A'PEXi 7

I am thinking about putting an e-fan in the car. This would be the perfect tyme since i just dropped in the new engine. So i was wondering which e-fan, if any, do you guys use.



Thanks,

mike

F1blueRx7

iTrader: (5)

Blackmagic. Sucker is LOUD and keeps temps VERY low. It has an adjustable thermo as well so the engine will still get warm in the cold.

I have mine set to keep going even if the key is out of the ignition to prevent heat soak. It will only go till it gets below the set temp.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/efanmyth.htm

Bukwild

F1bluerx7 does your fan come on all by itself in the summer? I was going to thermo mine and someone told me not to because it will not shut off in the summer and can automatically come on in a parking lot and drain your battery.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Follow the instructions in http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/efaninstall.htm to properly wire your fan. You need to put an IGN activated relay in series with your thermostat.

SureShot

In Florida heat soak is a consideration, so mine was wired from a breaker off the battery.
The longest it ever stayed on after stopping the motor was 15 seconds.
(It was a Ford Tarus fan.)

pip

Im installing the same setup as sureshot cept for mine is an escort e-fan. Its a nice setup considering its going to cost me a total of like $16

Sesshoumaru

iTrader: (1)

did

then went back

too much current draw for not having a bac at idle

boosted1205

iTrader: (9)

An electric fan will not out cool a stock fan. If you're having trouble with cooling, check the clutch fan. I'll bet you will have higher temp if you change to electric fan set up. Some people change to electric fan due to reasons such as front mount or modifications that will not allow you to use a stock fan. With all shrouds and under pan, there is no electric fan that will out cool a stock setup. I experienced with a couple electric fans and if I could use a stock fan, would in a heart beat.
Search the forum. This has been brought up at least monthly the past 3 years.

SureShot

Absolutely!
My cooling system was healthy, except for a worn out $190 fan clutch.
The e-fan was simply cheaper.

MIKEHRX7

After purchasing a Black Magic e-fan and Fluidyne radiator and still having the same temperature creep on boost and high ambient temps, I changed my thermostat and... instant cool car. Could have saved myself hundreds of $$$.

frestylereaction

on my 90 turbo, i use a greddy water temp gauge that is very accurate (very consistant with the data on my haltech engine data page on my laptop while viewing (i.e. 85 on gauge = 85.0-85.9 on haltech)

also is a new thermostat and koyo radiator

i was overheating last summer so i looking into solutions

first replaced my thermostat, lowered temps a bit but still unstable and overheated also replaced hoses at the same time along with a coolant flush, nothing really there.... between these two repairs along with a properly working clutch cooling fan...i was averaging anywhere from 87-89 C* through town and highway....but with very high outside temps it would overheat at idle / traffic over 100 C*...

still in need of a solution as to not overheat i bought an electric fan......after switching to a fiero electric cooling fan i have consistent 85-86 C* at idle and 85 C* when driving, it never changes, not even during the same temps, idling or traffic, that would make the stock fan overheat

as far as power gains/drains go...i noticed no different feeling of power, nor was that an intention or hope.....drains, nothing really, although i have relatively nothing running off it (no a/c, no ps, no bac, no acv)

sure thats just one person....but that is my experience

SureShot

Here is the story on why the stock fan clutch costs so much & how to test it.

The fan clutch uses a silicon oil viscous fluid in two chambers inside.
The Bi-metal strip on the front bends outward as it warms and opens the valve from the reservoir side to the clutch side.
Centripetal force provides the pumping action to move the fluid.
After 100,000 miles the bearing seals wear, and the bearing lube weakens the clutch fluid's grip.
Both the S4 & S5 clutch freewheel when cold.
The s4 clutch increases it's bite gradually with temperature rise.
The s5 clutch is more on-off. (It just coasts until is gets warm)
Once they are warm, the fan speed goes up with engine speed to about 4000 RPM.
As the engine revs higher the fan stays at ~4K.
If your warmed up fan only revs up to ~2500 RPM, it's bad.

NZConvertible

It's pretty obvious your stock fan was not working properly. If the thermoclutch is healthy then it will have no problems keeping temps down in traffic.

The problem was fixed because you replaced a failing fan with a functional fan, not because you replaced a mechanical fan with an electric fan.

MrSparkle

i use the black magic e-fan with no problems. i switched because my stock fan went out. if your stock fan is still good then i say keep it. but when it goes out the e-fan is worth every penny in my opinion.

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

Woooo hooo!! Another E-Fan thread!

Yes, I use a permacool finger chopper.

F1blueRx7

iTrader: (5)

I know you have alot of exp regarding Rx-7's however after reading your e-fan vs stock fan... You need to post the CFM that the stock fan generates. "A lot" isn't really helpful in showing an advantage over an e-fan.

If I were considering purchasing an e-Fan and I read your site I would want to see something more conclusive before ruling it out.

