I am writing this post to help others out with good data to help lower their iat2's. Yes yes I know it gets talked about all the time...however it seems that most threads that start with good info never end up producing temp results. I do realize the best setup is trunk tank, huge heat exchanger, flow mod, stewart pump ect. I decided to go a different route. One mod at a time while keeping the under hood tank. To start, my car is an 03 cobra with 18,000 original miles. It has a gen 1 whipple 2.3 @ 16psi making 570hp to the rear wheels on a conservative tune. The only mod I have to the I/C cooling system is a dual pass AFCO heat exchanger. When I purchased the car my iat1- iat2 difference was around 50 degrees. In PA, summer temps can get into the upper 90's which put my iat2's into the 150's. No good if you want to have some weekend fun in Mexico. All of my testing was done using an aeroforce interceptor gauge. For each temp test I would drive the car until it hit full operating temp. I would then let it sit to get heat soaked and do one long wot run to heat the car up. After the wot run I headed onto the highway at 65mph from one exit to the next (5 miles) and document the temps.
My first mod to the system was a gt500 Afco heat exchanger and removing the factory hard lines. I replaced them with 3/4" gates heater hose all around. You will also need to remove the factory foam behind the front bumper and replace it with a new crash bar. I used MAF racing's crash bar and it fit perfect. Iat1- iat2 difference was 46 degrees. I was very surprised by this. Only a 4 degree drop in temps. One thing I did notice is that the coolant flow in the reservoir was only a slow trickle due to how large the gt500 afco is.
Up next is the 13-14 gt500 pump. iat1- iat2 difference was 36 degrees. This goes to show that a high flowing pump is definitely needed to lower temps. I also noticed that the system recovers much faster with the larger pump after hard pulls. At this point I will need to upgrade the factory plastic tank. The coolant has a ton of bubbles and foam due to the factory tank being so small. I actually had to drop the coolant level to half full because of all the foam it is making. Air bubbles in the system will hurt it's ability to cool.
Next on the list is a custom tank made by Greg Jones. My factory engine coolant tank is relocated so I will have plenty of room for his 2.5 gallon tank. I will update this post as I upgrade the system.
My first mod to the system was a gt500 Afco heat exchanger and removing the factory hard lines. I replaced them with 3/4" gates heater hose all around. You will also need to remove the factory foam behind the front bumper and replace it with a new crash bar. I used MAF racing's crash bar and it fit perfect. Iat1- iat2 difference was 46 degrees. I was very surprised by this. Only a 4 degree drop in temps. One thing I did notice is that the coolant flow in the reservoir was only a slow trickle due to how large the gt500 afco is.
Up next is the 13-14 gt500 pump. iat1- iat2 difference was 36 degrees. This goes to show that a high flowing pump is definitely needed to lower temps. I also noticed that the system recovers much faster with the larger pump after hard pulls. At this point I will need to upgrade the factory plastic tank. The coolant has a ton of bubbles and foam due to the factory tank being so small. I actually had to drop the coolant level to half full because of all the foam it is making. Air bubbles in the system will hurt it's ability to cool.
Next on the list is a custom tank made by Greg Jones. My factory engine coolant tank is relocated so I will have plenty of room for his 2.5 gallon tank. I will update this post as I upgrade the system.
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