Fans...Electric or Belt spun???

[latham83]

Hey im updating alot of engine parts because im getting a new block so i really dont wanna spend more than i have too...so im asking if the fan i have will be fine for alot of high performace parts...its not free spinning..it turns with the belt...i NEVER had a problem with overheating before it actually kept very cool with this setup...but..do u think an electric fan would benefit me more?
or a free spinning fan? im not supercharging or anything..just look at my sig...
thanks guys..
if so what kinds of fans should i buy..IF I HAVE TO BUY ONE>.lol

 

[50Dreamer]

I dont think cooling will be a problem for you at all but if the money is there I would say get a 3 row radiator and electric fan, a must for most mustangs. If money is real tight then I would go for the flex fan which is better than stock in my opinion.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

You don't need an electric fan. I know people producing over 600hp that have the stock fan.

 

[-86GTStang]

Yes, Good idea. Use a Flex fan, until you can buy a El.cooling fan (Flexalite FLX 175 Summit R. is OK..) I made my own kit with parts from a crashed car. The belt driven fan robbs some horsepower, 5-12, depending on clutch type and shape. When I removed my "Spitfire" propeller from my GT, added some underdriven pulleys and used the el. fan, the engine rew much easier. GOOD LUCK,

 

[thinker]

flex fans cooool really good but they are also extremely loud on high rpm

 

[HISSIN50]

fan for the money, id say get electric. but considering the prerequisite (most always) 3G alternator, that adds to the kitty needed to do the conversion. no one can even feel 10 horsepower, IMHO. just me. enjoy the new toys.

 

[makarov]

An added attraction of the electric fan, I found out, is being able to pull the radiator and the fan out of the car at the same time. Much easier to work on and looks much cleaner, plus the additional hp. Afterall, every little bit helps, we're not doing the mods just to see how much money we can spend (at least I'm not, lol).

 

[latham83]

what kind of electric fans are the best to buy...not to expensive either..
are they hard to install?
plus will they def. give me better cooling over the belt driven fan

 

[88stangmangt]

well the mark vIII (or what ever search the board it is all ove the place)is very popular elec. fan swap for the fox body's it flows over 2k cfm of air and you can get it cheap from a junk yard.and no dought it will cool better than your stock clutch fan 100 to 1 but at the same time it will drain of your alt and you wont gain any power. So what i am doing is geting a powermaster 160 amp alt and mark fan (new or used) and elec. water pump and then my alt wont have a prob but that 60 amp has to go.

P.S does anyone know a site that sells the mark VIII fans?

 

[Michael Yount]

The benefit of a properly sized electric fan over the belt driven fan isn't better cooling -- it's that it frees up HP. Someone mentioned above that the belt driven's take anywhere from 5-12HP to turn depending on clutch type, condition, fan type and engine speed. Electrics take no HP to turn when they're off, and they're only on when they're needed to cool the car. When they are on, even the biggest most powerful (Mark VIII's purportedly pull 46A!) only require 1 to 1.5HP; many only take .5HP-1HP.

As Hissin mentioned above, check out your electrical charging system before you buy. The stock fox body alt. is a 65A unit. If you have a big electrical fan, a/c, additional driving lights, powerful stereo equipment, etc., it's really easy to overwhelm the stock alternator at idle/low engine speeds. That results in a lot of stress on the battery, dim lights, slow starting, etc. An upgrade in alternator output is often required to overcome those symptoms.

 

[speed1972]

Please don't ever use a FLEX FAN!!! First of all, they are spinning all the time no matter what. A stock fan clutch setup only spins in direct ratio to engine temp. On a cold motor, you can take a piece of stiff carboard and stop a stock setup, but try it again when the motor is hot and its not so easy. Now think how much horsepower that flex fan is robbing when racing at the track when it is spinning 6000 rpms compared to that stock setup which (if the car is cool) isn't going to put much drag on it at all.

Now for the dangerous part, flex fans have been known to come apart destroying anything in their path.. I personally had one come apart a few years back when I had a camaro. It took out my radiator... I had a piece of fan stuck straight through it!! Now imagine had I been working under the hood of my car when that fan came apart. Like I said dangerous... cool?

My personal favorite is the electric fan. It will give you a power increase by decreasing the drag on the motor. And the pull on the electrical system is minimal.


Larry

 

[86Five-0]

Flex fans are supposed to free up some hp, the box mine came in claimed up to 3hp. This shoud be true since it wieghs next to nothing compared to the heavy stock fan clutch and plastic fan. They do have their disadvantages like mentioned above such as constantly being on and can be a little loud, if you have your stock exhaust on there. The only problem I have with mine is that my car takes a good amount of time to warm up now in the winter, but that might be the combination of parts like the Flex fan and my 180* T-stat. If I had the money at the time to upgrade to electric fan/alt, I would've gone that route but I was on a tight budget so I got the flex fan.

