Wow I've heard of wild life conservationist but never a clutch fan conservationist, this has to be a first I like my efan because I can tell it to come on whenever I feel like having it come on. Usually in between 188 and 192*F witch is a little colder than the stock 207*F. If I find it better to come on at another temp I can change accordingly. More control I guess is my thing and of course it coupled with having a nice clean engine bay to work on since I'm always working on it helped the decision to go efan that much easier.

 

Just put a 2nd relay in parallel with the relay already controlling the fan. Then switch that relay with a dash mounted switch. I've gone further and ran an entirely new 12V line to that relay on it's own fuse for redundancy.

 

Oh please, NZ.

The Efan gives me full control. It cycles when I want it to, like in traffic or when the AC is on, at the temperatures that I chose, easy override for precooling or aftercooling.
When it is off, there is NO parasitic drag, no noise...... Even when ice cold out, there is mech fan drag on my engine, mech fan noise....

If the mech fan is so great, why does certain RX7 drivetrain combos REQUIRE that additional front mount Efan? Give me the engineering excuse for that. And, if the mech fan moves air always, I don't see the A/C as the excuse for needing the E-fan unless the mech fan isn't moving enough air(hence the OEM mech fan might be INADEQUATE). Thanks for providing the proof that the mech fan provides inadequate airflow.

The mech fan is the CHEAPEST solution for the manufacturer. It works but is no way the best, and was never meant to be. If was best per cost, not performance. It needs assistance in OEM situations. It is a drag.

This is what I get out of the Efan:
more control, I pick the on off temps, and fan speeds(hi lo settings)
e-fan triggers on coolant temp
more peace and quiet, I don't have to hear the mech fan on cold mornings
less load on the engine, the fan cycles vs running all the time
improved cooling, simply by choosing a decent CFM fan
known cooling, anyone CFM flow the stock mechanical fan? its not as high as you think
cleaner engine bay

I've worked in manufacturing and helped with OEM contracts. Cost is foremost with every automanufacturer. Everything else is a compromise based on that cost. You don't need engineering based proof when engineers leashes are held by cost accountants and budget.

I've owned several longitudinally mounted engines that ran e-fans. Never did understand why they didn't use a mech fan since it would've been easy and cheap to install. But, these cars were a little more costly then the cheaper competition. Cost wasn't a factor. I'll assume that best performance was since these vehicles were driver oriented.

I also don't see how an E-fan triggering is a problem. It cycles. Thats its job. If Mazda triggers the band aid e-fan to assist the mech fan with A/C, or if the driving situation causes it to come on, that means that the mech fan is inadequate. Since you say that it is a cooling system problem, and I say the mech fan is part of the cooling system, then the stock mech fan is the problem in the cooling system. My Rx7 didn't come with e-fan assitance and it has A/C. Maybe my location, options, or whatever parameter doesn't require it. But, that parameter exists where the stock mech fan is inadequate and has the additional OEM e-fan.

And, I have a complete understanding of mechanical fans and their controls. This is the reason why I prefer an E-fan. It give me full control without the mechanical disadvantages of a thermo slipper clutch.

Also, I've seen u-jointed driven mechanical fans. Again, COST per parameters required, was the deciding factor, not packaging and convenience. Any vehicle can have a mechanical fan. But, if the e-fan cost is cheaper then the mech fan, then, that is what is packaged.

What I don't like about the stock mech fan:
inadequate which is situation based, plenty of stock RX7's out there???
inadequate in certain OEM situations, A/C and 207*f parameter noted and exists
parasitic drag all the time
controlled by airflow temperature over fan clutch and not coolant temperature

What I don't like about e-fans: all the hack installs common among the cheapos on these old used car forums, like this one

And, I guess that in 10 years when somone decides to improve on both with hydraulic variable fan motors, we'll have the same stupid debate.

 

I find it funny that people keep saying that the e-fan gives them "complete control over the temperature of their engine". Funny, I thought that was the job of the thermostat.

 

**** black magic fans. I had a standard black magic for 6 weeks. It did controll the engine temps well, but it died as a result of an obvious manufacturing defect. One of the permanent magnets in the engine came un glued and ground into the motor windings. Sounded like nails on a chalk bourd. It was brand new when I bought it and my car isn't even a daily driver.
Back to the stock fan, and it does controll the temps better.

 

Short story on e-fans: None of them are nearly as powerful as the stock fan. HP gains are tiny to sometimes non-existant (depending on conditions). But if your fan clutch is failing, they are a cheaper option. If you don't believe me, read up and find out yourself.

I had the Black Magic 2800cfm fan before. It drew 13A which was quite a strain on my old alternator. I carried around a jump box and used it ocassionally. The e-fan was much weaker than my old stock fan, even though a mechanic thought my fan clutch was failing. Temps were slightly higher than normal even at the coldest setting, but other than that it worked great.

My current RX-7 has the stock fan. The gauge rarely goes above 1/8-1/4, which I believe corresponds to 180F. I can drive uphill on a blazing hot day with A/C on full ever since I got an OEM thermostat. Then it doesn't pass 1/3, which I know is well under 200F (thanks to Pep Boys I know 3/4 is 210F, from my last RX-7).

