High engine coolant temp

Hi guys,

I have been fighting with my engines coolant temp being pretty high for the last season now. It gets up to 215 deg at times while just sitting idle. I have a sbf 306 with AFR aluminum heads, Anderson N21 cam, Edelbrock performer RPM intake, Holley SS EFI System. I’m running 180 thermostat which I just replaced. It had a 190 in it. I’m running aluminum 3 core radiator, Mishimoto dual 12” fans with aluminum shroud. The fans claim to be 900 cfm each. They are running off a stat and relay that is set to turn on around 180. The fans never turn off ever but the system still stays around 190 -215 degrees. My timing is at 15 deg after TDC. The sniper also controls timing.

I haven’t been running it much this year because of this issue. I don’t want to chance messing up my heads. Any ideas??

Has anyone used these fans from Mishimoto?

The fans are the only thing I can think that would cause this issue.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Just throwing out a few ideas:
Check for leaks.
Condition/age of water pump and radiator.
Are the fans pushers or pullers ?
900cfm each seems a little underpowered to me , I believe the popular contour fan is around 3000cfm.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Just throwing out a few ideas:
Check for leaks.
Condition/age of water pump and radiator.
Are the fans pushers or pullers ?
900cfm each seems a little underpowered to me , I believe the popular contour fan is around 3000cfm.

Thanks for the reply. The radiator, water pump and fan setup are only a season old with maybe 500 miles on them. There are no leaks. The fans are setup to push air from the engine side of the radiator towards the front of the car.

I did see the contour fan setup. I am wondering if the fans are the problem as you pointed out. I don’t see any other faults. I may give them a try. Thanks
 
Fans should pull air from the front through the radiator. I run Contour fans on my 331 turbo car with a 192 thermostat. Temps stay between 198° and 210° after spirited driving in 100° weather.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Those fans are crap. I don't think it's a coincidence you started having problems after installing them. Rule of thumb is 2500-3000 minimum cfm for a V8. Pick up a decent set of fans. Most aftermarket fan manufacturers are full of s***. Don't look at the cfm rating, look at the amp draw.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Those fans are crap. I don't think it's a coincidence you started having problems after installing them. Rule of thumb is 2500-3000 minimum cfm for a V8. Pick up a decent set of fans. Most aftermarket fan manufacturers are full of s***. Don't look at the cfm rating, look at the amp draw.
You talking about contour fans?
and why would you not look at cfm?
 
It’s definitely settled then haha. Thanks for the replies guys. I just picked up a Contour dual fan. I should be doing a lot better with these running. For $25 it’s already a better option.

F99758AD-582E-43AE-ABD9-26D953BDBF9E.jpeg
 
  • Like
  • Hell Yeah!
Reactions: 2 users
Yep, was referring to the Mishmoto fans, Contour fans are great, especially for what they cost. Put an amp meter on one or a Taurus fan for that matter. Ten amps for every 1000 cfm is a decent rule of thumb. Cfm ratings on aftermarket fans are all over the place & often considerably optimistic. Example: two 16" fans are rated at 2500 cfm, one has an amp draw of 28 & the other 12. Which one do you think will be closer to producing the rated cfm?
 
You'll like the contour fans. I made brackets from a thick exhaust hanger with the pre drilled multiple holes...the kind the sell at local part stores. Just bent it and cut it with a grinder. Drilled holes in the plastic so it aligned with the holes in my radiator top channel and used nut clips. 10mm nuts and bolts....one day I'll find that socket again. :chin

I could've gotten the metal cheaper at Lowes or Home depot....but I already had the hangers.

Screenshot_20191002-101609_Chrome.jpg
 
30 amp would be minimum. If i recall correctly they pull close to that each. I'd probably go with a couple 40 or 50 amp relays. The larger the relay, the larger the contact surface area, which helps dissipate heat & better distribute the electrical "load".
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
30 amp would be minimum. If i recall correctly they pull close to that each. I'd probably go with a couple 40 or 50 amp relays. The larger the relay, the larger the contact surface area, which helps dissipate heat & better distribute the electrical "load".

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing. I’ll do two 40’s.
Would you recommend using that resistor that’s on it? If I did I’d probably have to replace. It’s purdy rusty haha