to e-fan or not to e-fan
 

after my recent day at the track where my endtank ripped open, i've decided to get a koyo radiator... now the other thing i'm wondering is whether to go w/ an efan or not... www.absoluteradiator.com has a kit to adapt the stock fan and shroud to work with the koyo and it includes it at no extra charge... but i'm wondering, should i spring the extra however much it is for an e-fan and go w/ that? I have a few questions about the e-fan, keep in mind i plan on tracking the car every once in a while, hopefully at least once every 2 months if not more along w/ some auto-xing....

- do i have to wire in a switch to inside the car or something so that i can turn the fan on and off whenever? will i have to remember to turn the fan on and off?

- will there be any problems with just leaving the fan on full time?

- how long do most e-fan motors usually last?

- when are good times to keep the e-fan on? i daily drive my car in the LA area quite a bit, so i do hit a lot of traffic...

- what's a good e-fan? typical specs of e-fans, cost of a good e-fan, and where's a good place to buy one, should i go that route...

- is there a "kit" or anything that is made from a fan company to fit onto the koyo for an s5 n/a?

thanks in advance...

mods are as follows: 1990 gxl, large streetport, racing beat headers, presilencer, hks dual 50mm catback (not dual tips, dual pipes), apexi intake, jacobs ignition amp, mazdatrix strut tower/firewall brace w/ a torque brace adapter, suspension techniques sway bars, brembo xdrilled & slotted brake rotors, hawk hp+ pads, falken azenis sports on all 4 corners, kyb agx's w/ eibach pro's, mazdatrix short throw shifter, mazdaspeed shift knob, recaro srd (x2), an off color (aluminum, not steel) non-cf hood, soon to be a koyo radiator, and a custom dent job :)

I've had an E-fan for about 3 years now. Same one (Black Magic 2800 CFM's) It has NEVER given me problems. Also it is electronically controlled VIA an adjustable thermo-stat (included with fan) The termostat is mounted flush with your radiator face, like i said, adjustable, i've got mine set to click on at 185 deg F.

-Markus

On my mechanic guage i've never seen my car get hotter than 195 MAX.
Also, you have the option to wire the fan up thru the ignition or strait to the battery (the latter is what i opted for)

P.S My current fan cost me 180$ with tax

:withstupi

Jeremy:
Get the E-fan Now while your doing the RAD - Its a mod wyou will want lsooner or later anyway and doing it now saves the hassel of doing a temporary fix for the stock fan just to replace it later anyway :D

ic ic, my thing is i'm horrible w/ electrical stuff, and i have no idea which e-fan to get... after some searching, it seems like there's the black magic #150? and the permacool finger cutter, which is a lot cheaper, but looks like you get less w/ it... and i can't find the "finger cutter" it's just http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...14&prmenbr=361 that one... is that the one everyone's talking about? how hard is the install for someone who is pretty mechanically dis-inclined?

The stock mechanical fan is bullet-proof. Electric fans *can* fail.

The amount of HP gained by an electric fan is minimal. The clutch on the stock fan releases above ~3000 RPM, so the drain on the engine is only at idle or very slow speeds.

Save your money and put it into suspension. You'll get more out of it and you'll turn better track times.

*sigh* going into suspension.... i want to get some nice coilovers.... but $$$ hahaha... and i'm going to have the rad out, so if i do it, now's the time... which e-fan to get? and which one can i get by this weekend?

The Black Magic Fan killed my first engine. The built in thermostat failed and it was to late before I noticed it. The other problem with this fan is that it only covers 75% of the radiator.

Wiring an electric fan is simple and the instructions are easy. However, I do recommend that you save your money and put it into a something else. Suspension, Tires, Brakes... An electric fan shuold be last on your list.

Haste makes waste... *sigh* To each their own.

if i keep the pulley driven, i'm still going tho have to do something to make it fit w/ the stock fan and shroud, and my fan clutch is broken, so my fan is on all the time rite now...

