Big willow track days and temp issues

[siwelnosaj]

Ok so an update from this past weekend's track day at Laguna Seca. I will start by saying I'm pretty pleased with all the numbers and I feel like it's a very strong starting point, but yes I do think there's room to improve and I have some ideas on how to achieve this.

Anyways, so here's the numbers as a comparison to my fk8. All of these are with full 20 minute sessions pushing the whole time after the tire warm up:

- V1 fk8 set up, 67° ambient, 242 peak ECT, 259 peak oil, best time of 1:36.68. Stock turbo, e25 approx 410whp

- V2 fk8, 67° ambient, 222 peak ECT, 240 peak oil, best time of 1:34.57 (fk8 lap record), Stock turbo, e25 approx 410whp

- FL5, 62° ambient, 231 peak ECT, 263 peak oil, best time of 1:38.06 (optimal of 1:37.0, but I was way too conservative in a number of braking zones and corners, and sloppy in a couple of others), MHI turbo, e25 approx 435whp (losing ~ 15whp due to having to run restrictive OEM exhaust cause of 90db day)

Also it's worth noting that the calculated oil temp compared to what I was getting from my physical sensor, there was a 25-35° delta at any given time with the calculated always reading higher. It's important to point out I'm not sure how much the dual oil coolers and running 5w30 oil are screwing up the car's calculations, I just know that on my set up it's way off.

I have the TCR vents on the OEM hood, I'm sure they are on some level helpful as well.

My assessment is that I need to open up my inlets to the oil coolers to take in a greater volume of air. In my last picture you can see the green lines are what I'm thinking, but I need to find someone to help me create the ducts I have in mind via 3d modeling/printing.

I think this will lower the oil temps and in turn also lower the coolant temps at the same time.

All that said I'm very pleased overall. Car was able to run full sessions at pretty aggressive paces at good power levels. No the ambient temps aren't high, but anyone that knows Laguna knows that it is very demanding on the car with all of the elevation changes, a day in the 60s there can be similar to a flatter track in the mid to low 80s.

Anyways, here's some pics:

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[siwelnosaj]

I want to introduce you to a pretty incredible product, were calling them cooling plates. They are a direct replacement for the OEM under tray.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Jason Lewis and I recently started my small business called WOT (Wide Open Throttle Performance) and we intend to sell innovate cooling products for the Type R and other Hondas.

Anyways, back to the cooling plate. It is a simple, yet very effective, vented aluminum undertray for both the FK8/10th Gen Civics and FL5/DE5/11th Gen Civics. Thanks to the low-pressure zone beneath the cooling plate, heat is drawn out of the engine bay through a venting system. The venting reduces engine bay air pressure and results in much greater airflow through the radiator, thus reducing overall engine temperatures. When the vehicle is in motion at speed such as at the track, airflow through the engine bay is streamlined out into the high velocity airflow underneath.

The cooling plate was tested by myself and shown to reduce peak coolant temps by 17°F, and peak oil temps by 7°F. Testing was done on the demanding Virginia City Hillclimb course that climbs 1200 ft. in the span of 5 miles. Graphs with the data and information on the VC Hillclimb can be found in the provided pictures.

Ferrari recently released their new SF90 model, and it is using a very similar front floor concept to help cool its 2 electric motors and heat exchangers in the area. Refer to the picture of their design.

The benefits of the vented aluminum cooling plate undertray are:

- The high-grade 2mm thick aluminum cooling plate is stronger than the flimsy 0.5mm OE undertray, thus more effective at protecting the engine and transmission from road and track debris, and from incurring damage itself

- Upgraded m6 stainless fasteners offer more security than the OE quarter-turn bolts that tend to back out

- Reduced under-hood temperatures help to ensure that rising temperatures don’t cause engine damage

- Reduced water temperature
- Reduced oil temperature
- Reduced risk of going into limp mode due to overheating
- Of greatest benefit, you’ll have more track-time fun over the course of your expensive track day

MSRP: $350.00 USD (Price includes shipping within the 48 U.S. states), contact to get shipping quotes for other areas. If you have any questions or if you are interested in purchasing a cooling plate, please DM me here, or email me at: [email protected]

Note, WOT is testing and soon to release a multi-pass radiator for the FK8 and FL5 platforms. Results should be available soon. Additionally, there is development on a tube and fin intercooler and some other cooling elements WOT/HPT hope to have available in the coming months.

 

[Rhorn]

Doing the lords work amen.

 

[siwelnosaj]

Doing the lords work amen.

I really do believe the combination of the cooling plate along with the triple pass radiator and an oil cooler set up, and we should be well on our way to having overheating issues solved.

 

[RacingIsLife]

Amazing, Jason. Can't wait to see the other products and testing data.

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