11 dollar cooling panels

[JapaneseAutox]

i'm probably gonna get flamed but i don't care. it works!

http://www.tuneunion.com/viewtopic.php?p=2381#2381

[ThatGuy]

I've seen it done cheaper, with cardboard. Good for a track day, but it doesn't hold up to rain. LOL. They aren't that hard to make.

[ALTRNTV]

Pretty good. Looks like I have a trip to Home Depot Racing to attend to.

[midnite_180]

home depo here i come!

[go240]

i've been meaning do do this, just too lazy

[Sularus]

is now on the mile long to do list!!

[DJPimpFlex]

yea thats cool. I'm doing it tommorow! +1 for you sir . ..

[HyperTek]

cool.. id go with maybe a lil thicker then what he used tho.. just so it can withstand the time of removal etc.

[NemeGuero]

I was thinking about making my own. Someone is selling a JUN one and I was gonna ask whoever bought it if they would flatten it out and CAD it for me so I could cut my own out of aluminum sheet.

[Irukandji]

haha mine was cardboard but i took it off cause it got super jdm soaked in the rain.

[SimpleSexy180]

not bad. i think ill do that this comming week.

[!Zar!]

i8yourfwd (Jay) Has one on his car, and it's about the same thickness as what you used. He's had it for a few months I believe and it's still holding up strong. I'm going to make one... One of these days.

[breakindrifts]

Does it really make a difference?

[Pepperoni]

ive made one out of sheet metal months ago just for kicks. just paint it

[FaLKoN240]

Looks good enough to try out.

[golfer17]

a local guy around here makes cooling panels for a good price. he usually sells them on ebay, and i dont think they go for much more than $30, although they might be getting much higher now, last time i saw one of his, he had a lot of people bidding.

[NemeGuero]

$30 is still over priced. It's less than $10 in parts. You don't need thick metal, just something to guide the air. You can buy 2X6 sheets for like $3. Spend some time cutting it with a dremel or tin snips, put a nice little bend in it. 3 hours tops.

[Realchaos1]

that totally works. Just dont do a shitty job cutting it, sand down the edges and it would look half decent. Personally I'd bend a thicker panel.

[blk90s13]

niice and so HDM ( home depot market )

[knate]

$30 is still over priced. It's less than $10 in parts. You don't need thick metal, just something to guide the air. You can buy 2X6 sheets for like $3. Spend some time cutting it with a dremel or tin snips, put a nice little bend in it. 3 hours tops.

So does that mean you feel your time is worth less than $7/hr if you think $30 is overpriced and it would take you ~3 hours?

[ThatGuy]

Someone else's time isn't worth that much to me when I know I can make it myself and not pay for his time. Don't take the comment personally. He was simply commenting how much cheaper/easier it would be to make it himself.

[2iv0 sx]

First a Home Depot Lip and now this....

haha im kidding :keke:

[S-13KA]

I bought mine from a guy on ebay for $20 shipped..its powder coated dark gray. It fit perfect and looks super! ;)

[Jonnie Fraz]

Nice...looks great, on my to do list.

[Nan Desu Ka?!]

i8yourfwd (Jay) Has one on his car, and it's about the same thickness as what you used. He's had it for a few months I believe and it's still holding up strong. I'm going to make one... One of these days.

He does? damn I have never seen it... or maybe im just retarded and never noticed. i gotta ask him about it.

[kenversusryu]

what's the theory on this? air is supposed to move below or above that panel?

[neverlift]

below the panel , the panel forces the air to flow over the radiator and also if boosted over fmic to improve the cooling performance

[boosteds13]

Meh, I just dropped $30 on the ebay one from the RigidRacing guy. Came powdercoated black. Looks good, quick shipping, and saved me from buying tin snips and metal...

[24Dee]

Here's an off topic and stupid question but do these aid in keeping dust/dirt out of the engine bay?

I have 1/2 of the stock panel on my s14. Not quite sure when the other half went missing but I'm pretty sure it was there when i got the car last feb. REason why i'm asking is I've noticed that my s14 engine bay is very dusty and dirty, especially for a car that is well maintained and never tracked or around construction sites. My last two s13's were never this dirty and when I got this car, the engine wasn't cleaned or anything but it was considerably less dirty then it is now. Just curious if I should just pick up another one to keep the dirt out of hte engine bay...

[s14xman]

looks decent, i think i'll make one tonight at work out of titanium. so boared at work on friday night, with all that stuff lying around, haha

[Neejay]

I've never really looked into these before since I have a NA car.

Will these make much of a difference on a NA car?

[AllenRPS13]

Meh, I just dropped $30 on the ebay one from the RigidRacing guy. Came powdercoated black. Looks good, quick shipping, and saved me from buying tin snips and metal...

yeah, me too! but my auction go over $30 a little bit :spank:

[NemeGuero]

I've never really looked into these before since I have a NA car.

Will these make much of a difference on a NA car?

Yes, they force more air into the radiator. Why wouldn't they? Doesn't matter what the radiator is cooling... the cooling panel still has the same affect.

[Neejay]

Yes, they force more air into the radiator. Why wouldn't they? Doesn't matter what the radiator is cooling... the cooling panel still has the same affect.That's all I needed to hear :) Thanks.

[NemeGuero]

You're welcome.

[i8yourfwd]

i8yourfwd (Jay) Has one on his car, and it's about the same thickness as what you used. He's had it for a few months I believe and it's still holding up strong. I'm going to make one... One of these days.
Yeah, I was hella bored at a friend's house and he had a whole roll of aluminum. So I figured, what the hell.

[SochBAT]

Maybe its just me, but you guys are just figuring this out now?

(its an honest question, sorry if i come off as a Zilvian)

[tastyratz]

I was thinking about that for forever. Since I have a totally different nose im gonna have to go full custom anyways. Im just gonna make mine out of fiberglass. Im also going to be ducting my front bumper with fiberglass too. Wanna talk cheap home depot? Dont need much more than some resin and some polar fleece. Gonna use a hot glue gun to put the fleece in place on the bumper then resin it so it hardens, prolly stick some chop mat on the back to re-inforce. People have been using ducting in race cars for years, if done right its a good thing.

[NemeGuero]

No, it was just brought to the public eye by the thread starter.
All the replies basically say, "Duh, but thanks."

[JapaneseAutox]

Maybe its just me, but you guys are just figuring this out now?

(its an honest question, sorry if i come off as a Zilvian)

haha. of course alot of people already knew about this, but some didn't. which is why i posted this thread. i got the idea back when the guys did the radiator and fan cooling tests in oct of 04. been to lazy to reproduce it till now. just trying to help the community. thanx noob. (kidding, haha)