460 ci - What is too HOT!

[Michael Yount]

Go to www.spal-usa.com and check out the fully shrouded dual 11" unit dimensions. I have MUCH less clearance in that area than most Stangs and it worked in mine because with two fans, one on either side, there's no fan motor right in the center to interfere with the water pump pulley.

 

[88GTStreetRod]

kind of, I have a trans cooler mounted in front of the radiator. I was thinking about mounting the trans cooler sideways and adding a fan in front. I really need one of those 5000cfm truck units but I do not have the room

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Hmmmm, I wonder. Barring that, have you room in front of the rad for some sort of draw through set up?

 

[SmockDoiley]

Well the 460 pro beat me to it, but like they are saying. Check out the front of the radiator. I always mount my fan in front of the radiator because of clearance issues, but also because it gives the engine bay a cleaner appearance. If your fan is so close to the engine, regardless of how much it pushes, it may not have enough room to really kick that air around. The second it is coming out of the fan, its hitting a wall; the engine.

 

[chaka]

Have you checked out http://www.network54.com/Forum/85220 ? I think this question cam up recently. Tons of good info

I am running a 2 row aluminum griffin 31X19 w/ two 12"'s each rated at 1650CFM each.
The fans kick on at 185 F. Have a 180F thermostat installed.

The temp stays around 190F in 95F temp. Have let it sit running in my driveway idling for a half hour and it never rose above 190. Also I have no shrouding at the moment.

I use to run a 190 thermostat at it was tipping 210. Didn't like that so I switched to the 180. So far it has fixed it.

BTW: Engine is a stock 460 with ported D3VE heads. Headers are not wrapped yet. Engine will get an overhaul this winter.

edited:
I am using Perma-Cool fans. Summit Part #: PRM-19008. I had around 2.5"-3" between the water pump pulley and the radiator. These fit nicely and IMO are not an eye sore. Compared to the rest of my car.

 

[chaka]

Forgot to mention a bunch of big blockers recommend running the Mark V fans. If you do a search on the 385 forum it will tell you what years are recommended.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Have you ever considered the addition of some sort of low profile flex fan along with the electric fans? If the pitch of the blades isn’t to great, it may not rob more than a couple of horsepower. ....I know, I'm grasping at straws. Sorry, I spent my bright ideas after the "upping the idle" comment.

 

[Michael Yount]

Fans that PUSH are through the radiator are less efficient than fans that PULL through the radiator. You can mount in front, but it takes more fan to move the same amount of air. Pullers are always preferred if there's room.

Also, having your tranny cooler mounted in front of the radiator effectively makes your radiator/fan less efficient at cooling the engine. The heat from the tranny fluid is going right back across the radiator. You'd optimize the system by relocating the tranny cooler coil under the car where the air coming off of it does not pass back through the radiator. A small 6" fan (or junk yard fan from a motorcycle radiator) will keep the tranny coil nice and cool.

 

[88GTStreetRod]

Any idea of what CFM to look for?

 

[Michael Yount]

I wouldn't want any less than 2500-3000 cfm. But you have to be careful of the fan ratings - many companies rate their fans at 0" of pressure drop - which of course can't actually be achieved once you put them behind the radiator. The only fans out there that I've not heard folks complain about are the dual SPAL set up, and the Mark VIII unit. Most of the rest have folks that like them, and folks that have had problems. Whatever you end up with fan-wise, go here for your controller -- www.dccontrol.com. It's the only way to control an electric.

 

[88GTStreetRod]

I Think I found a short in the fan, I do not think that the fan was comming on the entire time. I also re-adjusted the tstat. If I sit at idle for 2-3 minutes the car may go up to 210 degrees but will cool down to 180-190 once moving again. What do you think the absolute highest temp is that is safe.

 

[Michael Yount]

I wouldn't worry so much about trying to control under a 'high limit' temp. I'd want a fan system that was capable of moving enough air to maintain the car at the t'stat setting. That's the optimal set up. Your fans should keep you at the same temp you're at when you're moving. My controller is set to maintain 187F; my t'stat is 180F (although it actually opens at 183F according to the thermometer in the pan of water). My fans hold the car between 185F and 189F. Doesn't matter whether I'm moving or sitting in traffic. If the fans won't hold the car at the t'stat temp, then if ambient temps rise, so will your operating temp. And you don't want that situation.

 

[88GTStreetRod]

I figured out my cooling problem. The dip Sh1t that had the car before me had the electric fan hard wired into the fuse pannel with no relay. So the fan wire would get hot and stop working. Also the dip Sh1t took the TStat and gutted it out. I suppose he thought that if there was more water flowing it would cool better, WRONG!. The wtaer needs to be in the radiator long enough to cool, therefore a working tsat is needed. In installed a 160 degre tstat and re-wires the fans. The car ran for 20 minutes in my garage at idle and never got any higher than 190.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Glad it turned out ok. Nice to see that you kept us updated too. To many of these "Help me solve a problem" posts get figured out and never heard from again.