6th gen left side radiator mod...

Here is my next idea at work...

Both radiators suffer from being far too close to the engine, IMO at least, and the heat the front cylinder head and exhaust gives off only really has a couple of places to go when the bike is sitting still. The right radiator at least has a fan to draw air across it. The left one, not so much.

So here is the fruition of my brain at work. It's not totally complete, but it's close to what it will be. I drew my inspiration from the nice carbon fiber pieces the RC51 and Superhawks have for the radiators.

Area I have to work with:


After a little bit of measuring, cutting, bending, etc...


Test fitment:



I'm probably going to get some adhesive backed heat shield matting, kind of like what they put on firewalls and such. At least then it wouldn't soak as much heat.

 

How did your mods go? Does it run cooler? I'm trying to work out what to do to my 5th gen for next summer's commuting in heavy traffic (this summer was awful). I've done the VTR fan mod and rock screen, so once I'm out of traffic, the temp comes down nicely. However, in traffic, the header heats up the air that I need to go through the radiators, and it still runs a bit too hot for my liking.

I don't want to wrap the header because I don't want it to turn into a corroded mess that's expensive to replace. Ideally, I want a couple of well placed heat shields to keep hot air away from the rad's.

I'd love to hear how your mod goes.

 

Put a fan on the right rad & a lower temp fan switch. Mine never exceeds 95C now

 

mohawk how hard was that to mount the additional fan? what parts did you need?

 

My bike is still being cleaned and whatnot, until I get a new battery - which should be in the next couple weeks hopefully.

I had to make a slight modification to the design to make it fit. If this doesn't work that great I will probably go with the PC fan idea, or save up and get the Perma-Cool fan I've been eyeballing for the past few months. Continual draw of only 3A, and moves close to 1700CFM in pusher configuration.

 

I used one of the very high speed 120mm PC fans like a Delta etc. they are 38mm deep & just fit. It is just cable tied to front half of the right rad & there is just enough room to squeeze it between the cylinder head & the rad. I've got it wired in parallel with the left rad fan which has been converted to a VTR fan blade, so both blow out the sides. The reduced temp fan switch kicks in about 92c & off @ about 78c, so it starts to cool before the engine gets too hot, so does not stay on too long.

 

Mohawk, do you have a part number and manufacturer name for the lower temp switch? Did you need an adaptor for the screw thread?

From what I've measured, I'm not so sure that a 38mm thick fan will fit there (the link you gave in another thread was a 25mm thick fan). There's a 25mm thick 120mm adda fan on ebay that will do 175 CFM, and one version of it is waterproof to IP55, but they say it isn't suitable for automotive voltages, so it needs a voltage regulator (ie: extra $).

 

Yadda yadda yadda, the standard fan is not a sealed unit. The addon fan is not a sealed unit. I've had mine on for a year with no issues. it's added to the right rad on a 5th gen, I thought the fan was on the left on the 6th gen too !? Just make sure the feed wires face backwards or down to avoid water ingress to the motor.

It is 38mm & the radiator sits about 2mm further out on the 5th gen, but does not interfere with anything. If you want to mount it properly, then you would need to remove the right rad to allow you to cable tie it at all four corners ! You can use the 175cfm if you like. I can't remember the part number but it was like one of these

Delta PFC1212DE 252CFM 5500RPM Computer Fan Unboxing Video - YouTube or search for 5500rpm 120mm fan.

I did a search to find the replacement fan switch details, IIRC its from a Nissan Sunny. No thread converter required.

Have fun.

 

Thanks for the info. Yeah, that 38mm fan is a beast. Originally I wanted that one, right or wrong, but I can only fit a 25mm thick fan into my bike unless I want to bend the RH radiator mounts (maybe it could have something to do with a little accident I had two years ago)...

I'll have to look into it a bit more, and maybe push the radiator further out on the right side to make some more room. Hmmm... You're putting ideas into my head!

 

who wants to be the guinea pig and find out if sp1 or sp2 radiator scoops fit our bike???

Parts & Prices Air-Scoops

 

You shut the hell up and keep these crazy ideas to yourself! Trying to put ideas into my head that make me want to spend money on my bike... People like you are worse than drug dealers 'Come on, the first hit is free...'
:tongue:

 

All the cool kids are doing it

 

LOL, of course they are!

 

The RC51 rad scoops will not fit the 5/6th gen, the rads on the VFR's have a lower row count, so are not as deep. The cylinder head to rad distances are different, the scoop coverage area is different to, so basically you would spent top dollar on nothing of use, as you would have to do some serious mods.

You could make your own light alloy (0.5-1mm) scoops, but scoops only work at speed & as far as I'm aware VFR's DON'T run hot at speed. They run hot when running slow in traffic or when stationary. So the answer there is more rad area or more fans or both. Rad area is expensive to add, so fans & a lower temp radiator fan switch cures the issue for not a lot of money. If the fans come on before the bike gets to hot, then it stays cooler !

