yeah i'd take a flex over a steel fan anyday... me and my friend did some testing at the track one day.. and in the 1/4 with out any fan at all it ran almost consitantly an avg of 10th faster in the 1/4... seemed hard to belive until we put it back on and it slowed down about an avg of a 10th slower. but with that in mind and since your now getting an electric fan.... to me an electric fan is great however to me on a stock radiator a flex will cool better then an electric... if you got both thats even better. but electrics are nice for cool down periods. just my
I installed a 105 or 110 amp on a FE motor I had (will go on anything) for very cheap. I got it from a car I had, but they are readily available for around 65 bucks or less Its for a 91 Ford Tempo... I'll show you how to wire it up as a single wire also if interested.... Fan and alternator both bought new should run you less than 150 bucks...
Read my recent post regarding mounting an electric fan. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=17050 Even when you take off the steel fan and pulley, there is very little room between the engine and the radiator. Find one that will fit on inside or outside, and don't assume you can just swap the wires and run in reverse. Mine sounded like an airplane in reverse, then nearly silent forward. you have about 4" clearance so keep that fan/motor/shroud assembly thin! Or mount in front of the radiator and have it blow through.
Andy, I would be interested in that alternator and stuff you are talking about. Post here or PM me the details. I put a new stereo in the Mav that I think pulls to much power for my stock 6 cylinder alternator. It's a 300 watt Pioneer. If I have the radio turned up loud it actually makes the lights go dim sort of when it hits real hard, and the car can be hard to start if I keep the radio turned up for a long period of time.
Andysutt, Is that an electric fan and alternator for under $150? And a one-wire alternator? I have been looking at fans in excess of $180, and up to $250-300. 1-wires were around $90, but they were pretty chrome ones from Jegs.
It's a stock alternator from a 91 Ford Tempo. It's technically a 1 wire... takes some modifying (making a jumper wire on the alt) Wires up as a one wire. And the fan price just depends on what you want. I have a 16 or 18'' (forgot) but it was biggest they sold at Oreillys and it was around 100 bucks. Very high RPM and came w/ adjustable thermostat. So for around 150-160 you get both.
Ever had a fan clutch go bad? It sucks. Ever had an electric fan motor go bad? It sucks. A good flex-fan never wears out, and I seriously doubt that it sucks 20hp. Maybe 5 to 7. I'm sticking with my original flex-fan. It cools very well, and after 32 years, it's still in one solid piece. There are so many myths in the automotive world. People should keep in mind that those car magazines are paid to promote the products of their sponsors...
16 inch is the biggest electric fan that I have found. You can go with the Black Magic fans that has the integrated shroud to cover more area. You can get a Zirgo 16 inch fan that flows 3300 cfm for around $110, several vendors on e-bay selling them. They have larger cfm fans for more money.
My car has 3 pedals now,, and my clutch pedal never seems to get hot. Where would I put a fan down there to cool it off anyways?
ANDYSUTT: Thanks for reply. Agree higher voltage to ignition should give hotter spark, more power up to a point. But If the electric fan is running while driving or racing, and the 2HP/1HP numbers are accurate, it seems the fan is drawing more electical power than the alternator can produce. If so, won't the battery discharge as it makes up the difference and the voltage gradually drop in the system? I'm not a racer, but maybe this is not an issue for a few number of runs.
You don't actually run the fan during a run. You run it between rounds to cool off the motor after a run.
Remember, in street use the electric fan only runs when you need it. If you're moving 20-25 mph the air flow through the radiator is sufficient to cool the engine. My fan hardly ever runs unless I get stopped at a long red light or am stuck in really slow traffic. When it does run it only takes a minute to get the temp back down to where it belongs. It would cool quicker if I had an adjustable thermostst that came on at a lower temp, but I have a fixed one that doesn't come on untill 210 degrees. BTW, when it turns on, my fan draws about 8 amps, and is rated at 2900 cfm.
