I have to replace my radiator all the brackets annd mounts are damaged.

I also have a FMIC but I can’t get an oem bumper to fit with the intercooler placement.

I thought I might put in a smaller radiator shroud and fan which would allow me to mount my FMIC inside the engine bay.

Anybody done this already or know where I can pick up good quality fan and shroud.

I was thinking dual 10” which would give me more room for running IC pipes

 

That center bar comes out. You can use what you have. Anything less than stock fans will not be good

 

Anything poorly mounted without shroud will not be good. I have aftermarket fans and they work just as well if not better than the stock fans but i made a custom shroud

 

Cool. What size fans did you use and in what location. SMIC or FMIC. I’m looking at a dual 10”

 

I have used SPAL 11inch fans, I have a Vmount kit and one of my objectives was to make them as low profile as possible. I tried a couple of different fans from SPAL but what made the difference is the shroud

i used these with OK results (without a shroud) SPAL Automotive USA IX-30100411 Spal Electric Fans | Summit Racing
Cooling was okay, A/C sucked

These are far better but still OK results (without a shroud) SPAL Automotive USA IX-30102054 Spal Electric Fans | Summit Racing
Cooling was good, A/C sucked less

2001 rx7 in cyprus - Page 9 - RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum

I had posted my fan shroud here in my build thread if you want to get ideas

 

double post

 

I guess it depends on what you put value in. The work, effort and cost associated with a custom set up to achieve stock performance or "better" doesn't always add up for everyone. This is also balanced by already having a set of functional stock fans.

Of all the v mounts we've done there have never been a ground clearance or cooling issue with using the stock fans. We give priority to the radiator when mounting and use the remaining space for the intercooler. Our vmount kit on both twin and single cars have been ambient or thereabout air temps and ~83-91c water temps. Highway cruise water temps typically maintain ~85c and spirited driving put it high 80s to low 90s. We have seen no reason to move from the stock fans and "shroud" if you want to call it that.

The car we're working on now, we're doing the rx8 fan and motor upgrade just to see what it does and because this car didn't have a fan set up at all to begin with. Not anticipating expecting any difference in cooling ability.

If the monetary requirement of going aftermarket and making something work isn't an appreciable expense, then live your best life and innovate to satisfaction. Everyone's goal is a little different as is their bank account lol.

 

There is no reason to replace the oem fans for aftermarket fans for the sake of the performance. The oem fans work very well. However when you get the HKS vmount kit the oem fans are pretty much scraping the floor so if you never had that experience its because you have probably never installed the hks one , and before you say that its a punch in the gut or whatever you said last time, there is nothing wrong with that. Out of the box i dont like that kit.

i accomplished my goal to gain ground clearance and i am getting comparable if not better results than i would of with the oem fans. I race my car and i abuse the **** out of it. In the unfortunate event that i have gotten off the track , and it has happened many times, at least i am not worried that my fans and most likely the radiator will be destroyed. Worth noting that setup is a ticking timebomb. I know multiple people who destroyed them with road imperfections , not hitting the curb. Whoever hasn’t smacked them yet, its only a matter of time before that happens .

as for the costs, i barely spent 50$ to make the shroud in terms of materials but i did spent many hours to make it how i like it. On the other hand i encourage people to fabricate their parts regardless how useless others may find them. It gives me more satisfaction and pleasure to make parts as opposed to buy stuff off the shelf.

with that being said, i race my car in extreme heat conditions and others with similar setups and oem fans are rarely under 100C coolant temperatures and i have never exceeded 90C with ambient temperatures over 40C.

you may consider it useless, i disagree

 

I think the pictures can explain the situation far better than i can in words (that nobody really reads anyway)



as for me “wanting “ to call it that i think the definition of the “fan shroud” describes it perfectly in my honest opinion so yeah i will call it that , feel free to call it whatever you want

 

Double post

 

I wasn’t planning to V mount. Just place the IC in front of radiator. I’m mad on the idea of having the radiator too low either. Roads are bad around here. Also I don’t fancy spending 2k + when I already have an IC and just need a radiator.

 

I might just move that bar and see what I can fit in there. I was going to go 2x9” or 2x10” fans and a custom rad maybe even a 3core for more efficiency. 🤷‍♂️

 

i don't consider it useless at all and i mentioned everyone's goals are different. of course the route you took made perfect sense for your goals and needs, which makes everything you did perfectly fine (not that you need any validation) and no i have not installed an HKS v mount kit before. the cooling needs of someone driving on the street are of course much lesser than those on the track. the conditions where a modified fan set up would outperform stock are very likely only on track. i cant say that with absolute confidence having never tested every possible condition but i would bet on that.

your original post is a fair correction to my statement but we tend to lean on the side of most people aren't going to go to the extent of building a proper shroud. they're just going to zip tie some fans directly to the core and call it a day. this would make keeping the stock fans the best option since a functional alternative requires a great deal of effort.

with the exception of the greddy, we have our own v mount kit that we install on customer cars so its not an issue we have come across. the greddy and our own v mount kit doesn't hang any part of the radiator below the sway bar (which was our goal) so to hit the radiator, you have to make it past the sway bar first. if you're in that situation on the street then you have bigger problems lol

when i reference the stock shroud as a "shroud", i say that because its more there to hold the fans than what i consider an actual fan shroud such as what the 300zx has. i wasn't referring to what you made. I'm not here to be adversarial. seems like i cant disagree or present another way of thinking or view point without it being taken as some kind of sideways insult that requires a rebuttal. its fine though, i'll live lol this wouldn't be a proper car forum if it wasn't that way

 

What does your V mount kit look like any pictures

 

you could copy it but we don't have a production version (yet). we make it for each car each time. wildly inefficient but every kit is FOR the car its on. its the same kit everytime but we try to improve or standardize something through every iteration.




 

Neat. Thanks

 

I did exactly that about 13 years ago when i first installed the HKS V-mount. after a while you realize that instead of improving performance, I was compromising it and that's what made me attack this problem. i had mentioned in previous posts (prior to making the shroud) that i was considering going back to the OEM fans because the OEM fans were superior


I did not know that you were referring to something else but nonetheless I do enjoy a good discussion whether someone agrees or disagrees with me. I enjoy it particularly more when someone with different ideas makes me realize that there is a better approach to solve a problem. i find it annoying, and i am not talking about you, when an issue is presented with pretty much every step documented and someone pops up like a fart to call it "useless" or "you shouldn't have done this", "the OEM is fine" , "all that glitter" and some of the other moronic responses i have seen over the years. I have learned a lot from this forum in particular and its a shame that the forum is pretty much dead.


i sent you what i send you as a guide to get ideas. Whether you use it on a Vmount or an FMIC or whatever it is really up to you.

 

It is true that many vehicles with a front intercooler require significant adjustments, especially to the bumper, to create a proper fit. If you can't find a stock bumper that fits your intercooler properly, one solution some enthusiasts use is to look for aftermarket bumpers (OEM+ or performance type).

 

Right I found someone to do the fabrication for me I’m going to keep the oem fan and shroud and put in a koyo XL rad. Any tips for mounting other than making sure the radiator isn’t the lowest point on the car.
Thanks for all the input

 

Might try to avoid a repeat of that single point upper mount you have there, appears to be a nice twist in the rad.

Assume the location is Ireland and temperature isn't a major consideration. It's quite a bit less than ideal as a heat exchanger free standing like that.......even the stock location had foam to minimize air bypassing.

 

Its a new concept where the rad just hangs in mid air from its pipes. Complete isolation for the chassis 🤣

but yes that is exactly what I want to do. The whole thing needs to be tidied up.