Roof vents

[chris.richard]

Are there any practical reasons for fitting a roof vent in the UK? There were Safari and Swedish rally versions with Stradale bodies and roof vents. I'd only fit one if there was a good practical reason to though.

[guy mayers]

All the ventilation you can get! It can get just a little warm in the cabin!
Guy

[roger001]

I'll second that, I never fitted one as I mine is a stradale body style, but believe me the opening the windows even at speed provides zero ventilation. (however --- does it get hot north of the border?

Roger;)

[SUSIT]

Originally posted by roger001
I'll second that, I never fitted one as I mine is a stradale body style, but believe me the opening the windows even at speed provides zero ventilation. (however --- does it get hot north of the border?

Roger;)

Hi Roger, I can't answer for Chris as he is nearer you than he is me, however in the real north, not just carlisle It is sunshine every day and I have the sunburn to prove it. but the real advantage to living this far north is the miles and miles of traffic free classic roads and not a speed camera within 90 miles of me. Keep this info quiet as we dont want everyone knowing what a great place it is to live.
Chris I can say without a doubt fit a working roof vent. I always drive with the window fully down as it gets so hot otherwise. Its high on my list of winter projects.

Stephen
Todays weather

[vojx]

I must concur - get all the ventilation you can. Some years back, when the car was on the road, on holiday in Cornwall the cabin was too hot to drive - must've been 45oC. Had to stop before I evaporated. I always drive with the window down, and stick my hand out into the breeze to dry it and direct some air onto my face. Aircon might be a better solution though.:rolleyes:

[CorseChris]

Originally posted by vojx
..... Aircon might be a better solution though.:rolleyes:

[SMUG MODE] The more I read this sort of post, the happier I am that I went to the considerable bother and expense of installing A/C into my Corse. [/SMUG MODE].

Time will tell if it's up to the job once the car actually hits the road though.

[David May]

You might be nice and ccol inside next time it gets hot outside, but where's all that extra heat going? You'll have to drive awfully slowly or your cooling system won't be able to dissipate it all (or did you put the a/c radiator on the roof)

Dave May

[stewart]

I'll be able to tell you about air conditioning effectiveness very soon guys. My air con radiator is snugly fitted in front of the radiator and is not a great deal smaller in width although much thinner. My air con guy is not convinced it is going to keep the car cold but as long as it is cool I'll be content.

It is going to be 31 degrees here today and it is only 9 days into spring!

Of course I'm hoping that the car itself will be able to run cool with the air con on, but time will tell.

There is no way you could drive the Stratos here in mid summer remotely comfortably without air con. Also we get high humidity and sudden rain showers which make the Stratos into a mobile greenhouse. Having been in Paul's (OZstratos) car in one of these showers, I can testify that a blast of cold air would have made life much safer!

My fingers are crossed!

[CorseChris]

Originally posted by David May
You might be nice and ccol inside next time it gets hot outside, but where's all that extra heat going? You'll have to drive awfully slowly or your cooling system won't be able to dissipate it all (or did you put the a/c radiator on the roof)

Dave May

This will have to wait and see! I had the system commissioned on about the hottest day we had this summer and it coped OK (while sitting still of course).

Condenser rad is in the usual place, right in front of the water rad. Covers about 60% of the water rad area.

[SUSIT]

Can anyone post a pic of how they have finished off the roof vent inside the car. Bernard maybe? Discription of what is involved would also help

Stephen

[rutthenut]

Originally posted by SUSIT
Can anyone post a pic of how they have finished off the roof vent inside the car.

Don't have a photo to help, and my car isn't kept at home, but I can explain how I did the roof vent - and what I would do different.

The roof vent panel itself is held onto the roof by fitting four captive nuts into the lower flange and running some (M4) screws into those through the roof (need to make sure the holes aren't obstructed by the roll-cage hoop too).

I fitted a pair of rectangular dash vents, from an Alfa 33 I seem to recall, which have on/off and directional controls. These were mounted at an angle of approx 45 degrees, so the open end faces into the airflow from the vent scoop and they direct air to where it seems to be needed - the drivers head!

For these, I had an ally panel made up to house them in the required position. This has a flat base with two raised sections, for which I made up a cardboard former to try things out. The raised (lowered?) sections are filled in at the sides, so looking like either a pyramid or the corner of a shoe box - choose your own interpretation...

The picture below tries to give a very rough idea of how these line up in the roof of the car (apologies for the poor artwork here!). The screws that hold on the roof vent panel also go through the flat base of the ally panel, with the roof being sandwiched between them. I added a small rubber 'gasket' under the roof vent panel as well to try and get a better seal.

This setup works quite well in providing the necessary airflow and does allow a vent to be pointed to passenger as well as driver if needed. This does also mean that you get bits of shredded insect blown at you when they encounter the mesh front of the roof scoop though!

