Pedal box heat

[Caterman7]

I hope this is not a stupid question but is there any way to mitigate the heat in the pedal box? I've just finished my first long ride of about 80 miles and it got pretty hot in there. Granted I was wearing leather driving shoes with no socks but it still seemed excessive. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

 

Thanks

[Kitcat]

I wear heavy ski socks on long trips.

 

Try doing a search, this has been a topic of past discussion. The basic problem is the car is designed in England around the driver sitting on the opposite side of the exhaust system. Thus the heat is dumped out the left hand side, where, unfortunately, we American drivers are sitting.

 

Put a flashlight in your pedal box tonite and peer into the engine compartment for where the light is shining thru. Start there with caulking. See your search results for more advanced techniques, but think "insulation".

 

My informal measurements showed the passenger side is at least 20 degrees cooler than where we sit, with driver side temps close to 120 (pretty toasty).

[slngsht]

as kitcat pointed out, step 1 is to eliminate any leaks into the footpedal area. step 2 is to insulate the area. step 3 would be to put a vent in to bring fresh air in. step 4 would be to remove the hood or windshield

[catracer]

Header insulation makes a huge difference. Just don't use it on mild steel headers (it will turn them to rust in short order), but fine for stainless tubes original to the Caterham.

[gjslutz]

I did header jackets. The exhaust wrap will not last if you R&R the headers, I know. My jackets have been through several R & R's.

 

Summit Racing on line has the products I used, they are a stocking mail order house. Both insulating the exhaust & pedal box helps, but won't be cool.

 

http://www.summitracing.com

 

Thermo-Tec 11246 - Thermo-Tec Exhaust Jackets

 

Design Engineering DEI 050200 - DEI Boom Mat Acoustic Insulation

 

Thermo-Tec 14620 - Thermo-Tec Acoustical & Heat Control Mats

 

Gary

[Al N.]

I had my exhaust jet-hot coated. There is a header wrap kit somewhere out there as well. Note that there is a Caterham-issue insulation kit for the firewall...it was one of the only options my old Cat came with.

[Caterman7]

Thanks for the tips everyone and thanks Gary for the link to Summit Racing. Would some post a link for a Caterham parts supplier? I need a few odd bits and don't know who to go to.

[Al N.]

Sean, though I bought my car from Speed Classics in AZ, I usually ordered from RMSCI or direct from Cat UK.

 

BTW, RMSCI has been folded into Cat-USA it seems. For me, it was generally a case of "who's got the part in stock at the best price". Sometimes "in stock" mattered more to me than "best price".

 

If geography matters to you, Sevens & Elans is in MA. But check out Chip Bond of GT Classics recent parts listing in the parts for sale section....maybe he has what you need ON SALE!!!

[scannon]

Caterham USA contact info:

 

http://www.uscaterham.com/

Tel: 303.765.0247

 

RMSC no longer exists, as Al mentioned it was combined with Caterham USA. Ben is still the main man to talk to.

 

Skip

[Kitcat]

Google Sevens and Elans. I get most of my stuff there, tho Cat USA works as well. I have generally found Chris T at 7's & E's to be more accessible that Ben at Cat USA. Both are very friendly, very knowledgeable. but its not like calling your Ford dealership: both are frequently out of the office for long periods and call backs can take day-weeks.

 

Mike

[Al N.]

Yes, get used to a lag...it's just part of the "cottage industry" nature of it all. It's the fellow owners' support network (aka USA7s.org/californiacaterhamclub.com/usa@se7ens.net list...etc.) that works quickest!

 

FWIW, calling Cat UK usually works fastest in my experience, but then you have to deal with exchange rates and customs duties...

[pksurveyor]

I thought I was smart when I ordered the Caterham "insulation" kit for my wife's 2009 Caterham with the SVT engine. I was getting tired on getting cooked in my 2003 Caterham with the standard Zetec and no insulation.

 

Guess what, the 2009 car has a lot more heat in the pedal box than the older car. The majority of the heat comes through the transmission tunnel and the exhaust system. May be the SVT engine generates more heat but you can tell a big difference between the two cars.

[S1Steve]

Insulation in foot box, coated header, fresh air vent open, still hot as hell !!!

The gearbox and engine are right there !!!!! Go fast, staycool, LOL

[slngsht]

The biggest difference for me was removing the windshield.

[scannon]

I have insulation on the inside of the foot boxes, tunnel and floors and foam with foil on the outside of the foot boxes and tunnels. The foil on the exhaust side delaminated and fell off and the foam looks like it has melted a bit on the surface but it is still sticking well.

