hey I need your opinion on what fans to buy HISSIN please, i was considering the lincon fan but you mentioned SPAL, i've heard of them through chicane spot tuning, what SPAL fans would you but for a mishimoto (I have one too)? also you mentioned the contour and intrepid fans, what years and models are the good ones and can they adapt easily to a mustang? I have cooling issues with my 331 here in california in the summer time when the temps are above 90* but see regular traffic in 105* weather, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO FINALLY USE MY AC AND MONEY IS NO OBJECT FOR THIS AS LONG AS IT WILL COOL IN TRAFFIC ON HOT ASS DAYS. Thank you HISSIN.
Mario.
Hey Mario. Good call with not using the Mark VIII fan. It'd be a real pain to package because it's so thick (even when trimmed).
I would probably opt for a Viper fan because it is just a known monster. The Ramcharger/Intrepid fans, Contour fans, etc are decent but did also come on cars with smaller engines. I haven't kept-up on Spal fans in quite some time. I was impressed with them but don't know their offerings very intimately anymore.
The Viper fan should yank about 4K CFM through the coil and we know the big V10's generate some heat.
My radiator is not as wide as the OEM unit so I never did install my 1st gen Intrepid fans (I do have the fans if you want measurements. They are available on the web too). My fans are the Pre-'98 version as I recall. The Post-98 version is the same as the Ramcharger fans and are reportedly a little nicer (stronger shroud, a little more CFM, etc).
Anyhow, for the RC/Intrepid fans, 98+ should be what you want. And the dual Contour fans came on 95-00 Contours. I'm not sure if Ford improved or changed anything with them during that run or in later years. If it was me and you don't want a Viper fan, I'd hit a J/Y and score some stuff for cheap and try it. If you dont like it, sell it. The Viper fan is the only one you'd have to get new probably. They are under 200 beans last time I checked (a new Mark VIII fan is almost the same price, for instance) but I have the feeling that the Viper price is now over 200 bucks.
With any of these fans, the caveat is that they will be a bit of a pain to adapt to your radiator. You almost certainly cannot use the OEM mounts. I once asked someone (perhaps it was even you) and was told that the Mishi rad has enough ears that one could drill holes for brackets for a fan. This is how I mounted my Taurus fan for instance (and how my OEM fan was mounted to the universal radiator). It really isn't tough to fab up brackets and mount the fan to the radiator.
I would get a Viper fan and call it good. If that doesnt keep the car cool, I dont think much of anything will.
Links:
The later Intrepid fan
Ponyboy 19's thread on the Viper fan and alum radiator
More pics and specs on the Viper
j/k.