I did also find out that water will get in to the car if left out in a downpour, which was solved by using silicone sealant under the edge of the roof vent panel and also building up a small ridge of sealant around the aperture that was cut into the roof itself. Not a perfect solution, but easy enough to implement as an afterthought.

I would recommend that when a hole is cut into the roof for the vent(s), you should try adding some sort of edge or flange to it so that water cannot drop down inside. This applies both when the car is standing still and when driving along in the rain, which of course results in water entering the roof vent.

The later WRC type scoops/vents tend to have a drain for this purpose, but that would need far too much space to set up (IMHO) within the confines of the Stratos passenger compartment. You can buy this type of inner panel though, if you want to try that route - not sure if Demon Tweeks do them, but I'm sure Hamilton Classics offer them, amongst others.

Other task I would recommend, which of course I did not do myself, is to fit a hinged flap on the inside of the vent panel, so that you can close it off with a small lever from the inside of the car. If this flipped up behind the mesh, it would work to keep out the water when driving in the rain. It might also want a rubber edge to it for best seal, but it shouldn't be too hard to make something that pivots at the base of the vent panel and closes it off when required.

Still, that's my two or three pence worth on the subject...

Cheers,

[BAS]

I’ve just fitted my roof vents, I used two mini dashboard ball vents running in line, bonded to the roof from the inside with seam sealer. Ken Tomblin also has the same setup, as mine has yet to be put on the road I can’t comment on the airflow / water ingress but maybe Ken can? I try and down load some photos on Monday.

[chris.richard]

At least I think that's what these are!

[BAS]

photos of Vents.

[BAS]

and another

[BAS]

one more

[chris.richard]

I've now received my scoop, and I'm wondering if it really needs to be bolted on, or can it be bonded / glassed in, with no bolts for Steven to bang his head on;)

[mogul_x]

Chris,

I'm sure you could use pop rivets and/or adhesives to attach it. Just makes it more work if you ever have to remove it for some reason.

[rutthenut]

You could bond the part in place, even trimming the aperture underneath to match the scoop itself - but you would certainly have to do something at the front end to close it so that you could keep out all that Scottish precipitation...

[SUSIT]

You guys have a real thing about Scottish weather! The Snow didnt quite reach the bottom of the local Ben this morning.

Stephen

[chris.richard]

Anybody know which model of Fiat the vents in Brent's pictures come from?

[BAS]

Rover Mini!!!! not very Italian, but should do the job. £2 from the scrappy.

[guy mayers]

The original used a single vent identical to the dash vents if that's any help - Ferrari 308 without the prancing horse!
Guy

[Sando]

Chris
See the thread on dash vents, you can get these from a Lotus Elise...........they look the dogs dangly bits!
cheers
Rob:cool:

http://www.stratossupersite.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=618&highlight=Vents

[Andrew Way]

Ferrari 308 without the prancing horse

Or "Dino" script in some cases (GT/4);)

[maseratighibli]

No! If there are any of the Dino script variety to be had then they must NOT be sacrificed for Strat use......best to pass them on to your nearest GT4 owner and look for Fiat or GTB items.........

[Andrew Way]

Polish the script off and no one will ever know;)

[Elliott.L]

I was chatting to a guy in the garage where my car is currently residing waiting to be remapped . We were talking about this ventilation problem. I had just driven to the garage in the pouring rain and the screen had misted up something rotten.

I had anti fog on it but it really wasn't satisfactory. My car is a Stradale and I don't want to add a roof vent if I can help it.

I have a heater which I could fit to demist the screen, but from the threads which I have read on here, it is the circulation of fresh air which is the major problem.

Anyhow, he came up with the idea of drilling a hole in each passenger side window with a slider in each coupled with perspex scoops to direct the air in. The whole 'device' to be placed far back in the perspex so that opening the window is not affected.

I am sure that if this idea was any good then you guys would have done something similar years ago to solve this problem. What am I missing? Would the circulation be too far away from the windscreen or not sufficient? Or is there something blindingly obvious which I can't see? :)

What about a hole or holes in the rear screen? Too noisy? Too poisonous?

Any comments ?

Thanks

[rutthenut]

What am I missing? Would the circulation be too far away from the windscreen or not sufficient? Or is there something blindingly obvious which I can't see? :)

What about a hole or holes in the rear screen? Too noisy? Too poisonous?


The 'blindingly obvious' alternative to fitting these would be to open the windows as that lets air into the car and doesn't need extra effort and expense in fitting crappy inlets.

However, in both cases you would find that does not clear the windscreen (but it does help a little bit). Hole in the bulkhead to allow air into the heater and/or dash air vents will be what you want, plus a fan of some sort that does actually blow onto the screen.


Do not consider putting holes in the rear screen, you would definitely pick up some fumes that you don't want to be breathing. This will be one of the reasons that motorsport regulations require the cockpit to be isolated from the engine bay (fire ingress being another).

