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Wow this thread escalated quickly!
Took me a while to read up on all the responses. I'll respond to a few of them:
Originally Posted by Foximus
Finally. :P We saw that adding the hood louver really helped get heat out of the engine bay.
I'm counting on it making a big difference!
Originally Posted by jdbaugh1
Do you have to modify them much or at all?
Not at all. I'm just removing the screw-in posts as I'm planning on gluing them on.
Originally Posted by Snail_SS
Adrian you have some pics of the louvers?
Here's a picture of the setup I'm doing on one of Powell's customer's Cobalt. Love that carbon hood <3
Originally Posted by HGT
Looking forward to the results.. You always do great work.
I have been looking at different functional vent designs but haven't found what I am looking for.
Thanks! According to Powell, who has probably done the most research of anyone on our cars, none of the after market hoods are very effective at reducing engine compartment temps. That is why I wanted to go this route.
Originally Posted by Slowbalt2000
Trans cooler eh? Does that require addition of an electric pump?
Yes it will have an electrical pump. I can't give you much details other than that as Powell plans to put this together as a kit for sale. I'm putting mine together based on his specs and I believe it will be the first of its kind.
Originally Posted by ProfDNS
Can we just agree OP has great skills with the dremmel if he freehanded it?
Haha thanks. All those years of carefully dremeling apart perfectly good after market taillights is finally paying off
Originally Posted by HGT
I'm guessing something like these... Although they are about as rare as they get these days.
#10225885 - Left Side Louver - $40.99
#10230097 - Left Side Drip Pan - $8.06
#10225886 - Right Side Louver - $40.99
#10230098 - Right Side Drip Pan - $8.06
This is them exactly. Mine are even white (unpainted)
Originally Posted by ProfDNS
Wasn't it Jesse that wanted to carbon fiber everything to make it lighter? I don't remember the thread.
He should help colodude make something special
Funny you should say that. I will be doing something really special with carbon soon.
More info about that later!
Last edited by colodude18; 03-08-2018 at 12:05 AM.
You did retrofit headlights too right? But yeah those taillights were like...
"Daaaaaaaaaaaamn" but in a really good way
Ah snap!
I try to stick to taillights, Although I WILL be doing my own headlights this summer.
I'm also working on a new taillight design. As in new, more reliable components. The look will be very similar to the ones you're probably thinking of. The function will have more awesomeness.
BTW the carbon stuff I mentioned is not taillight related. It's one-of-a-kind stuff that'll only go on my car. That's all I'm gonna say right now hahah
I made some good progress yesterday by enlarging the holes a bit for the louvers to pit perfectly.
I was just about ready to start prep and paint on the vents when this morning, while I was at my local junk yard to pick u some taillight stuff, to my astonishment I stumbled on a Cobalt WITHOUT front end damage. That was a first. And to top things off, it was black!
Reason this makes me excited is that my own hood has several blemishes and dents from charge piping popping off and such (lol) and it has been kind of an eyesore for years.
So I snatched the hood and also the left front fender liner since mine has a crack in it.
So as it turns out, cutting the holes in my hood was just practice and I shall now start over. But the result will be even better
Have you thought about just leaving it as is and still have 1 good stock good? Use the one you cut for the track and save the other. Just a thought, due to the track hood not having to be perfect and you are this far on the other already.
Have you thought about just leaving it as is and still have 1 good stock good? Use the one you cut for the track and save the other. Just a thought, due to the track hood not having to be perfect and you are this far on the other already.
Not a bad thought...
I have to say I wasn't planning on swapping out hoods all the time, but still, you make a good point. I'm not sure how driving in the rain would go with those vents and having an alternative on those long mountain cruises where rain is always a possibility might be kinda neat. I'll give it some through before I continue which won't be until next weekend anyways
A little update. Believe it or not I've been having trouble getting paint to stick to the plastic vents so no finished pictures of the vented hood just yet. Seriously I've painted them several times and it comes out all blotchy and horrible. Getting kinda tired of repeatedly painting and then sanding it all off again lol. Not sure why this is happening.
So to make a change, today I worked on making the brackets for the installation of the transmission cooler and the pump that will be running the system. I mounted the cooler in front of the oil pan for maximum air movement and the pump, which is humongous, in the only place it would fit, behind the engine. The bracket only has the two t-bolt claps on them in the picture. This is where the pump will be mounted. I was able to bolt both brackets into existing bolt holes in the engine/oil pan which was a bonus. I'll update when I get the rest of the system routed and installed.
Are you using OEM catalyst paint with a plastic paint primer underneath?
At the least put down a plastic paint primer or have them hydro dipped in a cool CF
Are you using OEM catalyst paint with a plastic paint primer underneath?
At the least put down a plastic paint primer or have them hydro dipped in a cool CF
I'm a total noob when it comes to paint. I used a primer and the a gloss black. Both spray cans. Normally works fine on my taillight stuff. But I guess this is a softer plastic. I even tried adhesion promotor but that didn't make much difference. I guess I'll just ask a local Cobalt owner that is a magician with paint to do them for me. One look at the paint job he did on his own car and you'll understand why
And no, that is NOT a wrap!
My setup was spec'd by Powell's himself.
Only thing is he puts the pump on the sub frame. I just don't like drilling holes. Especially in the sub frame
Go to a body shop supply store. They should be able to get you automotive grade paint in aerosols. Some body shops paint entirely with aerosols they load themselves.
Plastics can be an issue especially if they're not cleaned correctly.
Adrian- I purchased some factory ground effects for my saab and they have been painted twice because the paint won't adhere to them. The last time they did it they had to go through about a 4 step process to get it right. They can be a bitch to figure out.
Adrian- I purchased some factory ground effects for my saab and they have been painted twice because the paint won't adhere to them. The last time they did it they had to go through about a 4 step process to get it right. They can be a bitch to figure out.
I’m feeling better after reading all this. I was starting to think it was me lol
Was just able to do a (very crude) test of how the vents perform. Or I should say, how the holes in my hood perform; vents are not yet installed:
I have boost again! Car had not boosted past a few PSI since I first tried after my engine break-in. I found and fixed a few (small) boost leaks but today ECaulk found the real reason and that was that the shop had crossed a few vacuum lines....
Anyways, I did several highway pulls (60-110, even a 100-158 lol) and my coolant temps never rose over 193! Granted it's a cool day (mid fifties) but still, promising in my book More testing to follow now that the under hood furnace (aka 6758) is operational again
03-06-2018, 04:05 PM
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