Heaters in saloons/sports cars

[woodyracing]

Hi,

just wondering who has heaters and who has removed or never had heaters in their race cars and what car is it. Does your windscreen mist up when it rains ?
Still deciding wether to remove mine or not.

thanks
Andy.

[Chris Y]

Remove the heater matrix, but if you want my advice, don't remove the blower. It's incredibly useful to have some air blowing on the screen to stop it misting up.

My car has never had a HVAC/blower, and I'm seriously considering installing one.

[GORDON STREETER]

If I was you I would definately keep the demister part in place. I had a thread on this at the end of last year,and you will have an advantage when you get serious rain. Believe me !!!

[Al Weyman]

I have strapped a small 12volt and blower in my yellow Chevy as I found the misting up can be very bad in fact worse than a road car as there is no interior and when you splash through standing water the steam off the hot exhaust seems to get into the car and condenses of the screen I have had to pull off on one severe occassion at Silverstone. I would not remove the original if it is not particularly big and heavy.

[RED21]

I've had a fully functional heater/blower in my car since day one, beside giving you a visibility advantage in wet conditions I believe it an essential part of safety to enable an all round view as anti fog mixes sometimes can not cope.
Then there's the additional radiator to aid engine cooling on the run down during hot weather.

[COLIN STUBBS]

yep. why remove the matrix? why remove the whole heater come to that.sure it saves a bit of weight but most of us are putting weight back into our cars these days anyway and its no fun racing with a misted up car. bit the same as throwing away your cam belt cover "cos racing cars dont have em!!" until you beach it in the gravel and it jumps the belt......

[bdwoody]

Originally Posted by RED21

I've had a fully functional heater/blower in my car since day one, beside giving you a visibility advantage in wet conditions I believe it an essential part of safety to enable an all round view as anti fog mixes sometimes can not cope.
Then there's the additional radiator to aid engine cooling on the run down during hot weather.

Not nice tho in the summer when its 30+ degrees your hot and hyped and the heater is cooking your leg off!..

[Al Weyman]

Turn it off then:-)

[rcarr]

We used to have in our Stratos, a piece of vacuum cleaner hose with a funnel at the end of it. It did 2 jobs, demisted the front screen and gave Dad some clean air coming into the cockpit.

I had a very similar setup in my Stiletto, it was ducting pipe from the electric cooling fan up to a hole in the dash which would blow cold air onto the screen if it misted up.

When all else fails use the back of your glove to wipe away condensation.

The simplest option is always the best, why comprimise weight and engine power for a simlpe piece of vacuum cleaner hose.

[RED21]

Originally Posted by bdwoody

Not nice tho in the summer when its 30+ degrees your hot and hyped and the heater is cooking your leg off!..

I forgot to say that I also refitted the window winder mech so I can let a little more heat out, but you are right it's not nice if you are already hot & bothered in a 3 layer suit, but if saves an engine from to much damage it's worth it, if only for a short amount of time.

But I have also forgotten that the heater was on once!! That was a really hot session

[COLIN STUBBS]

[QUOTE=rcarr]We used to have in our Stratos, a piece of vacuum cleaner hose with a funnel at the end of it. It did 2 jobs, demisted the front screen and gave Dad some clean air coming into the cockpit.

and a third use could have been to clean the car out as well!! i used to have a piece of bamboo cane with a yellow duster taped to the end to give the screen a wipe now and then. probably just as useless. but remember what gerry said regarding heaters and hot weather-"cook the driver not the engine" !!

[greenamex2]

Originally Posted by COLIN STUBBS

yep. why remove the matrix? why remove the whole heater come to that.sure it saves a bit of weight but most of us are putting weight back into our cars these days anyway

We are?

I have removed the original heater setup and replaced it with a couple of small (light) electric heater/blowers. They work as well as the original setup.

If I could get a heated front screen I would go this route, save even more weight and have better demisting. Unfortunately I was promised one by someone but they were inept and I gave up.

[Chris Y]

Tried these guys, Denis? : http://www.heatedwindscreen.com/acat...ndscreens.html

[graeme]

Is a heater legal...? I was orginally going to build my Caterham kit with a heater, but was told you've got to have a sealed bulkhead between the engine and the passenger compartment. I think it's in the Blue Book - I've also sealed all other holes through the bulkhead.

[greenamex2]

Tried these guys, Denis? : http://www.heatedwindscreen.com/acat...ndscreens.html

Err, yes.

[bdwoody]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Turn it off then:-)

I was just saying "if " in the summer . i dont have the problem coz i dont have a heater but i do have a heated screen and i works realy well , not that i have used it in a race yet as last year we had good weather all season.

[zefarelly]

no heater, or fan . . .opening quarter lights work a treat, my car doen't really mist up, and I've done 1 hour races in the pouring rain before . . . I think If I did something like the 6 hour I'd fit a small fan ( I have an old 12v computer cooling fan laying aout somewhere)

rally guys tend to keep them, for obvious reasons, and some people have said heaters act as additional engine cooling, I say fit a proper radiator !

[nyssa7]

Been down the other route, car so misted up (no heater, no opening windows, just slots cut in to side windows) that I was looking out the side window down Revett Straight to gauge where I was (looking for marshal post) and on one lap my thought process went something like "ah, its gone bumpy. must have gone off then!"

Needless to say had the windows changed to let in sliders, but also found that using that Anti-mist stuff in and out really does work. Next time out at Snetterton we had hailstones falling while in the assembly area and it poured with rain but the windows stayed clear

I did buy a cheap 12v blower thing but its still in the box

[Al Weyman]

Good point Graeme, also what about passage of fluids in the cockpit.

[greenamex2]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Good point Graeme, also what about passage of fluids in the cockpit.

I personally don't have a problem with this as I go for a wee before going to the collecting area.



Sorry Al, couldn't resist.



It is interesting that there are strict rules on hot and/or combustible liquids being prevented from leaking in the cockpit but some 30 year old rotten heater matrix and pipes full of 100 degrees C water a few of inches from your legs is fine and, in some series, a requirement!

[steveng]

Comfort in the car, being able to see out, that sort of thing can be pretty important. Last summer I was doing the Nurburgring 24 hour race and during the day it was in the mid thirties and a lot hotter in the car. I wasn't too worried about the window misting up but I remember wondering what the weight penalty would be for air-con. I am very fit (but middle aged) and I reckoned I was losing more time from being hot and bothered than we would have lost from the weight/power loss of A/C. Whilst they fit the A/C perhaps they should put in a radio so I can listen to Radio 2!

[dtype38]

Blue Book Section E12.2.10 states that all closed cars must have "effective means of ventilation".

I once asked a scrutineer about this when I had a closed car. He said that he would consider any car with a misted up windscreen to be breaking this rule. He would look very dimly on anyone in an accident claiming lack of vision as an excuse.

To me this means that you need to have at least a screen blower, but if it doesn't keep your screen clear in all circumstances, then you need a heater as well. Any second opinions?

[graeme]

The windscreen still mists on my completely open Caterham! - and that's a lot of ventilation!

[dtype38]

Yeh, but its not in the right place. The rule says the ventilation has to be effective, not generous!

[woodyracing]

thanks for all the replies, im leaning towards keeping the heating in now until i find a suitable lightweight alternative. I dont need all the ducting but there is a huge blower fan under the dashboard on the passenger side, that must weigh a couple of kilograms. I could look at losing weight in other places though (not me cause im already a lightweight).

Andy.