i need to feed a mid mounted rad air but i don't think i can do a scoop for forced air, and im concerned about saftey of an open rear window. Yea i know its way easier to duct a radiator at the front of the car, but unfortunately in my case it wont be so easy or cheap but mainly i want the least weight possible. (fittings and hose) The windshield will be on but the roof will not and side windows are part time. It will look like a trophy truck in the rear. Im trying to figure out how to get it air. In trophy trucks its open behind the seats but im curious of safety
, but i also think scoop is unlikely to work. open to advice!
I'm pretty well convinced that I want the hot bits that can release hot liquid positively separated from me.
My unimaginative answer is that the gyrations needed to put it in the middle with safety and airflow are not going to be better than putting it in the front, even tallying weight and cost.
That said, think of first principles. You don't have to have a duct pointed at it, you need lower pressure on one side and higher pressure on the other. Unfortunately, "trophy truck" doesn't really suggest reliable/predictable behavior of the air around that part of the car, but maybe you can get what you need without big changes with some care and creativity?
EDIT to add the obvious: 914s are awesome.
In reply to Jesse Ransom :
I know theres no goldylocks answer, i may be able to get air in from the side but not forced. Fans obviously create that pressure delta but thats at a cost in itself
I faced this issue when I thought of putting a Subie in the Outlaw Bug. I wanted to look stock/sleeper so i went back to an air-cooled plan.
In your case you made the correct power decision. The obvious choice is to put it in the front. There is room for it in the frunk. Tubing running back and forth to the rear. One piece of good news with that solution is that it requires a smaller rad because of the surface area of the tubing. Also, it won't effect your CG that badly in the big scheme of things.
Since your 914 is not going to try to look "stock", you have a lot of options.
If you place it in the rear thermostat controlled fans are the answer, and they have become fairly inexpensive. You could almost "hide" the assembly over the transaxle.
I found that you don't want to "suck" the air up from underneath. It was amazing how much trash got pulled up off the road, and even worse if you get in grass.
I know a racer that was burned by a rad failure when the rad was placed behind him in a formula car. You don't want that, trust me.
Lots of Subie 914s out on the 914 forum, you might want to look there for ideas.
OBTW, if you ever had an engine fire you might appreciate a rea window. Plus some sanctioning bodies are going to require it.