Oh, did i regret to mention. I wired up a 12v bulb to the fan system. Whenever the fan is on a small red LED will light up, indication that the E-fan is working properly. Also the Black Magic fan is SO powerful i can hear the fan kick on. Like i said in 3 years i've never had a problem. if you do the fan includes a lifetime warrenty... Usually when the termostat fails the fan goes into safe mode and will run Constantly...

-Markus

how much was the black magic fan? and from where?

I missed the part about your stock clutch being broken. I'd call someone like Kevin Landers and get a used one. Cheap and easy.

Black magic fans can be purchased from SummitRacing.com. Cost is around $180-200 bucks.

ouch. is it worth that much more than the permacool?

< Not sure if permacool has a built in thermostat. also the permacool doesnt have a handprotecting built in radiator shroud.

-Markus

"Hate to get cha fingers chopped the Fugg off"

The problem with electric fan installs is the fan shroud.

The permacool fan has no shroud. It pulls air from only the center of the radiator. This can lead to overheating.

The Black magic fan is better, but still only covers 75% of the radiator. That leaves about 25% of the rad that isn't cooled.

If you go electic fan and live in a hot climate, you risk
having problems...

the black magic is more than half a radiator! :p *sigh*

it's not too hot out here in the west LA area... i'm not TOO entirely worried about that...

...it's your call. The cheapest and easiest route is to find a used fan clutch. Replace it and be done.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the electrical draw of electric fans. The black magic fan pulls 12.5 amps if I remember correctly. This will put a hefty load on an already stressed electrical system.

dang, i didn't realize there were so many other things to think about.... thanks for all the help/input *sigh* it sucks having to do things in a rush, i guess....

I'm just trying to help you keep some money in your pocket. I've had a Black Magic fan on my car in the past. It worked but there was no magical HP gain. The thermo sensor on the fan died and took my engine with it. The $180 dollar fan cost me a $2000 dollar rebuild.

I now run the stock fan with no problems on both of my 7's.

I voted for the stock fan. It works, is reliable, and doesn't tax the electrical system. Try a search for "efan" or "electric fan". Pay attention to posts by me and NZConvertible.

I did the e-fan with a fiero fan and a home built shroud. no pics sorry! and a thermostat that i baught, now it has made a huge different on rev response, it doesn't have to spin that fricking clutch fan all the time! However when i do getmore money I am definitely going to go with Black Magic!

Wiring a fan will be a piece of cake - only a couple wires , a relay and a thermoswitch - don't worry so much about the shroud area b/k even though the e-fan will only cover 70% of the rad it will be pulling its full rated air flow even when the car is sitting still (2800cfm for the black magic) I doubt the stock fan EVER pulls that much air and at Idle it probably only pulls 750-800 cfm so the e-fan will pull MUCH mor air through the rad in stop & go LA Traffic. Above 35mph the Stock Fan & Shroud is actualy RESTRICTING airflow as the cars motion through the air produces more flow than the fan could ever hope to. Removing the fan clutch and fan will reduce the rotating mass on the engine and have the same effect as removing 1-2 pounds from the Flywheel. Also while doing the e-fan mod consider adding a light weight underdrive (larger dia) water pump pully.

The E-f is only a load when its running - it should only run when the car is standing still or creeping along at less than 25mph. At any speed higher than that the airflow through the radiator caused by the cars forword motion should be adequate to maintain water temps below about 215f. if not you have other cooling system problems beside the fan. on my FD the ONLY time I see temps over 215f is when the car is sitting still for more than 2-3min and that will drop almos instantly to 195-200f as soon as the car is moving faster than 25mph even if the fans have not come on yet (the fd fans turn on at 221f)

im not saying this, so dont quote me but i heard someone say "The drag on your alt from the efan will be no different than if you had a pully driven one" thats just what ive heard.

I use a permacool 16". You have to buy the thermostat switch separately, but the permacool thermostat works great. I have an override switch wired in, and I plan to put in an LED indicator too.

I see water temps as measured by my aftermarket mechanical gauge never above 195, mostly hanging around 180-185. My thermostat switch is set to come on around 187.