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One of the major challenges with the BRZ/FRS, is the ability to extract heat out of the engine bay. While a stock car that is street driven doesn't have any problems staying within normal operating temperatures, cars that are Forced Induction, or are driven hard on the track often have overheating issues.

Another occurrence the more spirited drivers may have noticed, is that the stock hood "flaps" at higher speeds. There is a lot of air trapped under the hood, and to escape, the air wobbles the stock hood, escaping out the side. This produces a few undesirable effects: extra drag, front end lift, and a general feeling of uneasyness about the hood staying in place.

CounterSpace Garage (CSG) is proud to offer TrackSpec Motorsports Hood Louver/Heat Extractor Vents for the Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86.  Through CSG's reputation of impressive R&D levels and testing of products and concepts, Trackspec has partnered with CSG to develop a solution to extract heat out of the engine by and to proof test their latest Hood Louver Kit for the FT86 platform.  With the proper models and analysis performed, it was time for testing of these beautifully developed louvers.

Testing was performed at the world famous Willow Springs International Raceway, also coined as "The Fastest Track of the West."  The 2.5 mile course is famous for hosting a variety of high powered cars and consistently sees a high average speed indicating a liberal use of the throttle.  With this level of driving commitment, many cars have heat issues due to the length of time at full throttle.  The stage was perfect for stress testing our BRZ with the newly added Trackspec louver kit.

The CSG BRZ was wired up with pressure sensors inside the engine by and outside of the car to identify the measured pressured differences between the two readings.  Tuft testing was also performed to provide a visual on the air flow over the vents.

Pressure sensors were used to identify the pressure differential between the engine bay and the outside conditions.  So what does a pressure differential mean for this particular application?  Before we answer this question, we would like to identify how physics work in this regard.

This phenomenon is quite intuitive.  Pressure is a force per unit area. In a high pressure zone, particles experience a large force in a given area (coin Star Wars meme?).  In a low pressure zone, particles experience a smaller force (the Force is weak with this Jedi...).  The larger force "pushes" or "overpowers" the smaller force, which moves particles from the high pressure zone into the low pressure zone.  A build up of air gushing into the engine bay is a high pressure zone (think of boost!) and the high velocity air flowing over the hood is the low pressure zone.

Now that you had a simple physics class on how natural air flow/extraction works, it gets a bit more complicated when providing real life application.  This not only has simple physics, it also has basic fluid dynamics involved with this heat extraction project.  FIrst of all, air leaking out of a void will actually create drag.  This is because extreme low velocity air leaks out of these holes and actually trips the boundary layer of the high velocity air traveling over the hood.  This mixture causes turbulent flow and increases the drag profile.  To reduce this level of turbulence, a solution is guide the air flow smoothly out of the vent and introduce it into the air stream with minimal disturbance.

Louvers are used to trip the boundary layer of air flow.  By tripping the boundary layer of general airflow, mini boundary layers are formed over each louver and causes a reduction in thermal resistance.  This allows the warmer high pressure air to move to the cooler low pressure area with less resistance.  On top of this, the minor flow separation at the louver energizes the boundary layer by forcing the free flowing air to adhere to the skin surface, thereby reducing drag.

Crazy stuff right?  This is just touching the surface too and it can get more complicated if we attempted to explain it a bit more.  So what's the TL;DR version of this physics problem?

• Proper louver size is required to optimize heat extraction from the engine bay.
• Free flow air over louvers energizes localized air and causes reduction in thermal resistance.
• Particles from high pressure region naturally moves to low pressure region
• Energizing airflow through the car and over the car creates natural forced convection (heat transfer) through the engine bay thereby improving cooling capacity by increasing the temperature delta from the power system to ambient temperature.
• All of these characteristics reduces turbulence and improves airflow over the car, through the car, and under the car which reduces the drag profile.

So now that we went over the theory, what was the actual data?  By knowing that dropping overall engine bay temperature, the larger temperature delta allows the radiators and heat exchangers to work more efficiently.  In order to prove that there is definitely a difference in air flow, measured pressure differential is required.  This is the data up to 130 MPH!

• An overall 43% drop in under-hood pressure at highway speeds
• 60% drop in under-hood pressure at 120mph!
• Tangible net front downforce (we had to add wing angle during testing to balance the now-grippier front)
• Increased cooling (less pressure under the hood = more air flowing through the radiator; more air being extracted = more air flowing through the radiator)

Besides an amazing large Pressure Differential, we noted that the hood actually suctioned to the body.  The BRZ/FRS/GT86 hood, and even the available aftermarket vented hoods have been observed to lift at speed, which causes a very small gap between the bumper and the hood.  This is why hood pins are so important!  With this Trackspec louvered vents, we can definitely see how effective the extraction is working.  We also noted much lower engine bay temperatures post track session and much added stability in the front.

