xXxCellARatOr

Hey guys, i have a Savage 4.6 RTR and i have the stock engine on it. i have seen quite a number of people cut outa whole in the front of the body (in the windshield) to help with the air circulation, in order to keep the engine cooler. i have also seen some people just cut out the rear window.

would any of these things help improve the life of your engine, or will they help in any other way?
if so, how, and what would be the best method of doing this (e.g. whole in windshield or rear window)?

thanks!

Byte the dust

I cut a hole in my windshield only after i noticed that the temps were going a little to high for my liking. The hole should be in the front unless you like to drive in reverse in which case its useless to cut the hole [&:].

HerrSavage

Ideally you'd have a big hole in front of the engine, AND a hole behind it for the air to get out... Depends of course on your body though.. With most pickups the engine is alreay uncovered - then you just need the hole up front.. Im my SUV bods though I cut rear holes too..

To make the hole I think guys use a dremel.. I don't have one though(um, a good one anyway - AND, I must admit, I don't know how to make those neat big round ones either...), so I use a body reamer and make a bunch of smaller holes.. I WOULD prefer though to have one big one..



Here's a cool truck I saw a while back(wanted to copy the paint scheme...):

splcrazy

they make the big holes using hole saw cutters its one unit with a drill bit in the middle and it comes with all the sizes of holes you want . you just select the size you want click it in and away you go . they use them in the wood working industry and plumbers use them as well , youll find them at your hardware store ...

thats the first time ive seen the front screen drilled in patterns with small holes . i reackon it looks better

HerrSavage

Can you or somebody else post a pic of this bit you need??

Flib

I think this is the kinda thing your after


http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/238-0000

xXxCellARatOr

Thats actually exactly the kinda thing i was thinking of doing. just cutting a few small holes instead of one big one, simply because i think it looks much better and it gives the body more strength. i think cutting a huge piece on one side will weaken the body and make it less sturdy. correct me if im wrong.
also, the problem for me to decide whether or not i really even need to do this kinda thing, is that i dont have a temp gun, so its kinda hard for me to even figure out how hot the engine is actually getting. thanks!

rcnitrohead

Yeah, IMO the small holes look much better[8D]

xXxCellARatOr

Yeah, there is no doubt in my opinion that they look better. but the question is, are they as affective as one big hole?

P.S. How much is a cheap temp gun? and where is the best place to find a cheap one from?
I live in Canada, so stores that i rely on are Canadian Tire, Walmart, Home Hardware, Home Depot, and a few others.
Thanks!!

Vigilante212

Im not sure if any of thoser stock temp guns xcel, I would just oreder online at a hobby shop or at a local hobby shop. I cut small holes in mine also, they dont look quite as pretty as the ones posted above though. Ive also cut a large hole removing half the windsiheld on the engine side. I didnt have any body cracks form from either way so I dont think it really matters structure wise so long as the edges are smooth. You want airflow though the cooler your engine runs the leaner you can make it for a bit more power, or you can just run it in the low 200's.

HerrSavage

I got the Atomic temp gun from www.killerhobbies.com , and am satisfied with it.

And a hole-reamer for lexan is a very useful thing to have I find - one of those things that's worth getting IMO.. I put holes in the side of the bod sometimes to access the engine needles, for antennas, etc.. Plus it's good for scraping, piercing, scratching(flywheel to know where BDC is, for ex..), etc...

SAVAGEJIM

On my 4.6 SS kit body, I did not cut the front/rear windos out. What I did was cut out the driverside and passenger side windows. The idea is that air flow will enter through the sides, go over the heat sind under the shell, and out under the bottom/back of the body.

(X)

You know I actualy prefer lots of little holes in the windshield..

is running without a hole bad??

My stock Savvy X body has none at all [X(]

rcnitrohead

I have been running for hours at a time with no holes in my body at all. I dont own a tempgun, but I dished out 8 gallons of punishment to my old TRX 2.5 and it still runs in my bros S-maxx....

black mamba

To easily make a large hole, take your body reamer and make a series of holes...then take your body scissors and trim out the hole using the just made smaller ones as a template. Simple.[8D]

Bash-m-up

My Feedback: (7)

I don't really like the hole/holes in the body too much but it does help in keeping it cooler. I have always just used a Xacto knife and removed the whole front windshield along the decals line like in the pic of my X here. If I haven't any windshield decals I will just cut along the window lines. Note, this is not legal for any sanctioned racing and some club levels will not allow it either, but I don't race my savy so this is why I do it. It isn't necessary to make a hole in your bodies unless you need to though, some must have it, but others don't. It really depends if you need it or not. Humidity is so unpredictable or it's just plain high so my engines require it because they will run in the higher temp range, it gives them about 10-20 degrees difference. That's me and my unscientific tests, without the hole on my old S-25 temps ran 250-270, with the window out 240-260. Too, cheap temp guns can be found in many places for about $20US, duratrax has a smartemp gun for around that price.

46u

My Feedback: (3)

In 8 plus gallons never ran holes in the windshield. I live in the deep south where a summer day is 95 to 105 and 90% humidity and so far no problem.

xXxCellARatOr

Yup, ive decided to forget the wholes for now, since i think anything else other than the stock body will not look as good. And also the thing is, i have my body all the way down, as low as it will go. so because of this, the rear windshield is pretty much covering 1/2 of the cooling sink anyways. so i think making holes in the body isnt going to do much. and i think my truck runs pretty coo, especially since the revs decrease ALOT whever i stop it and idle it. it changes tone (less revs) in about 5 - 10 seconds of idling. so i think thats caused because the engine is already running cool, and it farther cools quite fast. thanks for the replies!

splcrazy

yep keep an eye on your thread , ill post a pic of this tool i got hopefully tuesday night thats australian time

bud09

the rpms drop after the 5-10 secs cuz the excess fuel got burned, so at idle only the amout that the is allow will b burnt then. its more noticale after a pass it WOT.

splcrazy

so here it is. as you can see its got a centre drill bit in the middle with all the sizes of holes you can do. you just unclick out all the sizes then click in the hole size you wanna make . ive used it many times on my plastic body shells , it makes perfect holes all the time....

MisterBiggz

I had plenty problems with no holes in the body, especially with the half tank lean problem. I thought it was the engine at one point and was about to rip all of my hair out. I cut out the whole windshield with a dremel equipped with a cutting blade and it helped the problem a lot. Even though the windshield is not directly in front of the cooling head, it still helps to get some kind of air flow through there.