Hood Louvers

[Mike N]

Most people probably don't realize that Shane (V Raptor Performance) makes louver sets for the Roadsters as well as the GTM. I got a set from Shane well over a year ago and only just worked up the nerve to cut holes in my nicely painted hood. I still need to do some very minor tidy up to blend the corner radii into the straight cuts but I'm very happy with how they came out. Check out the available options here http://vraptorspeedworks.com/custom-roadster-parts/

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[Blue MK3]

Sorry, but the original cars didn't have them and so I'll pass. Nice job and maybe appropriate on other cars. To each his own.

[DaleG]

Very nice work (both the louvers and your gutsy install).

A bit too much louver for me. I think the the heat from the headers could use a bit more venting, but more in the line of smaller ovals, like on the hoods of an MGA. Just my opinion, which my wife says isn't always mainstream.
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I actually bought the MGA grille vents, and have been contemplating installing them on the fender above and back of the side vents after polishing off the MGA logo and powdercoating black to match the body. But, I'll never do it, maybe.

Picture it black.


Cheers, Dale

[skullandbones]

I believe I have seen a pic with an original roadster racing with the louvers but I can not verify that until I go back and check the photo gallery. I really like the ones that are molded in to the hood surface. That's a tremendous amount of work to get perfect. Mike I like yours but I would like to see the finished product. Your work looks really good so far. I would really like them to be the same color as the hood. Good luck on the project!

WEK.

[JJ'snakepit]

Wow ... I like those. I can picture those things all polished out against that black. I am building my car to be my own. That's the beauty of these cars.... To each his own I like them.... JJ

[Mike N]

I thought about painting them black but as the interior of my car is bare aluminum it kind of goes along with the theme leaving them natural. Shane has photos on his site of painted louvers. Actually perhaps I'll plasti dip them then I can always remove it if I don't like it. The idea of adding the louvers is to relieve some of the air pressure from under the hood for track use. I've only run smaller tracks so far (less than 120 mph) but I want to do VIR which will allow significantly higher speeds than that and at any triple digit speeds you can visibly see the hood being pushed up.

Here's black painted ones.

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[chopthebass]

Mike,

I agree it is each to his own, but I think they look bloody great!! I'd like to see them painted to match the car.
Nice!

Ian

[Mike N]

Thanks Ian. I am very happy with the look of the louvers. I am not going for a period correct look on my car more of a functional competition look and for me these are in line with that. Shane's design is very clever and indeed elegant and functional. I did keep the pieces of the hood that I cut out just in case a future owner of my car might want to fill the holes back in. :p

[Dan Babb]

Those look nice...especially for a purpose built track car. Body color would look great. I've thought about taken the side louvers out of my car and painting them to match my car like the originals were done.

[68GT500MAN]

Those would look great in the hood sides of a 33!
Doug

[skullandbones]

Hi Mike,

I'm glad you explained the purpose (not just ornamental) for the louvers. I knew you were a form/function type of guy so for your application the louvers will be great. Will you be using other stabilizing devices for your 130+ trips around VIR? I was contemplating front fender louvers which would be much more difficult to mold in the curves. BTW, I am designing a diffuser for my MKIII. I think with a splitter, diffuser, and the louvers there could be a significant improvement in the down forces even if the roadster is a
"brick". Thanks for this thread.

WEK.

[Mike N]

WEK. Simple answer to your question is yes I have a fairly broad thought process to improve the aero of the car. I am not a super skilled track star (LOL) so minor changes are really not on my radar. All changes will be done with a purpose and direct result in mind. I've followed the work that Bob and especially Trevor have done and it's really helpful but may not ultimately be exactly what I do. I intend to address the air flow under the bottom of the car with a splitter up front but whether there is a benefit to the huge amount of work of adding a flat floor and diffuser is unclear to me right now. Currently I am seriously considering adding a lemans type top to the car purely for aero. I've been in cars with tops and I find it a pain to get in and out so the alternate mini windshields and partial tonneau may end up being used instead. Tough decision because I really like the look of the top and I'm not so keen on the mini windshields. Like a lot of us on here my car is my hobby and I tinker with it constantly, I've made chassis mods, added side bars, built my own 5 link, modified the front A arms for rod ends, run a Megasquirt2 system etc etc. I'm in no hurry so I may change my mind on a lot of this stuff before I actually get around to implementing it. :rolleyes:

[galla4]

Mike: The red hood / black louvers picture is off my car. Shane did a great job and would highly recommend the louvers to anyone. The louvers were powder coated black, my side vents, side pipes and full roll bar are black too. The set in the picture are the second set made, based on my bodyman and my comments after receiving the first set, we asked him to radius the trailing edges of the fins, like you have. I believe they are functional and I run in combination with a DWC air dam. My $.02, I think they will look cool without paint to match the aluminum cockpit.

tim

[chopthebass]

How are they fixed to the underside of the hood?

[galla4]

Sorry, duplicate post.

[skullandbones]

Mike,

I forgot to ask you if Shane supplies you with a template for the holes for the louvers. As precisely as you cut those out, I was thinking you may have had a set. That would be a great plus. Of course, you could cut out some poster board also. I think yours is a MKII so did you have two cuts outside and inside or is that one layer of glass? I think that could be a little more trouble on mine. Thanks, WEK.

[chopthebass]

I'd be keen to know how to fit to a mk4 hood.

[Mike N]

WEK mine is a MkI so no inner liner to the hood. Shane supplies the louvers flat so I measured and positioned them where I wanted them on the hood before bending the louvers to an angle. Using masking tape I taped about 1/16" outside of the flat louver blades to give a nice amount of clearance for when and if I paint them and the sides of the cut out to avoid scratches etc. I then drilled the corners with a 1/2" dia brad point drill bit which does not rip up the layers of fiberglass like a regular drill bit and used a fine blade in a jig saw to cut the straight edges. This process is a little nerve wrecking but I took it slow and was very satisfied with the results. The fiberglass and even the paint edge cut very cleanly and only needs some very minor sanding to remove some small inconsistencies. For Mk's with hood liners this will be slightly different but I think you might be able to cut the hood and the liner at the same time.

For attachment I used 8-32 stainless steel pan head screws, 7 on each louver but you can add more or less. The hood thickness is about 3/16" so using a 3/8" drill bit I drilled a small dimple (1/8") into the back side of the hood just enough to bury the head of a pan head screw below the back surface of the hood. I located these dimples off holes I had previously drilled in the flange of the louvers. Then I double nutted the screws to the louver so that the heads were about 1/2" proud of the louver. I lightly massaged (bent) the louver until the screw heads sat nicely in the dimples I had drilled. Then I filled the dimples with a good 5 minute epoxy and set the screw heads in the dimples once again and applied a small amount of weight then waited for it to set up (1 hour). Once the epoxy set I removed the nut under the louver and reinstalled lightly tightening until the louver flange sat nicely down on the rear side of the hood. I used a dremel to cut the excess length off the screws. For a MkIV or any hood with a a liner you should be able to attach the louvers to the just the liner perhaps with self tapping screws. By the way the louvers are different with and without a liner, the liner louvers stand a little taller so that the tops are still flush with the hood surface even with the extra thickness of the liner. Of course you can just bond the louvers in place but I liked the idea of being able to remove then to paint, polish or for other reasons at a later date.

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