zcct04

JP - I'm building a plate this weekend and like the way yours looks. what's the purpose of all the little holes along the leading edge? What have you done to hold the plate in place? 3M tape along the backside seems like a good solution, but I've not found a good approach on the front edge.

zcct04

I just finished fabbing a blockout plate for a 2012 coupe. Finding carbon on short notice wasn't doable so I tried first using acrylic (plexiglas). I found some smoke-gray stuff that looked pretty good but proved to fragile and was really sensitive to stress cracking. Next attempt was using plywood (3/8" luan). It isn't sexy and probably won't last long. However it is cheap and really easy to fab with just a jigsaw. I'll put a couple coats of primer on it to get through the season, spray it with some black to hide it and then build a better one over the winter.

In anticipation of making another in the future, I traced a template and saved it as a pdf. In hopes of saving someone else a lot of time measuring and fitting, I've attached a copy. It's 4 pages, full size, something you can just tape together and trace onto your material. When you print, be sure to print 'full size' and not as 'fit to page'. There are inch markings across the top so you can confirm that the size is correct.

Note that this fits a 2012+ coupe, probably fits a 2012+ sedan, and definitely does NOT fit a PFL car.

jptaylor

To keep everything as rigid and in place as possible at speed I used a piece of 1/2" aluminum angle stock, v-notched it in the center and bent to match the leading edge....the holes are where I used VERY small machine screws to attach the angle to the plate....it worked WELL!!! It has zero movement and has remained in place for this time up to date without an issue
3m across the rear edge holds it there

Where the notch is cut in the plate and the cover piece goes is for the support bracket....I used a piece of fuel line level with plate underneath to hold it up, and a matching piece in top to hold it down....has not moved

INS1GNIA

I bet this would sell like crazy if someone was willing to invest some time to make a couple...you know, for us lazies out there.

ritalin

Srsly, i'd be all over this.
Might look into getting something done professionally.

jptaylor

I'm not the one to attempt a market run with this but I will say that it really has been amazing how much of a difference this simple block off plate has made in relation to overall cooling

BLKROKT

Agreed. I can't possibly mass-produce these, but this thread should be a sticky with how much of a difference it makes. Haven't seen limp-mode yet. Not even close.

zcct04

Got my blocking plate installed this week, just in time for an afternoon at the track today. The plate helped a lot, but it isn't enough for a Texas summer. Observations:
1. Air temp was a bit over a hundred and humidity was in the 50% range for a "feels like" of about 110F. That's a tough environment for trying to cool anything.
2. On the highway in open traffic at 70-80 mph, water stayed in the 197-199 range and oil was in the 218-225 range. That's pretty typical of the numbers from before the change.
3. On the track with the trans set in C, I ran pretty hard all afternoon. Oil temps were mostly in the mid-260's to low-270's and there was only one time when the oil temp get hot enough (278F) to cause the nanny to cut timing and pull power. I've never tried to run on a day this hot before but I do not believe I could have done this without the plate installed. From this perspective, the plate was a win.
4. In the middle of the last session, I tried unsuccessfully to run with the trans set to S. RPMs were allowed to run a little higher, shifting was much more aggressive and the car was more fun to drive. However, within less than a lap the oil hit 278 and I had to back off, reset the trans to C, and wait for the oil temp to drop.
Conclusion - looks like I need to invest in the cooling package or wait till fall to go back to the track.
Sigh . . .

Wobble64

Zcct04, tx for the helpful info. Your report makes a lot of sense. I can believe the airflow plate may help some, but you cannot expect miracles from it. The oil cooling upgrade package is the full, albeit more oricey, solution to limp mode.

I drove mine hard at NCM at a felt 105 degrees in S+ revving to 7000rpm every time before a gear change and aggressive downshifts. I had temps in the 240s, seeing 250s once in the middle of a run.

No limp mode, not even close, all day.

Missionary

Hi folks, just started on mine using zcct04's template for a 2012 and wondering how you guys have managed to fit them?

