What fan/radiator with a V8? (1 Viewer)

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Where'd you get THAT!?
Brand new stuff?
Would that be a universal type fit across the Gen III vortecs?

Pretty cool!


Rock Auto is the web site to visit....good prices on teh GM stuff they carry.

I have a 99 5.7 Vortec... the 5.3 and 6.0 engines are calling out a different PN (you can check whatever you need on their web site).

THe fans look to me like they would interchange...as well as the fan clutches...but I've not seen them compared to each other in person. PICs and drawings would lead me to think so.

I would just order what fits the year model GM engine you are using. The fan pictured is around 19 inches or so. THere are some other pics and discussion over on teh 60 section dealing with V-8 swap cooling.

Yes..its brand new OEM GM stuff.
 
Rock Auto is the web site to visit....good prices on teh GM stuff they carry.

I have a 99 5.7 Vortec... the 5.3 and 6.0 engines are calling out a different PN (you can check whatever you need on their web site).

THe fans look to me like they would interchange...as well as the fan clutches...but I've not seen them compared to each other in person. PICs and drawings would lead me to think so.

I would just order what fits the year model GM engine you are using. The fan pictured is around 19 inches or so. THere are some other pics and discussion over on teh 60 section dealing with V-8 swap cooling.



Yes..its brand new OEM GM stuff.


RAD!
Thanks Elbert.
I picked the one I have out of the bone yard, so Im a little skeptical...I figure if it runs, Ill be able to assess the parts Ill need instead of buying all new stuff. However, that is a great resource.
Im not required to run the FULL OBDII emissions, so there is some other stuff on there I can get. EGR block off and such.

K
 
Till you step on the gas...


more Hp = More heat.

In a VERY small set of circumstances I can see your point. But not once you open the butterflies..

Most of my wheeling and driving is done under 2500 rpm. Probably 60% of my wheeling is under 1600 rpm. When I have to get on it, it's usually for a fairly short period of time.

I don't have a high compression motor, but I'm close to 300hp as far as I can tell. If I had 10.5:1 compression, I'm sure I would be running 220 all day.
 
Till you step on the gas...


more Hp = More heat.

In a VERY small set of circumstances I can see your point. But not once you open the butterflies..

I agree but its also possible to make LESS horsepower with a bigger cam.... again its does take very small set of circumstances to make this true.
 
I agree but its also possible to make LESS horsepower with a bigger cam.... again its does take very small set of circumstances to make this true.

You mean less torque?
 
You mean less torque?

I suppose that scenario COULD be also true. I was using horsepower as a general word for power but if you use a high duration cam in a low compression motor the cam generally will bleed off needed compression to efficiently burn the fuel/air mixture resulting in less torque. Horsepower is a calculation of torque over time.

The thing I've learned about motors is that each and everyone can be set up differently using different components that result in different power curves. There is really no way to make any definitive suggestion without looking at the entire "set up" of a motor or drive-train for that matter.
 
stock mech will always pull more air! more air = better cooling.
no wiring to worry about. It will always work.

some people feel that if they switch to an electric fan you free up HP.
unless you are racing and split second differences depends on a few HP it really isn't noticeable. I tried it and didn't notice a thing. I feel so much more at ease knowing my fan will always work even if the clutch goes.

I agree with mace. only reason to go electric is space issues.

side note: not sure how true this logic is but someone once told me that you really don't free up any horse power, because you are just robbing power from another source. your electrical source. With TBI or fuel injection, a solid electrical system is very important. food for thought i guess.
 
not sure how true this logic is but someone once told me that you really don't free up any horse power, because you are just robbing power from another source. your electrical source. With TBI or fuel injection, a solid electrical system is very important. food for thought i guess.

The way you free up HP is by running an electric water pump and an electric fan with out running an alternator. That will give a bit of an edge. But you won't have much of an advantage when your battery dies ;)
 
The way you free up HP is by running an electric water pump and an electric fan with out running an alternator. That will give a bit of an edge. But you won't have much of an advantage when your battery dies ;)

so i guess the logic is true.
 
The way you free up HP is by running an electric water pump and an electric fan with out running an alternator. That will give a bit of an edge. But you won't have much of an advantage when your battery dies ;)

An alternator doesn't have as much drag as a mechanical fan, I wouldn't think. Am I wrong?
 
An alternator doesn't have as much drag as a mechanical fan, I wouldn't think. Am I wrong?

You are wrong. To create energy, you have to expend energy.
 
any time you convert or tasfer energy from one from to another you will lose a percentage of it.

The only logic that i like about the Electric, is it only runs when you need it.. so it could be more efficient that way.. Truck would get warm faster and stay hotter in the winter time.. ;)
 
You are wrong. To create energy, you have to expend energy.

I guess we go back to a mechanical fan moving more air than an electrical fan, in most cases. Therefore you are expending more energy turning a mech fan than an electrical. Dependent upon engine rpm, of course.
 
