Thread: viscous-vs-electric fans

Originally Posted by Crackerjack

I think that if you are having overheating problems with electric fans you have a poor installation or faulty cooling system, first you need proper fans designed for the job, not some rubbish from a scrap yard that used to be in a Toyota Corolla,

You shot a big hole in your argument right there.
Toyota's fan suppliers have a lot more R&D into shifting air than any of the "aftermarket" suppliers ever will.

Originally Posted by Dougal

You shot a big hole in your argument right there.
Toyota's fan suppliers have a lot more R&D into shifting air than any of the "aftermarket" suppliers ever will.

If you knew what I meant no I have not.
A, A fan from a scrapped car is likely to be past its best and,
B, a Toyota Corolla is a 1000kg car not a 2500kg 4WD

Originally Posted by Crackerjack

If you knew what I meant no I have not.
A, A fan from a scrapped car is likely to be past its best and,
B, a Toyota Corolla is a 1000kg car not a 2500kg 4WD

I've been running two toyota corona fans (same as corolla fans) for the last 6 years.

Yes I got them from a car wrecker, they haven't missed a beat.
Fans aren't rated by vehicle weight either.

Originally Posted by Dougal

I've been running two toyota corona fans (same as corolla fans) for the last 6 years.

Yes I got them from a car wrecker, they haven't missed a beat.
Fans aren't rated by vehicle weight either.

Correct. Fans are not rated by weight. They are rated by air flow or displacement.

However the bigger the vehicle the bigger the fan would be needed.

A pair of fans off a laser would not be suitable for SHMBO's Fairlane.

Dave.

Originally Posted by Mr Whippy

A pair of fans off a laser would not be suitable for SHMBO's Fairlane.

Dave.

A single fan which has to cool a 1.6L engine plus aircon and auto box would in a pair be about perfect for a 4 litre ford.
A V8 ford, possibly not.

Dougal and Mr Whippy I think understand what I was on about, I am not critisizing a fan from any particular manufacturer but I am if you are fitting an unsuitable fan to a vehicle then complaning it does not do the job, if a suitable fan is fitted properly and the cooling system is in good condition then electric fans in most situations will do the job.

Electric fans aren't going to eat the radiator anyway. No need for a lockout switch IMO.

Its more so that fans dont like being dumped in water and loaded up when running as the amp draw tends to rise rather fast and the fuses blow.

Water wont generally tend to be a problem getting sprayed around as it takes very little to stop them even when they are running flat out.

I dont have a lockout on mine, just a manual on and I just unplug a wire from the switch on the thermo housing to stop them when needed.

Have a look here http://www.pacet.co.uk/

Critical thing with fans is you want one that "pulls" not push, and look at the airflow figures. Anyone that doesn't state a figure through at least a 30mm core thickness, fans will be inadequate.
Was under the bonnet of SWMBO's '99 Lancer the other day poking around and taking some skin off my knuckles. The fans in these have an exceptional amount of flow, the A/C one in particular which is smaller, but has a far deeper pitch on the blade than the main fan and pulls significantly more air.
A lot of late model 4 & 6cyl passenger fans are more than adequate for the job, it just comes down to fitment and how many. The Lancer ones for example are separate from the shroud, but they mount to the shroud at the fan body, which then makes it hard to fit to any other shroud.
I couldnt source Pacet here but Factory Air were a supplier of mine so I scammed a good deal an made my own including the shroud.

Cheers

Andrew

Originally Posted by 350RRC

Don't know how you had them switched, but at highway speed it shouldn't make much difference between the two types, even when towing.
.. ... .. ... ..

cheers, DL

At highway speed, you don't need a fan at all. Years ago a mate of mine unbolted all the fan blades from his Peugeot 403 and left them off for a year or so. It got a bit warm when he went to visit his girlfriend in Sydney, but on the open road, it ran at exactly the same temperature as when the blades were on.

IIRC, his fuel economy improved by almost 2 miles per gallon.