[Kwbenoit]

I have a 69 SS with a 396. The motor is fresh with a midsize hydraulic roller camshaft, and is backed up by a Tremec 5 speed. I have a new aluminum radiator from ColdCase that has their shroud with 2 12” puller fans. At highway speeds the car cools well. In town it overheats. Since it cools well on the highway I assume the radiator is sufficient, and I just need more airflow in town. The fans with the system are listed at 1200 CFM. I would like to find some 12” fans that I could make work with the existing shroud and radiator with higher CFM ratings. Any recommendations?

 

[ilikeike]

Just speaking from personal experience, two of my friends with new builds had/have cold case. 70 challenger 383 450hp or so, 100 amp Alternator, Had a large single fan that came in the kit, overheated at the drags, runs hot in town... Changed to a Griffin rad. and dual SPAL fan setup works great now.
Friends recently rebuilt frame off 64 Pontiac GTO modified solid cam +.040 389 Hi power Alternator, Coldcase dual fan runs hot everywhere but 50mph+ speeds. he's getting ready to pull it out as soon as car show season ends.

I'm not sure what fans Cold Case ship with, maybe that's the issue my friends had/have ?

Whatever you do, I try not to support China if possible.

 

[dhutton]

Spal has a nice dual fan setup that fits first gens well. Summit has them.

Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

Find Parts and Accessories Spal dual fan KEYWORD and get Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing!

www.summitracing.com

Dont place too much faith in cfm specs. It is so easy to fudge the data.

Don

 

[Motohead]

Jeez. I just bought the CC with dual fans. I hope I don't have that problem. I did all this research and it was the most recommended in relatively affordable price range.

 

[ilikeike]

Jeez. I just bought the CC with dual fans. I hope I don't have that problem. I did all this research and it was the most recommended in relatively affordable price range.

They work fine for many people,
I'm just telling you my experience with guy's I run with every weekend.

Whats that saying..
Good,fast, cheap.. pick two.

 

[Marc]

Jeez. I just bought the CC with dual fans. I hope I don't have that problem. I did all this research and it was the most recommended in relatively affordable price range.

If you have not read it, this is a good thread :
IF I were to go to Elec Fans, Which ones? | Page 11 | Team Camaro Tech (camaros.net)

There are talks about the CC electrical fan set up on this page.
This forum helped me decide on what electrical fan to use and I change my route 3 times...

 

[Motohead]

They work fine for many people,
I'm just telling you my experience with guy's I run with every weekend.

Whats that saying..
Good,fast, cheap.. pick two.

Thanks. I know that are not the most you can spend, but they were not "cheap" in my book. So I thought I was picking the other two. LOL

 

[Motohead]

If you have not read it, this is a good thread :
IF I were to go to Elec Fans, Which ones? | Page 11 | Team Camaro Tech (camaros.net)

There are talks about the CC electrical fan set up on this page.
This forum helped me decide on what electrical fan to use and I change my route 3 times...

I believe I read through that entire thread at one point before purchasing my rad/fan setup. In the end I did not want to build my system. I wanted something all inclusive. Plus, I switched over to the wraptor serpentine system and had read they have a habit of breaking clutch fans due to the needed spacer. I even reached out to a couple TC members for advice. Nevertheless, my car isn't finished yet, so we'll see. Now I have to figure out how to wire properly with my new CU harness.

 

[Kwbenoit]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Unfortunately I do seem to be in the scenario of the CC fans not being enough. If possible I was hoping to modify/reuse the CC fan shroud for use with SPAL fans. I should be able to just add some rivet nuts or nutserts if the holes don’t line up. I am still concerned though over how much the SPAL fans will help. A couple of thoughts/questions:
1) CC fans claim to be 1200 CFM each. Depthwise, I don’t think I can fit SPAL fans with a whole lot higher CFM rating. Are there fans just that much better?
2) I am controlling the fans as single speed units with individual relays activated by the Holley Sniper EFI ECU. I have measured voltage and get 12v when the fans are running. I assume this same setup will work with the SPAL fans?
3) I could possibly fit a pusher fan on the front driver side of the radiator (input side on cross cooling rad). Should I consider that option?
Thanks again

 

[57vette]

I also have a BBC with CC radiator, custom shroud and dual 12" Ford/Bosch fans, plus I have vintage air which means the VA condenser blocks the air from going directly thru the radiator to some degree. I haven't driven the car since last October (no interior) but on a balmy fall night of around 70° the car would run at about 190° at 50 mph. Get down to 20-35 mph and stop and go in town... temp would climb to 220°. I wasn't getting full voltage at the fan controller so I rewired it direct to the terminals. Hoping when I get my interior in I can do some road testing and see if the problem persists. Engine tune hasn't changed since before the addition of AC, serpentine, CC, and eFans. With the old BBC 4-core and straight mechanical fan (no clutch) I never saw temps over 180°-185° unless I was stuck in dead stopped traffic on a 95° day.

In theory, the CC radiator on paper should be more than adequate, but several people have had similar issues leading to different fan setups. I seriously doubt that the CC dual fan system is adequate for a BBC with AC and a cam. Spal fans are probably the best aftermarket fans you can buy, maybe followed by DeRale. My personal opinion is that a BBC needs at least 3000 cfm if not more. If I can't get my setup working correctly, I'm thinking I might either put the 4-core back in or buy a different brand radiator. Vintage Air sells a "Monster" 18" single fan that has a brushless motor... its supposed to be a beast, and its made by Spal. There's also been some discussion of using the dual brushless fans from a Chevy Volt which are either 12" or 13" and are part of an integrated shroud. If you have a Holley Sniper you can probably control the brushless fans, but for those of us running a carburetor and no ECUs, I guess a brushless fan will need some sort of custom controller. Nobody's explained that in detail, most discussion has been controlling brushless fans with a Terminator or Sniper setup.

