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My S15... slow street build

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Few people have PM'd me about the headlights too haha. It was about a month ago, there was a dealer listing them on ebay.com (not ebay.com.au) and listed only shipping within the US. But I emailed him anyway and he agreed to ship to them to Australia if I covered the shipping. At the time he had a couple sets available, but I don't think he had any Xenon ones.

My initial concern was that it could be after market headlights, but once I received them, they came boxed in the original Nissan packaging with all the labels/stickers and all. Quality was of OEM too, so no doubt they're genuine Nissan.
 
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So another update....

A lot of extra info on aerodynamics and cooling are on my blog -
http://omgpham.com/aerodynamics-of-engine-cooling-part-1

Explains some concepts behind what my next mods are based on.

Latest update on the blog - http://omgpham.com/aerodynamics-of-engine-cooling-part-2

My plan is to make my engine bay's under-body as smooth as possible, by doing so I'll be able to create low pressure areas which will draw out some of that high pressure air inside the engine bay. And therefore remove some of that heat trapped under the bonnet and encourage more air flow across the radiator. Not to mention the slight increase of front downforce and improved fuel efficiency =)

So below are some photos of the under-body panel I've purchased. It's made in Japan by Beatrush, build quality is very good and they even have louvers in specific areas to draw out air. You could probably make something similar for less money but the price for this was pretty good =)

Wonder what's inside?


Build quality is amazing, and the entire panel is covered in a blue protective sheet.



Comes with Japanese instructions, but it's easy enough to understand. All fittings are supplied as well as a nice Beatrush sticker =)


Beatrush under-body panel installed, fitment was spot on.


For temperature measurements, I used a digital thermometer purchased from JayCar. It uses a common K-type thermocouple probe, also had to make up an extension lead so the probe would reach inside the engine bay.



Temperatures were measure at two different spots, first was at the intake air filter which has cold air ducted to it. The other was just in front of the engine.


Below are temperatures recorded before/after the under-body panel was installed. Ambient air temperature was 22°C, and all measurements were taken within a two hour period.


Interpretation of collected data...
With the under-body panel in place, temperature readings dropped slightly. But the real improvements aren't seen in the temperature drops but rather the increased air flow. I have no way to quantitatively measure air flow, but I noted the operation of the thermo-fans. When travelling above 60km/h, the thermo-fans didn't cycle on/off as much. To me, this is a clear indication that more air is flowing through radiator/engine bay and therefore keeps the engine temperatures more stable at speed.

Before installing the under-body panel, travelling at 80-100km/h, the thermo-fans turned on every 4-5mins for a period of 30-45 seconds depending on the engine load. With the under-body panel installed, travelling at the same constant speed, the thermo-fans never turn on until you come to a stop.

Update 13/07/2011 -
I've been able to clock another 100kms of driving and have made further observations. As mentioned above, the thermo fans are never needed when travelling at 100km/h but in addition to this, there have been occasions where the temps have dropped from 83°C to 81°C when going down hill. More evidence of increased ram air through the radiator. Also when temperatures do rise, they increase at a slower rate then before.

Update 14/07/2011-
I finally had a chance to do some night driving, when ambient temps drop to around 8-10°C, and it looks like any night time highway driving will cause the car to over-cool! We were sitting at around 82°C doing 100km/h, and the temperature slowly dropped down to 74°C before we had to pull over and let it warm back up. If I continued driving, it was possible that temps could have dropped to 62.5°C which is when the Nismo thermostat closes. BTW, this is with both thermo fans turned of the whole time.... Nothing like this has ever happened before, so I'm just astonished by the cooling efficiency increase of installing and under-body panel. This also means that the stock thermostat is going back in to keep temperatures above 76.5°C.

Looking further into the collected data, before the under-body panel, temperatures measured at the front increased by 8°C from idle to 100km/h. This is shows how much turbulent air flow was inside and under the engine bay, as all that heat was trapped when speed increased. With the under-body panel installed, the turbulence decreased and the temperatures difference was reduced to 3°C.

