We decided to ditch the factory (silver) Thermostat Cover and coolant Air Separator Tank (AST) and replace it with an AST Delete Kit from Raceonly. The thermostat cover pictured here does not have a radiator pressure cap on it. The fitting that sticks out the front of the cover is connected to the AST, a separate water reservoir (not shown) that contains the radiator pressure cap. This adds complexity and takes up space in the engine bay.
The Raceonly Billet AST Delete is designed in-house to replace both the OEM thermostat cover (pictured) and the OEM or aftermarket AST (not pictured). Their expansion tank design supersedes all other remove mount AST layouts by providing more efficient coolant/water transfer and air separation. Used in many race cars and countless street cars, the Raceonly AST Delete kit has been extensively tested and proven as one of the best AST delete options on the market.
The Raceonly Billet AST Delete Gen 2 adds an AN-16 thread in the bottom radiator neck which allows the option for either the factory radiator hose or a braided AN line to be used. The diameter of the flange has also been reduced by 2mm which allows for a slightly larger turbo to be able to fit next to it. A G42-1450 now fits next to the Gen 2 AST Delete with their twingate turblown manifold.
The Raceonly Billet AST Delete is beautifully machined and looks great as a prominent component in the engine bay. Matching the Raceonly Pullies, the blue theme of our engine accessories is continuing to look pretty good.
With the belts attached, the Raceonly Pullies, AST Delete, and DC Power 180AMP HP High Output Alternator dressed up the font of our engine quite nicely.
4 comments
Fantastic update and all the custom work on the cooling system is so cool to read about. I am patiently waiting to see this thing finally unleash some HP!
Technically, you should have a ‘blade’ that bifurcates upper, and lower flows at the start of the duct. If you modeled this in CFD, there would be obvious turbulence that could easily be avoided.
Cheers.
Was about to comment the same thing.
Also, the air out of the IC needs to go somewhere… I don’t remember what the hood looks like for this project, but a proper vent with gurney flap and ducting would do wonders at speed.
Can’t wait to read the next articles.
It’s not that crucial to bifurcate the ducting. Many morern OEM cars don’t separate the inlet ducting of a common duct/plenum that feeds multiple heat exchangers because airflow is not laminar in the ducting and the important aspect here is creating a pressure differential across the heat exchangers. Proper ducting that seals the air from the front bumper to the heat exchanger creates a high pressure area on the front side of heat exchangers in the V-mount setup (or “L”-mount in many OEM applications) when using a common plenum (or air box, or radiator ducting).