[strat6v]

You need proper vents blowing air on the screen, the air coming from a fresh source and not recirculated from the cabin. Once you have got the air in you need to get it out, otherwise its all a waste of time. Fit some sort of cabin exhaust vent but not through the engine bulkhead, maybe a small circular vent in the door jamb with some downward louvres to shed any water away. betas have some nice slim oblong ones that would do the job a treat, not stock, i know but functional.

[Elliott.L]

Thanks. I thought that the 'scoops' would force air into the cockpit as opening the windows doesn't do much does it? :)

Looks like some cutting is in order.

[richard]

When I bought my car I found a yellow rag under the drivers seat.

First time I was out in the drizzle I realised it was part of the demisting system :)

A simple and inexpensive way to clear the parts of the screen the vents don't help.

[chris.richard]

You need long arms or an inertia reel belt for that to work Richard.

[richard]

Well the bit in the middle of the screen seems to clear up quite nicely, I guess there isn't much airflow at the edges of the windscreen so they mist up. I can reach one side, having a passenger is essential to see out the other.

Better demisting would be nice, but there are other projects that are higher priority given the use of a rag as a workaround for now.

Perhaps it can be improved though. Introducting: "rag-on-a-stick" (tm) :D

[mudhut]

Opening the windows has been completely ineffective for me, so currently not working on this (see pic). Should be able to eliminate the majority of rain and insect ingress without a grid. Reversible drain pipe will make good extractor due to its shape.

A fixed scoop instead of the bend will be much the neater. Will get to that when I've sorted the slight bend needed to match the side window curvature.

Made of laser-cut acrylic - will have next prototype on the cutter this week with luck after I've finished the Carello headlamp nest fitting template.

[rutthenut]

Perhaps it can be improved though. Introducing: "rag-on-a-stick"

Strange, I've considered that many times, but never [yet] bothered with it.

As Chris pointed out, can't reach the screen when strapped in with harnesses, other than a small section directly ahead. Peering through a letter-box isn't ideal. Actually not so bad on the race circuit, but dreadful when on the road as you can't tell what is ahead.

I use a 'demister pad' rather than a cloth - got one at the moment which has both chamois-style and microfibre surfaces. Need to get a flexible stick for it though! And not lose it elsewhere in the car whilst driving.

Maybe just fit a windscreen wiper on the inside of the screen too? ;)

[Elliott.L]

Fit some sort of cabin exhaust vent but not through the engine bulkhead, maybe a small circular vent in the door jamb with some downward louvres to shed any water away. betas have some nice slim oblong ones that would do the job a treat, not stock, i know but functional.


Continuing my 'I'm the village idiot on this here forum and proud of it too' theme:

Won't putting the vent in the door jamb restrict the airflow when the door is shut? Where exectly would the vent be placed?

Thanks

:)

(my emboldenment).

[strat6v]

Won't putting the vent in the door jamb restrict the airflow when the door is shut? Where exectly would the vent be placed

Any place in the jamb, whatever suits the shape of the extract vent. flow shouldn't be a problem, theres quite a bit of room behind that door.

[Stratos]

All this talk of de-misting, wiperblades falling of in rainstorms, has me worried about coming back for Abindgon - I don't like that wet stuff any more.

I have the ultimate solution for demisting - move to a country where it doesn't rain!! :D

[strat6v]

Three possible positions for a extract vent. I think the first one near the front of the door would probably be better. Anybody else care to comment? For it to work correctly, it would have to have the same area of opening as the smallest area of the incoming air.

[Elliott.L]

All this talk of de-misting, wiperblades falling of in rainstorms, has me worried about coming back for Abindgon - I don't like that wet stuff any more.

I have the ultimate solution for demisting - move to a country where it doesn't rain!! :D


:Thinks: ........my wiper fell off,......... I rekindled this thread on misting up windscreens................

:thinks even harder:..........Oi !!!!

"David are you inviting me over to Cyprus to live with you?" :eek:

I prefer to sleep on the side of the bed nearest the door if that's OK with you mate?


ETA: John, thanks for the photo. :)

[Stratos]

"David are you inviting me over to Cyprus to live with you?" :eek:

I prefer to sleep on the side of the bed nearest the door if that's OK with you mate?




:eek: :eek: :eek:

I supposed I asked for that one!

:D

[rutthenut]

Three possible positions for a extract vent. I think the first one near the front of the door would probably be better. Anybody else care to comment? For it to work correctly, it would have to have the same area of opening as the smallest area of the incoming air.


I think the position to the front of the door would probably get more air coming in than going out. On my car, at least, that might be a high pressure area.

Previous comment questioned whether the vent would actually allow air out from the cockpit as the opening is the 'wrong side' of the door seal. Or at least, that's what I think may be the problem.

The inner door panel does have a big hole in it already though, for the window slider, so maybe just putting an exit vent in the back of the door panel would do the job? Somewhere below the lock, so venting outside of the door seal. Have a feeling some production cars have vents there too.

[strat6v]

Perfect John, that would be real unobtrusive too.:cool: Nobody tends to look at the back edge of the door. I'll find some vents and have a play;)