I noticed a drop in temperature after installing mine, however this was using the stock gauge. A few weeks prior to installing the e-Fan I replaced my water pump and thermostat due to a leak at the waterpump.

Also, Upgrading to an FD alternator really helps with the current draw. If you are going e-fan, it's an additional upgrade that should be done to help compensate.

I initially went e-fan because my stock radiator shroud was cracked when replacing my belts, however the engine bay was much cleaner after installing it and in hind sight I would do it again.

MrSparkle

oh yeah, good point f1blueRx7. the current draw is something you should take into consideration. i never noticed it because i upgraded to an fd alternator before i installed my e-fan. but a friend of mine would stall in the summertime because of it.

NZConvertible

Any figures quoted for the stock fan would be completely meaningless. In fact the figures quoted for aftermarket fans are just as useless. How the fan's airflow is measured can make a huge difference to the numbers (e.g. though a radiator or free air), so unless you're going to compare all of the fans (including the stock one) at the same time using the same method then you simply can't compare numbers.

The short answer is than the stock fan pulls enough air. Have you ever heard of a stock fan with a healthy thermoclutch not being able to keep the engine cool? Probably not. Have you heard of any electric fans that couldn't? Plenty...

When the thermoclutch fails, it's usually cheaper to replace it with an electric fan. But this will not cool any better (it's not supposed to anyway) since the stock fan is already sufficient to control temps. Remember, swapping fans should only lower the temp if it was too high to begin with. It should not make the car run cooler than it's supposed to.

F1blueRx7

iTrader: (5)

What I'm referring to is the fact that by adjusting the thermo on the fan, water temps will go lower. I suppose the numbers that would important to aarons arguement are actual water temps under heavy load (typically turbo owners like to turn up the boost on their cars). This seems to me like a HUGE advantage over the stock fan.

My understanding of all things stock on an rx7 is that they are ment for stock conditions. I don't have a stock rx7. I can imagine that by running my car harder with the modifications I have, I can build up water temperatures that a stock fan and shroud will have a hard time keeping up with.

I could say that the stock radiator on a 3rd gen flows enough water to cool it so there is no NEED to upgrade the radiator. Well thats all well and good, but when your engine makes more heat because of the huge t-78 hanging off the side of the engine it's a different story.

boosted1205

iTrader: (9)

If your cooling system is healthy, there should be NO problems cooling even a mildly modified FC. Hell , there are people running full turbo setups with stock radiator and stock fan. But in some cases you can't. I wish I could use the stock fan but the front mount won't allow me to. No room.
A high CFM rating fan doesn't mean jack when your colling system isn't healthy. You can't just slap on a big *** cooling fan and expect it to cool your radiator. You need a shroud and block off the surrounding areas at the radiator. The fan needs to pull the air from the radiator and not around the radiator.
I used a stock radiator and clutch fan with upgraded turbo and the temp stayed the same. If your temp is rising you should check the cooling system first than slapping on an electric fan . I'll bet that no matter what electric fan you buy, the temp will be substantially higher. Of course the temp will rise during some spirited driving but that should be expected.
It's going to be another long thread again.
You people should check the forums. It has been covered many many times. Stock fan wins.

F1blueRx7

iTrader: (5)

I'm sorry but I disagree about heat increases after installing an E-fan. If I hadn't seen a drop in temp after doing this (1/3 stock gauge down to about 1/4 stock gauge) on average, with no leaks, a fresh thermo, and deleted heater core... I'd be more inclined to believe that the stock fan does a bettter job. Like I said I'm using the black magic fan which uses a shroud and a rubber boot to seal up against the radiator and draw air *ONLY* through the fins of the radiator. (It's firmly seated against the radiator.

NZConvertible

f1blueRx7, you seem to totally misunderstand why the fan is even there. It is only for low-speed situations! It is only required when the car's road speed is not high enough to force enough air through the radiator. When sitting waiting at a set of lights a 500hp engine is generating no more heat than a 150hp one. If you're stuck in traffic at 15mph you only need a handful of hp to move along so engine peak output is irrelevant. When the fan is actually needed that T-78 is just dead weight. Your "stock fan is only for a stock car" theory is nonsense.

Like I already said, when you fit an electric fan it should only lower the temp if it was too high to begin with. An adjustable thermoswitch should be used to make the engine run at the same temp it does with healthy stock fan, not force the engine to run cooler than is ideal.

If you have high-speed and/or high-load cooling issues, you have an undersized or faulty cooling system, and a fan won't do squat.

F1blueRx7

iTrader: (5)

Ok that makes more sense then "I'll bet that no matter what electric fan you buy, the temp will be substantially higher."

What is the effect of overcooling?

Rob500

"What I'm referring to is the fact that by adjusting the thermo on the fan, water temps will go lower."

This isn't true. If you have a working thermostat, an adjustable temperature switch on the fan does not change the temperature of the water in the water passages of the motor.

Rob