need input on my e-fan idea.

[warwickben]

hey guys like the title says i want your input on my idea, so i dont waste money and fail.

so i know people take stock efan's from other cars and put them on first gens because no one sells a 21.5 x 12 e-fan setup.
but i was thinking i could make a custom e-fan setup better.

i was thinking of buying a sheet of carbon fiber, and using the stock shroud as a template for the mounting holes. then i cut a hole or two for the fan's. if i go with 2 10" fans 2 holes or 1 for a 12" fan get my drift. i would use washer on the back side of the sheet of carbon fiber to make it a little stronger.all so the place ill be getting the carbon fiber sheet from sells 90 deg bends so i would use one at the top of the shroud.

i was told on a mustang forum that if you have a flat shroud you need to put other holes in it to let air flow tho when driving, is this true? if so ill just make rotor shape holes.

all so how much cfm do i need?

[blwnrtr93]

i suppose the idea would work... but why not spend the money on an upgraded radiator or a fan kit from summitracing or another hi-po superstore? you shouldn't need much of a shroud if you're using an e-fan that covers a good portion of the radiator. make sure to use a thermo-switch when installing.

[warwickben]

i have yet been able to find a fan kit that would work on the rad for the frist gen, there like all ways way to big .

[blwnrtr93]

2 of these (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=PRO%2D67010&N=700+4294924500+4294839058+4294838842+4294891681+ 115&autoview=sku) should do the trick even without a shroud, but a shroud could be formed easily enough. Just use some old cardboard for template material and fab up something like the design below from thin steel or aluminum if you know someone with a tig.

[warwickben]

yeah thats basically what i was going to do. but i was going to use my stock shroud as a template for the mounting holes.

is 2000 cfm enough for a 12a.
iam friends with some people at a carbon fiber shop near my house thats sells sheets. i priced it out and it would be cheaper then if i went with metal plus i get the bling factor lol.

[jtbshaw]

You can use the Scirocco twin setup. It is a tight fit, but you can make it fit with hardly any adjustments.

Or, you can do like I have been doing for years. I usually run twin 10" fans on the front as pushers, not pullers in the engine bay. The last ones I bought at a O'Reilly's for under $50 each (which was about 3 years ago). Join the wiring together and connect to relay so that minimal power drain is applied while operating, and either hook to a toggle switch or mount a sensor that triggers the fans to come on. If you want more info, I can PM the info on the sensor locations that you can use, etc... Of course, the twin 10" fan setup that I used was for pre-1984 12A radiator/oil cooler setup or GSL-SE radiator/oil cooler setup. If you have a 84-85 12A, then you can always go with a larger single fan. Hope that helps.

[warwickben]

i got a 1980 rx7.pm that info.

[$100T2]

Don't PM the info, put it up here for others to see. What good is a resource if it's being PMed?

[warwickben]

tru that. also i was reading about pusher fan's. most web site's that sell fans say to only use a pusher with a pull fan. wounder why. also the fans i was looking at have the own temp sending unit. i was thinking of getting one of those pipe that goes between the rad and house. or drilling another hole in my water neck but i all ready have my temp gauge sender there.

[jtbshaw]

There should be two locations that are readily available. It has been awhile so forgive me if I am incorrect on the one on the upper radiator hose neck (the water pump housing). There should be a plug there that you can simply remove and screw in a sensor. If not, the temp sensor for your gauge should be back there by your oil filter. You can unscrew that, screw in a Y-fitting from your local hardware store, and replace the OEM sensor in one spot and place the new sensor in the other. I have used a few different sensors and all worked. I have used another RX7 OEM gauge sensor, and Honda Civic sensors (the fan temp sensor, not the gauge sensor). The sensor that you pack in the radiator is inconsistent and can easily send a false (cooler) reading and not turn your fan(s) on. I don't recommend using those.

The fans that I have used plenty of are these: http://www.jegs.com/i/Flex-a-lite/400/390/10002/-1

There is a Mr. Gasket one that shows to move a little more air for $1 less. Jeg's also lists several thermostat switches and such.

The only thing that I just thought of is that I have always removed the A/C from my FBs. The A/C condensor is not in front of the radiator in this case. If you still have your A/C setup, you will have to use the fans as pullers, not pushers. Either way, on a FB radiator, to make these fans fit, you will have to straighten out the sides that curl inward. Once you have done this, the dual fans fit perfectly.

Let me know if this helps. If you need more info, I can post later. Hope this can get you going though.

[warwickben]

thanks for the info. iam going to order the carbon fiber frist and get that mounting setup done frist then ill pull it off and get two 10 inch fans.

yup no ac any.

the reason iam going with a e fan setup is because iam putting a gilmer drive setup on my 12a.

[jtbshaw]

Is there a particular reason why you feel you need the carbon to mounts the fans? Or do you just want the carbon? I absolutely love CF...if I could have my house built out of it I would!

The fans that I sent you the link to have their own mount.

[jtbshaw]

Here's a link to what the fan kit includes: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/53500/10002/-1

I have never had a problem with these mounts. And, if you did, you see they are very inexpensive.

