I have a 96 ek coupe with a 99-00 front end. I am running a Blox cast mani with the w/g on top of the manifold. My question is; Can I run an Integra full size Mishimoto radiator with my manifold and keep a/c and p/s ?

If it matters, my I/C is 28x9x2.75 2.5in I/C piping

I know it is a tight fit with just a dual core rad. and certain turbo manifolds, so is having A/C impossible?

I was hoping I could keep my A/C, p/s isn't as important lol

thanks for the help

 

not sure how you're gonna keep a/c with the condenser being with the way. any reason for a full size radiator? cooling isn't a huge problem on ek's because there's an upper grille.

 

I'm running a full size rad. because I plan to do some road racing with this car. I just wanted a/c for my road trip to Tennessee for Import Alliance this yr

 

bump

 

You'd need to convert over to an integra ac setup

 

Many of us road race with a half sized Radiator now. I still have my C&R from over 7 years ago and over 20 events. Its done more often than you think.

But in direct answer to your question, yes, though you'll need to cover the lines and use a radiator shroud.

 

wantboost: thanks for the info. I'll look into a used dc a/c system

theshodan: are you guys running turbo with those half sized radiators? I did think about going with a half size but I figured the peace of mind of having my car run cool is better than me and my passenger being cool lol lmk tho, if you guys are having success with half size and boost, I might have to reconsider. thanks for the help

 

yes. Been running HPDE turbo since about 2002. (though I took the last 2 seasons off due to cost). I just make sure it is a quality half sized - dual core radiator, like a Koyo, Fluidyne or C&R (Visteon). I run straight water (so that if something happens I don't delay track clean up,) and Redline Water wetter. I'm at a scant 197*F on average. On hotter track days, I may run a bit of Honda OEM coolant (corrosion resistant) for added protection. I also use a water-cooled turbocharger and water-cooled TiAL wastegate.

sorry for crappy pic. It's all I have right now.



Turbo setup. thanks to JDL Design.


Quick view of the turbo.. I don't get to show it much because I'm busy a lot. STC TR3030R




Shakedown of the car will happen this year. Not going back to the Circuit until summer 2012

 

theshodan: dayum! looks super nice. So you did it right with the water cooled turbo and w/g. I'm running a basic, journal bearing precision sc50 and basic tial w/g (tight budget ) I also see that you have your exhaust side and w/g dump high temp coated?..

Damn, I really want to keep A/C..... Might be more of a headache for me tho, to have to either sell my brand new mishimoto dual core and dual fans or return it and find a koyo/fluidyne

theshodan, If I may ask for your opinion, what do you think?! you have a turbo, you road race, and you know how it feels to have and not have a/c. Thanks a lot man and g/l with the shakedown and next season's racing

 

You can keep a/c depending upon the manifold, turbine housing and downpipe that you have. that's what determines what keeps A/C, the radiator is secondary.

Your A/C doesn't work 100% great anyway with most setups, as the compressor is overworked to get the air to cool (due to higher ambient temps in the bay), and its just not as cold. Keep it if you want, but if you plan to do some serious racing, its not necessary. That's what a secondary car is for. If its too hot for me to drive my weekend / circuit car... I just get into something else. Even most people's beaters still have A/C at least functional.

 

theshodan: thanks for the help. ya I do have a DD. You're right, I'm gonna ditch the a/c idea

thanks for everyones input

ps. shodan, if you do any hpde events, shoot me a pm. it'd be cool to hit the track with some fellow hondas

 

The reason I ditched the A/C wasn't even related to space constraints or heat issues..

Rather that my A/C pump took a sh*t very shortly as I revved the car to 9k RPM on a daily basis. Pegging on the rev limiter + severe RPM oscillations is what kills them. Honda's A/C pumps are weak, so let's say you get everything crammed in there nicely and working well, it will still fail just from the high RPM's and banging off the rev limiter. I changed out 2 compressors within month's time, and each time the pump just died from RPM's and seized.

So bottom-line is, just ditch the system. There is no future for a good reliable A/C system in a killer street/track turbo Honda (unless you set your redline to 7000RPM and never spin the tires...lol).

Get a GSR, or a Civic Si or whatever trim that offers a sunroof

 

a/c compressor shut off above 5000rpm using ectune......

 

Tony, Are you looking at the actual A/C pump being activated consistently at 9K, or just the fact that the pulley on the compressor couldn't take the RPM vibration?

 

what air filter is that shodan? i absolutely love the compact nature of the hks style mushroom, just have noticed they want a premium for an authentic one.

 

Haha, it's not as simple as you think... The compressor still spins, and that's the problem. Somehow the bearings inside the compressor, with the clutch engaged or not, still gets destroyed.

No rev limiter and mad wheel spin at high RPM's = no problems. But it's pretty much the same issue with the JRSC guys and their belt problems.

 

ahh you mean compressor clutch bearing gets destroyed.....hmm....lower your revlimiter? hehehe

 

good call. I'd be pissed if I got the whole conversion and had the a/c comp. keep going out on me.

and yes, I have an EX... SUNROOF = a/C haha


that's a cool feature for ectune

 

That's what I was thinking, just wasn't sure.


As for the HKS, yes, that is the original. I've had it forever, and found that the replacement elements aren't that expensive, its the original cost that gets to you.

 

Well,I would suggest you to forgett the idea about the A/C. On a turbochged Honda combined with circuit track use I regard engine cooling as the most important thing. It helps you to make the system as reliable as possible. Here is a nice vid where you can see a adequate cooling setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8XIrn6EqKs

 

Heard that tire spin / loss of traction at 1:26. I really like this camera angle. Shows how a turbo really gets used, and not just for 10 seconds or more. TURBO ABUSE'd...... ;-)

 

Thanks Shodan
On some events we run the car for 30 or 45 minutes like that - with just a small stop for new fuel . This was just a small track with tight corners. On tracks with longer straights and faster corners even the complete exhaust systems glows :-)

We made some longetime datalogs on the tracks and since these test we definetly regard a fullsize radiator setup as important for our kind of racing with turbocharged hondas.

Btw, tracktion ist sometimes an issue but we work on this topic or at least for the next car.

 

awesome camera angle

very nice vid. thanks

 

We do the same thing here in the states. About 30-45 min sessions. But we also tend to have more efficient half cores available to us that may not be as easily available over there, so the Half size (when of a quality make) does just fine for the same amount of abuse. C&R (Visteon), Koyo, and FLuidyne to name a few. I think I was able to log about 98*C to about 101* at the most on the longer tracks like lime rock and Sebring.

Traction is going to be more based upon your suspension setup and LSD, as the factory B-series JDM LSDs don't do that job that well on turbo converted cars. As you said that's another topic altogether

 

Shodan, I´ll do some researches about the radiator cores you have named. Sounds interesting.

Do you know where I can find informations about these radiator cores?

BTW, Iit was a y21 tranny with a Mfactory helical LSD ... other opinions?