 

I really don't care what fan people put on their car, and I have nothing against e-fans in general, I just wish they'd stop making lame attempts to justify their decision with BS.

The e-fan does not give you "full control" at all. It lets you make the engine hotter when you slow down, that's all. It has no control over engine temps when the car's at speed, and it can't cool the engine down past the thermostat's opening temp. That's miles away from full control. You also don't mention what advantage this supposed full control gives you. The engine works best kept within a certain temp range, and the thermostat and stock fan do that job fine.

You've obviously never stuck your hand into the blades of the stock fan when the engine's cold. It stops immediately with almost no resistance. The parasitic drag when the clutch is disengaged to so small it's effect on the engine is negligible. And obviously a disengaged fan makes a lot less noise than the engine it's bolted to...

I already did. And who said the e-fan was a necessity? Obviously not Mazda or every FC would have it. It improves A/C performance and provides extra airflow if the engine gets very hot. My stock e-fan has never once been triggered by the temp switch anyway.

If the stock fan is inadequate, how come my car has never overheated (or even gotten "a bit hot") even when my stock e-fan died and I used the A/C regularly? It's because the clutch fan is adequate, and has absolutely no problem keeping the temps down. The e-fan improves A/C performance because the condensor air-off temp (probably 30-50degC depending on ambient temp) is not hot enough to trigger the thermoclutch (starts to engage at an air-off temp of ~60degC).

And yet it cools the car perfectly. Manufacturers love cheap and effective solutions.

You still can't explain how this is an advantage. Probably because there is none...

So what? The thermoclutch responds to air-off temp, which is almost directly related to coolant temp.

The thermoclutch is not engaged all the time, far from it.

Explain what you think "improved cooling" actually is. The stock fan keeps the engine temp right where it should be. How can you improve on something that seems to be working perfectly?

How is this an advantage? The stock fan's capabilities have been long proven, so not knowing the actual numbers is an irrelevancy. And how do you know how much air the stock fan moves? For that matter, how do you know how much air aftermarket fans move? There are many variables when it comes to measuring fan performance, so it's easy to make a fan look better than it really is.

You're absolutely right, but that point is completely irrelevant when discussing whether to swap an e-fan onto an FC.

That's the biggest load of dribble so far. There are dozens of reasons an engine can overheat that have nothing to do with the fan. In fact most of the overheating threads here aren't fan-related. For starters the fan is only needed and used at low speed, so if you have cooling problems at any other time it's obviously not fan-related.

Probably because a previous owner removed it for whatever reason. I know from personal experience that without it A/C performance suffers at low speed.

Clearly from what you've posted here, you don't. Nor do you fully understand how the cooling and A/C systems works.

Is there any other topic on this forum surrounded with so much ignorance, myth, misunderstanding and BS? I think not...

 

What if you're not running a thermostat?


-Ted

 

Smart ***. That's a different story then...Not sure why you would run without a thermostat on a street car though (to open another can of worms).

 

Ok, since no one is willing to say/know why most of us put an e-fan in our car I’ll tell you now….. ready?....... BECAUSE WE THINK IT LOOKS COOL!!

-come on you all know you just want to show off more of that sexy 13b, of get a diff. colored FAL fan to match your color scheme, or just free up some more room in the e-bay opposed to the space stealing stock fan shroud.

 

I ain't gonna lie that was a big part of it but I do like how I can control the temps as far as temps not reaching near 200 degrees. The fan is on more often but i have beefed up my charging system quite a bit to compensate for the extra draw.

 

I put on an e-fan because my clutch fan died...

 

No ones said it I think, but an e-fan does give nice clearance to have a reverse drop vent hood. A hood which would give you much better cooling too. That's the only real reason I'm gonna switch over to an E-fan. So I can run a reverse drop vent hood.

 

I think the Black Magic extreme 3300cfm should be enough to keep the car cool.

 

But how is that different from the stock fan? The only way the stock fan could be blamed for the engine reaching 200degF is if the clutch failed (and you were driving slowly or stopped). A healthy stock fan has no problems keeping the engine cool if the rest of the cooling system is okay. At idle my engine temp never goes over 86degC (~187degF).

Don't you think that indicates possible cooling system problems? What temp does the fan trigger at?

And that'll be why I do it too. I'm keeping an eye out for a suitable OEM fan and I already have an FD alternator. My stock fan works fine so it stays for now, but after nearly 180,000km (~112,000 miles) I figure it must be getting near the end of it's life.

Right on both points. If the stock fan is in the way of something you want to add or change (e.g. VMIC) than an e-fan is the perfect solution. The thing is most people who say they did it "to free up space" never put anything in that space, so what was the point?

 

I don't know if you have these cars in NZ, but I always use the fan from the Pontiac 6000 and the larger GMs (Oldsmobile Delta/Royale, Pontiac Grand AM/Grand Prix). It's the perfect size to fit the FC rad with about 2" clearance on each side and they are a dime a dozen. You can see the fan on all my build threads as well as the e-fan writeup. The fans don't appear to be made by GM, so they are of high quality.