Removing Plug Cover for cooling coils?

[turbozxi]

Just wondering do any of you guys remove your spark plug cover to help keep the coils cool on your sr20dets? I have read that in japan they do it often and I know coils are prone to failing. Tried a search but only found talk about bling bling carbon fiber covers. Your thoughts on the pros and cons. :fart:

[RBS14]

sounds like a good idea to me.

[turbozxi]

So I take it this is not something done in the US? :-/ Can't help but wonder if its like not using air filter on your turbo another thing jap race cars often do....

[Dousan_PG]

i dont run mine
it just will get hot and warp and yeah dont run it

as far as airfilters, most cars do run filters, drag cars are another story but track cars usually havethem
no one wants some one in front of you to off track only to dump dirt onto your car

msot run filters.

[linkwpc]

I have coils and I run without at cover. I want to put a cover on but I think its better without. It does make since that without a cover it will cool down better. here is pic http://www.geocities.com/squaresoft_99/240sxnew1.jpg

[sr240mike]

Only reason I dont run it is because it says intercooled turbo which is a big red flag if us Californians get our hoods popped.

[ultraDorksGarage]

my tubular exhaust mainfold raised my under hood temps real high, the cover is protecting mine from that.

[jaz]

The main purpose of the cover, aside from appearance is to keep water from collecting in and around the spark plug wells (carwashes, puddles, etc). Would not hurt to give the coils some extra airflow, but more important is the temperature of the igniter chip. Since it is so close to the exhaust, anything you can do to keep it cool is a plus.

[ultraDorksGarage]

my ignitor chip is mounted on rhs firewall^^, airflow in the area above valve cover seems to be zilch, does not running it seem to make a difference?

i sometimes dont run it when i tune the car... pulling it off to check plugs sux, im lazy and bleh bleh bleh, u know the rest...

if it really saves the packs, let me know, extending the life on those kinda parts is always a bonus for me

[jaz]

Igniter on my S14 is right next to the header and turbo on the left hand side. Sorry for confusion.

Not so much airflow above the valve cover, heat-soak would have been a better term. Heat rises, so if you put a cover on the coils, heat buildup from coil and engine cannot escape. Some SR coils sitting on my workbench are pretty good proof of what happens when you generate too much heat (melted, oops).

Specific cooling for the coils is quite common in racing applications. Many mid-engined prototypes have NACA ducts on the sides of the body which divert air to the coil packs. Wish I had some pics as an example, cameras not allowed in certain pits, wink wink.

[ultraDorksGarage]

cant wait for a wise ass and a camera phone, lol

i guess ill try that out with a little testing with my temp gun^^
thanks for the tip^^

[jaz]

If I could actually start my engine right now, I would probably do the same temp measurements. I should probably put the cylinder head back on first...

In general the idea makes sense and has been used by a number of professional road racing teams, but whether or not the gain is significant or measurable on an SR20 is another story.

[turbozxi]

yeah most of the high performance RB and Sr engines in Japan seem to not use covers I guess I'll be taking mine off then. :bow:

[andrewrr]

^^^ hey! another new zealander, we're taking over :2f2f: .

yeah, i have an rb20det and i cut my cover back so just enough is left to mount the ingniter to. i'm planning on getting some custom leads made up and mounting some coils on the firewall with a wasted spark system.

[Mike Wazowski]

I have a vented hood, washing my car could allow water to touch the coils.

Bad eh?

If you guys want to cool it, put some computer fans on top of the coils? Hehehe