Full of cold air!
 

The 13+ (among others) OEM grille covers up nearly half the Treadstone intercooler that comes with TG's kit. Now it runs reasonably cool as it, but this still tells me there is room for more.

So armed with a Dremel I decided to put the theory to the test. The fangs are part of the grille not the bumper cover in these ones so they had to go to. In fact the entirety of the grille portion did.

There was nothing to it really, just a steady hand, the right bits and some patience. The edges left were nice and clean.

http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...95-say-ahh.jpg

I had planned out where I was going to cut based on aesthetics but also with the knowledge that I need semi linear surfaces to bend and mount a new grille afterwards. I'd already used some round hole mesh on the vents in my hood and rear diffuser so I'm going to pick up some similar sheet stainless but with larger openings. (You didn't think I was going to finish it all in one post did you? :))

BUT I had to actually test it. So with a small Father's Day cruise already planned, ok it was excuse for a drive but what isn't, I set out with a wide open front end and hot coffee in the cup holder.

I had my temp readings set to Celsius so bear that in mind. Before I was getting around 15c above ambient, more on harder pulls like 1/2 mile events. Now, at 50mph I'm getting ambient. Yes, ambient. It was 22c outside and that's exactly what my AIT were reading.

My oil temps at speed were also 15c lower than they were before. About 5c lower sitting in stop and go traffic. My 25 row Setrab oil cooler sits largeler behind the intercooler on the drivers side, so it was getting more love now too.

Before I didn't see too much difference in AIT between my customized Frozenboost Stillen Speed Density setup and the TG but now it's a whole different story.

Hopefully I don't lose too much of that after I put the new mesh on but either way I won't be covering up half of the intercooler with solid material like what spans the top half of the OEM grille. It will restrict air some compared to wide open but leaving it as is is s bit too 'tuner' for me and don't want to be picking rocks or whatever else out of the fins on a regular basis.

Profile
http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...6-img-4473.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...8-img-4439.jpg

Next: bending up a new grille

Love it. Subbed.

Looks more like the avatar now. Baring teeth.

Now that looks mean.

Oh man you should hear it now!



Just kidding :icon17:

Looks like the stillen bumper I had when I made my video of it climbing about 10f over ambient. If your at ambient then it's breathing even better. Glad to hear it. Not many forces induction kits on the market bring temps in at ambient. Lookin good!

Here's a better idea how much air is being blocked by the OEM grille insert. If you put a tape on there it'd be darn close to half..
http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...9-img-2534.jpg

Do a v mount

Make sure that it wont collapse. There is going to be a lot of load on that lower lip into the triple digits speed. You wouldnt want your front end to tear off while going that fast!

Won't be any more susceptible than the OEM would be. All that was cutout was the plastic grille piece, which will be replaced by metal. Plus it's bolted to a Z-Speed undertray, so I'm sure it's stronger than stock. Front lip being added too so a bit more rigidity there as well. In short, I'm not concerned about that one bit.

There was a respected member of the 350z forum a ways back that cut out the same thing. He reported almost wrecking the car when part of the front end tore off from the center of the front lip no longer having the support from the plastic grille. Im not sure exactly why it was so dramatic when it happened, it was a long time ago. I just remember that happening is all. If you are conscious of it and give it enough support im sure it will be fine.

Appreciate the heads up. Can't imagine how that happened but I'm not familiar enough with the 350 to know what the construction of it is like. In this case I see it pretty much the same as a Fujimura/Stillen/whatever bumper covers, that have the mesh grille insert in it. As long as it is tied together I don't see how it could be an issue. I'll be using autobody panel adhesive to bond the mesh in from behind and will make doubly sure it's in there well after your advice.

Perhaps I could look at sprayfoaming the inside of the lower lip for some extra rigidity as well, and it would never be seen anyways so couldn't hurt. Nothing wrong with a little overkill. I'll just have to remember to do that AFTER the aftermarket lip is on otherwise I'll be doing some cursing and swearing no doubt.

I did just go play with it a bit before posting this reply, and while I'm not about to try, I could darn near stand on it as is. Best to heed the advice and exercise caution by design though, and thanks for the heads up.

I didn't realize you were going to put mesh in there too. With that in there well, I'd agree that it should provide support just as well as the plastic grille did

This one is just asking for trouble! :eek:
https://scontent.fybz2-1.fna.fbcdn.n...27&oe=59D4E189

Subd


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Hey buddy, do you have any pictures of you front bumper now? I want to do almost the exact same thing!! I do want to put something there for a little support, like an 'X' or some other sort of design that attaches the bottom and top. I also would kinda like to keep the fangs :)

By saying I want to do the exact same thing, I mean the Dremmel is plugged in and ready to go as soon as I have a plan haha

ChaseZ pics.


http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...8-img-4544.jpg



http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...output-98e.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...4-img-4540.jpg

I saw those in his album and I think it looks pretty good like that:tup:! I was hoping for something a little more recent with grill material he planned to put in. I was also hoping to get some close-ups of how/where he cut so that I could maybe copy him a little :D

Like I said, I still wanna keep the fangs and maybe to portion of the matte section that does not cover the IC so it wouldn't be exactly like his and maybe maintain a little bit of the support for the bottom portion.

