O boy, I feel some bashing coming on.

airhead04

New Member
Aug 21, 2009
1,489
1
0
Lima, Ohio, United States
Hey figgie, I usually dont go by the post count. The reason being is because, take me for example, I have 300+ posts and have been on here since September of 09, maybe a little earlier. And some guys have been on here for much much longer with only about 200 posts. I usually go bu how many years the person has been on here. But I also take into consideration the post count as well ;)

Thanks for the tip though. You guys are great.
 

GrimJack

Administrator
Dec 31, 1969
12,377
3
38
56
Richmond, BC, Canada
idriders.com
I'll chime in a bit here, on a slightly related subject.

When taking advice, keep in mind that this is a GLOBAL club. What works for cooling in Alaska may not work so well for the member in Cabo san Lucas. The base AEM map for the member in Oregon may not work so well for the guy in Bolivia. And so on.

The beauty of the stock system is that it was engineered by Toyota to work in all these places.

Those of us who modify our vehicles tend to make it work for our area... however, always remember that the number of us who drive significant distances from home is very small.

On the subject of cooling, for instance, there are MANY factors that haven't been mentioned. Ambient temperatures, humidity, pressure - these are obvious. But what about the not-so obvious ones? My home town has a no-idle law... if traffic comes to a halt for more than 30 seconds, you are legally required to shut off your engine, which causes nasty heat soak. Do Efans help? I doubt it... not without an electric water pump added into the equation, too.

Is it possible to put together a solution that works using Efans? Of course... but it's not going to be cheap, and you are likely to suffer through quite a bit in the way of birthing pains while on the way. We've seen every bolt in solution fail miserably under harsh conditions - sometimes not even in conditions that are very harsh.
 

limequat

Dissident
Apr 1, 2005
532
0
0
Detroit
GrimJack;1485381 said:
I'll chime in a bit here, on a slightly related subject.

When taking advice, keep in mind that this is a GLOBAL club. What works for cooling in Alaska may not work so well for the member in Cabo san Lucas. The base AEM map for the member in Oregon may not work so well for the guy in Bolivia. And so on.

The beauty of the stock system is that it was engineered by Toyota to work in all these places.

Those of us who modify our vehicles tend to make it work for our area... however, always remember that the number of us who drive significant distances from home is very small.

On the subject of cooling, for instance, there are MANY factors that haven't been mentioned. Ambient temperatures, humidity, pressure - these are obvious. But what about the not-so obvious ones? My home town has a no-idle law... if traffic comes to a halt for more than 30 seconds, you are legally required to shut off your engine, which causes nasty heat soak. Do Efans help? I doubt it... not without an electric water pump added into the equation, too.

Is it possible to put together a solution that works using Efans? Of course... but it's not going to be cheap, and you are likely to suffer through quite a bit in the way of birthing pains while on the way. We've seen every bolt in solution fail miserably under harsh conditions - sometimes not even in conditions that are very harsh.

Good points. I'll be the contrarian here and vote for the efans. A modern setup can just do more than the engine-driven fans. Many cars have 2 with variable speeds. An engine driven fan is pretty much on or off. An efan will give you max output when the car is idling. An engine driven fan has the least possible amount of power when idling.

A couple anecdotes:
  • I once had a Sunbird Turbo. After a spirited run the efan would come on after I shut off the engine. I -and apparently GM- think it helped.
  • I swapped a Chevy 4.3 V6 into a Mazda pickup. It runs the stock radiator and an aftermarket efan fan. I once went nearly an entire winter without the fan coming on. Conversely, I don't believe that engine-driven fans fully disengage - ever. Seems like every time I see a RWD vehicle drive by, I can hear the fan going.

Realisticly, it doesn't matter too much what powers the fan. All OEMs use efans without issue. For them, it's an issue of cost. Why pay for a big electric motor when you can just slap a fan blade on a pulley? But when FWD forces you into efans, all sorts of options are opened up. In a properly designed system, efans are better in most every way.
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
0
0
42
Fort Worth, TX
Correct. A proper e-fan setup will function as well as the stock system. Most people wire in cheap fans without shrouds or cut corners. Most of the aftermarket fans are absolute garbage and aren't as efficent, powerful, or as durable as the OEM fans. The cheapest solution is the stock system as it's cheap, simple, and robust. A cheap e-fan setup is a BHG waiting to happen. Most people here go the cheap route...

