Category: Exterior
Price: $25
Private or Vendor Listing: Vendor Listing
Part fits (you may select multiples): R50, R52, R53, R55, R56, R57, R58, R59, R60
Location (Region): NorCal
Item Condition: Brand New

i can get ya all the dimensions you need preety easilly, i work in a manufacturing plant, plus my plastic shroud is not in the mini right now, i wanted a larger mouth

so i can grab dimensions off that

and with out the plastic shroud in there... only issue i can think of with that is keeping it in place, but im sure a pinch system would work fine

 

Whoo hooo! OK guys (and gals!)

Here are the HIGH GLOSS powder coated colors I have at present:

Bright red "Chili Red"
Bright (i.e. "Subaru") Blue "Good Mood Blue"
British Racing Green
"Back to Black"

If I were to add additional colors (say 2-3 others) what would you like to see?

Let's have a vote for:

Bright White
Gunmetal Gray
Chrome (bear in mind "chrome" is powder coating is NOT as shiny bright as real chrome!

Or other suggestions???

 

Are you talking something like the MiniFini part here?
http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=60

Is so I'm I'm.

 

thats what i was thinking about

 

Yes, I am! I have a Gen 1. I don't know if the scoop opening is larger in the Gen 2 models. If you have a Gen 2, can you please tell me what the widest part of the opening measures?

SCOOP-GUARD would be powder-coated aluminum with Neoprene edging. As Saltysalt pointed out, fitment might be able to be achieved by the "pinch" (i.e. wedge it in there) technique. I have to get a template going for the opening and try it out.

SCOOP-GUARD is powder-coated aluminum, as opposed to stainless steel. Despite the name, stainless steel (depending on the grade used), CAN rust. This could be a concern especially if chemicals (road salt) come into contact with it over a period of time.

Aluminum does not rust, but it can corrode. POWDER COATED aluminum, on the other hand, should stand up quite well to the elements and road salt.

 

Ok what about my Canadian climate? Will it withstand the deep freeze then heat exchange? The. Add the salt from our winter roads? I like the idea because of the stuff I've found layi g in the fine already.

Thanks!!

 

Kinda in the same boat, would be interested in seeing any data that gets collected.

 

I shipped off one for another NAM member living in Tempe, AZ to run some tests on using his Scan Gauge...

The COOLER-GUARD may be tested as well, although I would not expect that to generate as much concern due to the size of the openings. We'll see how the mesh works out, first!

 

Again, it's made of powder-coated aluminum and Neoprene. All metal will contract in cold weather and expand in hot weather. Aluminum has a slightly higher thermal expansion coefficient than steel, which means it will expand and contract a bit more than steel for any given temperature change.

How much are we talking about? Well, using an online tool known as a "thermal linear expansion calculator", I can tell you this. If you had a bar of aluminum that was one inch long at 30 Celsius, and then took it to -20 Celsius (quite a temperature drop!) that bar would now measure 0.9989 of an inch. A change in length of 0.0011 of an inch.

What would this do to the powder coating? The truth is, not having subjected a COOLER-GUARD to this type of test, I cannot be certain. Sorry, but I cannot give you 100% assurance that it would OR would not crack.

Neoprene rubber tolerates extremes in temperature very well. It is used as insulation on fire doors, as well as in refrigeration. It can withstand temperatures from -40C to 125C (-40F to 250F), and is resistant to cracking.

Since it is an open grill, portions of the fins will still be exposed. But, it would help to catch some of the road salt that would otherwise land on the fins. It is easily removable, so taking it off to clean it is no problem (just don't use solvents!)

Hope that helps.

 

any news on the intake temps?

 

just remember that the width of a piece of paper is between .003 and .005 of an inch

 

The proof is in the pudding, as they say (although I have not idea what that means...)

A fellow NAM member (whom I did not know) was kind enough to perform independent tests using a COOLER - COLOR today. He has a 2005 MCSm with the stock intercooler.

Testing was done in 105 degree weather outside of Phoenix, AZ, using a Scan-Gauge to monitor intake air temps and recovery with both the CC installed and without one installed.

Here are his results, verbatim (of course I have his permission to post them.) Note that when he uses the word "cover", he is referring to the product...

"Ambient air temp on the highway: 105F
I made a 20 mile loop 10 down and 10 back. The first 10 to balance out the air temps. I didn't think it would be fair to run a cooled down car against a HOT one. Average speed 70MPH

COVER NOT INSTALLED:
AVG inlet air temps on the WARM UP 10 miles 123F.
On the return. A WOT run up the on-ramp. IAT temps were at 150. Cooled back to 123 in about 3.5 miles at 70MPH

COVER INSTALLED:
The first 10 miles again were to balance out the air temps. The car had to sit a bit while I installed the cover. So again I wanted it to be a fair run.
IAT dropped to and stabilized at 123F.
Return run:
WOT up the ramp IAT 150 when I hit 70. Within the 3.5 miles I was back down to 123.

I did some around town driving and was averaging 128 to 132 both with and without the cover. I saw NO change in Inlet Air Temps or recovery times using this product."

 

All,

The above review/evaluation is from me. And is accurate. That is the exact text I sent. I am happy to say I saw no difference in running with or without the cooler cover.

It went on easy and I saw no reason to use the tape. All I had to do was trim the corners at a 45 to clear the bolts. This was all of a 5 min install.

Again individual results my very but I did everything I could to make sure I did the test the same for both runs. If anything the tests for the cooler cover were not in its favor due to the fact it was starting to get hotter out and it had to recover from being parked and having the cover installed. Only 5 to 10 min but we all know how fast an inter cooler can heat up. If you have any questions about the test please let me know.

I am not an actor or a paid spokesperson for this company just a happy user.

Jerry
OldGameFreak

 

very nice!

 

I have now driven the MINI with the Cooler-Color on it for several hundred miles. I was driving in 114 degree heat and was expecting the typical, if not worse, heat soak reaction that I get in those temps. I was very surprised when it did not show up as bad as it normally does. The only thing I could think of was that maybe the Cooler-Color may have made the air flow over the inter cooler flow more freely. I had a little heat soak but it was very smooth on the recovery and did not take as long to recover. I hate to say it, but I was ready to tell you how much heat the Cooler-Color was holding in and causing tremendous heat soak. To the contrary, I did not feel it like I thought I would. I think the heat soak was not as pronounced. Granted, I did not use any type of gauge or other equipment. I am very happy with the results that I have gotten both performance wise and esthetically.

 

And they are now available - see my other thread about SCOOP-GUARD!

 

I have plenty COOLER-COLOR available - lots of colors folks, and no problem with the intercooler flow as measured by the SCAN GAUGE! For 25 bucks (PP) it's a really inexpensive way to add some color bling, and super easy to put on!