Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

TBatt · 02-08-2016, 10:03 AM

Back in the late 70's I had a Fiat X 1/9 while I was stationed in Minot, ND. Believe it or not, it was a very good car in the snow.

For those of you that don't know what an X 1/9 is, it is a mid-engine (1300cc) sports car that Car and Driver rated as one of the best handling cars in the world. It was!

While stationed at Minot, I had a hard time getting the engine to stay in the proper temperature range even with the radiator completely blocked off with cardboard. What was happening was that by the time the coolant had passed underneath the car to the radiator (located up front) and returned to the engine it was so cool that the engine had a hard time coming up to temperature and staying there. The car had a very small radiator because a lot of cooling occurred from the coolant passing under the car to the front and back again.

What if a heat exchanger was made for the Stillen SC that was made up of copper tubing located under the car. The air flow would be cool under the car and not compound the problem of too much hot air up front. Yes, the hot engine bay air is there but it is being mixed with cool air that flows under the car coming in from several directions. The under car heat exchanger could be made rather large and also increase the amount of coolant over the stock system.

If you look at the underside of the drivers or passengers seat area, you will see that there is a lot of room that tubing could be tucked up under the car and still get good air flow.

Maybe it is a crazy idea but then so was flying at one time.......

02-08-2016, 10:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
TBatt Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 832 Drives: 2019 GT-R Rep Power: 20168	Under car A2W heat exchanger Back in the late 70's I had a Fiat X 1/9 while I was stationed in Minot, ND. Believe it or not, it was a very good car in the snow. For those of you that don't know what an X 1/9 is, it is a mid-engine (1300cc) sports car that Car and Driver rated as one of the best handling cars in the world. It was! While stationed at Minot, I had a hard time getting the engine to stay in the proper temperature range even with the radiator completely blocked off with cardboard. What was happening was that by the time the coolant had passed underneath the car to the radiator (located up front) and returned to the engine it was so cool that the engine had a hard time coming up to temperature and staying there. The car had a very small radiator because a lot of cooling occurred from the coolant passing under the car to the front and back again. What if a heat exchanger was made for the Stillen SC that was made up of copper tubing located under the car. The air flow would be cool under the car and not compound the problem of too much hot air up front. Yes, the hot engine bay air is there but it is being mixed with cool air that flows under the car coming in from several directions. The under car heat exchanger could be made rather large and also increase the amount of coolant over the stock system. If you look at the underside of the drivers or passengers seat area, you will see that there is a lot of room that tubing could be tucked up under the car and still get good air flow. Maybe it is a crazy idea but then so was flying at one time....... __________________ RJM pedal, Hotchkis Sway Bars, FI TDX, FOG Light, Z1 Slotted Drilled rotors, Stillen SC, Quaife ATB, Z1 Oil cooler, AEM Gauge Set, Galeforce gauge mount, Avant Garde M590 Hypersilver w/RE-11, TopgunZ A2A kit., ECUtek tuned by Seb: ROLL TIDE!