Rayman93RX7

iTrader: (4)

Just thought I'd share this Idea i had, when installed a rebuild over the winter I put heat wrapping on the top of the engine block. The reasoning being to keep the solenoid rack, engine harness and coils protected from the heat also to maybe keep intake temps lower stopping some heat from getting up into the UIM. So far I have noticed a big difference in the UIM temps it is cool to the touch now even after stitting for a while and driving in town traffic. The real test will be in the summer time and I plan on getting some real numbers with a thermal gun when I get a chance to compair it to my friends FD once it's back on the road later this spring.

here is a pic

CMonakar

I find that hard to believe, but it would be great if it is true.

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

did your water temps rise bc of the wrap?

Rayman93RX7

iTrader: (4)

no water temps are the same as without it.

when I say cool to the touch I mean alot cooler than before, not like the UIM was cold like ice or something. The weather around here has been cool like 45 -50 so i won't really have a good test till the summer and I will use a heat gun to get some real numbers, but so far I feel it was worth it just to save the solenoid rack and the harness from the heat.

can anyone think of any REAL negative effects ?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Someone did that a few years ago. However, he never reported back any results as far as keeping the solenoids from failing or anything. I hope to hear some long term results from this effort.

Rayman93RX7

iTrader: (4)

^

Speed of light

iTrader: (8)

I did basically the same thing using duct insulation with excellent results. To complete the upper engine thermal management package, I made insulating spacers for the LIM to block, LIM to UIM, UIM to TB and TB to Greddy Elbow. (I continue to use the heated TB.) With this arrangement, everything except the TB stays much cooler. You can see it in the AIT's, the underhood temps and feel it in engine performance. It is not a stretch to say that this will improve the life expectancy of components that are under the UIM.

For those concerned, the cooling system is more than adequate to remove the extra heat that would otherwise be trapped underhood cooking everything. That's what it should be doing anyway.

Here's a pic showing the initial fitting of the insulation.

DMoneyRX-7

iTrader: (2)

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this a terrible idea? Although you are keeping the solenoids away from heat this would contain even more heat in the block that has enough trouble with cooling as it is.

hsitko

iTrader: (1)

I agree. The cooling system on these cars is NOT that great and DOES have a hard time doing its job. Not to mention that now you will have the top of the engine holding heat and getting hotter than other parts of it. I would not be surprised to see that this would cause engine longevity issues after time. Problem is, this is one of those things that will never be properly documented, proven or disproved. Gotta figure though. Mazda did a pretty good job heat shielding the crap out of a lot of parts of this car. Kind of odd that they wouldnt have put any there if it was helpful.

Max13BREW

I have had my entire engine ceramic coated...I am also having my turbo kit, manifolds , uim, lim, etc all ceramic coated.

I am doing it to reduce engine bay temperatures as a whole. I have upgraded to a Koyo Nflo, and will have ducting fitted to that to increase cooling. Furthermore, I am having a W2A intercooler fabricated, and installing heat exchangers in front of the factory oil coolers. I will then place a fan behind the heat exchanger / oil cooler sandwich and ducting in front obviously.

This will be for the more extreme levels of performance, so heat will obviously be critical. I will keep people informed of results after i get it all operational

If you wish to see photos, I have uploaded them into the members rides section on www.fdowners.com (Australian forum)

My username there is Craysus. (Sorry, I couldnt be bothered transferring the pics to here...I am lazy )

Narfle

iTrader: (16)

Absolutely Disagree. The net block -> air heat exchange should be minimal given the limited surface area(read flat), lack of airflow, and very hot underhood temperatures. The irons and housings are huge chunks of metal that hold huge amounts of heat energy created by thousands of combustion cycles per minute. Any passive cooling effect should be absolutely insignificant. Air cooled, magnesium beetle blocks struggled not to catch on fire; and they were designed to be air-radiant.

Your rebuttal is equivalent to claiming that thermal wrapping your coolant hoses would lead to cooling loss, or that thermal wrapping your downpipe would net significantly higher EGT's. It's ludicrous. 99.99% of radiation takes place in the.....RADIATOR!

In the same breath I disagree that this would have any long-term effects of AIT's. I agree that it would protect the solenoids from the hot spot they sit on top of, but ultimately the UIM/LIM will heat up to the ambient engine bay temperature given their buffer from the aforementioned hot spots.

NissanConvert

iTrader: (1)

Why not put the fans between the oil coolers and the water coolers? Sandwiching them together would ensure that your water cooler temps (and resulting IATs) will never be far from your oil temps.

I do think the fan on the oil cooler idea has merit though, i've been looking at cannibalizing some fan equipped oil coolers from quads as they not only have a larger core but have a fan sized and attached. Figured i'd just relay it in to the thermoswitch so that it comes on with the regular fans. How are you going to switch your fans?

Rayman93RX7

iTrader: (4)

I understand why you might think that the wrapping could cause cooling problems, but I have seen no evidence of that at all my temps have not changed at all. The area under the UIM is cooler and everything under there is being protected.

The engine is cooled by the water and the water is cooled by the rad. Air flow over the motor has little to do with the cooling of the engine as explained by "Barban" And i agree that heat soak would eventually win and the UIM/LIM would heat up but having the wrap should slow it down. There is no way it can hurt the intake temps. I will post if any problems come up I've driven 1000 miles so far with no troubles.

NissanConvert

iTrader: (1)

Bump.

What about ceramics for a more permanent, "refined" look?

Nuvolari

iTrader: (4)

Isnt he just blocking heat from the sensor ? I cant see temps being effected, however I can see how its blocking the heat from the sensor.

djseven

iTrader: (56)

Sure is a pretty engine Also delete that AST stat

akiratdk

I'm going with a similar idea as well~~~ I'm not intending to cool down the engine temps but for sure I know it will help the other electrical components from the rapidly rising heat.... which rapid expansion will eventually make the thermo-set plastics brittle.
my 2 cents.