Several points:
- Our electrical system wasn't designed for the load.
- OEM e-fans have failsafes (temp switch and wiring keep the fans from coming on, a failure means they come on unlike an aftermarket system).
- The slim nice looking fans are just that, nice looking. OEM fans are about function not looks. IJ's e-fans hovered when powered up on the floor.
 

aaron_arthur

New Member
Jul 30, 2008
51
0
0
London
I am replacing the clutch fan with an e-fan as well, for my set up im using two 14" push/pull e-fans that flow 1550cfm each as well as using a themostatic fan control kit (summit racing)
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HDA-3651/
using that to run the fan so you dont have to cut into a wiring harness, but will also be making a fan shroud to fit an aluminium rad.

any feed back on this set up would be nice.

Aaron
 
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aaron_arthur

New Member
Jul 30, 2008
51
0
0
London
GrimJack;1485584 said:
1550 total? Or 1550 each?

The one that Phil at Adrenaline put together is 1250 CFM each, 2 fans makes for 2500 CFM. With a shroud and a good temp based controller, I'm expecting it to work.

sorry should of stated but they are 1550 each!
 

Dunckel

Active Member
Jan 16, 2007
2,949
0
36
42
Spokane, WA
nosechunks;1485101 said:
Ive run my car, stock fan no shroud or undercover and never had an issue even on 90F+ days. i got my car with neither of these items and i have never had an issue running that way.

I have to 2nd this comment. I used the stock fan, no shroud or undercover for 5 years with no temp rising issues. I switched to an efan and used that for the remaining two years I owned the car with no ill effects.
 

sk6471

Quietly Lurking
May 28, 2005
91
0
0
Texas
The OP lives in Florida. If you live that far south you shouldn't worry about getting rid of the stock fan, but how to supplement it for better cooling. A stock Supra at 100 degrees feels like it has a four banger. To fix this you need to add a larger and thicker front mount intercooler which will block a lot of airflow through the radiator. If you replace the factory fan with an electric fan the electric fan/fans better pull/push more air than the factory fan can. As Poodles has already stated most aftermarket fans can't move that much air.

Airhead, if you think that the factory fan is loud, you should hear the amount of noise that an electric fan/fans large enough to cool your car makes.
 

CajunKenny

PULL MY FINGER. PLEASE!
Nov 15, 2007
3,255
0
0
Washington
I have also been running electric fans without any difficulty/problems.

If you plan on using the Flex-A-Lite Kit, the first thing you need to do is throw the supplied in-line fuse holder in the trash and spend $7 bucks on one of these.

p1485636_1.jpg
 

grimreaper

New Member
Jul 2, 2008
2,180
0
0
Dallas
nosechunks;1485101 said:
For some reason i feel the myth of removing the clutch fan for e-fans falls in the same category of not running a shroud or undercover.

I feel if your car overheats without these items it has other underlying issues at hand. The stock radiator should be able to easily keep engine temps down with electric fans/clutch fan, even on a hot day.

Ive run my car, stock fan no shroud or undercover and never had an issue even on 90F+ days. i got my car with neither of these items and i have never had an issue running that way.

I'm not saying electric fans are better or worse, or that these items weren't installed for a reason. BUT i feel that a properly set up electric fan shouldn't be incapable of keeping the engine from overheating.

If electric fans were that unreliable manufacturers wouldn't have made the switch in new cars.

Dunckel;1485600 said:
I have to 2nd this comment. I used the stock fan, no shroud or undercover for 5 years with no temp rising issues. I switched to an efan and used that for the remaining two years I owned the car with no ill effects.

What temp gauges where you guys using? Ive seen a forced 210* temp on my aftermarket gauge and the stock one was still sitting at a tick below half way. Ive ran with out a shroud and with one back to back on the same day. Idle temps took the biggest hit with out the shroud. Temps rose quickly and took longer to cool off. Not trying to disprove you guys but no shroud was a joke at anything less then highway cruise in my experience. Did the car overheat drastically and melt down? No but this was on a 60* day. Toss ac in at 105 at a stop light and I'm betting you'd quickly hit the 210* ac kick off point. Temps have been more stable since putting the stock shroud back on.

When i stopped at a light temps were at 180, within 2-3 minutes temps rose to 195. With the shroud & the same starting temp it took 5+ minutes to hit 185-190*. This was with no ac, and an ambient temp of 60*

Highway cruise with out an undercover is another thing. Again Ive had temps rise over 200* when it gets near 100* ambient at a steady cruise with the ac on. The undercover will be replaced shortly...

This is with a 180 thermo, fluidyne rad. and no leaks, new rad. cap and new hoses. The cooling system was in 100% condition minus the shrouds. Just saying that with some heat outside things can quickly be pushed to the limits with pieces missing.

and i vote keep the stock clutch fan and rebuild the clutch...
 
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