Any tricks for cooling?

[soldave]

I know this has been asked in a different guise before but bear with me as my setup is a little different.

Got a relatively crazy build in progress at the moment for my Evo drag daily driver. I'm going for a 17cm housed HX-40 with a top-mount manifold and all the trimmings in my Evo III. To cut a long story short, if I want any chance of this fitting the radiator has had to be switched to a 24" long VW Scirocco radiator, and of course the a/c is getting dumped (foolish in Okinawa, but I've got to make some sacrifices). The radiator is going to be moved a few inches forward so that everything fits and because of intercooler and radiator placement I'm just going to be able to have 2 12" wide and 2.5" thick slimline pusher fans on it.

I'll be using Water Wetter, get a fan controller to bring in the fans a little earlier, and am going to heatwrap everything I can in the engine bay (can't do the manifold because of warranty implications but everything else is getting mummified), but am still a little concerned about whether the radiator's going to provide adequate cooling when I'm driving around in traffic (in summer we can get temps around 33C with 90% humidity. Am I missing any tricks for cooling? All I can think of is trying to make some ducting for the front bumper to make sure that every bit of air possible gets to the radiator, but that's only going to provide cooling when I'm moving.

I know it's a general question but if anyone has some tips I'd be very interested to hear them.

 

[phunny]

Yeah, don't go with slimline, spals are a MUCH better fan and they have many options for your cooling needs.

 

[soldave]

I did actually look at the SPAL fans but the only one that's thin enough to work will give me a maximum airflow of just 800cfm. I know the Ebay values will be inflated but even so 800cfm seems pretty low.

This is the only one I saw that would fit the setup I'm looking at:

SPAL USA

 

[firebirdvert305]

soldave, SPAL is the only manufacturer who flow rates there fans with a restriction ( think of a radiator). Most manufacturers flow-rate there fans without restrictions or at higher battery voltages so the advertised CFM ratings are higher then the rest. Dont let the numbers fool you, SPAL will outflow the competition, depending on which fan you get make sure you wire it with a seperate relay.

 

[soldave]

Interesting. Not saying you're wrong but do you have a source for that? Might have to keep this in mind if temps get a little higher than I'd like. Am going to be very cautious early on with this setup, and am pretty lucky it will be finished in winter. If temps are high in December then I'll know I've gotta do something before summer arrives next year.

You say wire with a separate relay so that I'm ensuring when it actually comes on it gets the full juice from the battery

 

[firebirdvert305]

Interesting. Not saying you're wrong but do you have a source for that? Might have to keep this in mind if temps get a little higher than I'd like. Am going to be very cautious early on with this setup, and am pretty lucky it will be finished in winter. If temps are high in December then I'll know I've gotta do something before summer arrives next year.

You say wire with a separate relay so that I'm ensuring when it actually comes on it gets the full juice from the battery

Goto SPALS site and open the .PDF file and look at the flow restriction #'s listed for the fans.. An"easier" way to determine fan output strength is too look at the amount of amperage the fan pulls under load, thats a pretty good tell-tale sign.
Wire it with a seperate relay and 10 guage wire so you dont overload whatever circuit you tapped into, also for the reasons you stated above. Good luck with whatever you choose.
EDITED*

 

[phunny]

I did actually look at the SPAL fans but the only one that's thin enough to work will give me a maximum airflow of just 800cfm. I know the Ebay values will be inflated but even so 800cfm seems pretty low.

This is the only one I saw that would fit the setup I'm looking at:

SPAL USA

A fan that is rated for 800cfm through the radiator is no joke. Spal is the only fan that actually does that. And on your non turbo side there should be room to put one high-performance fan on that side and one like you have shown on the turbo side.

 

[Boomdeeze]

I run two 12" slim fans(One a pusher, one a puller) and my temps are right around 185*. Only time it broke 200 was when I was sitting in traffic in Chicago on a day it was 105*. I dont use any wetter just a 50/50 mix coolant.

On is $25 from ebay and the other came on the car so not sure of the brand but has no name brand on it.

 

[soldave]

A fan that is rated for 800cfm through the radiator is no joke. Spal is the only fan that actually does that. And on your non turbo side there should be room to put one high-performance fan on that side and one like you have shown on the turbo side.

