I have been continuously working on the 1988 Mazda rx7 10th anniversary edition. Now starting to upgrade parts since it is running. What should be the next thing I do to this engine?

 

get the battery strapped down haha.
fmic is always a nice upgrade, alum radiator and electric fan would be sweet.

nice fc

 

^^ What he said plus I'd do some supporting mods for a bigger turbo. Fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, FCD. Aftermarket ECU makes it all come together though.

 

Thanks guys. Just put that dual pulley on the alternator and it runs like a charm. Before I removed the air pump and was wondering why all my alternator belts were getting eaten lol

 

Clean the bay.

 

Install the Fan shroud...... If you need one Ive got a couple and I am in NoVA too.

 

No way lol that thing is a pain in the ***

 

^^Why not it blocks heat XD

 

What?

 

Turn your AFM 90 degrees.It should be Flat,and operate like a door.
Install your fan shroud or your cooling will be sheit.
Strap your battery down or your engine will be eating more than just "an alternator belt".
..and buy some degreaser( As Clokker said.)
If you are gonna show your work off,it may as well look like you put effort into it.

 

well, the fan shroud actually directs air to the engine for optimum cooling, instead of all around the engine and engine bay. i would install it.

 

The shroud does no such thing.
It forces the fan to draw air through the radiator instead of from within the engine bay, which improves the efficiency of the fan tremendously but does not otherwise "cool" the engine.

 

it does pull air through the radiator, aiding in lowering the temperature of the coolant in the radiator, but it also aids in cooling the engine, especially in low speed traffic, directing air to the engine. remove the fan and see how fast the engine will heat up in stop and go traffic. i would think it is not only there to direct air, but also believe that it helps to direct air towards the engine. it also helps protect things from otherwise coming in contact with the fan.. fingers..clothing...other foreign objects, lol.

 

The fan pulls the air, not the shroud.
Were that true, the engine would be finned/ribbed to take advantage of the airflow heat dissipation.
Your test doesn't prove the assertion.
A much better test would be to remove the fan and drive on the highway (where cooling is handled by the forced airflow and the fan is not needed), with and then without the shroud.

If you are correct, the car should run cooler with the shroud because it's "directing" air to the engine.

On the other hand, I'd posit that the car would run cooler without the shroud because it actually masks the rad and restricts airflow through the core, a restriction that benefits the fan when it's on and is thus worth the trade off but does nothing to specifically focus air on the engine block.
The only reason the shroud appears to focus on the engine is because that's where the fan blades are. Remove the mechanical fan, put on a efan that exhausts anywhere (for instance, in the case of a v-mount) and there would be no loss in engine cooling because of the redirected airflow.

 

yes, the fan pulls air through the radiator and the shroud increases the efficiency of the fan to draw air into the radiator and cool the coolant. it also will blow air onto the engine in some applications. my porsche 944's fans blow directly onto the engine as they draw air through the radiator. i do not know how effectively this is in cooling the engine as it may just be an added benefit.

remove the fan and drive in stop and go traffic. your engine will overheat. on the highway, the air directed through the radiator is enough to cool the coolant without the fan's aid. the car will run cooler WITH the shroud as it directs air towards the fan and the engine, increasing the cooling capabilities of the radiator.

i would agree that an electric fan would increase the cooling capabilities as the engine is not turning a fan and can operate with more efficiency. the electric fans also have a shroud that serves the same purpose.. draw air through the radiator to increase the radiator's efficiency in cooling the coolant. the fans also blow air onto the engine to AID in cooling the engine.

i do agree that there would not be any loss in cooling if the engine were not directly in line with the fan. all i'm stating is that the fan blowing on the engine is an added benefit to cooling. it can't hurt to have air blowing onto the engine.

 

Dave, if i may ... Clokker is right. you're actually proving his point here:

the shroud's main function is to insure and optimize airflow through the core via the fan - and even then, it's MOST functional in stop-n-go driving. not much else.

decades ago when i still had my '83, i ran without a fan shroud. the previous owner had install a pusher fan in front of the radiator. the car never overheated even once. city or highway, it didn't matter - even in 100º+ summers. in retrospect, i didn't know any better and i would not attempt the same today, but i did have that car for almost 8 years, so it is relevant in this discussion.

your assertion that airflow is also being directed at the engine itself to aid cooling is not supported by anything in the car's stock design. there are no fins on the block itself and no venting in the hood or fenders. if you look at any of the old cars where air-cooling play a significant role (Beetle, 411, 911, etc) you find both.

i don't doubt that a cooler bay with good flow through it would aid in overall cooling, but i would go out on a limb and say it would be negligible at best, if not thoroughly insignificant. at least that's my take.

 

i was agreeing with him all along, but stating that the added airflow to the engine from the fan can't hurt and that the shroud optimizes cooling of the radiator and should not be removed. that was my point all along, my words were just not clear. the air is directed towards the engine from the front of the vehicle. i was not arguing with the guy, but simply clearing up my point. i do not believe that the fan's purpose is to blow air onto the engine to cool the engine. i'm just thinking that the added air blowing onto the engine could be somewhat beneficial. maybe it is negligible, but any air blowing on the engine can't be a bad thing.