So the real question is is this CSG approved?  Absolutely!

CounterSpace Garage has these Trackspec Motorsports T1 Hood Louver Kit - Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 IN STOCK and ready to ship.  MSRP is $329.99.  As always, our US customers get free shipping for orders over $300 in the 48 US states.  Alaska and Hawaiian may incur a higher shipping rate.

For more information, please contact sales@counterspacegarage.com.

We also have various Trackspec Motorsports louver kits available for the C5 Corvette, C6 Corvette, 2005-2009 Mustangs, 2005-2009 GT500, BMW E36 M3, and Honda S2000.

CounterSpace Garage (CSG) and ACE Header (ACE) would like to congratulate Michele Abbate on her SCCA US Majors Tour - Western Conference Majors STU Class win on Saturday, January 30th at Auto Club Speedway with her Scion FR-S.  Her car is equipped with key items including the all new Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger Kit, the proven quality ACE 4-2-1 with 350 Collector Merged Header, and CSG's Fan Shroud with high powered SPAL Fans.

In celebration of Michele's Saturday class win, ACE & CSG is offering a 20% discount off listed MSRP from ACE's website (aceheader.com) on all ACE Type-B 350, 250, and 150 collectors.  This discount applies to Type-B headers ONLY for the Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 platform with the FA20 / 4U-GSE engine on the ACE website.

Disclaimer:
ACE Header's listed price DOES NOT include AIR FREIGHT SHIPPING and CUSTOMS FEE charges.  The shipping is added at ACE checkout -and- customs fee is charged after shipment arrives to your doorstep.  The customer is responsible for the shipping charges and customs fee if purchased direct from ACE.

CSG Guarantee:
CSG will price match the TOTAL Type-B header shipped pricing with the 20% discount from ACE's website.  (ie: ACE Listed MSRP - 20% + Shipping + Customs Fee)

Please e-mail sales@counterspacegarage.com for this limited time offer and mention Michele Abbate and ACE header special deal.  Offer expires after Sunday, February 14th, 2016.

ACE Header - Type-B 350 / 250 / 150 (Shipping & Customs Fee *NOT* included in MSRP)
ACE Type-B Equal Length Header 4-2-1 - 350 / 250 / 150 Collectors

CounterSpace Garage ACE Type-B 350 / 250 / 150 Collectors
ACE Type-B Equal Length Header 4-2-1 - 350 Collector - $1380
ACE Type-B Equal Length Header 4-2-1 - 250 Collector - $1350
ACE Type-B Equal Length Header 4-2-1 - 150 Collector - $1180

CounterSpace Garage wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  The New Years is just around the corner too!!

For the holidays, we're offering some nice discounts you can look forward to while you're out thinking about how to setup your car for the new year.  Fear not, we got the goodies!  We're offering 3 different coupon codes you can use.  Coupons are not stackable.

5% Off Storewide on Participating Products: XMAS2015
8.6% OFF on Selected Brands: XMAS86
Winmax Sale: WMXMAS2015

As always, shipping is free for order over $300 in the continental US (48 States).  That means Alaska (AK) and Hawaii (HI) will be a little extra due to the extra air freight.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at info@counterspacegarage.com!

It's that time of the year again.  CounterSpace Garage (CSG) would like to wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving.  With that said, we will be offering you guys a plethora of savings for your next order!  Coupons cannot be stacked but please check what the coupons can do for your order!  *Coupons will work on participating products ONLY.

If you don't see the products you are looking for on our website, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@counterspacegarage.com.

As always, we are offering free shipping via UPS Ground for orders over $300 in the continental USA (48 States).  Please inquire more shipping information for AK & HI and international orders!  Edelbrock kits are shipped via freight shipping due to size of the kits.

Have a wondering Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday!!

Most sports cars are designed with a low ride in mind and sometimes getting that floor jack under the car is a challenge.  Fear not, Cusco has brought its newest product to the market: the Jack Assist Ramp Set.

This ramp set is unlike the ramp sets you see on the market.  It features a detachable 2-piece design that allows for easy storage especially for those who seek a compact design to haul tools to the track.  Due to the detachable nature of these ramps, the length of the ramp and mild climb angle can be maximized to allow low cars to clear the ramps.  The ramps are made from strong ABS plastic which is not only tough and resilient, but also very light.  On top of these great features, the ramp sets are made in Japan, where quality control on materials and manufacturing is simply world class!

Cusco Jack Assist Ramp Set - MSRP: $98

At CounterSpace Garage, we would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!  As one of the few shops in the world to test and prove products we sell, we would like to thank you for all your support and for allowing us to continue testing for you!  To extend our thanks, we have some very special deals for you this season so don't hesitate to check them out now!  If you have any questions, please send us an e-mail at info@counterspacegarage.com.  Thank you for your support!