Driver Ryan Ayers fabricated this two-piece radiator deflector — one on the top (pictured), with a matching piece on the bottom — for his DIRTcar UMP modified. Some might think he made it to help with aerodynamics. However, Ayers built the setup with another purpose in mind.
“[At one race,] the backside of the radiator got pretty beat up from a piece of mud and it messed up the pulley system,” said Ayers, 30, of Newton, North Carolina. “Radiators aren’t cheap these days and neither are pulley setups. So, we made [the radiator deflector] to help that out, and we haven’t had any problems since.”
Ayers provides further details on his radiator deflector.
“The bottom [deflector] is riveted to the crossmember and on the back of it, near the oil pan, we got some slots made in the deflector, which we hose-clamped to the bars that connect the main rails to the crossmember,” Ayers said. “On the top side, four bolts connect the deflector to the radiator mount, and then we have foam padding around the radiator hose, which we zip-tied to the deflector and the deflector sits upon.”
While Ayers said the radiator deflector doesn’t provide any aerodynamic effect, it does offer a performance advantage.
“The [piece] on top helps deflect heat away from the motor to help run cooler air down to the carburetor,” said Ayers. “It creates more horsepower, theoretically. The more heat you put in the carburetor, it’s not going to [perform] as well as it would with cooler temperatures.”
Ryan Ayers started racing go-karts as a kid back in his native California. In 1999, he and his father then moved to Las Vegas, where he continued racing go-karts. Then, the two moved to North Carolina in 2004. Ayers raced Legend cars on pavement before moving into dirt modifieds in 2008.
He works as a salesman for Carolina Racing Supply. Ayers also builds his own bodies, both for himself and for others. He put those fabrication skills to good use with the radiator deflector. His creation provides an inexpensive solution to a potentially expensive problem.
“It’s probably $20 to $30 of sheet metal,” Ayers said of the radiator deflector. “A Fluidyne radiator is about $300 to $400, and pulley setup is probably another couple hundred.”
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