Temperatures at idle increased slightly with the under-body panel. Should also note that the intake temperature increases when the thermo-fans are turned on, this increase drops as vehicle speed increases as more cold air is being forced through the cold air intake duct.

You may have noticed that engine coolant temperatures weren't recorded, this is because the thermostat regulates engine temps so the under-body panel doesn't really affect it.

So to conclude, the various temperature measurements clearly show the gains which can be had with simply having a smoother front under-body. The low pressure created by the smooth under-body extracts some of the heat through gearbox tunnel, this also means that the engine bay pressure drops and therefore increase air flow across the radiator.

Next post will hopefully be about the effects of vented bonnets, stay tuned!
 

ryd11r

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OMG do want that beatrush plate :)

Very well done man.. love the customisation gone into this car... and excellent that majority of the work is DIY.... Awesome seeing an enthuiast put in the effort himself.
 
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OMG do want that beatrush plate :)

Very well done man.. love the customisation gone into this car... and excellent that majority of the work is DIY.... Awesome seeing an enthuiast put in the effort himself.
Thanks mate!

I'm a scientist by day, so all this researching/experimenting/data interpretation is what I like doing. It's been fun!
 

meddler

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Great research, keep it coming. It is quite interesting to see the results small changes can make.

TBH, I bought a beatrush panel and was not particularly happy with the fitment. I would have though it would have locked into the front bar rather than just sitting above it. Also the plates for the rear mounting were a PITA. For the money I payed, I would have expected a little more thought put into it. The only thing I can think of is they are a carry over from the S14 panel. What do you think mrpham? Maybe I have an S14 panel, that would explain it.
 
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Great research, keep it coming. It is quite interesting to see the results small changes can make.

TBH, I bought a beatrush panel and was not particularly happy with the fitment. I would have though it would have locked into the front bar rather than just sitting above it. Also the plates for the rear mounting were a PITA. For the money I payed, I would have expected a little more thought put into it. The only thing I can think of is they are a carry over from the S14 panel. What do you think mrpham? Maybe I have an S14 panel, that would explain it.
Thanks mate! And you're absolutely right, it's amazing what a simple piece of metal can do.

Fitment was spot on for me, everything sat square and correct. But I agree that the rear mounts could be a lot better, the front mounts are great though.

The S15 Beatrush panel is not their best work, their under body panels for the Evo and S2000 are so much better. They offer a lot more coverage and cover the front bar's entire width, unlike the S15 one.

In saying that, I would still recommend the Beatrush. When I purchased my car, it didn't come with the factory plastic under-body panel. So I called up Nissan and they wanted $180 for it.... $180 for a piece of plastic that doesn't last too long because my car sits a bit low. GTFO! The Beatrush cost me an extra $80 and is a lot more durable then the Nissan plastic.
 
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Testing at the track - http://omgpham.com/some-testing-at-lakeside

Last Sunday, I headed out to Lakeside Raceway with some friends for Happy Laps. These are great events as it only costs $20 and gives you 30mins of track time and a hot breakfast!

I took this opportunity to test out the cooling system in it's current state. So in the 30mins of laps, I was hard on the throttle and constantly on boost. Aim was to push the heat as high as possible =)

  • Water Temperature - temps stayed between 81-85°C the whole time, the water reached 85 at the end of the main straight and the thermo fans kick on to drop it to 81°C by the next two corners.
  • Oil Temperature - temps initially were around 85°C but then peaked at 90°C and stayed there the whole time.
Pretty good results so far, especially when you consider the standard cooling system was reaching 95-96°C on the track at the last event.

Was an awesome morning, hope to get out again soon to test out the vented bonnet =)



 
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Latest update - http://omgpham.com/engine-head-removal

As mentioned in the previous post, my S15 was performing like a champion at the track. Water temps stayed between 80-85°C the whole time and oil temps staying below 90°C. Couldn't have asked for a better result.

