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I want to gather insight regarding ducting an air feed to the brake callipers, and specifically about the use of air ducts mounted from the A-arm suspension directed towards the calliper surface area. Has anyone had experience designing or testing with ducts attached to the arms front or rear in an FD for instance? There is the current design of brake rotor plates with air duct feeds to channel air to the brake rotors on the front of the car, though have also been interested in looking for further solutions to direct air to the callipers so heat from the pads and fluids in particular can be dispersed.
I know that AP Racing 6 Pot callipers for example have these carbon shrouds integrated to them that have a hose opening on the end that goes across the pad opening, such as in this instance.
Going that route would be expensive and is dedicated to the front callipers, so was wondering if a configuration like the pictures below would be feasible back and front?
Would appreciate insight and advice on mounting ducts on the A arms (most likely underneath the bottom arms to feed in air flowing underneath the car) to perform this function.
Would be interested in ideas for a “scoop” on the rear to help direct air to the calipers and rotors.
On the front I have 3” hose to a backing plate for the front AP brakes on my FD. Had to have it custom made. Sorry I don’t have pics at the moment because photo bucket are ********.
For the front, a dedicated/sealed duct to the rotor is going to work better, vs. just blasting air generally at the caliper. The suspension arm scoop looks like away around the hose routing, which tends to get pinched by the turning tire. I worked up a home brewed setup from Z06 ducts that have a large flat spot to accommodate the tire, and I'm working with someone now to potentially replicate it in FD specific size/configuration.
I have hold of a pair of prototype air ducts that could potentially be mounted on the lower A arms at the rear of the car that would guide incoming air upwards towards the rear calliper. Below are some pictures of them to give you an idea of how they work, though I would need to lift my car up with some free time and see how a mounting solution can be devised to mount these at the rear.
Thread for mounting a bolt / screw Scoop to take in air flowing underneath the car Ducts ordered from left and right hand sides
I agree that in regards to cooling the front rotors, a sealed system would work best. I have ducts that are shaped to match the air inlet of the OEM lip spoiler (99 spec but think it will fit on the smaller 93 spec inlet without issues) leading to a simple 3 inch bore for hose piping towards the brake rotor dust plate to create closed system. I would be keen to look at further development of an A arm ducting design that would direct air towards the front callipers specifically mounted on the front A-arms; and I envisage that this would have to be quite compact. Possibly a forward facing scoop leading to a slimmer duct bending 90 degrees towards the calliper to be attached to the front A arms but stays within the wheel rim inner aperture from the back. Reason I think it is worth looking at it albeit not striving towards a perfect / close system solution of the fronts is because cooling the callipers with the pads and fluids going through the pistons must have a positive benefit rather than just cooling the brake rotors themselves. The F1 cars I believe incorporate externally mounted ducts into the wheel hub so it turns with the front wheels, but aside from its design I think the main point of it is the effectiveness gained by prolonging braking performance especially during times when continuous hard braking (i.e. track and autocross conditions) is involved.
I agree that in regards to cooling the front rotors, a sealed system would work best. I have ducts that are shaped to match the air inlet of the OEM lip spoiler (99 spec but think it will fit on the smaller 93 spec inlet without issues) leading to a simple 3 inch bore for hose piping towards the brake rotor dust plate to create closed system. I would be keen to look at further development of an A arm ducting design that would direct air towards the front callipers specifically mounted on the front A-arms; and I envisage that this would have to be quite compact. Possibly a forward facing scoop leading to a slimmer duct bending 90 degrees towards the calliper to be attached to the front A arms but stays within the wheel rim inner aperture from the back. Reason I think it is worth looking at it albeit not striving towards a perfect / close system solution of the fronts is because cooling the callipers with the pads and fluids going through the pistons must have a positive benefit rather than just cooling the brake rotors themselves. The F1 cars I believe incorporate externally mounted ducts into the wheel hub so it turns with the front wheels, but aside from its design I think the main point of it is the effectiveness gained by prolonging braking performance especially during times when continuous hard braking (i.e. track and autocross conditions) is involved.
Not that rear ducting is not important as well but if i was to upgrade something first that would be the front end cooling.
Would certainly be interested to see a system like you are describing but i can already think of many factors that could work as limitations during the design phase.
i.e. wheel size, rotor size, tire width.
It will be difficult to make something that will work with all these different setups available out there.
But as my mechanical expertise is similar to a T-Rex, if you have a different easier idea, please feel free to share ^_^
