Looking to replace my engine mounted fan to free up some horse power. What are you guys/gals using for electric fans and how are they performing. I don't plan at this time to replace the radiator. Looking for a complete kit that will replace the stock fan and shroud.
I have a big four core radiator in there now it cools the car okay unless I sit in traffic for long periods of time then it gets hot but not to spew coolant. Back roads it runs about 180 on the highway it creeps to 200.

John

 

It all depends on how much time you want to spend on installing the fan or fans.

The twin SPAL fans are a good option and you can get them from DeWitts if you want to....or...you can do like others who buy fans off of other types of cars and install them.

DUB

 

Put a fan into the existing fan shroud. Works well.

I would go with a Dewitt's direct replacement - it runs cooler than factory

 

I got this set up from Champion radiator, I went with one large fan so it would draw air thru the upper and lower tubes as well as the center. Also I have more clearance in the upper control arm area for access.

 

If it gets hotter on the highway fans won't help, radiator will. Fans do squat above 35mph or so.

 

Hey John. Happy New Year.
I have a single 16" dewitts fan that does great for the 327. It kept it right at 210 sitting in Hampton Beach traffic for an hour.
I suggest the dual fans for more cfm if you put that 502 in there.
I looked up the fan I wanted on Dewitts site and bought t from Summit for the free shipping. PS I have the entire front suspension out already. I also got the compressor wired in like you figured out





lousy pics but you can zoon in and see the fan a little.

 

Agreed....but ou must have missed it....John wrote it does fine while driving...the problem is sitting still idling.

DUB

 

yes agreed it wont help on the highway. I am not worried about the 20* increase there it is almost expected with running a high compression engine on the street with low gears trying to run at highway speeds.
Dub is correct its the in traffic long idle periods that are making it hot and not fun. I have a big 4 core oversized radiator in there now it does great other than sitting in traffic for 45 minutes idling.
Scott glad it all worked out with the compressor. I couldn't find those studs for the rear cross member but I have some b16 at the shop I can grab tomorrow. I do have the rest of the hardware. Still gathering parts for the 502 but will play some more this year with the little mouse.

I've heard some say its better to go two fans instead of one any thoughts?

 

Two is ideal you have choices of when ea comes on .Id either go duals or keep the mech fan and use a spal with their "200 on" switch" as a backup, pretty foolproof
x2 on fan not needed when at speed. I used thier 185 on switch for awhile, it ran constantly as it wouldnt shut off til 165 .The 200 switch almost never runs at all, even in most city driving unless youre not moving much at all.
Last outing it never came on once til I got home and let it idle for awhile.
FLexalite makes a neat black nylon fan which is quiet and moves a lot of air as mechanical, less weight on the pump snout. Only weight a few ozs too, have never been able to break one.

 

I look a the surface area of the fans and how much surface area they are drawing air through the radiator. So I prefer two fans. And the SPAL fans already have a shroud.

NOT saying that a single fan can not be as good...but generally they may need to have a shroud fabricated to allow it to draw more air through the radiator core. And a person may not know if it needs a shroud or not until they test it.

Obviously the CFM's of the fan are important also. So buying two cheap fans from an auto parts house may not be the same as two other fans from a different manufacture.

DUB

 

My single fan draws 2024 cfm, I wonder what a stock cfm is.anyone know?

 

If it's like most mechanical fans, the stock unit is over 6,000cfm at engine speed of 1500 to 2000 RPMs.

The stock fan, with a properly maintained clutch (always replace the fan clutch when replacing the water pump) should be more than adequate for any engine that fits under the hood of a c3 corvette. If you're in very hot climate and you have air conditioning, and you have issues at stops/idle, consider adding a pusher fan to the front of the AC condenser to supplement. Wire it to both the AC pressure switch and a coolant temperature switch ( 210°F-215°F on temp, 195° to 200°F off temp).

If you must put electric fans on it and remove the stock mechanical fan, any OE fan and shroud setup from a similar weight vehicle will always outperform the "high performance" offerings from speed shops and online retailers. I've seen or heard of Lincoln fans, later chevy mid sized FWD (Impala, etc) fans, Ford Taurus or even Focus fans, Dodge Intrepid or even Dodge Stratus fans. Find something OE with a shroud that covers as much of the radiator core as possible.

The only aftermarket electric setups that are even marginally adequate are the dual spal setups that include a shroud with flaps. The spal unit comes with a plastic shroud https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...2130/overview/ and DeWitts sells the same fans in a metal shroud with the same flaps arrangement. The DeWitts might be the dual 11" version which is rated around 27xx CFM.

 

These Twin Spals came with the Dewitt Radiator as a kit.I've been very pleased with the cooling cycles and haven't had any issue, except in the initial start up of the engine, while running the AC I noticed that the high side pressure would shoot up almost immediately which the the only and easiest solution for me was to add a Trinary switch to the AC system to engage one fan when switching on AC system regardless of engine temp.Other than that they are "Cool" and very dependable so far!!...Good Luck and Happy New Year!!

 

6000? wow for stock?

 

Dual Electric Fans, with shroud - $40. 1990's Camaro at local Pick Your Part (was the closest fit to stock new aluminum radiator ($140). Ohm'd the windings (good), spun them (spun freely) mounted them with two relays ($10). Four years later,still keeping it plenty cool, even here in the High Desert. While you're at it, put a serpentine belt setup from a late 80's, early 90's Chevy Caprice. Nearly a direct bolt on, to any 1st Gen Chevy SBC.

 

OEM GM late 80's early 90's, Chevy Caprice Serpentine Belt Drive. The whole thing, including HD alternator and P/S pump - $300. Added idler wheel where AC compressor used to be and you must use a reverse flow water pump (common on any late 80's, early 90's TBI, TPI engines that had serp belt drive). Caveat? Had to pull it myself, clean it up, paint it and put it on. All the fasteners are Torx bolts. Bring toothbrush and brake cleaner spray and dig the dirt out before you take the Torx bits out. They strip really easy, when they're caked with dirt, trust me.

 

Compare to $1000 and up aftermarket serpentine belt set up. Not as pretty, but very easy to work with, auto tensioning and really well designed aluminum castings, with deep webs. GM did really good on this.

 

Very nice setup.

I think you meant "reverse rotation" for the water pump. I only point it out for folks referencing this post.

 

The Dewitt's with the fans are the best thing I did to the car. The car runs cool and the a/c works great.

As stated above the Trinary switch is important. If you don't have one and don't want to open the a/c system just hook a relay to the compressor feed wire to trip the fan when the compressor is running.

 

Remember that at idle, a stock clutch fan is not moving near 6000 cam, nor does it keep your engine cool. It's not sufficient or efficient in pulling air thorough the radiator at the distance it is from the radiator. That's why we overheat in traffic and you dont see them anymore. Not to mention the horsepower they rob.

on my 327 11:1 compression mouse I overheated many times. Just changing to the Dewitts single 2300 cfm fan solved my issues. Stays cool on the hottest day stuck in beach traffic
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/DWR-SP004

https://dewitts.com/search?q=sp004