anybody ever try this? i was thinking they would be about the right size if they flowed enough air and wired up to 12v.

 

I don't think they really flow that much... and once you get some rain into them thats the end of them. Prove me wrong

 

yea, i guess i didnt think of the waterproofing issue, my rx doesnt go out in the rain that often anyway + you could mount the cooler higher because you woulnt need the air flowing off the car any more.

 

I reckon those fans are ****-weak though. if your driving along, they will be restricting flow more than helping it... The only time I could see them doing anything (and that is if they can keep up the CFM) is when your sitting still at the traffic lights...

 

Once your on the road those fans will push 4cfm maybe. So they will do nothing, plus they are not made to be near that much heat!

 

I'm with H4Inf on this one, I don't think computer fans are going to help at all. I would either find a better way to funnel the air higher to where you need it, or find some smaller automotive or industrial electric fans to use.

Jon

 

Perhaps a modified shrowd, or an enlarged e-fan that covers both the radiator and oil cooler? Depends if your oil cooler is strapped on straight under the rad i guess.

Then the other options is some sort of funnel as vipernicus suggested - plenty of places under the radiator to bolt things onto.

Was your main concern getting the cooler mounted higher? If so, I have seen people use 2 small coolers on either side of the car...

I do feel the oil cooler is a little susceptible to damage being down there, just keep an eye on oil pressure gauge and if it drops, turn the engine off heh :P

 

Some of you guys underestimate computer fans i see ... you should see my computer (I crammed in there 12/8mm fans .. 2/10mm fans ... and 2/6mm fans in there ... when i decide to sell it i'm going to post it as a airconditioning unit ) comptuer fans are rated at about 60-80 degrees C. And moving air at about 50-60cfm (my computer theoreatically moves about 400CFM!).
And as far a using those for an oil cooler ... i think that the best way to mount them is by setting them to the sides at about 35 degrees from the front of the oil cooler ... also if you happen to have a mariah front bumper ... i would take some piping from where the 2 slots on each side are where people mount the fog lights and run them through to your fans.

 

just to show a picture of what i'm trying to say ... ( but the angles that i drew are at 45 degrees which it should not be ... should be about 35 degrees from the reference of the airdam. This is due to butterfly effect which would restric the air from flowing properly ...

 

If you get fans from rack mount industrial equipment, they work just fine. I've got two Mitsu Starion coolers (about 8" square more or less) on my 83 in place of the beehive cooler. I have one of the abovementioned fans on each of these and they work very well for over a year. I'm in south Florida so we have no shortage of rain at times. Yuo can find them on ebay for like $10 for 5 of them.

-Mike

 

Forgot to mentiong my comment on the water .... water will not hurt the fans like some people think .... it might get it to stop funtioning for a while .... but then willl kick back in ... (i wash all my fans with water about once a month)

 

I have thought about doing this before. I really think they would only help in traffic and at red lights. I had thought to just mount them conventionally up against the cooler, either behind or in front. The biggest reason I never did it, even though it could of helped in some situations, was that I felt that when the car was at speed (racing) the fans themselves would be a huge restriction on the normal air flow coming in...Even if the fans were on.
What dj55b is suggesting sounds interesting, but I don’t think that all that would be worth it unless you spend a great deal of time at slower speeds or stopped and currently have a cooling problem. It’s a lot of effort for what might feel like diminishing returns when you’re all done.
A lot of people forget that our oil coolers need an occasional cleaning; they get blocked up with crap which significantly reduces performance. Take a can of brake cleaner and let loose on that bad boy from time to time, you'd be surprised how much better it will cool when it's clean and clear.
I have the 82’ style setup with the cooler on the bottom of the rad. I used to run the stock clutch fan with the stock shroud that extended down just enough to pull some air through the oil cooler too. It worked great. Since then I went with a thicker rad and dropped in a 13b, so I had no room for a fan/shroud and had to go electric. I took one from mazda and mounted an oversized e-fan so the bottom would hang bellow and suck air through the oil cooler as well. I’ve put that setup through all types of situations and it has worked great.

 

its all in the ducting. fans are only necessary at stops.

 

Sounds just like mine, except no shroud or e-fan.... and still no cooling problems hehe.

 

Ive had no problems with mine in the last 2 years.I used 3 4"X4" heavy duty fans rated for high airflow, verses quiet operation.Cant remember the exact CFM but they move a lot of air for their size.I used a few zip ties to secure them to the back of my main oil cooler and wired them directly to my main radiator fans.All together they draw less than 2 amps of current.When the fans kick on in traffic my Pivot digital temp/fan controller shows a drop in oil and water temps.Usually about 10-12C in water temp and 8-10C in oil temp before the sensor kicks the fans off.They definatly are working.For a mostly stock vehicle Id say its not neccesary,especially if you still have the stock fan and shroud pulling air through the oil cooler.

 

Yea I was about to say why not just put them behind the oil cooler blowing air into the back of it? Wouldn't it help any? Possibly make them so the don't blow air into the oil cooler but rather draw heat away. Just a thought.

 

why don't you just use an electric fan off of a motor cycle radiator? there are 12 volts, they flow a hell of a lot more air than a computer fan, and they got all different sizes, from 3" up to 8".

Oh and water obviously does not affect them at all.

kenn

 

Sounds like you're on to something there

 

Well,as the owner of 3 water cooled bikes,I can say that many of them dont really move much more air than a large computor fan.In fact,the fan on my 600 is only slightly bigger than the 4" fans I use on the RX.Plus,computor fans are eaiser to procure than bike fans which would likely have to be sourced used from bike salvage yards.My computor fans are also 12V,were pretty inexpensive,and conveniently I got them off Ebay.
And yes,they should be placed behind the cooler,drawing air through the core front to back(sucking).This keeps them protected from the element and is more discreet appearing.

 

Steve, I haven't really tested one to find out what the CFM is, but I highly doubt that a computer fans bearings will be seled against the elements, I mean honestly computer fans reside in an environment where they don't not get splashed with dirty, filth infested water on a regular basis (saw the earlier post about cleaning them with water, I assume thats clean water the water from the road is gonna have grit and debris in it, and I just can't see an item that was designed for a dry clean environment working(and lasting) out in the open like that.

I could be wrong, but I highly doubt it.

Kenn

 

Computer fans are far from sealed. Even in computers they seize up after some dust and heat... I still question the whole idea of putting fans on your oil cooler :P

 

Thats what I was trying to show somebody-

I am the one who suggested motor cycle fans as they will last, and incidentlally I use a motor cycle fan on my cosmo, cause Tokyo has some of the most amazing traffic jams in the summer (at about 32~33 degrees celcius in the shade) and I do need it in the summer, it really drops my oil temps a lot, now once I start rollling all is well, but sitting for 1~2 hours in bumper to bumper and only covering 8 klicks is hard on an engine without a fan

 

Do what ya like,dont matter to me.But since I have experience with them,I offered my input on using computor fans.And as I said before,in the last two years Ive driven in VERY wet winter conditions,and my 4" computor fans have given me no trouble whatsoever.