What can be gained by removing the normal engine driven cooling fan and replacing it with electric fans? This is in an 87 RX-7 GXL.



I am already upgrading my alternator so I should be able to support the extra load.



Thanks,



Greg

 

IF you do it make sure you design a PROPER shroud for the new electric fan

 

And an example of a proper shroud would be..................?

 

You are looking for a fan that has the ability to cover and move as much air through the radiator as possible. This setup is used in a FC, and was used with a stock radiator prior to the engine rebuild you see here, the fan moves 2500cfm and kept the FC @ 176°F with a TD06 25G and the current T51s on the car. It is available from Summit racing for around $200.00, You will need a fan controller as well (thermostatic switch) to turn them on and off. With the current radiator the fans barely come on, and are on for about 2 minutes per cycle.







Proper shrouding means that there is a surrouns for the fan to maximize the air flow through. As you can see the Flex-o-Lites in this pic are shrouded when you buy the kit.

 

That is what I am looking for. Thanks for the info. Now what is gained by doing this. Is it worth the money? Is there a gain in HP without the direct load on the engine from the engine driven fan? Is there a gain in engine reliability due to better cooling? I know it cleans up the engine bay but is it worth it?



Does the kit come with everything but the thermostat? Does it have ggod installation instructions?



Greg

 

The gain is less drag on the waterpump, and faster cooling with these. A thermostatic clutched fan operates on thermal dynamics, as a spring is heated on the back of the fan clutch it forces hydraulic fluid to be forced into the fan drive, over time these wear out and have to be replaced, the constant fluctuation of temerature and load on these fans is good for stock units, but when you add a larger turbo, a ported motor etc etc these stock fans just cant pull enough air fast enough through the radiator. your stock fan is designed to move air across the radiator up to around 25 mph, at that time there is more air flowing across the radiator than the stock fan can pull. In your area and your temperatures with a modified engine I highly recemend this fan and looking at possibly a 3 core aluminum radiator.

 

I am currently having no problems with overheating, even in the middle of the hottest days here in Texas. I was just looking for anything else I could mod on my car to improve performance or reliability. Unfortunately there is little I can do and still keep it emissions legal here in Fort Worth. They are really, really strict.



Greg

 

On an NA like yours the fan won't do too much but everything adds up I guess... I am running the alt and water pump only on RB pullies and more took out the fan to simplify everything... there's plenty of room in my engine bay now. I used a pretty cheap 16" Mr. Gasket fan which works great and keeps the temp cooler than stock and there is no raise in temp even after hard runs but I have no A/C either... I'd like to upgrade to an aluminum radiator and at that point, get a better set up like a Black Magic. If your doing it for just performance, its probably not worth it... if your fan is bad or your temps are high, you may want to do it (and consider an aluminum rad also). Reliability and performance are equally important.

 

Wow, very informitive. I didn't need to know the info, but I'm glad I read this post. Thanks for the info guys.

 

explain to me how the fans in the pic are shrouded? is it just because everything on the rad is blocked except for the fans?