Brake cooling ducts

[technogon]

Due to the heat when racing and the wide 275 tires that block a lot of the air, I had to install some cooling ducts on my Celica. This is how its done. You need the following parts:
2 ea brake cooling scoops large size Pegasus racing part # 3626-black $26.99 ea
Brake duct hose 3" diameter (need only 2 ft but it comes 6 ft) Pegasus racing part # 3620-3.00-6 FOOT $37.49
   You can sub other 3" hose as long as it is fairly stiff.
2 ea hose clamps
2 ea 3" adel clamps Mcmaster.com part # 8863T93 $1.77 ea
About 20" of 3/4"x1/8"steel flat bar.
Screws as shown.
Some aluminum sheet 10 ga.

Remove the air dam. Then hold them up to fit into position so that the straight side runs along the frame rail to get the idea. It will stick out past the side of the fender.


Now cut some flat bar into strips about 10" long. Drill and tap holes 8-32 for screws as below and weld these to the bottom of the bumper as shown behind the area for the air dam. They run roughly parallel to the front of the car.Paint em to stop rust.


Use the flat bar as a guide to drill holes in the scoop to match. Use wahsers or button head screws to attach.

[technogon]

Next step, Cut off the excess past the fender to clear the factory air dam. Cut too little and the measure and cut more till it fits to avoid over doing it. I used a cut off wheel on a die grinder.


Now cut a short section of the duct hose. This has to stop before the tire hits it. Wide tires when turned way in will get close to the frame rail. It stops just short of that. Secure with hose clamp and use self tapping screw and washer on Adel clamp to secure to the frame rail.


Another shot pulled back to show the setup more clearly. Yes, the flare is cracked from a cone hit. It'll get fixed.

[technogon]

This is how it looks with both installed so far.


Now reinstall the air dam and using a sharpe I drew on a basic shape I wanted to cut.  Then cut the hole using a hole saw on the drill.


Then back to the cut off wheel to rough out the opening.

[technogon]

Clean it up using a die grinder with a 1-1/2" to 2" sanding drum. Work slow but smooth longer strokes to get it proper shape.


Both sides done.


Now to get that air into the brakes requires a diverter. I made these from 1/8" aluminum plate and bolted them to the side arms of my Nascar sway bar. They could be attached with U bolts to a round sway bar or bolted to the inner fender. Leave room for the bar to move up and down if you do that. These must clear all obstructions when turning lock to lock.

[technogon]

This shows the air as it leaves the hoses and the diverter sends it out to the caliper and disc. That's about it folks.

[85GTS]

Awesome work and thanks for all the pics. Way overkill for me personally and the type of driving I (dont) do, but good to see quality work done on an awesome car

I certainly hope you have pmed teranfirbt to have him move this to writeups...

[BruceAlmighty]

very nice. 

[GTS22REC]

 

[Sigma Projects]

pretty sweet, I know some people that still use the dust guard will cut a hole in it and duct it right to it. Do your willwood caliper interfere with your steering arm if you switched it to the back? Cuz the way the setup is I think you can swap struts/calipers from left to right to have the calipers sit on the inside and then you'd have a more direct route to the rotors.

[technogon]

That idea never occured to me. It does look like they can be swapped and installed on either side. Most hi perf cars I know have them leading rather than trailing. The cooling however on this car is not so simple. The duct hose would have to run under the frame rail to avoid the tire at full lock. The strut rod and sway bar both reside there. It is a matter of no room and a very sharp turn to get back outside the frame rail. This would restrict air flow and reduce cooling ability. In addition, the strut itself blocks a lot of the air path to the preferred center of the disc. Nascar brakes and others have ducts right on the caliper. (Brembo has these also). So I figured get that air to the caliper and as much inside the wheel as possible. Before it got nothing moving under there.

[a2ndopinion]

I'd never thought about a diverter - there I'd been trying to figure how to secure a hose close to the caliper/rotor.
What is you opinion on running on the street without a backing plate?

[technogon]

Backing plates are generally about rocks hitting the rotor. Not a big deal unless you live or drive on gravel a lot. I don't see that as doing much help. The backing plate will however limit air flow to the rotor surface. Really in this case I want that collected and intensified air stream to simply get in the back side of the brakes and exit out the wheel side. Kind of a fan on the caliper and rotor area effect.

[BruceAlmighty]

What is you opinion on running on the street without a backing plate?

ive noticed a huge difference after i removed mine. less brake fade in multiple braking situations. the drawback? a bit more pulsation in the front end if you hit big puddles of water. still well worth removing the backing plates if you ask me.

[a2ndopinion]

I'm running solid wheels, so don't get airflow through them. Then again, Centerline said their solid wheels actually help dissipate heat. (?)
My understanding is that vented rotors carry the air from the center to the outside. I take that to mean that the air should be directed towards the center and the caliper - yes?

[a2ndopinion]

ive noticed a huge difference after i removed mine. less brake fade in multiple braking situations. the drawback? a bit more pulsation in the front end if you hit big puddles of water. still well worth removing the backing plates if you ask me.

Considering that mine don't actually fit the Cressida rotors, I'd might as well pull them.