That reminds me of another point I was going to raise. Is there any significant benefit in putting both a pusher and a puller fan on either side of the radiator?

 

[agarc023]

One or the other man..fans block flow at higher speeds so putting both would make it worse...




...unless you dont use the freeway

 

[Ineedboostman]

Would there be any benifits in running a higher ratio of water to coolant? Maybe 80% water 20% coolant.

 

[ed1380]

Slightly better cooling

 

[LiquidX]

If you wish to drop a few doll hairs and some how manage to fit a 16" fan , Side Winder Electric Fan Kit - The Fan Man

He has some awesome prices and great customer service. I went through him when I did my cooling setup. Great guy. I would look on there if you are wanting to go with a SPAL fan. If he doesn't have one listed email him the part number and he'll get it.
I use one of these Size 12 pull / Part# 2038 - The Fan Man
There is also

SPAL PN 30103202HO 12"
"Pull Style High Output Fan (Maximum Performance!) Over 2000CFM of airflow! Heavy duty fan assembly with curved blades for maximum output on multi row radiators."


@INeedBoostMan
Having a higher water content will help with heat transfer however it is good to keep a good percentage of coolant since it is not only a lubricant and rust inhibitor, it also raises the boiling point of the water.

If you do go with a high water to coolant ratio, use DEI Radiator Relief. It works slightly better if not equal to Red Line Water Wetter, however, it doesn't foam up like WW does (foaming is bad).

 

[soldave]

That Sidewinder fan looks pretty impressive. It's probably out of my price range but good to know it's there as an option. Does it come in a 12" version? Can't seem to find sizes anywhere.

 

[LiquidX]

Nope, just a 16", that's why I was joking about it.

How much room do you have to work with? Is a 4" thickness to much and I'm assuming the radiator is going to be on the passenger side?

 

[soldave]

Radiator is going to be centrally placed. It's about 22-24" wide (coming in the mail now) and 12" high. I just need that bit less height than the stock one so I can move it forward without a massive amount of work (although it'll still need some work fabricating up).

The early Evo engine bays are cramped, even more so than the VR4. With the 3.5" intercooler I'm looking at, I'm going to be looking at a max of 3" thickness for a fan. Any more and the fans will be hitting the intercooler, and the intercooler will have to be moved out which would mean hacking in to the bumper.

 

[LiquidX]

Radiator is going to be centrally placed. It's about 22-24" wide (coming in the mail now) and 12" high. I just need that bit less height than the stock one so I can move it forward without a massive amount of work (although it'll still need some work fabricating up).

The early Evo engine bays are cramped, even more so than the VR4. With the 3.5" intercooler I'm looking at, I'm going to be looking at a max of 3" thickness for a fan. Any more and the fans will be hitting the intercooler, and the intercooler will have to be moved out which would mean hacking in to the bumper.

I didn't even take notice that you are on an Evo III platform
I use Online Catalog - Spal Cooling Fans and Accessories to look over specs and went through The Fan Man.

Perhaps look at the FAL line up? How much space is between the front of the radiator and intercooler? If you have enough, consider mounting 2 thinner pusher fans in between the rad and FMIC and make a sealed shroud of the side of the radiator. Both fans will push air and it will be forced through the radiator.

 

[soldave]

Between the placement of this new radiator (which I'm going to have to move a couple of inches forward from the stock location, I'm probably going to have about 3-4" to work with, so a 3" thick fan is gonna be my limit.

Nice catalog of fans though - will have a browse through there and see if there's anything I might have missed before. I mean, I might be ok with these Ebay fans, but I'm wanting to get info about other options incase it's not enough.

 

[LiquidX]

Between the placement of this new radiator (which I'm going to have to move a couple of inches forward from the stock location, I'm probably going to have about 3-4" to work with, so a 3" thick fan is gonna be my limit.

Nice catalog of fans though - will have a browse through there and see if there's anything I might have missed before. I mean, I might be ok with these Ebay fans, but I'm wanting to get info about other options incase it's not enough.

I would stay away from non name fans for the most part. You need the most reliable CFM for the size.

 

[soldave]

That's probably a good call. If nothing else, these cheaper slim fans will give me an idea when I'm putting everything together about how much space I do actually have to work with. And then when it's all said and done I'll know what good brand name fans will or won't fit in there.