Thread: [DEAD]Project Turtle: 1993 Toyota Tercel/56K=FAIL

The CF to IDE adapter came in yesterday, and I tried installing Win XP to it, after reboot I got the "NTLDR is missing" error. Looking over the instructions for HORM and EWF, now I know why. I'll work on that this weekend instead of partying for the 4th. Now I need to do the fans...

Originally Posted by freeflashstuff

Now I need to do the fans...

If there's a way to do it, you might consider making both of those fans blow out, and open up inbound air access points down below. The inbound doesn't need fans, as long as the outbound has them.

Or, if fan noise is an issue, you might pull air into the bottom with fans and let it blow out the top without fans. That puts the fans and fan noise further away from occupants.

I think I'll make them both suck air in and put one blowing out in the trunk so cool air in thru the top, and hot air into the already hot trunk. Air should be forced from the trunk back into the cabin where the Recirculate on the AC will cool it back down.(Sounds right in theory, correct me if I'm wrong please, I'm about to order the fans!) What size fans should I use, BTW? 80mm or 120mm?

Originally Posted by freeflashstuff

I think I'll make them both suck air in and put one blowing out in the trunk so cool air in thru the top, and hot air into the already hot trunk. Air should be forced from the trunk back into the cabin where the Recirculate on the AC will cool it back down.(Sounds right in theory, correct me if I'm wrong please

"Recirculate" probably just closes the A/C system's fresh air intake at the firewall, so all of its intake is from the cabin side of the firewall. The air you blow into the trunk wouldn't be recirculated into the car; it'll just exit the trunk through the trunk vents.

One fan in and one fan out should be fine. It's best to balance the amount going in with the amount going out; two in and one out wouldn't be much more effective than just one in and one out.

If the chamber is pretty well sealed (other than the intake opening), one or two blowing out into the trunk would do it. That's assuming you have an opening in the cabin that the PC bay can draw it's cooled air from. And putting the fans close to the trunk eliminates noise, as well.

Originally Posted by freeflashstuff

I'm about to order the fans!) What size fans should I use, BTW? 80mm or 120mm?

Fans are sized by the distance between the centers of adjacent mounting holes; an "80mm" fan probably has a fan opening that's 95mm (3.75 inch) or so. I think I'd go with one or two 80mm fans. They'll push/pull a surprising amount of air through there; it should be enough for an Atom board and a power supply, even in sunny New Mexico.

You might consider wiring them so they start with the ignition and begin moving air as soon as you turn the key.

Don't go cheap on the fans . . . get good ones.

Originally Posted by freeflashstuff

I think I'll make them both suck air in and put one blowing out in the trunk so cool air in thru the top, and hot air into the already hot trunk. Air should be forced from the trunk back into the cabin where the Recirculate on the AC will cool it back down.(Sounds right in theory, correct me if I'm wrong please, I'm about to order the fans!) What size fans should I use, BTW? 80mm or 120mm?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I would have it recirculate cabin air, meaning air in one side, air out the other, dont add the hot trunk to the equation, it isnt needed. You dont want to over complicate the setup and do more work then you need to. Basically by doing it the way I suggested, there is a constant circulation of air. The smaller the air circulation area, the faster it will cool when first getting into the car.

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I would have it recirculate cabin air, meaning air in one side, air out the other, dont add the hot trunk to the equation, it isnt needed. You dont want to over complicate the setup and do more work then you need to. Basically by doing it the way I suggested, there is a constant circulation of air. The smaller the air circulation area, the faster it will cool when first getting into the car.

I think you're misreading what he said. The air from the trunk doesn't come back into the car. By blowing heated PC air into the trunk, and not into the cabin, completely fresh cabin air is drawn into the PC chamber constantly, not partly fresh cabin air and partly recirculated PC air.

The chamber in which the PC sits should be sealed away from the trunk except where the fans are, but it should already be that way.

I think he'll be okay with this, and it may be a pretty interesting innovation.

Originally Posted by rdholtz

I think you're misreading what he said. The air from the trunk doesn't come back into the car. By blowing heated PC air into the trunk, and not into the cabin, completely fresh cabin air is drawn into the PC chamber constantly, not partly fresh cabin air and partly recirculated PC air.

The chamber in which the PC sits should be sealed away from the trunk except where the fans are, but it should already be that way.

I think he'll be okay with this, and it may be a pretty interesting innovation.

No I understood, but I think its way to much work. The heat coming off the PC isnt that much.... If you feel more comfortable doing it that way, its your install. You will know what the PC needs better then I do. On my install it circulates within the cabin, but I also have a 2 zone A/C system in the front, and the rear has its own dedicated A/C system. I have 2 fans blowing air in and 2 blowing out. It really cools. If its 90 in the car, it can cool the PC down to 70, with A/C on, down to 45 - 50.

I set everything up earlier today, I'm just waiting on the copying to my CF card to finish. Estimated 55 minutes left. Hopefully it'll boot after this is done... Ordered the fans too. I ordered two 80mm, 2700RPM fans from NewEgg. Hopefully they will be here at the end of next week. I'm also working on getting power to my USB hub in the front so I can have extra USB ports for flash drives, cameras, etc. I'm gonna use the (I think it was HiJack's) idea of getting the 5 VDC from the Opus, but I think I'm gonna throw a diode in there so I don't get power feeding back to the computer...

Got my CF drive to boot, but it's really slow. WTF is with that? It's been 3 minutes, and it's still loading...