Possible Cheap Overheating Solution
 

I was thinking of making a Radiator Sprayer. This is based on the intercooler sprayer concept from rally cars.

Here's how:

Tee a new water line off from the windshield washer line. Put in a manual valve that redirects the spray to your new line. Run the line to the undertray in front of the A/C condenser. At the end of the line, you install a windshield washer nozzle aimed at the condenser/radiator. When you're ready to do a hard run (canyon/track), you flip the valve to arm the radiator sprayer. Mid-drive, when your coolant temps start to get critical, you pull the washer fluid stalk, and you get a nice spray of water on your condenser and radiator. Evaporative cooling then works its magic.

Has anyone ever tried this? If not, any thoughts on why it wouldn't work or why it's not a great idea?

I have never heard of this being done. Mind you, I have not proweled every thread on this site, but if you want to try it, I'm all for you. Let us know how it turns out.

They have that for WRX for a long time.

I used the xenon light washer nozzles, a fun ghetto project.
Anyway there are readily available systems and some other solutions that could be adopted.
Add another motor to your water tank and link it to a switch. No need for manual valves etc ;)

heat soak would make that near useless. if you're worried about high temps from spirited driving you should look into replacing the rad, thermo, or water pump.

bse50,

Did your project work, meaning, did you see reduced coolant temps? Also, did you source the water from the windshield washer tank in the stock location?

Thought of that -- if heat soak did prove to be an issue, I'd put iced distilled water in the washer tank before each track session, as needed (e.g. 90 degree summer day at Willow Springs). Again, going for a *cheap*, effective solution. New rads and water pumps are not cheap. :)

Just by a switch from auto parts store to turn on the fans. This idea is not good because of corrosion and moisture issues. The fans already are there just most car manfacturers are dumbasses they don't program electric fans right to avoid fan noise for sheeple types.

that and the electric motors don't last forever...

If you put iced water on hot radiator you can run the risk of things going kablam.

Thanks for pointing this out. Indeed, if the water was still ice-cold when you sprayed it, this might be a concern. But engine bay heat soak would probably up the temp. of the water in the bottle before you needed it. I would need to test this system, of course.

yea you could put the water bottle in a cooler part of the engine bay as well... if you just want to use it for track you might be able to fit it in the fender with a small pump attached to it. or you could just buy an upgraded water pump and thermo for $310.

figure out a way to increase air circulation around the radiator

That would involve cutting out the rad support and lowering it.

Simple fact is rotary's run hot and Mazda likes to save money. Some parts are just not up to par. so upgrading those parts can help out dramatically ...

If your overheating allot you may want to check out your driving style and condition of the radiator. you can upgrade everything you want but if your fins are super bent then your SOL.

put ice and a tea bag in a plastic container and tape it near the washer bottle.. drive around for 10 mins after the engine gets up to temp. Pull over and enjoy a hot cup of tea.

I understand you wanting to think of solutions to heat, but the road you're on now is a dead end.

Wow. Easy on the negativity there, laythor. Do you have evidence to back this up? Because I have evidence to suggest that my solution will work reasonably well, thanks to Subaru owners who sourced water for their DIY intercooler sprayers from the washer bottle and recorded lower intake temps, as well as members on this site who did just what I'm proposing, and stated that it worked for them.

Maybe you should use the creative writing skills you apparently have to explain yourself further. Or if you've tried anything remotely similar to what I'm proposing or know anyone who has, I'm all ears. Otherwise, don't waste your time posting in my thread.

tape it...just put it in the cup holder, I mean cup heater.

OP-If you do something like this to test out run some lines to the oil coolers as well?

The subaru owners mostly use it to cool their intercooler, right?
Anyway there's a seller on ebay.co.uk that sells small 1.2litres washer tanks with nozzles, pump and button for dirt cheap. I paid 16€ for mine shipped to Italy.
I trashed their pump, made the right holes for the stock ones and put it in place of the big space waster tank that we have. You could simply buy this "kit" and wire it to a 12v power source while directing the water nozzles wherever you want :)

wasn't negativity.. was simply pointing out a flawed idea.

Will it lower temps over a very very short period of time, yes. How many seconds of cooling will you get? 40 seconds for 2.5qt's (source: http://www.yotatech.com/f130/radiato...erheat-147573/ )

Your original post was about canyon running, if you only plan on doing a very hard 40 second canyon run then your idea is great.. otherwise my original suggestion of replacing the rad, thermo, or water pump are still the best options.

The reason that Lathor is saying that this won't work is that there is a HUGE difference in the specific heat of water vs air. Think about it. This is a flawed idea. Nothing negative about saying that. Try something else.

He wasn't being negative he was just being real with you... If you want to see what a negative post looks like just go search for teamrx8 and view some of his posts.

P.S. your comparing an intercooler to a radiator...

So based on that thread you are suggesting that the radiator cools down only as long as the water is flowing on it. I disagree. Evaporative cooling works as the water evaporates. And if you read your link more closely, it sounds like that's what's happening in his case. Read this longer version with replies. I doesn't sound like he felt he had wasted his time with the install. http://www.ultimateyota.com/smf/inde...e;topic=4953.0

Being more specific about my original post, note the part where it says "(canyon/track)." I, myself am after only about 5 degrees of extra cooling for track days in the summer where my coolant is *almost* in the danger zone.

I agree that a radiator sprayer on an 8 may only provide extra cooling for a short amount of time. But if you're only seeing dangerous temps for a short period of time and want that extra bit of insurance, a cheap, easy install like this is worth it. It does no damage and could provide you with all the extra cooling you need.

Why not just inject it into the intake via a "T" at the VFAD port on the manifold?

Washer fluid is already methanol and water.

You might want to PM olddragger he has a layout for using a second radiator... As far as I know thats the only solution for our cars cooling issues assuming you already upgraded the water pump and thermostat.