I guess we go back to a mechanical fan moving more air than an electrical fan, in most cases. Therefore you are expending more energy turning a mech fan than an electrical. Dependent upon engine rpm, of course.

No, think of the steps involved.

Take mechanical energy and convert it to electrical energy (motor to alternator)
Then convert that electrical energy back into mechanical energy (alternator to fan)

You think those steps are 100% efficient? There is always a loss when converting one form of energy into another.

Vs, a belt drive fan...

Let me put it to you this way. Say you have a pedal boat. Would it be more efficient to hook up a bicycle generator, and then have that generator spin the paddles or just have you use the pedals to spin the paddles.
 
Vs, a belt drive fan...

Let me put it to you this way. Say you have a pedal boat. Would it be more efficient to hook up a bicycle generator, and then have that generator spin the paddles or just have you use the pedals to spin the paddles.[/QUOTE]

Now thats a good analogy !
 
An alternator doesn't have as much drag as a mechanical fan, I wouldn't think. Am I wrong?

An alternator doesn't take much to turn when unloaded, like when it's off on the bench, when loaded it's a whole other story. Try running an alternator tester, it easy to hold the belt tight until the field is shorted, then takes some pretty good arm!

No, think of the steps involved.

Take mechanical energy and convert it to electrical energy (motor to alternator)
Then convert that electrical energy back into mechanical energy (alternator to fan)

You think those steps are 100% efficient? There is always a loss when converting one form of energy into another.
...

X2.

IIRC it's ~40% on each end, plus wiring, switch, etc, loses. So that 1/4hp fan is actually pulling somewhere in the neighborhood of 1hp off of the belt.

Solid and flex fans are very inefficient. A thermostat controlled clutch fan is pretty efficient, they only run when needed. All Toyota clutches can be tuned, so by simply changing the fluid they can be made weaker or stronger to meet need.

A successful argument can be made, that by carefully controlling an electric fan they can be slightly more efficient. But will never be as powerful as a clutch fan.

There is no defensible argument that will end with a complicated electrical system, that relies on the alternator working, etc, being more reliable than a simple belt driven system. For my uses (off road) simple, reliable, powerful, trumps slightly more efficient. The only reason I would run an electric fan on an off road rig would be for packaging issues. Even then it would be the last resort, prefer to run it off of the belt and use electric power for more important things. :hillbilly:
 
No, think of the steps involved.

Take mechanical energy and convert it to electrical energy (motor to alternator)
Then convert that electrical energy back into mechanical energy (alternator to fan)

You think those steps are 100% efficient? There is always a loss when converting one form of energy into another.

Vs, a belt drive fan...

Let me put it to you this way. Say you have a pedal boat. Would it be more efficient to hook up a bicycle generator, and then have that generator spin the paddles or just have you use the pedals to spin the paddles.

I don't know, dude. You're already pulling the alternator even without an electric fan. It'd be interesting to see some experiments. I may be wrong but I seem to remember seeing somewhere that a mechanical fan can rob like 10hp. I find it hard to believe a stock alternator takes that much to turn. Again, I may be talking out of my ass. All I really know is that when I pulled off the mechanical fan on a motor one time, the engine response was noticeable. Also, I can't tell any different in throttle response when my electric fan is running and when it is not.
 
I don't know, dude. You're already pulling the alternator even without an electric fan. It'd be interesting to see some experiments. I may be wrong but I seem to remember seeing somewhere that a mechanical fan can rob like 10hp.

Can would be the key word, maybe. The most extreme numbers that I have seen were for big solid driven fans without a shroud and then ~7hp. The numbers for clutch fans are in the 1-2hp range when fully on and that is only when the rig is very hot.

I find it hard to believe a stock alternator takes that much to turn.

746 watts = 1hp, so an alternator loaded at 60A x 14V = 840W or ~1-1/8hp, + operating friction + conversion losses (heat) = in the 2hp range off of the belt.

... All I really know is that when I pulled off the mechanical fan on a motor one time, the engine response was noticeable. Also, I can't tell any different in throttle response when my electric fan is running and when it is not.

I could see this if it were a big solid fan, maybe. Are you sure it wasn't noise change, etc? Most cannot detect a couple of hp difference, especially in a motor that makes decent power. If the fan was a clutch type, could you tell the difference between when it's fully "on" and "off"? The clutch on mine is "tuned" has ~double the stock viscosity fluid in it and I can not tell unless I can hear it.
 
I don't know, dude. You're already pulling the alternator even without an electric fan. It'd be interesting to see some experiments. I may be wrong but I seem to remember seeing somewhere that a mechanical fan can rob like 10hp. I find it hard to believe a stock alternator takes that much to turn. Again, I may be talking out of my ass. All I really know is that when I pulled off the mechanical fan on a motor one time, the engine response was noticeable. Also, I can't tell any different in throttle response when my electric fan is running and when it is not.

Mechanical fan can rob more hp than that on big trucks.

Question, why do big rigs all run mechanical fans?
 

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