Elec. Fan: How Much Cfm Is Enough To Keep My 363 Cool?

stangboy

Founding Member
Aug 31, 1999
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New Orleans, LA
What is the ideal amount of cfm of air for an electric fan to move to keep my 363 cool? I found a nice one by CFR. Moves 2300cfm at 12 amps and 12 volts. The black Magic Extreme that LMR sells moves 3300cfm @ 18amps. I'd be paying $100 less for the CFR setup (fan, shroud, and controller). Is 2300 cfm enough to keep my 363 cool...even in south Louisiana(New Orleans) summer heat? I have a Summit 4 core radiator in the car that works great. $342 is a hard pill to swallow for the Black Magic fan but I will if the CFR fan isn't enough. What do you guys think?​
 
I've ran my 383 (351) in a fox car before with a stock fan/ clutch. I don't think its as that critical with an aftermarket radiator.

In my 95 i used a Mark viii fan before and went back to the stock electric fan. They both cool just fine. Have you experienced any overheating issues? I use a 180 thermostat.
 
I still have the stock motor in the car right now. I'm currently in the process of upgrading everything(engine, transmission, rearend, suspension, etc). Just getting parts together right now before the car goes under the knife. I know I don't want to run the stock clutch fan simply just to free up the extra hp. I will be using a 180* thermostat.
 
Get a Taurus, Mark VIII, or Contour fan for $50 and call it a day. Nothing aftermarket is better than those fans. As said above, the SN fans can also work. Use the money you would have wasted on a black magic fan and buy a nice DCControl controller along with one of the OEM fans.
 
Get a Taurus, Mark VIII, or Contour fan for $50 and call it a day. Nothing aftermarket is better than those fans. As said above, the SN fans can also work. Use the money you would have wasted on a black magic fan and buy a nice DCControl controller along with one of the OEM fans.

I agree with this. Time and time again the Taurus or Contour fan setups will meet or exceed the performance of the aftermarket fans, and at a fraction of the cost.
 
I know that the initial question is about the electric fan specifically but just wanted to mention that the fan itself is probably the 2nd LEAST important portion of the entire cooling system.

How well the fan performs is going to relate directly to how well the rest of cooling system pulls heat out of the block.
 
2300 cfm is terrible. Do not get the standard black tragic fan. It barely cools a stock mustang. I tried one a few years back on my S trimmed 306 and it sucked. Switched to the MKVII and it was night and day. Plus, you can get the MKVII for anywhere from $20-75 on message boards and Ebay vs $300+ for the black magic extreme. Same for the Taurus fan. I just picked one up for $20 from the local boneyard to put in my 90 lx. Both of these fans flow much more than 3000 cfm and are factory Ford products. Buy either the DCC or Flex a lite VSC for another $100. Throw in 2 bottles of purple ice and a 50/50 mix and you are all set. There are many good write ups on the fan and conroller installs.
 
I made some brackets for my Taurus fan. Didn't bother to make a shroud to cover the whole radiator. Honestly just didn't feel like it at the time.

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Do you guys have any pics of these junkyard fans mounted? I'm curious on how they look and how to mount.

This is a Ford Taurus fan that I picked up (free) mounted on a stock radiator. (for now) Monster can "overflow tank" lol
Im waiting to get the rest of my parts to complete my h/c/i setup, then the fan will be mounted on my Griffin aluminum radiator.

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I live in Texas, and it always stays nice, and cool!
 
I have a topic related question....

I was running the 97/98 Mark 7 fan for a while in my 95. I was using it as a single speed fan. Didn't really have an issue. for a couple of years. Just wondering if anyone knows if someone would need a BEEFED up CCRM. (For cars using a CCRM)

My CCRM failed and i wasn't sure if it was the draw of the fan or the fact that it was so old it looked like it came off the Titanic. I got a good 2 years with the old CCRM.

I know its not 5.0 Related because you guys don't have them.... But since Amperage is so high a strong relay is needed. I read on some other forums about fires resulting from 40amp Relays melting.

Chris