Pieter and Linda wrote:
I went along to a classic car rally here in Luxembourg today and saw a BJ8
that had forward facing scoops on the side of the front guards in place of
rally vents. Spoke to the owner who carefully explained that BMC had got it
wrong at the time and all Healey racers since had "stupidly" followed suit.
His theory was the the scoops and front grill combine to create an area of
high pressure in the engine bay that "force feeds" the engine " just like a
supercharger". I think maybe has has sniffed a few to many exhaust fumes. Nice
day out though with some interesting cars including a very original and
obviously much used Bugatti racer,
cheers
A different perspective on vents vs. scoops. Remember Geoff Healey was
a very successful builder of record breakers and long distance race
cars ie. not rally cars. He achieved this by paying attention to the
basics and small details. None of his Healeys could be considered full
of exotic parts.
Now scoop vs. vent. Anybody familiar with air flow will agree that the
easiest way to achieve this without fans is to have air in a high
pressure area ( for example in front of a speeding radiator) flow to a
low pressure area. ( say behind a radiator) This low pressure area will
not exist if you have a bloody great scoop trying to force air into an
engine bay that has only a small escape route such as under a speeding ,
low ground clearance Healey. Also air which has been heated takes up a
greater volume than cool or ambient air. Therefore Healeys have vents
behind the inner wheel arch to provide a low power required, 'free' air
discharge point to prevent pressure build up behind the radiator where
low pressure is required to facilitate good air flow through the
radiator. Also less engine bay air pressure helps minimise that tricky
hot stuff forcing ots way through all the holes and crevices into the
cockpit.
Sucking is cheaper than blowing
My Healey with these vents has never overheated. I think Healeys have
got it right.
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