Brake Ducts (pics)

General General Lotus Talk
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Here you go, here’s a piccies of the brake ducts (sorry about the file size - you can click on them for an even huger image)These were fitted by pulling the wheel arch liner to one side, then using a 60mm (I think) hole cutter drill bit (aka Mr. Hole Cutter) we drilled a hole into the duct shaped fibreglass from behind. The tubing we used is very stiff (it’s an air intake pipe from an Elise) so we were able to screw the hose into the hole we’d made with no chance of it coming loose. Then we cut a similar hole into the arch liner, and screwed the other end of those into place. Job done. Once we’d figured out what we were doing, it was a 10 minute job.[image]http://www.exiges.com/gallery/ductfront1.gif[/image][image]http://www.exiges.com/gallery/ductrear1.gif[/image]Many thanks to Brian Drought for kindly donating his time, his air intake pipe, and Mr Hole Cutter.

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Lovely thank you.Is the tube a treaded tube? Is that what meant by screwing it in?Have you found any bugs splatted to your brakes yet?!Ta, Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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I would think that to be effective the ducting has to be routed to the rotor.I have a similar set-up on my S2000. But, I routed the ducting to the dust shield on the rotor, cut a hole into the dust shield and attached the tubing to the shield. This way air is ducted directly on the rotor.The difference is significant on the S2000.I have the motorsport brake package on my Exige and have never had a problem with my brakes (in the few track sessions I’ve had).My thought would be that ducting won’t do much for the Exige. Uprated pads, lines and fluid will do more than the ducting, IMHO.

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quote:Originally posted by meat:My thought would be that ducting won’t do much for the Exige. Uprated pads, lines and fluid will do more than the ducting, IMHO.I think it’s worth bearing in mind that David already has the updgraded pads etc. His car has an extra 70+bhp and grippier tyres than normal. It’s not surprising his brakes need a little extra help.

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quote:My thought would be that ducting won’t do much for the Exige. Uprated pads, lines and fluid will do more than the ducting, IMHO. As Brendan says, I already have uprated rotors, Castrol SRF, RS15 pads, braided hoses etc.I didn’t want to go attaching a hose to the rear of the caliper/rotor, as the whole thing would have to move as you turn wheels left/right. As it stands, when driving in a straight line the ducting directs air towards the rotor (albeit from 4 inches away). The way I see it, the modification won’t hurt, but may help cool the rotor after braking from 130mph down to 40mph repeatedly. quote:Is the tube a threaded tube? Is that what meant by screwing it in? That’s right, yes.[This message has been edited by Admin5 (edited 07 August 2002).]

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quote:Is the tube a threaded tube? Is that what meant by screwing it in? Well…the tube is rubber with a wire coil (spring like) within it… that way if you cut the hole just the right size, it’ll screw in :slight_smile: Bri[This message has been edited by bdrought (edited 08 August 2002).]

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To fix the movement issue - you make the duct a bit longer than you would need and zip-tie it to one of the A-arms. Works like a charm.Like I said - I don’t think this will have any measureable effect in its current state. But you have done the tough part, now get some more tubing and get it close to the rotor.I guess you could test it if you had a temperature gun. Just put a piece of duct tape over your current set-up and compare with and without the tape.Are you running the stock springs/dampers?I’m just wondering how much faster your car is going at the end of straights vs a standard 190hp car?

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Part of the reason I’m not going to tiewrap the air feed to the back of the caliper is the fear of it coming loose and getting caught up in the brakes at an untimely moment. You would need to direct the air onto the leading edge of the rotor, rather than into the middle of the rotor which would be far less effective. The pipe would have to be long enough to be able to stretch to a full “front of wheel pointing outwards” deflection, as well as be able to not buckle/get in the way, when the wheel is turned fully inwards. The way it stands now, nothing can get caught on anything, or come loose.As far as speed differentials, the car does maybe 20mph more down astraights than it did before, not only that, but you’re arriving sooner with less time to cool them… it all adds up[This message has been edited by Admin5 (edited 08 August 2002).]