verus/trackspec hood vents

[Flyhalf]

Great videos. Thanks for sharing. I have a track spec set on the hood of my 2018. I'll test the 3 of them to see if there is heat extraction.
One note
The angle of the trackspec ones is not so big like the verus. It could mean that the laces you put on will follow that angle and no more.
My point is there could be extraction just with a lower angle.
Just some Food for thoughts

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[fatbillybob]

I wonder how much extra drag the hood vents create? On high speed rovals it really makes a difference.

 

[Flyhalf]

The hood decreases drag.
What imcrease the drag of the vents is the angle of attack of the fins.
My concern about fins too vertical is that those on track will create drag.
So maybe the best compromise is the track spec vents with wickers ?

 

[JohnD]

The hood decreases drag.
What imcrease the drag of the vents is the angle of attack of the fins.
My concern about fins too vertical is that those on track will create drag.
So maybe the best compromise is the track spec vents with wickers ?

You are worrying needlessly about drag, it is insignificant. I found no difference in top speed with the RaceLouvers and a 25mm wicker, 143 mph max on the back straight at Mosport before and after install. Yet that center vent alone took 1.2 sec a lap off my best at Mosport, now running low 1.33's and the odd high 1.32. The wicker is very important, as are the angles of the blades which is why I chose RaceLouvers unit. I have the Verus side vents, their wicker is very small, I am going to increase it to 25 mm when I install them.

 

[fatbillybob]

interesting comments on drag. I only have a few datapoints like when we race at Daytona. We tape the grills like nascar and our top speed goes up. The infield is so short we don't overheat. In the old days porsche 911 guys would have holes in the rear lexan rear glass. We learned later that doing so actually increases drag they thought in the old days would reduce the pressure on wind inside the car. They learned air would flow more past the open windows instead of in the windows and out the rear glass area. That's how we understand hood vents. I'm pretty sure you want the smallest hood vents that will keep your temps where you want nothing bigger.

 

[fatbillybob]

The other thing is don't wickers create their own turbulence so your tufts many not really be reflective of extraction but the turbulence from the wicker?

Isn't the test of a hood vent just that you see engine temps drop? This is my only real world datapoint. I don't think the comment that trackspec does not work because in "spec corvette" road racing these cars at speed engine temps are down. It allows the stock radiator to be used. When we road race the save vette in similarly equipped SCCA T2 class where hood vents are not allowed we have to run the giant 2" wide ron davis radiator to keep the engine temps down.

 

[fatbillybob]

Here is quotes of interest on 350GT.

https://jalopnik.com/the-2019-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350-somehow-improves-upo-1834677990
<<For 2019, Michelin designed a set of GT350-specific Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires with more exaggerated contact surface ratios to increase longitudinal and lateral grip. So Ford improved the aero—closing off a bit of the front grille to reduce front lift and dropping the drag coefficient. (Apparently by about .010, if you were curious.)>>

 

[AlbertD]

The other thing is don't wickers create their own turbulence so your tufts many not really be reflective of extraction but the turbulence from the wicker?

Isn't the test of a hood vent just that you see engine temps drop? This is my only real world datapoint. I don't think the comment that trackspec does not work because in "spec corvette" road racing these cars at speed engine temps are down. It allows the stock radiator to be used. When we road race the save vette in similarly equipped SCCA T2 class where hood vents are not allowed we have to run the giant 2" wide ron davis radiator to keep the engine temps down.

My comment about trackspec not working efficiently was solely based on my particular configuration. On a completely stock car (w/o side vents), I am convinced that the trackspec would absolutely help with decreasing engine bay temps. On my car however, I believe the side vents are a possible path of less resistance diverting airflow from the center vent. If I could do it over, I would have preferred to have both center and side vents inline as it may have made the center vent more effective.

I agree with you that there is turbulence created by the wickers and it would be hard to distinguish (at least for the center vent) how much of the tuft movement was from heat extraction versus turbulence at speed.

I had a track day this past week, but ended up having to call it short due to an oiling issue. From my few amount laps with the wickers and by watching oil temps using the factory digital gauge (which I understand is not the best data point) I saw a fairly dramatic decrease in temps from what I am used to. Hopefully I will have this oiling issue solved so next month I can go full tilt to see how much cooling improvement was gained from the wickers.

I believe you are correct in that the wickers could add drag (or hood vents with aggressive louver angles) and that a race prepped car should find that sweet spot of drag versus cooling. For my goals, I am willing to sacrifice drag for more effective cooling as my track time is purely educational and not competitive. The longer I can keep this engine alive and healthy the better. If I have to sacrifice a bit of lap time or top end speed, then that is fine by me.

 

[JohnD]

The other thing is don't wickers create their own turbulence so your tufts many not really be reflective of extraction but the turbulence from the wicker?

Isn't the test of a hood vent just that you see engine temps drop? This is my only real world datapoint. I don't think the comment that trackspec does not work because in "spec corvette" road racing these cars at speed engine temps are down. It allows the stock radiator to be used. When we road race the save vette in similarly equipped SCCA T2 class where hood vents are not allowed we have to run the giant 2" wide ron davis radiator to keep the engine temps down.

Totally not. The test is if your lap times come down, it's all about aero and reducing the underhood pressure which is robbing downforce in a Mustang. The temps do come down, mine dropped from 247 to 217, but the big thing was my lap time dropped by 1.2 secs with just the addition of a properly engineered hood vent. That is huge.

 

[Flyhalf]

Well guys.. Stay tuned for more details on this...
First official mustang trackspec wickers tested last WE on track. New test (with stripes/laces coming soon.

 

[Shepherd308]

H

Well guys.. Stay tuned for more details on this...
First official mustang trackspec wickers tested last WE on track. New test (with stripes/laces coming soon.

How do you like them? Does trackspec still sell these on their site

 

[Flyhalf]

H

How do you like them? Does trackspec still sell these on their site

they are a good product and more 'street friendly 'than racelouvers.
however,
racelouvers are superior in terms of cooling and downforce.my car evolved a lot. i have central HOOD, and the 2 fender louvers by RACELOUVERS
but i kept the 2 side trackspec just because ...I didn't want to reinstall them lol.
trackspec developed the wickers for what i know.
but wind tunnel tests show them behind in efficiency vs the EXTREME version of race louvers ( racelouvers does also a street version and intermediate one.)
check their website for all the comparable tests ( including vs trackspec)

 

[TeeLew]

interesting comments on drag. I only have a few datapoints like when we race at Daytona.

Daytona is really a track unto it's own. It's hard to take info from there and apply it to anywhere else.

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