There is very little air heating in front of the engine between the rads, those that think there is have never measured it. Air can only be heated with contact with a hot surface & when heated will follow a vertical path so very litle hot air is trapped in front of the engine. The problem was stopping stone damage & so Honda made the fan suck from the outside but as there is only one fan & two rads this throws hot air into the area in front of the engine & directly across the void to the right rad, so heat extracted from the left rad is directed to the right rad ! Because the cooling circuit is split & roughly 50% of the coolant returns through each rad, the heat removed from the left rad by the fan is partly re-added to the right rad by the natural flow & the rest of the hot air at a standstill flow vertically up through the handlebar area to make the riders life worse to !

By replacing the left fan blade with a VTR1000 (Firestorm/Superhawk) blade, the fan sucks air from the area in front of the engine & blows it out the left side, as this lowers the pressure in the void it will induce a slight flow through the right rad which then introduces hot air to the void, so that is bad. By adding a high flow PC 120mm or if you prefer a bike fan, look at honda CBR600/1000 fans as they have a small fan which would fit, but you need to make the brackets. The void suck cool air from in front of the bike & blows it out both sides. If you are really keen, you can add one to the out side of the back/lower half of the right rad too.

The VTR fan blade when fitted to my 5th gen rad stands off approx 1/4" or 5mm & the air control ring has a space at the bottom to allow any stones this size to fall out. All you need to do if worried about larger stones that could get caught in the fan blade & damage the radiator, is to fit a stone guard mess to stop them getting into the rad fan.
This combined with a lower temp switch means that my 5th gen with 12% more power never exceeds 95c even in hot weather (relative term in the UK) but last summers highest temps were high 20's celcius & the bike ran so much smoother & never got HOT at any point.

Have fun, be safe & stay COOL

 

And here is a list of cars in the US that take the same m16x1.5 switch - 80-85 degrees, IIRC. Guys with NSXs actually use them:

DODGE COLT (1993 - 1994)
DODGE COLT ES 1994
DODGE COLT GL 1993
DODGE STEALTH (1991 - 1996)
DODGE STEALTH ES (1991 - 1993)
DODGE STEALTH R/T (1991 - 1996)
DODGE STEALTH R/T SPORT (1994 - 1995)
DODGE STEALTH R/T TURBO (1991 - 1996)
EAGLE SUMMIT (1994 - 1996)
EAGLE SUMMIT DL (1994 - 1996)
EAGLE SUMMIT ES (1994 - 1996)
EAGLE SUMMIT ESI (1994 - 1995)
EAGLE SUMMIT LX (1994 - 1996)
MITSUBISHI 3000GT (1991 - 1993)
MITSUBISHI 3000GT SL (1991 - 1993)
MITSUBISHI 3000GT VR-4 (1991 - 1993)
MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE 1992
MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE ES (1993 - 1996)
MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE LS (1992 - 1995)
MITSUBISHI EXPO (1992 - 1995)
MITSUBISHI EXPO LRV (1992 - 1994)
MITSUBISHI EXPO LRV SPORT (1992 - 1994)
MITSUBISHI EXPO SP (1992 - 1993)
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE ES (1993 - 1995)
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE LS (1993 - 1995)
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE S (1993 - 1995)
PLYMOUTH COLT (1993 - 1994)
PLYMOUTH COLT GL (1993 - 1994)
PLYMOUTH COLT VISTA (1992 - 1994)
PLYMOUTH COLT VISTA SE 1992

 

Hmmm... M16 x 1.5mm pitch, eh? I'm gonna look for a dual stage switch so I can turn the fans on in two stages using the same switch. Turn the VTR fan on first (highest current draw), then PC fan second as a booster for summer riding. I'll post my results if I find anything.

 

Ok, took the bike out today, and there was a DEFINITE difference in my temps with this mod. (Although I did have to modify it a bit, which I will post pictures up later.)
In traffic, I was sitting at a steady 180ish. Once it started flowing, I watched the temps drop fairly quickly, quicker if I had free air in front of me.

 

Here are the finished pics, for anyone that is curious. I opened the bottom up to bring the air in.

 

Nice job.

I've had a scout around for a M16 two-stage fan switch. Found plenty of M22 versions and a M14 version, but nothing in M16... A M16 to M14 adaptor would put the M14 part out of coolant flow and possibly create an air lock, so I'm out of luck there. Now I'm thinking about designing a comparator circuit to read the temp sender and switch on/off multiple fans at adjustable set-points... On the other hand, a couple of heat shields would be a lot easier to make...

 

Well, it's only the left side, if you're looking at the bike from the front. Right side, if you're sitting on it.