2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

[SexyExy]

Totally understand the use case, was more curious about positioning. I used to have a mustang racecar with a GT500 vent put into the hood and it dropped temps significantly. It was just behind the radiator and you could watch heat waves pour out of it when stopped after a session.

I'm debating doing something similar to my current 88 Mustang since it tends to run a little too hot for my liking.

Call these guys:
http://trackspecmotorsports.com/

They even have kits for Landcruisers and FJ Cruisers. They are very popular in the road course arena since they do help with lower heat but also improve downforce by releasing underhood pressure. Where you mount them does matter, Ford got it right in the above picture. Mustangs are notorious for capturing too much air in the engine compartment and actually buckling the hood upward at higher speeds...relieving the pressure helps with both lower temps and downforce.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Totally understand the use case, was more curious about positioning. I used to have a mustang racecar with a GT500 vent put into the hood and it dropped temps significantly. It was just behind the radiator and you could watch heat waves pour out of it when stopped after a session.

I'm debating doing something similar to my current 88 Mustang since it tends to run a little too hot for my liking.

Frink84,

That's a sweet looking vent, I'm sure that it moves way more air than my puny little Escort RS vents, but they are a start. Going to do a couple trial runs to see how much the little ones help. My next step up wold be Corvette hood vent, I think it's 12"x18" and bigger slits.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Call these guys:
http://trackspecmotorsports.com/

They even have kits for Landcruisers and FJ Cruisers. They are very popular in the road course arena since they do help with lower heat but also improve downforce by releasing underhood pressure. Where you mount them does matter, Ford got it right in the above picture. Mustangs are notorious for capturing too much air in the engine compartment and actually buckling the hood upward at higher speeds...relieving the pressure helps with both lower temps and downforce.

SexyExy,

My hood is buckled from me walking all over it not the heat. But that's insane that it will buckle from the heat at speed. I can imagine soneone running velocity stacks welded to the hood to capture that extra downward pressure on a road course.

Those are some sexy louvers that I will never be able to afford. I think I would make a large home made press and individually press the louvers into the hood with an old school die.

So far I have not noticed the difference that the vents made but I haven't had the truck parked long enough to do a full test.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[Smileyshaun]

cowl hood ??

 

[Kingsize24]

cowl hood ??

Cowl hoods do not vent heat, they allow air to enter the hood from the low pressure area just in front of the windshield base. They are designed as an air inlet, not an air outlet. Hence them being sealed against an air cleaner from the intake. Now days they are just a styling statement since most OEM manufacturers air intake tract begins from the front fender areas. Basically they are now obsolete and useless except in said previous configuration.

 

[CrazyDrei]

cowl hood ??

Smileyshaun,

Yes I want one but they are hard to come by. There is one for sale in Vegas for $400. I just can not justify spending more than $60 on a hood.

 

[yoggie]

I have been following this thread and love what you are doing! I have a 2 door Jk Wrangler right now and now that my wife and I are growing our family, I am starting to consider what kind of camping rig will come next.

To give you an idea for your hood, here is what I have seen done in the past

Get perforated metal sheets and put them in the hood something like this:

Xprite Jeep Hood

Steel Perforated Sheet

Or get some Louvered Baseboard Grilles from your favorite home improvement store. You will have to trim them a bit, but way cheaper than getting something marked for autos. I did this on an old XJ Cherokee and it worked well enough.

Expensive Jeep hood insert

Cheap Lowe's solution

I have also seen Mustang Quarter window louvers used as hood vents. Read about the $18.99 eBay louvers on Donohue’s 911 Turbo S Pike's Peak race car about half way down the below article.

Japlopnik Pike's Peak article

Hope these idea help!

 

[frink84]

Call these guys:
http://trackspecmotorsports.com/

They even have kits for Landcruisers and FJ Cruisers. They are very popular in the road course arena since they do help with lower heat but also improve downforce by releasing underhood pressure. Where you mount them does matter, Ford got it right in the above picture. Mustangs are notorious for capturing too much air in the engine compartment and actually buckling the hood upward at higher speeds...relieving the pressure helps with both lower temps and downforce.

Yup, been aware of Track Spec for a while, great product!

So far I have not noticed the difference that the vents made but I haven't had the truck parked long enough to do a full test.

Might be worth logging IAT's and coolant temp using an OBDII bluetooth logger and any of the phone apps (torque, obd fusion, etc). Another low-tech testing format is to tape ~3" pieces of yarn around the vent area and tie a few to the louvers themselves, then test drive at various speeds. Even better if you can point a camera at it for review after. You should be able to see what the airflow is doing. I did something like that while testing an open/closed upper grill.

 

[CrazyDrei]

I have been following this thread and love what you are doing! I have a 2 door Jk Wrangler right now and now that my wife and I are growing our family, I am starting to consider what kind of camping rig will come next.

