GTE fan conversion?!

[adicken1]

Hey guys, got a quick question.

I'm doing a 7MGTE swap into my NA, and have a question about the fans/AC lines.

Both cars are the same year. The turbo actually has 1 more fan than the NA version does... its the fan on the intercooler side of the AC Condensor...

My question is do I NEED to install this fan when I convert my motor? I would just do it for shits, but the AC lines on the NA are different and actually are right where this fan would sit. (not just the line but that egg shaped AC thingy is there too)

I can post pics if necessary, but if anyone knows the answer right off the top of they're head I would appreciate it.

Oh another thing, would my NA radiator provide sufficient cooling for the turbo motor? new NA radiator vs 21 year turbo radiator.

 

[ATL88Supra]

well i don't have mine, mine was a ge to gte swap and i have had mine for 2 summers with no ill effects but who knows


i may be wrong tho

 

[supraslo]

just do away with the factory fans all together and install a set of twin electric fans on a thermostatic switch. this will eliminate all overheating problems associated with fan clutches going bad and the tiny "overheat" fan from going into shock when it is used.

 

[cuel]

Do a little search on electric fans. Most of the more intelligent people(myself excluded) here won't use them. Second, the small fans are for the a/c condenser, and are not "Over heat fans."

That said, to the OP: you could probably do away with one, but not both. If teh a/c isn't working, you could change out the lines, then have it leak tested and filled at your local mechanic's shop. Just be careful you don't break anything...

As far as the radiator, I don't know if the turbo rad. is bigger than the n/a. I would assume so, but you know what they say about assuming...
You might check this out, though: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61601

 

[Fletch124]

Your factory mechanical fan will cool your car better than electric fans will.

 

[supraslo]

well maybe i am a lil ol skool. I grew up with big block american muscle and the first mod you did was go to electric fans to get rid of the rotating mass of the mechanical. I don't understand why the whole "import" scene doesn't pick up on this. Hell, my fans hardly come on except for when I am racing the car cross town, but at the track they never come on. Since installing the twin electrics, I have yet to see my temp gauge get above 3/8 the way up. I SUPPORT ELECTRIC FANS!!!!!!!!!

 

[bountykilla0118]

The import scen has picked up on it but

1) The clutch fan moves alot more air than the electrics

2) The clutch fan are more reliable

3) The power gained from going to electric fans is minimal … Maybe a few hp but again its not noticeable

 

[selfinfliction]

another mechanical fan is better thread... and not a single person has posted cfm rates for it.

efan setups that move less than 3000cfm suck. my oem cobalt fan moves that much, and that's for a 4 cylinder. so no one should expect a rinky dink system to work on higher hp and turbo setups. the proper system will work as good if not better than the mechanical fan IF the proper setup is installed, and not these little 12" fan systems.

has anyone here installed an efan system that moves 4000cfm or above?

 

[jetjock]

Too much CFM is a bad thing...

 

[selfinfliction]

Too much CFM is a bad thing...

i agree totally, but the system going on my car will have a 14" 2700cfm and a 12" 1600 cfm, both independantly controlled and with manual overrides. 14" on passenger's side as puller and 12" on driver's side as a pusher. the 14" alone has more cfm that those 2x12" fal systems, which appear to not do the job.

 

[bountykilla0118]

Too much CFM is a bad thing...

What would be ideal?

 

[cuel]

well maybe i am a lil ol skool. I grew up with big block american muscle and the first mod you did was go to electric fans to get rid of the rotating mass of the mechanical. I don't understand why the whole "import" scene doesn't pick up on this. Hell, my fans hardly come on except for when I am racing the car cross town, but at the track they never come on. Since installing the twin electrics, I have yet to see my temp gauge get above 3/8 the way up. I SUPPORT ELECTRIC FANS!!!!!!!!!

The import scen has picked up on it but

1) The clutch fan moves alot more air than the electrics

2) The clutch fan are more reliable

3) The power gained from going to electric fans is minimal … Maybe a few hp but again its not noticeable

To answer supraslo's question:

1.) Most people don't know that the electric fans need a shroud, and it needs to cover all the cooling fins on the radiator. Hell, quite a few people don't even think the shroud for the stock mechanical fan is necessary...

2.) Most people can barely wire a light bulb, much less correctly install temp. switch, relays, fuses, figure out the correct wire size, and make it all work together correctly.

3.) I'll just agree with bountykilla.

That said, its easier to say that the stock fan works better. There is a post around here somewhere by Supracentral talking about electric fans, that has some very interesting points as far as racing. I'm sure your talking 1/4 mile, where he was discussing road course racing, iirc.

Also, the difference between the old school BB's, and our imports, is the fuel delivery, and computer controls. The temperature of the coolant in a fuel injected, computer controlled vehicle is vital to how the engine operates. In an old carb'd motor, its no where near as important.

 

[selfinfliction]

1.) Most people don't know that the electric fans need a shroud, and it needs to cover all the cooling fins on the radiator. Hell, quite a few people don't even think the shroud for the stock mechanical fan is necessary...

it is not necessary if the fan(s) cover 80% or more of the radiator.

 

[cuel]

The only electric fan set-up I know of that properly covers the radiator is the dual electric fans from the v-6 Ford Contour, and they have to be modified. They are mounted in a shroud that covers almost the entire radiator from side to side, and completely from top to bottom. They only leave 1 row of fins uncovered on each side, effectively covering nearly 99% of the radiator.

Running 2 circle fans(Fal, Torque Flow, etc.) on the radiator is still leaving a lot of area uncovered. But I'll give a little on that point. I still stand by everything else...

Edited: The fans shrouds not covering the entire radiator are effectively cutting down the cooling ability of the radiator.