Laminar's RX-8 EcoBoost swap thread

[Laminar]

The factory washer bottle is giant and actually has a huge gap between its backside and the firewall. Not sure if something else was intended to go behind there or what, but it takes up a ton of space. There are aftermarket solutions that combine a washer bottle + coolant reservoir + catch can in the space that the factory washer bottle takes:





I think if I wanted to put the coolant tank in that area something like that is a better option for me. I don't need a full gallon of washer fluid and the stock tank is an inefficient use of space anyway.

[Laminar]

On second thought, wouldn't keeping 200+degree coolant in that bottle transfer heat over to the washer fluid? And given that the flash point of washer fluid is 94 degF and boiling point is 179degF, I don't think I'd want to keep a methanol mixture sitting in my engine bay above its boiling point.


Either way I'd build my own tanks, but I'd definitely build separate tanks.

[spacevomit]

You can shoot flames out the washer nozzles haha.

[Laminar]

Even better than a NOS purge!


I've been tossing around the idea of doing an intercooler spraying system. After an autocross run, it would be nice to spray down the intercoolers and get temps back down quickly before the next run. There's a Civic locally that will spray the intercooler and then put a leaf blower on it in the pits to prevent heat soak and get everything ready for the next run.


This kind of thing could be DIY'd pretty easily, just get a separate washer bottle system, mounting the sprayers in front of the intercoolers, and run a button to the cabin to activate the spray. The only hesitation I have is that the intercoolers vent straight back to the front tires, so anything going through the intercoolers ends up on the tires. This could be a pro for spraying down tires on a hot day, but this could also be a con if residual water sprays out onto the tires during a run...

[digitalsolo]

How long is the evaporation time of that fluid, though?   If you have even a few minutes, I'd think it would be long gone before being a concern.

[Laminar]

That's a good point. Some people open up the fender liners to get more airflow through the stock oil coolers:





Another option would be opening up the top of the fenders to let airflow out up there.