 

[Kwbenoit]

i originally had a single 16” fan from CC, but I had clearance problems with the original long water pump setup. I went to the dual fan approach, but also went to a short water pump. Even in that configuration i am somewhat space limited. I also would like to see at least 3000 CFM, but I’m not sure I can get there. CC says the 2 fans are 12” fans, but it looks like 11” fans are the largest I could use from SPAL. They have a 1605 CFM fan that I MAY be able to fit depthwise on the passenger side. It definitely won’t work on the driver side. I can probably only get about a 1000 CFM fan on the driver side. That only gets a little over 2600 CFM; however the hot input side would have the bigger fan.

 

[dhutton]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Unfortunately I do seem to be in the scenario of the CC fans not being enough. If possible I was hoping to modify/reuse the CC fan shroud for use with SPAL fans. I should be able to just add some rivet nuts or nutserts if the holes don’t line up. I am still concerned though over how much the SPAL fans will help. A couple of thoughts/questions:
1) CC fans claim to be 1200 CFM each. Depthwise, I don’t think I can fit SPAL fans with a whole lot higher CFM rating. Are there fans just that much better?
2) I am controlling the fans as single speed units with individual relays activated by the Holley Sniper EFI ECU. I have measured voltage and get 12v when the fans are running. I assume this same setup will work with the SPAL fans?
3) I could possibly fit a pusher fan on the front driver side of the radiator (input side on cross cooling rad). Should I consider that option?
Thanks again

As I said cfm ratings are often bogus, especially when dealing with offshore vendors. Your fans are very likely not 1200 cfm. Spal is a trusted supplier, you can believe their numbers.

Current consumption is a good indicator. The higher the current, the higher the cfm in general.

The Spal fans sold by Summit will work with your relays.

Don

 

[dhutton]

i originally had a single 16” fan from CC, but I had clearance problems with the original long water pump setup. I went to the dual fan approach, but also went to a short water pump. Even in that configuration i am somewhat space limited. I also would like to see at least 3000 CFM, but I’m not sure I can get there. CC says the 2 fans are 12” fans, but it looks like 11” fans are the largest I could use from SPAL. They have a 1605 CFM fan that I MAY be able to fit depthwise on the passenger side. It definitely won’t work on the driver side. I can probably only get about a 1000 CFM fan on the driver side. That only gets a little over 2600 CFM; however the hot input side would have the bigger fan.

The dual Spal fan setup has a shroud, no need to try to mount it to your existing shroud. Trying to cobble something up or adding a pusher is not a good strategy imho…

Your underlying assumption that the cold case offshore fans are 1200 cfm is not valid imho.

This one

SPAL Automotive USA IX-30102052 Spal Electric Fans | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Spal Electric Fans with qualifying orders of $99. Shop Fans, Electric at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

Don

 

[dhutton]

Also make sure your wiring is up to snuff. You should have 13.5 volts on the fans when the car is running and the fans are on. If the wire is too small or you did not wire them directly to the battery it will cause low voltage and they will move less air. This is important.

 

[Kwbenoit]

i do like the referenced dual fan setup from SPAL and may go that way. Any thoughts on the similar setup from DeRale rated up to 3600 CFM?

I will also go back through my wiring again, in fact I probably need to check overall draw to ensure my 100 amp alternator is sufficient

 

[dhutton]

i do like the referenced dual fan setup from SPAL and may go that way. Any thoughts on the similar setup from DeRale rated up to 3600 CFM?

I will also go back through my wiring again, in fact I probably need to check overall draw to ensure my 100 amp alternator is sufficient

I am not familiar with that derale setup but I do know I place higher trust in Spal to be honest with their CFM ratings. Compare current draw to be sure. Higher current generally means higher cfm but they have to be specified under the same conditions.

 

[Kwbenoit]

The SPAL setup puts out 2700 CFM and uses up to 39 amps. The DeRale system says 3800 CFM at 37.4 amps. I assume you are correct that the current draw may be a more important stat to look at than CFM. I think I will give the SPAL setup a try

 

[dhutton]

The SPAL setup puts out 2700 CFM and uses up to 39 amps. The DeRale system says 3800 CFM at 37.4 amps. I assume you are correct that the current draw may be a more important stat to look at than CFM. I think I will give the SPAL setup a try

Check the voltage on your current fan setup before you spend more money on fans.

Don

 

[57vette]

Don's advice is sound. I discovered that I was only getting 11.4 volts after he suggested I check mine out. I subsequently have rewired my PWM fan controller direct to the battery terminals. IIRC, Spal shows you fan ratings with zero static pressure, meaning a free-standing fan with nothing in front of it. So when they say a fan is rated at 3000 CFM at zero static pressure, and that fan is then placed in a shroud and attached to a radiator... the peak CFM will drop by some factor based on the airflow passing through the radiator. All that being said, Spal fans are known as being extremely powerful and efficient. And their brushless fans seem to be both powerful and super slim.

 

[fairfax1000]

Flea lite has always been my choice. Never had an issue.
Stupid autocorrect
Flexalite