To give you an idea for your hood, here is what I have seen done in the past

Get perforated metal sheets and put them in the hood something like this:

Xprite Jeep Hood

Steel Perforated Sheet

Or get some Louvered Baseboard Grilles from your favorite home improvement store. You will have to trim them a bit, but way cheaper than getting something marked for autos. I did this on an old XJ Cherokee and it worked well enough.

Expensive Jeep hood insert

Cheap Lowe's solution

I have also seen Mustang Quarter window louvers used as hood vents. Read about the $18.99 eBay louvers on Donohue’s 911 Turbo S Pike's Peak race car about half way down the below article.

Japlopnik Pike's Peak article

Hope these idea help!

Yoggie,

Thanx for all the feedback from everyone. I love Jeep stuff and Jeeps are known for running hot at slow speeds and have more louvered hood options than any other vehicle out there, I looked for a few options available for Jeeps however despite Poison Spider being sexy I could not justify the price. I looked at Lowes options but it was way too ghetto for my redneck taste.

I also considered the Mustang 1/4 window vents but they were all made of cheap plastic and would melt from the 250 degree heat I have escaping from under the hood. I never liked the look of perforated steel but might have to reconsider since its cheap, effective and can easily make it any shape I want.

Thank you everyone for the feedback and your experiences with hood vents.

 

[yoggie]

Yoggie,

Thanx for all the feedback from everyone. I love Jeep stuff and Jeeps are known for running hot at slow speeds and have more louvered hood options than any other vehicle out there, I looked for a few options available for Jeeps however despite Poison Spider being sexy I could not justify the price. I looked at Lowes options but it was way too ghetto for my redneck taste.

I also considered the Mustang 1/4 window vents but they were all made of cheap plastic and would melt from the 250 degree heat I have escaping from under the hood. I never liked the look of perforated steel but might have to reconsider since its cheap, effective and can easily make it any shape I want.

Thank you everyone for the feedback and your experiences with hood vents.

I am glad I was able to offer some ideas to get you thinking, even if you decide to go with something else! Yes, Jeep parts are always expensive, and good point on the cheap plastic melting!

The website that I linked to for the perforated steel also has slotted and Honeycomb styles. Maybe a two layer, offset overlapping honeycomb would look cool and be strong enough. Just trying to brain storm a couple of ideas for you! I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Disclaimer, I have not purchased from the metal depot so I have no clue if they are good, they just happens to be the first thing that came up in a quick search. I am sure there are other sellers out there that also have other styles that might be cool. Also, the prices are not super cheap, so a generic louver might be the cheapest option in the end!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Although I can see the need for hood vents Mr Crazy, please be carefull about putting any FRUAD product on your great GM vehicle. Their could me a mutiny with your GM vehicle and the inferior FRUAD fomoco products....

Chilli,

As a GM owner I fly the GM flag however I had Ford keys to crank the torsion bars and now have Focus RS hood vents mostly because the parts fit, parts work and they were dirt cheap. In general I have never been a big Ford fan but every Ford I have ever owned wore an SVT badge and I would pick one up in a heart beat if they were reasonably priced. And just to watch you cringe and turn in bed wondering I have another tasteful Ford part going on the truck in the near future.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[rayra]

I recall long ago there were a lot of prefab louvre panels, back when Baja bugs and 'Cal' bugs were the rage, made available for easy low-budget addition of vent louvers.
They seem to still be available, in lots of sizes and could be fitted with blind pop rivets, after cutting a suitable hole in the hood skin

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=car+vent+louvre+panels&FORM=HDRSC2


And you mention jeeps, there are retrofit louver kits for them and you could likely section those into separate banks and better position them on your hood where you want them

 

[CrazyDrei]

I love this thread. ♥

Got nothing to add. Just needed said.

Lykos,

Thank you. Every few months I go through the earlier posts and read them for entertainment. Plenty more adventures and mods to come soon!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

I recall long ago there were a lot of prefab louvre panels, back when Baja bugs and 'Cal' bugs were the rage, made available for easy low-budget addition of vent louvers.
They seem to still be available, in lots of sizes and could be fitted with blind pop rivets, after cutting a suitable hole in the hood skin

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=car+vent+louvre+panels&FORM=HDRSC2


And you mention jeeps, there are retrofit louver kits for them and you could likely section those into separate banks and better position them on your hood where you want them

Rayra,

I saw those too but they were pretty expensive for the combination of the vents I wanted to get, so I started with thermoplastic vents just to see how well they work, ultimately I will be going with the ones you shared the link so I can mount them flush on the hood and paint to be the same color as the hood.

Cheers

 

[Burb One]

Hey Crazy!

Good to see you getting out there! Told you about the 10 bolt

What happened to your coilover exactly!?

Edit- Just read back. Yep looks like coil bind! Time for more lift so you can fit a longer coil