Cooling lines through tunnel Options

[East coaster]

I thought I’d give some real world feedback on my cooling lines (Subaru powered) I ran through my center tunnel. When researching this option I saw a lot of posts stating that it would add heat to the cabin and I was concerned about that, but decided I wanted to go this route and find out for myself.

I’ve now put about 500 miles on my car through some of the hottest summer weather I can remember and I have to say I have zero heat transfer in the tunnel. I didn’t do anything to insulate the tunnel itself, but I did insulate the tubes passing through it. I used 1-1/4” alum tubing for the runs and I covered the tubes with a quality pipe insulation from McMaster Carr. I used one piece of insulation and ran both tubes through it. This took up less room in the tunnel vs two individual pieces of insulation and just fit better.

Here’s the insulation I used:



Here’s the tubes as the enter the tunnel:



Well, I just wanted to post this for others who might be contemplating a through tunnel run. I was almost swayed from this based on what some thought would be a problem vs real world feedback from those who’ve done it. I’m not taking a shot at those who shared concerns, but wanted to give some feedback after running in some wicked summer heat.

[Montreal914]

Beautiful integration. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

Am I seeing a silicon foam gasket material there which acts not only as a seal around the tube and body, but also as an actual tube support too? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

What was the initial gasket thickness, 1/4"? I could see a similar use for oil lines going through the body or oil cooler seal to duct on front mounted cooler.

Really nice work!

[East coaster]

Beautiful integration. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

Am I seeing a silicon foam gasket material there which acts not only as a seal around the tube and body, but also as an actual tube support too? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

What was the initial gasket thickness, 1/4"? I could see a similar use for oil lines going through the body or oil cooler seal to duct on front mounted cooler.

Really nice work!

Yes, 1/4” thick silicone sheet from McMaster Carr. It does serve as both a seal and a mounting isolator for the tubes. I have a similar setup n the front where the tubes exit.