Bureaucratic BS and hot air

[Bartman]

So, I finally got on the road in my S3 this weekend for the first time, I planned to use it during the summer while the new engine and gearbox are being built but it has taken a lot of (wasted) time to sort with the MVA thanks to the car being incorrectly titled (as MD see's it) by New York and the original owner.

 

In NY even though the car is a 2000 chassis (according to the VIN) because it was not registered until 2005 it is considered by them (NY) therefore to be a 2005. In my own state of MD it should be considered a 2000 as they go by the chassis build date as detailed in the VIN, but they will not revise the title as the "error" in their view was in NY, I have called NY (more than 200 calls before I got though to be able to organize a call back), and they will not revise the title as they don't see it as an error, its a catch 22  combined with the usual bureaucratic BS. The only reason I care so much is that vehicles older than 20 years can be registered as "Historic" in MD and as a result don't need emissions testing, this is not a factor now but in two years when it needs to be re-tested and with the new engine in place with no cat and no OBD it's a big problem, I'll have to wait a whole year with the car off the road until 2025 before I can title it as a Historic. When I purchased the car it was described as 2000 but the bill of sale which I received by mail and NY title say 2005, and as I'd already parted with my cash and foolishly I thought I'd be able to "correct it" I did not worry about it .....as they say Caveat Emptor. 

 

 

Anyhow I took the freshly tagged S3 on a really good blat through the quietest roads of MD in 90 degrees of sunshine it was wonderful. It is however and as many of you all will know , hot as hell in the footwell and the transmission tunnel got so hot it felt like it would fry eggs, I can manage to keep my calf off it but its shockingly hot when I do inadvertently touch the side, I don't have carpet that would help but I don't want it in there. I have looked about and seen comments on the benefits and risks of insulating the tunnel and wrapping the headers etc but that heat has to go somewhere and god knows how much more heat I will get from an engine making 130 more HP than my current one. This got me thinking about solutions, in a previous life I flew small aircraft and one I had owned had a flap that was manually operated by a cable to open into the airstream to feed fresh air into the plane though some ducting, it was very effective as you might imagine at 160 knots. I wondered if this had ever been done on a 7, perhaps a cutout on the side of the car with this type of deployable flap, I've even seen one that will open forward facing into the air stream and backward facing downwind depending of the position of the control, so if its raining you can reverse it and use Bernoulli's principal to get air pulled out I think this would really provide some much needed cooling airflow I need to take a look more closely at the side of the car next weekend to see if there is space there I would not duct it, just open into the footwell if its doable. Does anyone have other solutions or ideas to consider?

 

Thanks

 

Bart.

[Vovchandr]

Before you get too crazy consider this

 

https://shop.oakmeremotorgroup.co.uk/product/footbox-cold-air-inlet?fbclid=IwAR3W4u0zMq701l68i9iMgwTnQNml1jsV4xL7bxFbFQqIKBbKpq5UwZFsFqU

 

 

 

Wrapping headers certainly helps keeps the temps down.

 

There is also reflective material you can put on the footwell in the engine bay to help reflect some heat off too

[sf4018]

Best chance of cool air I would guess would be running a duct to the side of the radiator, it would have to be closable if it rains though.

[Croc]

Is your transmission tunnel faired in underneath with ali sheeting?  Then easiest solution is to remove a portion to allow a free venting of the hot air from the engine bay which gets trapped in the tunnel - at least thats how I fixed the same issue in my Caterham CSR.  

[FE07]

Bart,

Send me a PM.  I’ve got a possible solution to your emissions testing problem.

 

Jim

[Bartman]

Hi Croc,

 

Yes its faired in, did you simple cut out a section or fit a rear facing louvre?

 

 

[Croc]

@Bartman  My CSR chassis is slightly different to yours but should still work.  I removed the trapezoidal section of ali plate that covered the rear of the transmission tunnel/diff area.  No cutting - just removing one of the original panels that closed it off.  Just drilled out the rivets, removed and left it open.  Air now flows through the tunnel freely and the tubes are a lot cooler.  I no longer burn my elbow or leg on the inner cockpit.  Your instincts of just trying to get the air moving in the tunnel are correct.  

[coffee break]

I have gone to wearing long pants when out on a blat to prevent scorched calf. This is after adding header wrap and applying thermal barrier material to the firewall and some of the tranny tunnel. 

Edited August 10, 2021 by coffee break