I'm curious as to why they initially have the Rad at an obtuse angle to the airflow, is it due to the need of such a larger area Rad and not enough frame space to mount it vertically or have the concluded that directing airflor across and down resulted in better cooling?

Also if you lose your plastic undertray you greatly reduce the directed air away from the rad.

 

I'm curious to the amount of area under there now and will look when I get home, but why not design a core more rectangle in shape in order to mount it more vertical (perpendicular to the ground) than the angle its at now? From a physics standpoint moving air has inertia and you'll "absorb" more energy from it on a direct impact rather than "blowing" across it I would believe. The more you "absorb" the greater energy you'll exchange, especially being from water to air.

 

Hmmmmm, good stuff. I'm curious about the dimensions (height/width, not depth) of your Rad. Is it the same size as stock?

If someone could post a pic that would be great. I'm questioning the stock rad to see how well the outer edges are sealed up against something (good) rather than having a small space outlining the Rad. Again i'll have to look later to truly satisfy my question.

 

Official Explanation from 09 Service Highlights:
"To improve both the cooling ability and the sporty design, the radiator is designed to tilt forward to reduce the height and to take in the air from the inlet installed under the bumper."

BTW: MX-5 has the same position type.

 

airflow is key as Ray has said. Airflow across the rad core in the pre 09's ise a problem---many causes---design of the air intake area, blocking the rear of the radiator, the angle of the mount etc.
Guess they were not as aware of the heat output of the rotary versus others.
The 09 changes sounds like they have thought about it at least.
Now we do have a little room in our cars in which the angle of the rad mount could be changed a little--not much--but a little.
I just did a secondary radiator set up--solved my heat issues--i am both lazy and cheap!!
i wonder if the radiator mount on the 09's are the same?

Ash once again--great job and good info---an over ride switch would be great if it fdesnt throw codes. With a good shroud in place you could suck up small cats at will!
OD

 

Funny I know someone else who is the exact same way!

 

This ones for you Swoope, OD and Flash..
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...92#post3202492

 

Very nice ash! I might do something like that myself soon.

 

nice job ash--nice. great addition for the people that need the oil cooler fans.
nice.
OD

 

Thanks..does not take long at all really.

Do you think I should spray some Matt Black paint over the aluminum??

Would probably chip off over time??

 

yea it will---i have a smaller version on mine--but the road dirt and grime usually takes care of the bright part on its own. Just drive down one dirt road a few miles and then you will be good to go!
OD

 

I used the exact same mesh and tried several paints. Some of them are crap, the latest one I used is a self-priming matte black paint from Home Depot. The guy at the counter said this is one of the most durable paints they have and should last a long time.

So far it's pretty good. The damn bugs stick to it like crazy though. Some rocks managed to chip off tiny pieces of the paint but it's holding up much better than anything else I tried after about 1K.

I'll grab a pic of the bottle and the car for you if you want. I don't think it'll last forever, I think it's like calipers, you gotta touch it up once in a while. But, it's far better than the last few paints I tried.

 

Thanks...I am down under, may not have the same brand, but I agree, there are paints and paints, cheap spray can paints are CHEAP quality.

 

revival:

curious on how the s2 owners are doing with coolant temps? Saw temps hitting 220F, maybe a little more at the track this past weekend (autocross). Using about 75% 50/50, distilled water, and water wetter.