 

I also built a stand off heat shield between the turbo/downpipe and the front of the driver side foot box.

 

My feet get warm but nothing like before I added the interior insulation. They are comfortable in sneakers and driving shoes as well as sandals.

 

The interior insulation is actual spacecraft Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) scraps from the aerospace company I used to work at. I've talked about it in other threads in the past. It wasn't until I installed the MLI that I noticed a big difference in foot temperatures.

 

As a test prior to installing the MLI, I taped a 4" x 6" piece to the bare ali on the passenger side of the tunnel, just forward of the seat. After driving the car a bit, I could not put my hand on bare ali for more than an instant but the MLI felt barely warm.

 

I have given several people on this forum enough scraps to cover the foot wells, tunnel and floors but AFAIK none have installed it so I don't know how well it worked for them.

 

If there is anyone else interested, let me know and I will see if I can get some more scraps. You have to piece them together like a quilt but it was well worth the effort for my car.

[S1Steve]

Scannon,

If you can get more I will install it and let you know how it is working.

Thanks for the offer, Steve

[athens7]

I have read many threads on a variety of forums about footwell heat, more about S3s than SVs. The general feeling seems to be that the SV has more room for air to flow around the engine, helping to dissipate the heat. Some of the folks on Blatchat have installed a vented shift boot to evacuate heat from the transmission tunnel. Some insulate the footwells, others wrap exhaust headers. I still hear tales of burned legs and oppressive heat. I live in Georgia, where it is routinely 90+ degrees in the summer, and I can run my car at autocrosses, as well as 200 mile blats, without any discomfort. I wear shorts and Piloti Monacos when driving. My car has the following "anti-heat" equipment:

-insulated footwell floors and tunnel (both sides) from British Auto Specialists

-Jet Hot coated exhaust

-heater cut off valve in the heater coolant line

-insulation blocking the heater air intake during the summer (keeps hot air

from flowing through the heater ducts)

-180 degree thermostat and reprogrammed radiator fan

I know it's hot under the bonnet, as I can see the heat waves coming out of the louvers, the heat just doesn't transfer into the footwells. Maybe it's just dumb luck (I certainly have the requisite level of stupidity!).

 

I've also heard the Duratec cars are throwing off a lot of heat...

[MoPho]

I don't find the heat to be an issue in my car (ex Al's car) except in the most extreme conditions (90+ outside and stop and go traffic), so apparently either the Jet-hot coating/ Caterham insulation combo works or I have a high tolerance. I usually wear shorts and Puma Speedcats

 

Here is an interesting solution that someone on Lotustalk came up with

 

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/983539-post76.html

 

 

 

I ordered some parts to fit my full doors from Sevens and Elans about a year ago, still waiting for them to show up :toetap05:

[scannon]

Scannon,

If you can get more I will install it and let you know how it is working.

Thanks for the offer, Steve

 

Steve,

 

I will check next week and see if they are still saving the scraps for me.

 

MoPho,

 

The heat shield in the Lotus Talk link is very similar to the one I made for my SV. I think it is very effective in keeping the radiant heat from the turbo, manifold and downpipe off the front of the footwell. It is powder coated black so its a little hard to see in the photos.

 

You can see where the missing stud should be on the exhaust manifold. Its the one that sheared off on the Wyoming tour.

Edited July 18, 2009 by scannon

[Alaskossie]

Scannon,

 

I have a big bale of the MLI scraps and pieces that you gave me to use, but I had already insulated my tunnel and footwells with other insulation materials. I'll give it back to you to provide for other folks -- 75twincam may need some of it to solve his heat problem.

 

The consensus seems to be that in addition to the footwell heat (particularly on the header side), the driveshaft tunnel accumulates heat because the air just sits there and gets hotter, with nowhere to go. A vented tunnel may solve some of this; I have insulated my tunnel and footwells (the tunnel particularly, with insulation the full thickness of the frame tubes), and I've insulated the tunnel cover. Someday we'll see how it works....

 

Blatchat threads indicate that the Caterham CSR models (and perhaps the new R500 Superlights) have particular heat problems because they have the nose vents with air ducting, which means that there is very little air flowing through the engine bay itself.

 

Nathan Down tells the funny story of when Ben Wofford of Caterham USA was interning at Caterham UK, he drove or was shotgun in a particularly hot (literally!) Seven, and when he stepped out of the car, the soles of his shoes remained in the car....!

 

Alaskossie