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It's just a plate. They can't possibly deny a warranty claim for it. Impossible.
You can't take it off. It needs to be securely fastened to the radiator support, as it's going to get pushed by a lot of high-velocity air.
You'd be surprised.
"Ah yes sir, unfortunately we will have to deny your warranty claim because of the unofficial item you have installed on top of your radiator that blocked air, causing an insufficient amount of air to enter your engine which caused so and so to fail."
That statement isn't exactly far-fetched is it? I'll look into way that this can be placed while allowing removal. I'm not saying removal has to be super simple, it could be an hour long job, but I would like to have the option to place and remove it.
That's an impressive improvement. Is it really all due to keeping the IAT lower, or are there other things at play here?
iat in traffic before was avg 102°....now it's hanging out around 84° so there IS a definite effect it has on the intake air
As to the cooling I honestly believe that since the incoming charge of air can no longer divert up, under the hood and into the engine bay but is kind of dead headed right in this new "box" we've created it has no option but to push through the radiator.... More air through radiator means better, more efficient cooling...may not have ANYTHING to do with what I just said but hey, they're the voices in MY head, and we all get along
Attaching the plate to the radiator support leaves one radiator (power steering cooler?) above the new plate and still in an area where it could add heat to the IAT.
The upper fan shroud/air duct panel (below) already does a pretty good job of separating the air intakes from the "hot box" in front of all the coolers.
If the objective is to more effectively separate the hot air in front of the radiators from the intakes, would it make better sense to just extend the air ducts in the fan shroud/air duct panel closer to the grill and close up the hole where the hood latch is?
Stumbled across someone who tried this two years ago, but apparently was not happy with the results. Good video of the cutting process but no pics to show how it fit or where he installed it:
Its the oil temp that is taking a big drop. Apparently this setup is forcing more airflow over the oil cooler
Merc put so many coolers in there that I can't keep track of which does what. I've looked for a pic with labels to show which cooler is which but had no luck. Is the oil cooler all the way down at the bottom? Is the trans cooler part of the behind-the-grill stack or is it in one of the side grill openings?
Merc put so many coolers in there that I can't keep track of which does what. I've looked for a pic with labels to show which cooler is which but had no luck. Is the oil cooler all the way down at the bottom? Is the trans cooler part of the behind-the-grill stack or is it in one of the side grill openings?
Oil cooler is behind the RH grill in the fender. Pretty much behind the RH foglight
Oil cooler is behind the RH grill in the fender. Pretty much behind the RH foglight
That's the aux oil cooler that kicks on above 235F. The main oil cooler is the angled one at the bottom behind the center grille. It has its own black intake duct.
The original notes from the guys at AutoTech Racing about why they tried this explain their reasoning pretty well:
“After a thought out analysis of the plethora of heat exchangers located in front of the radiator... I decided to stop or at least make it more difficult for the airflow to simply bounce off the forward heat exchangers, surf over the core support and up to the engine air intakes. This hot air simply increases the heat issue and reduces the designed efficiency of an already stout trans cooler.”
“By adding this panel, the airflow is stacked at the front of the heat exchanger, airflow is forced through the front heat exchangers and not over the top of the radiator support, and hot air is blocked from rising up into the engine air inlets.”
The panel obviously works. The beauty of it is simplicity – it’s just a flat easy-to-fab plate and it’s located in a spot where most of the hood-latch mechanisms don’t get in the way.
Can we optimize to make it even better? If the ‘close-out panel’ was positioned higher – above the power steering cooler – it seems like even more air would get forced through the heat exchangers. That got me to wondering if we could modify the existing panel that Mercedes provides at the top of the radiator to separate cooling air from intake air. I hunted around a bit and found at least two people who have tried to do that. Has anyone ever run either of these things?
^^^oil cooler is not displayed there. the oil cooler is behind the bumper. In order from top to bottom on your pic:
-don't know.
-tranny cooler (the one with the 2 lines going to the passenger side)
-not shown below the tranny cooler, primary oil cooler.
2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Just thought I'd leave this here. These are my normal temps now - usually 203-212 oil temp, 180-186 water temp. Basically 15-20deg lower now for both. Thrilled.
1) Was this during/right after spirited driving?
2) What were your normal temps before this?
3) What is that amazing carbon fiber part you have around your console?
2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Yeah, and don't mind the CEL it's gone now (secondary O2 sensors out - replaced with simulators last weekend.
1) This is highway cruising. The difference is even more pronounced after a pull. Temps drop even lower after a WOT pull. The water temps during/after a pull or in spirited driving reflect the proper operation of the thermostat - going up to 194 then dropping quickly to 180 sometimes high 170's. Oil temps are much more stable, I'm seeing mid-210's during hard driving, usually dropping to 203-206 when I get off it. The plate seems to work best when you're going from a high speed condition to a low speed one.
2) Normal before this in same conditions were around 223-227 oil and 197-199 water. After a pull however, they would spike, not decrease.
3) Thanks haha. Give John at MACarbon a call. Not sure if they're still making these for the FL. Carbon instrument and NAV surround. It's pricey but pretty sweet.
Yeah, and don't mind the CEL it's gone now (secondary O2 sensors out - replaced with simulators last weekend.
1) This is highway cruising. The difference is even more pronounced after a pull. Temps drop even lower after a WOT pull. The water temps during/after a pull or in spirited driving reflect the proper operation of the thermostat - going up to 194 then dropping quickly to 180 sometimes high 170's. Oil temps are much more stable, I'm seeing mid-210's during hard driving, usually dropping to 203-206 when I get off it. The plate seems to work best when you're going from a high speed condition to a low speed one.
2) Normal before this in same conditions were around 223-227 oil and 197-199 water. After a pull however, they would spike, not decrease.
I agree and have seen the same situational differences but it IS also running cooler during normal driving