Plate tilted down, then grille on, then plate up and over the little lip on the back of the grille?

OR

Plate fully mounted straight out, grill pushed past the lower clips hard on to the plate and then snapped forwards?

Bumber pulled out slightly?

What is the trick?

BLKROKT

Trim the front edge of the plate. It doesn't need to be that tight.

Plate should be secured permanently with tape to the rad support, then also use the anti-lift plate. Then fit the grille. Any plate overlap should slot right into the horizontal gap in the back of the grille.

zcct04

I never removed my grill. If I recall correctly, I slid the plate in behind the hood brace rod with the nose pointed down, moved the trailing edge up onto the radiator support, and then swung the nose up into the groove on the back of the grill. I intentionally made the fit pretty snug, so getting the plate into that slot was difficult, especially along the far left and far right edges. A little trimming may help if it is super tight, and pushing the grill forward from the back side was necessary.

Missionary

Thanks zcct04. That worked a treat.

Oil temp is flatlinning on 105 deg C. It was previously running up to 117. Great result.

I made mine out of 2.5mm polycarbonate so that I can see what is going on in there if I need to. Tested to 200 kph, no issues at all.

tasho3

+1

Sneydorade

Hey guys, I can confirm this works. Made a block plate Wednesday night for a track day early Thursday morning. My normal driving temps under spirited driving was 220-245 for oil and 197-210 for water. I also went out for a track day about 2 months ago and only got 3 laps in before it went into limp mode. My limp mode kicks in at about 280 for oil temp. Once I was in limp mode and heat soaked it never cooled back down to a temp that allowed me to get more than one lap in before going back into limp mode. Laps are about 2 mins long at my track and I drive very hard in M mode

Yesterday was awesome to say the least! Normal driving to the track, the car stays between 205-210 all the time. At the track under hard driving, it took me 10 hard laps going for 20 mins straight before kicking into limp mode. The best part is that I only had to do about 3/4 of a lap at slower speeds to get the temp back down and get back to driving it hard. Also just letting the car sit on and run for a few minutes in between sessions would cool it back down quickly. Huge difference from before. Kind of amazing this little piece can accomplish this. I drive crazy and hard but the water temp never really moved more than 197-199. The oil temp would fluctuate between 240-275. At the end of the day I was more careful with my driving but maintained my track times by being easier on the car like mentioned in a post above. Using the brakes for most the slowing, shifting closer to the shift points that S mode will shift at and then rolling into the gas through the apex instead of mashing it all the time. When doing this I stayed pretty close to 250 the whole time.

I'm not sure about the rules on the forum for doing a run on this piece but I have a friend who owns a shop that could mass produce these (a few hundred). If I had enough interest and up front orders I could make these for forum members. It would be carbon fiber, include the rubber trim for the edge & 2 clamps for the anti-lift bar. I have a 2011 C63 so I have the template for that made but would need to find a local 2012+ model here to make a template for those. Please respond here or PM me if you are interested and what you'd be willing to pay so I can see if there is enough interest to ask my buddy to do this as a favor.

sinape62

Nice work. I made mine out of the same material. Only difference is that I didn't use a clamp. When I cut the template, I made tabs that wedge into the star from the backside of the grill. Holds well, had it installed 4 months now

Phil Chow

Gonna bump this to see if anybody is interested in making something for us lazy people

Sneydorade

I am willing to if I got enough response, so far I have only received one PM for this. I'd probably have to get 25+ to make it worth my time.

Asher4799

I'm in... And why have I not seen this before!!!! Great job guys for figuring this out!

oggie

I am in as well.

Phil Chow

I'm down also.

What would pricing be like? I reckon it shouldn't be too much if you produced in a batch set?

Thrilla

Count me in for the plate as well.

INS1GNIA

I'd be down for one as well. And the list slowly grows hehehe...

Asher4799

So any word on if this is going to be made? it looks like there are a few interested.

chrisridebike8

Im in!