[warwickben]

well i dont know if its the same for fb's, but on my sa the rad has mounting brackets for the stock shroud, iam going to those to bolt a flat sheet of carbon fiber to. then the fans to that plate. i heard with certain e-fan's using that mounting style can mess up the fins when the e-fan turns on. i just dont want to take that chance. plus i found a place that sells custom carbon fiber sheet's cheap if i cant get the size 12x21.5 from my buddy that uses carbon fiber sheet at his work.

i think when i get this done i mite be the first with a custom carbon fiber shroud on a first gen.

i made a custom shroud for my rs turbo capri be for. i took the rad out of the car and made a template out of mdf. i used the rails at the top and bottom for mounting point's. i drilled the holes tho the mdf and put long nails in the holes. then i marked 1 inch in from the top and bottom of the mdf. the in side square is the size of the core and the two strips at the top and bottom are just the metal channels. i then cut a few blocks of foam the width and length of the inner square on the mdf. i stacked the foam so it was like 4 inches high. then i traced the shape of the e-fan in the center of the top layer of foam. i then used 4 more nail's stuck in the foam where the e-fan mounting holes will be. then i just started carve away getting a nice curve all around. when i was done shaping i coved it in tin foil. then i layed my first 2 layer's of carbon fiber.i then put washers where all the hole/nails where to make that area a little stronger. then i layed down more sheets of carbon fiber.
i used carbon/Kevlar black and red weave. it came out great, i wished i had pics to show i did this but after my buddy posted on a mustang site about what we did we got offered 600 for the whole thing. ill be remaking it soon since i still have the mold.

i was going to do this with my rx7 but i wasnt sure if it was going to stick out and be to close to my gilmer setup. thats why i decied to go with a simple flat sheet and 2 fans bolted on.

[jtbshaw]

It's your car to do what you wish. If you are basing the necessity for the CF on the potential for the e-fan blades making contact, then that is a null point. They will not make contact with the radiator. There are foam spacers in the mounting kit that space the fan far enough out, without getting too far off the radiator.

I understand about being the first with CF. I have built a few shrouds before, but not CF. Again, it's your car to do as you wish. But, it is not necessary for the fans to mount up. If you are going to place the CF panel where I think you are, I would be more concerned in not having sufficient air flow through the radiator to cool the coolant properly. Just a thought.

[warwickben]

i was not worried about the fan blades hitting the core. just when the fan's kick on iam worried about the mounting straps going thou the core messing up the fins i read that on certain e-fan's you have to worry about this.
the two 10 fan will be closer to the core then the stock fan was, do you think this will effect the amount of air they'll pull thou the core.

the carbon sheet or metal sheet if i deiced against carbon, will bolt to the rad using the stock mounting holes.
i was thinking of some thing like this.
http://www.jegs.com/images/photos/13475037.jpg

can you post pics of you setup.

iam just looking for input before i start spending money, rather not build it then mess up my motor you know what i mean.

[warwickben]

i have a strange question. does the stock fan pull also pull air for the oil cooler?

[jtbshaw]

I believe what you have read is more of a myth and somebody having too much time on their hands to worry about irrelevant things. There is no need to worry about the mounting straps or anything making contact.

The pic that you posted will work, but it is waaaayyy overkill, IMO. For under $200 you can have a dual 10" fan setup and have it set to operate from a sensor.

I will locate a pic and post of one of my setups. I have always used the fans as pushers, so the pic can only be so good being that is taken front the radiator inlet.

And, no the stock fan doesn't cool the oil cooler, on the 12A cars. The GSL-SEs use a different setup and the stock fan pulls minimal air through the oil cooler.

[warwickben]

i was not going to buy that, just use it as a pic to try to explain what i was going to do. i think ill just buy the 2 of the fans you posted and just use the mounting system like you posted. my main reason behind using the sheet of metal or carbon fiber was to box in the area behind the radiator so the fan's pulled the air thou the whole radiator, not just the area under the fans. dont mean to :beatdeadhorse5:

[jtbshaw]

Here's the only pic I could find. Just imagine the angle this was taken from. There was hardly anyway that I could get one with adequate lighting. Maybe this will help.

[mar3]

Derale 16" fan will fit on the short SA radiator...as a bonus, you can modify the factory shroud and it all looks factory since you can now hide the wiring under the shroud on its way to the relay or controller box.

The way the Derale is made allows about 4 to 5" to "hang" below the radiator so that the oil cooler is actually getting some action, too. The brackets keep the fan blade off the radiator bottom tank lip just enough to make this happen. I don't know about other fans, but by happy circumstances, this is what I found when I installed a 16" Derale on my 1980 RX-7...I might even still have pictures of the install on the old W98 PC at home. The engine it cooled was a Rotary Performance Big StreetPort 12A - think Ari Yallon and Chris F. when they still rebuilt 12A's - 135 HP at the crank, out-of-tune, with a bone stock Nikki but big custom exhaust...NEVER had any cooling issues and this is in Texas Summers where we hit 105 degrees F. "Out-of-tune" because the car got totaled 2 weeks after the dyno session...:(

:cool: