Discussion
Hi Guys, popped over from the Wedge forum. I have the Griff / Chim ally radiator and Spal fans set-up on my 500 Griff powered Wedge. After 7 months light usage about 3.5k miles, one Spal fan has failed with what looks like bearing failure. Is this a common fault and should I consider another make of fan?
Chris
Chris
How are your fans wired i.e do they come on one at a time or both together? If you have the two stage wiring is is the fan that cuts in 1st that has died?
I've had a few SPAL fans with no major troubles, nothing lasts for ever though these days so for ease of replacement I'd have no issue replacing like for like, although have seen a few cerb fans used as an "upgrade".
Regards
UKDJ
I've had a few SPAL fans with no major troubles, nothing lasts for ever though these days so for ease of replacement I'd have no issue replacing like for like, although have seen a few cerb fans used as an "upgrade".
Regards
UKDJ
Thanks guys well this one is about 7 months old.... They are both wired through relays (Left and Right) to come on together. The centre bearing on the u/s one has about 1/4" play side to side and the centre spline seems to have come off the plastic bonding so is free spinning without turning the motor. Not impressed given the use, the other side is fine and is cooling the car as it should, but is clearly working harder on its own. Unless I can get a guarantee replacement looks like a £160 to replace - thanks Chris (The Gredge)
Jack Valiant said:
Thanks guys well this one is about 7 months old.... They are both wired through relays (Left and Right) to come on together. The centre bearing on the u/s one has about 1/4" play side to side and the centre spline seems to have come off the plastic bonding so is free spinning without turning the motor. Not impressed given the use, the other side is fine and is cooling the car as it should, but is clearly working harder on its own. Unless I can get a guarantee replacement looks like a £160 to replace - thanks Chris (The Gredge)
Hi Chris, One of my original Spal Fans failed a couple of years ago (date code of 1992), so had done well. I bought a replacement Spal from Racetech, it was only about £62, for my 4.3 Pre-Cat - http://www.racetechdirect.co.uk/tvr-car-part-k0072... - if you look at their website (link) the same fan is for the 500 also, now on offer at £65. Regards, Peteray von said:
TVRleigh_BBWR said:
I've always heard good things about Spal fan's, maybe it was just a defect, I'd speak to them I'm sure they will replace it, if it's less than a year old .
Unlike this this thread According to TVR parts specialist Racetech Direct the fan size for our cars is 305mm (12"), they say the original Spal part number is VA10-AP70/LL-47A and that does seem to check out with a bit of separate Googling work, they charge a whopping £152.32 plus VAT & postage so buying just one fan from Racetech Direct is going to get very close to £200!!!!
On the other hand you could buy a VA01-AP70/LL-36A which is a Spal 12" curved blade pulling fan for a much more reasonable £138.37 from JJC Race & Rally on EBay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spal-Universal-12V-Sucti...
Or better still I discovered you could buy the very same thing from Pro Ally for just £94.20:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322217176227
The difference between the original part number VA10-AP70/LL-47A and VA01-AP70/LL-36A is just the last figure which seems to denote the amperage draw, 47 amps vs 36 amps for the newer version, this would make sense as the newer version is using the latest brushless motor technology.
Both fans are the same size and both used curved blade technology so I'm in no doubt the newer version will pull the same amount of air as the original if not more as the lower inertia brushless motor may very well permit a higher peak rotational speed and will certaily get to peak speed faster. The newer brushless fan will also spike on start up 10 amps or so less due again to the reduced motor weight (inertia) and Spal's integrated "Soft Start" circuitry.
Here's an airflow chart from Spal that demonstrates the VA01-AP70/LL-36A is their top performing fan in the 305mm size, unless you want to up the maximum amp spike considerably from a safe 36A to 66A which is something I wouldn't recommend without significantly uprating the original TVR wiring.
Bushless motors are smaller (thinner) so fitting it will be easier and ultimately would allow for a deeper rad core if that's something being considered, bushless motors also last longer and draw less amps so the newer VA01-AP70/LL-36A has some really nice advantages over the original VA10-AP70/LL-47A used by TVR in the 90's which itself was a quality fan choice that seem to last a good 20 years, it's just electric motor technology has moved on.
Choosing the new brushless motor VA01-AP70/LL-36A will therefore be an upgrade from the original and if you buy it from Pro Alloy rather than Racetech Direct it'll be half the price too
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322217176227
Please note this is all just research at this point but it all cross checks (including interrogating Spal's own website) so I'm very confident its correct, do however make your own checks before committing so you can satisfy yourself you are definitely purchasing the right fan for your car.
Hope this helps?
Dave.
If you are looking to replace go to Spal direct far far cheaper than all the usual suspects.
Tel:01905 613714
Ive just replaced mine with the most pwerful ones that will fit in the Griff nose (its limited depth due to the radiator angle and bottom chassis rail.
The ones i bought are VA10-AP70/LL-47A and i paid £71.46 (plus VAT) each for them
Tel:01905 613714
Ive just replaced mine with the most pwerful ones that will fit in the Griff nose (its limited depth due to the radiator angle and bottom chassis rail.
The ones i bought are VA10-AP70/LL-47A and i paid £71.46 (plus VAT) each for them
David Beer said:
David Beer said:
There is no way my fans, or anyone's ,draw 36 or 47 amps ,maybe 15 each of course.
No comment? Edited by David Beer on Tuesday 30th August 17:01
VA10 is the shroud reference
AP70/LL is the motor which i believe is the most powerful one they do for the shroud type required
The guy did tell me what the max amp draw was but i cant recall off hand, which means it had the less than 25 amp or i would have been concerned
Edited by Bluebottle on Tuesday 30th August 18:03
ETA just checked my notes, and they are wrong ..thanks for the correction Matthew
Edited by Bluebottle on Tuesday 30th August 18:21
Edited by Bluebottle on Tuesday 30th August 19:01
The brushless fans are a good upgrade and like you say technology has moved on since so it would seem a no brainer to upgrade to a later spec. Car manufacturers have all gone in the brushless direction for their OEM parts so that is normally a good indication for reliability.
For the record and not wanting to piss on anyones bonfire here but the VA01-AP70/LL-36A pulls 21.8A maximum according to Spal's website, max airflow is 1640 CFM
I cannot find the specs for the original VA10-AP70/LL-47A on their website to compare.
I am going to switch to brushless when I get my ECU fitted and also power the fans directly from the ECU. Modern ECUs can act as a fan controller and gradually ramp up the RPM as the temperature rises.
For the record and not wanting to piss on anyones bonfire here but the VA01-AP70/LL-36A pulls 21.8A maximum according to Spal's website, max airflow is 1640 CFM
I cannot find the specs for the original VA10-AP70/LL-47A on their website to compare.
I am going to switch to brushless when I get my ECU fitted and also power the fans directly from the ECU. Modern ECUs can act as a fan controller and gradually ramp up the RPM as the temperature rises.
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