with his car, he fights a lone crusade. For justice, driving Zen, and the relentless pursuit of cool engine temps.........."

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet

[Clark Griswald]

Jack, it's looking good.

But you can't expect us to believe that is possible without a cool collar attached (tongue firmly in cheek).

Your AC grill is looking mighty exposed down there though. Driveways will not be your friend.

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, guys.

Warren, I'll move the electronics inside the garage tomorrow. I'll also try my new camera set-up for a few in-car video laps of LVMS.

I'm also pleased with the paint work I had done. Black Beauty is a difficult to match deep gray color. The new fiberglass hood and fender match perfectly. And the paint work was done in 10 days. C&R Automotive in L.A. is pretty darn great, in my book.

Orb, there's no strike on the horizon, now. What does that mean? Possibly, me writing a freaking Jet Li movie. (Kung Fu? Me?)

One of these days, the AC will be finished (as well as a hundred of other little details), and I'll have the car back where it belongs. Until then, I get weekends like this.

Which rock!

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Jack Olsen
My Rennlist page • My Pelican Gallery page • My Porsche Owners Gallery page

Jack,

Glad to hear you've made inroads on the cooling issue. I wonder how the stock C2/C4 cars (that's where your motor came from, right?) fare on the track temperature wise?

By the way, was it Dave the parts guy in the 3.6 69S? I thought he already chopped that car up by putting flares. Say hello for me, although he's probably still mad at me for not selling my Recaro buckets back to him.

Carlo

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Carlo
http://bigblue111c.tripod.com/dec2000/

[oly]

Jack,

I know that it has been awhile, but how did you attach the mesh to the openings in the spoiler/valence? Do you have any close up pictures of the attachment? I want to do the same thing on my 3.2 Carrera in the fog light openings.

[Jack Olsen]

If I remember right, I used 3M black gasket adhesive. I don't have any pictures -- more recently I just have the openings without grilles.

[JeremyD]

In another thread - I epoxied stainless steel wire mesh (from a kitchen strainer) into the inside of my fog lights.

Originally Posted by JeremyD

Picked up my car from it's tech inspection and oil change -

It's running like a top -

Got home and one of my fog lights had a little breakerage...


No problem - I have been working on a project anyway to add some more fresh air to the brakes and carrera oil cooler.



Looks like a stock carrera - Stainless Steel mesh epoxied to the inside of the housing


APC driving light mounted to the inside
Lights on


with the flash to highlight the guts

[oly]

Jack,

Why did you decide to remove the screens? Aren't you worried about debris hitting your oil cooler?

Do you have duct inlets in your spoiler holes or are they just open holes to the space behind the bumper?

[oly]

JeremyD,

I like your idea and was looking at that thread last night. I was hoping not to gut a fog light but I may change my mind.

[KTL]

I am notorious for doing things the hard way and overkilling, so check out how I did it here- my picture is in post #49

Fog Light Brake Cooling Duct Screens

It's good to see BB1 and Warren in the same post.

[oly]

Kevin,

I like your method of mounting that screen from the standpoint of getting optimal robustness and simplicity. But I want to use a method that does not involve permanent changes to the car (drilling holes or cutting slots). Using just the pre-existing holes in the fog light bracket would be perfect.

[89911]

I like the idea, but the fogs on these 80's Carrera's are just about useless in my opinion. I do like how the look, but the sit too low and are not bright enough to do anything but fill in some light maybe 10-20 feet in front of the car. I took them out a few years ago when doing DE's just to save them from damage like Jeremy's.

[Randy W]

Whatever you end up doing to improve oil cooling, first have your oil temperature gauge checked and calibrated to a new sender. North Hollywood can do this. Otherwise, you could be fine with the temps or be more than 20 degrees higher and not know it. Cheap insurance.