Haven't had a chance to pick up the mesh yet. Your grille is different than mine in regards to the fangs. The 2016 are molded as part of the grille not the bumper cover like yours, so there was no keeping the fangs in mine otherwise I would have done it. Even in my case wide open like that there is no additional support necessary. I did put the front lip on afterwards though and that more than took care of any concerns about stiffness and support. It would be just fine leaving it like this - though I'm going to do the mesh anyways.

Lousy pic but only one on my phone.
http://www.the370z.com/members/chase...5-img-2694.jpg

Something's missing here.....?

I completely forgot about the difference in the newer models and somehow overlooked that in you original post, I'm sorry... Do you think the Zspeed undertray provided the support needed with the absence of the grill? You mentioned something about filling the lip with foam perhaps to provide some rigidity but since I can keep the fangs, I'm thinking that those might be support enough. Phunk got me a little worried with his post, so I just want to fail on the conservative side haha. Thanks!

I bought chasez kit, and cut my bumper open like he did. Mines an 09, kept the fangs, it doesn't need any support it's still solid, but I do have a bottom lip installed. And I kept the upper trim where the license plate would mount kinda thing. I'd include pictures but I don't know how ��

Get tapatalk app & you can view forum & upload pics.

Also, choose "Go Advanced" on the reply area, choose "Manage Attachements," and you can upload photos. I believe that 2MB is the max for each. I would love to see yours! I going to Lowes today for some other things and I'm going to pick up the precision attachment for the Dremmel to make sure I don't mess anything up! I do want to cut the middle portion of the upper trim where it covers the IC and leave the rest. Now that I'm in SC, the front plate is not required :D

I'm also attaching a tygon hose to my BOV outlet to route the air away from the inside of my bumper/inner wheel well. It blows them apart when it relieves and the lining is beginning to rub on the tire :/

I'll post some pictures probably tomorrow of where I'm at with it. Did you do anything about repainting the cuts or anything like that?

I've still got the stock, riveted-in deflector on the front which I think will also provide some support/rigidity.

Here's where I'm at right now (picture with painter's tape). I think it looks a little weird only cut in the middle where the intercooler sits, but then again it may not actually look that bad after the mesh goes in. I was hoping you guys might have a few ideas on where to go from here.

My plan:
Cut the middle equal lengths from the intercooler so nothing looks off center (I think the picture angle makes it look worse than it is)
OR
Cut more, following the angle of the fangs up to the top
Get some mesh from Lowes
Paint the matte black portion and mesh gloss black (Or maybe a darker, metallic blue, similar to my BOV?)
Install mesh
Call it a day and enjoy some much lower temperatures!

Thanks for your ideas and inputs!!

How has this come out ?

I'm sticking with just the middle cut for now. Functionally it works great partly because I also have a vented hood, allowing a little more airflow out of the engine bay. I put some 1/4" x 1/4" mesh over the front to deflect rocks and catch bugs haha. No issues yet!

Kind of looks like this (in a good way):

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20150710073412

So you decided not to cut more and follow the angle of the fangs ? I believe that will improve the look.

I'm not sure yet, but I do agree with you on the improvement! Honestly, it's functional now with no issues and not too high on my priority list. I wanna get through hurricane season and get some house projects done before I'm back under the car, so to speak. Once Winter/Spring rolls around, I'll probably revisit it.

Here is my Nismo version with additional ventilation for the radiator.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9bbe95b188.jpg

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Bringing this one back haha.

Anyone have any more input with regard to bumpers that flow well?

Doing what I did originally with the cutting out of the center on my black Z wouldn't look as good on my current Z. Additionally, I would love to pick up a V1 Nismo front bumper, but cooler air flow is also very important to me.

I recently started thinking about an intercooler sprayer. I already have the V1 Nismo bumper that as you know, can house a gigantic air filter. I have a ~25 yr old Aquamist water injection kit on my MR2 that sprayed into the intake right after the turbo. It's not being used so I might be able to repurpose it. But, there is some good info on DIY kits using an espresso water pump (very high psi). Worth a look I think. SOHO mentioned my IAT's got a bit high, so this seems like a reasonable next step for me.

I really like some of the vents on the V1 bumpers, but they probably aren't doing the aero any favors.

Bringing it back again.

I'm looking at doing the V1 Nismo bumper conversion since it is better made for directing airflow where it needs to go.

Does anyone have any opinions on getting air to the unexposed half of the intercooler?

Thanks Senna for the cooling idea! I do have the a2w stuff still laying around, so I could probably fashion some sort of spraying of misting system.

Bigger intercooler, precooler pipes, water-meth injection, hood vents, custom front bumper/vents/air ducts, or do them all.

Proper ducting. Box the intercooler in and get a vented hood.

Kudos to Hotrodz he has the best set up I have seen. Just about any hood vent set up will help tremendously to those how need the extra cooling ability.

RE: Pump
 

Hey! I am in the same boat as you with the bumper restricting the IC airflow.
What did you end up doing? I am willing to cut the matte plastic part out from my bumper but I have the 40th Av paint so Im very hesitant..Thanks guys!

I did cut the matte black area on my Black 370, but I haven't done anything yet for my current 370. I'm most likely going to get the V1 bumper and do something along the lines of what Hotrodz did. Also exploring the option of getting a bigger intercooler to also support future mods.