 

[Michael Yount]

A fan should have little bearing on the length of time it takes a car to warm up. Even though the fan is moving air across the radiator (or not if it's an electric that's off), virtually no coolant is moving through the radiator. That's because until the coolant in the engine reaches the opening point of the t'stat, the t'stat is supposed to be closed blocking the flow of coolant to the radiator. If your car is taking a long time to reach operating temperature, perhaps your t'stat isn't closing all the way.

 

[88stangmangt]

well, it should be set-up on a thermostat so that it only comes on when set. and if you are that worried about it being on all the time use a toggle switch to it.

 

[makarov]

Latham, I'm running the flex-a-lite black magic fan. They get alot of flak, but I installed the original flex-a-lite fan designed for the 5.0 10yrs ago and it finally bit the bullet, but it performed great. I had charging problems because of u/d pulleys, going through batteries and at least two stock 65amp alternators.

I installed my b/m in about 3hrs, easy to do, all parts and wiring included in the kit. I then installed a 140amp powermaster alternator, which fits the stock mount and is a "one wire" installation, going to the positive post of the battery. I've had no further problems with cooling or keeping the battery at a full charge. I replaced my 10 year old radiator with a new stock replacement, and added a 180* stat (which you don't have to do if your cooling system is operating properly, you can run the stock 195*, it's just my wife's desire that the heater come on immediately).

Like Michael said, if you want some extra hp, install the electric, and like hissin said, go to the larger alternator if you commute, have a big stereo and lots of accessories running. You'll be amazed by the weight of the old clutch fan when you remove it.

 

[astronut1885]

My mechanic adivsed me against an electric fan. He said that the necessary alternator upgrade would rob more HP than I'd gain from an electric fan. I have a friend who has an electric, and he is jumping up to the MkVIII, so I could get his old one cheap, and I could get a 3G alt cheap too. Is it worth it to go to electric over stock? I also have U/D pullies, so I already have minor charging issues at idle, but at speed my volt meter stays almost at the top.

 

[MadMatt5oh]

My mechanic adivsed me against an electric fan. He said that the necessary alternator upgrade would rob more HP than I'd gain from an electric fan. I have a friend who has an electric, and he is jumping up to the MkVIII, so I could get his old one cheap, and I could get a 3G alt cheap too. Is it worth it to go to electric over stock? I also have U/D pullies, so I already have minor charging issues at idle, but at speed my volt meter stays almost at the top.

Youre Mechanic is behind on times. Definately upgrade both your stock alt and fan - especailly when its at a reduced cost!

 

[jerry beach]

Take the fan off your car and put the bolts back in the pulley. Take it for a spin around the block, dont go far, and dont sit at a red light. You will overheat in several minutes if you sit still. I like to compare it with driving with or without the ac on. You can tell the motor spools up faster.

As for the electric eating HP. That is bull. Its not a measureable amount if any. I ran back to back passes at the track fan on, then off. There was .01 difference in the times. My fan cost me $25. The alt upgrade, as stated is usually necessary. I have been getting away without it, but the system is near its limit, and I keep an eye on it. I dont suggest trying this, could result in a fire, but I am brave or stupid.

 

[Michael Yount]

Electrical charging systems in cars are demand-based systems. They don't just sit there and charge -- they only provide current that is pulled from them by accessories. So, if you have the same accessories on, a 200A alternator puts basically the same load on a system that a 65A alternator does - the difference being only in the efficiency of the 2 alternators ability to generate. Pass this along to your mechanic; if he disagrees, I'd try finding another mechanic.

As for how much load the fan adds - I mentioned it above. It's pretty easy to calculate if you know how many amps the fan pulls. Multiply the number of amps X the voltage (a healthy system ought to be putting out around 13.5-14V into the fan with the alt. charging). That gives you a number in Volt-Amps or Watts if you like. Multiply that number by .0013 to convert it to HP. Then factor in your alternator efficiency. Do the math - you'll see that even the biggest electrics with very inefficient alternators will only add 1 HP or so to the load.

 

[astronut1885]

Yeah. His main point was that the 3G alternator was harder to turn than the stocker, and would put more load on the motor. I didn't agree, but I never really looked into it. Also, my car will stay one notch below the top red mark on my stock gauge without any accessories on, will drop to 1/2 with either the heat or lights on, and will go to about 1/4 power with lights and heat, and the blinkers slow down. Do you think I'd need an alt upgrade to go with an elec. fan? I think I would.