2G Efficient electric fan setup

[Cox Abele]

Let me first say I am not worried how to wire up aftermarket electric fans.

Now that I have your attention, I am posting because I need direction in how to optimize my setup to provide the most efficient CFM movement out of the fans, aside from shrouding the I/C to radiator or eliminating the air conditioning.

I have a 2g. I no longer have room for the factory A/C or factory cooling fan. I have opted to purchase two 10" pushers and a 12" puller fans. The pushers will be mounted in front of the A/C condenser, the puller will be a few inches from the passenger's side of the radiator.

Which scenario is more optimal?

1.) Use the 12" puller and the passenger's side 10" pusher together the primary cooling fans, leaving the driver's side 10" pusher as my A/C and "overheat" fan

2.) Use the twin 10" pushers as primary cooling together, with the 12" puller as the A/C and additional, backup, "overheat" fan

3.) Twin 12" pushers as the only two fans in the setup, tied together as both A/C and Cooling

4.) Single 12" puller on the passenger's side as the cooling fan, single 10" pusher on the driver's as the A/C and "overheat"

5.) Single 12" puller as the primary on the passenger's side, twin 10" pushers on the condenser as the A/C and "overheat" fans.

 

[donniekak]

I have 2 spal slim puller fans. With a large fmic, working ac, and 110* ambient temps I don't get over 200* doing 500hp pulls.

I have them controlled via dsmlink. One fan comes on at 175, and the other at 195. This is with a 165 thermostat.

They are set to both shut off at greater than 70% tps to keep voltage high for the fuel pump while doing pulls.

It's very important to use quality fans. I've used everything out there, and nothing works like the spal fans. Other companies give bogus ratings for their fans cfm.

Pusher fans tend to not work as well, as they can actually be a hinderance to flow at higher speeds.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Isn't a 1G less prone to overheating than a 2G though, Donnie? Or is that basically a DSM urban legend. It's like I see more and more people struggle with 2G's overheating with a/c and a FMIC than 1Gs.

 

[Cox Abele]

I do not have room for twin pullers.

I only have room for 3/4 of the possible fan locations. I have lost the ability to have a puller on the driver's side. I can only mount one puller on the passenger's side rear, a pusher on the passenger's side front, and a pusher on the driver's side front.

 

[GST with PSI]

What fans do you have? Most legit fans are rated in both puller and pushed configurations, and the amount of air they can move in each direction will vary. Generally, most fans are more efficient set up in a puller configuration.

Since you already bought fans, I can't really make recommendations here. Hopefully, you didn't waste your money on Ebay garbage fans. Donnie is right on point; quality fans work best. I can tell you first hand every off-brand fan I've tried sucked, and didn't move near the advertised airflow. I'd lump Mishimoto fans into the junk Ebay category as well, as the shrouded 1G Mishimoto setup I had was crap. The good stuff like SPAL and FAL do move a good amount of air. These are the fans you want. They have accurate airflow data sheets, and they will perform as advertised.

As far as your config goes, I'd only use 2 fans. If you place 1 fan in front of another, it just blocks airflow. Plus, there's no gains to be made with a pusher fan blowing into a puller fan. It's redundant and useless. If you can somehow place all 3 fans on the radiator where they are all clear of one another, then that would work. However, I'm confident that with a 12" fan and 2 10" fans, that wont be possible. There's not enough radiator surface area there.

Everything else equal, the larger fan will move the most air. That fan should be used as the primary cooling fan, and set up in a puller configuration directly below the radiator inlet (assuming the fan you bought moves the most air in a pusher config). For the other fan, it's user preference. Personally, I'd set it up as a puller right next to the main fan. If you don't have room, set it up as a pusher.

 

[donniekak]

Here is a handy link with some spal fans, and their flow ratings. Remember these are actual flow ratings, not some eBay 3000cfm rating. If you click the acrobat link it has a breakdown of the fans flow pusher/puller, and at different pressure.

http://www.spalautomotive.com/eng/products/axial_12.aspx

 

[GST with PSI]

Hands down, SPAL fans perform.

Not long ago, I swapped in a 14" SPAL slim puller fan (VA08-AP51/C-23A 12v) and my car no longer has trouble pulling the temp down at idle. The SPAL fan moves a TON of air compared to the stock puller. Even with no shroud, the car is cooling better than it ever has. I've driven the car back and forth to work in stop and go traffic multiple times, and never saw anything over 210* on a 90*+ day.

Prior to this, the car would slowly overheat at low and idle speeds. I've been through more fan setups trying to resolve stupid cooling issues than I care to admit:

-I started with the factory shrouded puller and factory A/C pusher (stock Galant setup). This was on a stock radiator. Car would slowly overheat at low and idle speeds.

-Then, I swapped in a 1G shrouded Mishimoto 12" dual fan setup. Still on the stock radiator. Car would still slowly overheat at low and idle speeds, and also run hot at high speed. The crappy shroud design was actually hindering airflow on my setup. This isn't to say the Mishimoto setup doesn't work for some people, it just didn't work for me.

-Ditched the Mishimoto fan setup, and went to a 2 row aluminum radiator. Swapped in a 12" Ebay puller fan and reinstalled the Factory shrouded puller. Car would still slowly overheat at low and idle speeds.

-Ditched the factory puller, and swapped in the 14" SPAL. So, currently I'm running the aluminum radiator, the 14" SPAL and the 12" Ebay no name fan. Car runs nice and cool in 95* weather. Eventually, I'll ditch the Ebay puller in favor of a SPAL 12" puller.

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[my dreamt dsm]

^^^^ Do you have problems hitting j pipes or turbo with the fans?