But tragedy struck after entering the pits and we lifted the bonnet... Roughly 750mL of coolant was pushed into the overflow bottle, which is very strange because the car never overheated. Even stranger was that the coolant in the overflow never sucked back into the radiator, we even left it to cool for about 60-90mins.

After some reading, testing and talking to a few workshops. We concluded that combustion gases were leaking into the cooling system when the car was on boost. This pressurised the cooling system and forced coolant passed the radiator cap and into the overflow bottle.

Initially I decided I would send it to a workshop to get my S15 repaired, but my mates Duy and Jess convinced me that I should do it myself at home (with help of course!). So below is the progress from today...


Intake and exhaust manifolds cleared from the head.


Front pipe had to removed so the exhaust manifold could be manuvered out, rocker cover off.


Cams, cam gear and rocker arms removed.


Most of the parts layed out.


Me fatty working on the engine."]Me fatty working on the engine.


Engine head finally off.


The engine head in all it's glory, heading to machine shop tomorrow.
 
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Latest update - http://omgpham.com/shes-back

For the past week I've been working hard on the S15 to try get it ready for a road trip down to WTAC in Sydney. Turned out I had a leaky head gasket so the head had to come off, was a scary and fun experience... Very glad it's all over now =)

Previous posts are below -
http://omgpham.com/engine-head-removal
http://omgpham.com/engine-head-assembly

In the last 24-hours I've driven 500kms and plan to bring that up to 600kms tonight. Everything looks good and there are no leaks. Once I finish my 600kms, the rocker cover and cam shafts are coming out so I can re-torque the head studs. Just a little extra work to ensure my head won't lift on high boost.

Took some extra photos while I was finishing up yesterday.




ALL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Latest update - http://omgpham.com/blits-vented-bonnet

About a month ago, I decided I'd like to experiment with the effects of a vented bonnet. After many hours of researching I decided to go with a Blits vented bonnet. I wanted something strong and street legal, this meant it had to be fibre glass instead of carbon fibre, rigidity was important so that bonnet pins weren't required.

Some theory of vented bonnets here:
http://omgpham.com/aerodynamics-of-engine-cooling-part-1
http://omgpham.com/aerodynamics-of-engine-cooling-part-2



Blits is a small company based in the Gold Coast, they specialise in hand produced bonnets and bodykits. What makes them stand out is that they produce vented bonnets that are approved by the Department of Transport. Each item comes with a serial number and a matching certificate stating their legality.

The bonnets are classed as a "manufacturer replacement part", they are designed to be a direct bolt up part and no modifications are required. Same as any replacement car part. They feature a full under skeleton, which I forgot to take photos of, and will use all standard mounting/latching parts so bonnet pins aren't required.

Some photos I took today, but will update with photos of the skeleton when I can. The bonnet I had made is actually a custom one-off design for the S15, very happy with the finished product =)

Still have to get it painted, so will do that when I get back from WTAC.





 
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just read your head removal & assembly post, and totally agree with the part about being scared that you are going to stuff it up and wreak something.
 

craig8585

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Big thumbs up for the effort and research you've put into everyting recently. Makes for a very intersting read. :)
 
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just read your head removal & assembly post, and totally agree with the part about being scared that you are going to stuff it up and wreak something.
Way too much stress haha! But I've done close to 1000kms with a lot of boost, everything is working perfectly =)

Big thumbs up for the effort and research you've put into everyting recently. Makes for a very intersting read. :)
Very good read,the car is looking sweet ,really liking the bonnet as well looks very nice!
Thanks for the kind words =)
 
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After 3 weeks my S15 finally sold, really sad to see it go and hope the new owner takes care of it. Not good that I heard him floor it up the road when the engine was still cold...
 

craig8585

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It's a shame you sold it after all of the recent work and research :( What do you plan to replace it with?
 
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Sad that the new owner isn't treating her so well, but I enjoyed working and researching so I'm happy to do it again with my new car.

Think about getting a Series 8 FD3S RX-7 :p
 
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