I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on what performance improvements I might get by switching from a stainless flex fan to an electric fan or to a clutch fan, and if anyone has any specific recommendations. Combo in sig. Thanks!

Might pick up 5-10 hp, hard to say. I really like my dual 11" Spal unit. Jegs and Summit sell's it.

Any fan requires energy to operate it, whether it's water pump-driven or alternator-driven; any difference in performance is minor, as thermally-clutched fans disengage over 3500 rpm anyway. Engine performance and cooling performance are two different things - if you want good cooling system performance, nothing beats the stock setup with the correct radiator, shroud, fan, and clutch; if you add more motor, you may have to add more radiator, but leave the rest of the system alone. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

My opinion is that it probably isn't worth the money from a cost-per-horsepower angle. However, my experience has been that the good electric fans cool MUCH better than the factory set-up at idle and slow speeds. Every one of mine has which is the only reason I run them. I dropped 20+ degrees in idle temp with a swap from a new factory clutch fan and shroud to a Mark VIII electric unit, no other changes. Now with a stock or mild engine this is a non-issue. But some of my "healthier" set-ups have required an electric fan to keep the engine where I wanted it at slow or no speed. This of course also requires a very good fan, not a good place to save money. Additionally, as John said, the rest of your cooling system has to be up to par with the needs of the engine.

Jody

I consistantly went .2 sec and 2 mph quicker with an electric fan (Mark VIII) vs. stainless flex fan, with my 383. My friend went from his stock clutch fan to a Mark VIII and gained nothing in ET.

A good electric fan (not black magic) is far superior to any engine mounted fan at low engine speeds. It allows you to sit at idle without engine temp rising w/AC. I live in Phoenix, 110+ temps.

Paulm just intalled one, maybe he will comment.

OK Lonnie since you called me out....

I think the question is on performance though and I can't comment on that part. I will say though that the last two trips to work(80 miles rountrip) I never even had to turn on the fan as the aluminum griffen radiator cooled just fine without it. I did get stuck in a 40 minute traffic jam last week and turned on the fan while the engine idled and the temp stayed at 180 the whole time. There is no way my old radiator and clutch fan would have kept it that cool. It used to get to 190-195 waiting for the light to turn green.

Well I'm sold! :D I have been thinking about doing an electric fan for quite awhile. I have a flex-a-lite (no clutch) that came on the car. I hate watching my temp guage go up in traffic not knowing where it's going to stop.
:confused: Since you Phoenix guys have no issues, then I shouldn't either since were like 2* cooler (or something). graemlins/beers.gif
Also what is the Mark VIII fan, and where do I get one...and what size? graemlins/thumbsup.gif Thanks.

It's an electric fan/shroud setup off a Linconln. Do a search for it on google.com, becuase there is a Mustank website out there somewhere that sells them.

Oh, and you can't just slap on an electric fan and forget about it. You must also make sure your electrical system is up to snuff, or you will just end up with more headaches. This is your warning :D

[ 04-22-2003, 07:18 AM: Message edited by: Spames ]

You can get them from a Ford dealer. I bought mine from these guys:

http://www.houstonperformance.com/

It's not on their website but they definitely stock a bunch of them. They're about $160 with a built in shroud. You will need a 60-75 amp relay to run this fan safely. Some people use a 40 amp but a 30 amp standard relay will not handle it. It out-pulls (more airflow) the dual Spal unit that BeCool uses which is a nice unit in itself. At $160. it's a lot less money than the dual Spal also.

Jody

This site goes up and down, but it has pretty much all of the info that you need to install the fan:

http://www.geocities.com/smithmonte/Auto/MarkVIII_Fan.htm

BPOS, you might also want to consider a 4th gen f body dual setup. I have one on my 68 radiator and it keeps my LT1 cool (180-200). You can usually get them on Ebay for about $75 or so. Email me if you need more info.

For the record I've been using Fiero eletric fans for my Chevys (with small blocks) for years.I have a few friends with Chevys and Rustangs that use them too.They work great for us and can be found all day long at the local pick-a-part for under 20 bucks.

Lonnie67,Is there something not so good about the Black Magic fan? Just curious, I thought about getting one out in the future.
Thanks, Guy

you should check for fans on ebay. I bought a '91 Camaro electric fan off ebay for $6 and rigged it to a cheap temperature sensor, my car now runs 15* cooler than it was with the stock setup.

That Mark VIII fan seems like the way to go. I have an in at a Ford Dealership too. That website is pretty cool too...thanks paulm. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Just one question though. All his wiring diagrams on the website include A/C. My car doesn't have A/C. So basically I'm asking you guys how you wired it in, did you use diodes, relays and switches? Pretend I'm not electrically inclined...b/c I'm not. Thanks again. :D

OK....Let's see if this pic show up:

http://www.stratagaz.com/WD.jpg

This is his "simplified" diagram. I'll simplify it even more(I don't have time to edit the pic right now):

1. Get some 10 AWG red wire and run the wire from the postive battery terminal to the positive connection at the fan.

2. Get a 75 amp power relay from the site that he suggests. Why a power relay? A power relay is used because the fan draws a bunch of juice when it runs. So much juice that a standard little DC switch would get hot, melt, start a fire, etc. A power relay is just a switch, except that instead of having on on/off switch that you flip by hand, you turn it on and off by supplying power to the switch side of the relay.....Make sense?

3. Get some 10 AWG black wire and run one end to the negative terminal on the battery and then run the other end to the number 87 connector on the relay. Take some more 10 AWG black wire and connect it to the number 30 connector on the relay and then to the negative connector on the fan.

4. Get a simple little DC toggle switch and mount it somewhere inside the car where you can turn it on and off while driving. Run an "Ignition on" power wire(16 AWG) to one side of the switch. Run another wire(16 AWG) from the other side of the switch to the number 86 connector on the power relay.

5. Run a 16 AWG black wire from the number 85 connector on the relay to a chassis ground.

You're done and the fan works via a switch. I am kind of in a hurry, so I hope I didn't miss anything.

[ 04-23-2003, 08:12 AM: Message edited by: paulm ]

Originally posted by gjohnson:
Lonnie67,Is there something not so good about the Black Magic fan? Just curious, I thought about getting one out in the future.
Thanks, Guy To make a long story short and to avoid bashing, it flat out did not cool my engine, without A/C, in temps above 90, or any outside temp for extended idle periods. Cooling at idle was worse than a flex fan. The Mark VIII fan easily pulls 2 times as much CFM.

Thanks Pual, that makes sense. I drew a little wiring diagram of what you said. :D It doesn't seem like it should be too hard...oops I think I just jinxed (sp?) myself. graemlins/clonk.gif

I have the perma-cool 16" electric fan #prm-19115 (summit) for 88.95 and bought a painless wiring kit for it. It is very simple. I love it, never gets higher than 185, when it turns on. I kick myself for waiting so long to actually change from stock.