Cool gadget

[GreenV8S]

Finally got round to fitting a Mod-Wise fan controller to the V8S this weekend, and got a chance to try it out on the M1 this morning.

I've always thought the standard TVR design is daft because the sensor for the fan is in the top hose where it is basically measuring engine temperature. This responds very slowly to changes in airflow as the car starts and stops. It seems far more sensible to measure the temperature in the bottom hose coming back from the radiator, if this starts to rise the radiator doesn't have enough air flow and you need the fans. Obviously the Mod-wise kit does this, and it has the extra benefit of two adjustable sensors that bring the fans in at half speed initially, and then click in full power if the temperature keeps going up.

The old setup would start the fans five minutes after I'd come to a standstill, and switch them off five minutes after I'd got going again. It usually coped, but the engine would always be cooking before the fans came on. Then they would stay on while I was blasting down the motorway at 70 mph, total waste of time but there you go.

With the new setup, the fans come on half speed when the cars slows down to 40 mph, and full speed when it gets below 20 mph. They click off again within seconds as the car speeds up. I don't have any more actual cooling power than before, but at least I've got the fans on promptly when I need them so I've got a good head start against the heat soak.

The only drawback I've found is fitting it, the fan controller lives out by the radiator and it took some time finding somewhere secure to fit it where it wouldn't get cooked by the exhaust or catch on the steering column. I guess the second time around is always easier but if I was doing this again I'd probably ask for slightly longer wires to give me a bit more room to manoever. I imagine that any TVR specialist fitting these would soon work out a neat way to package it out of the way.

Icing on the cake was that it was almost a direct plug-for-plug replacement using the wiring from the original otter switch to power the controller, and the override switch and 'fans on' LED from the original setup all transferred straight across to the new one. I only had to make two new electrical connections, and one of those was an earth. Even I can cope with that. In theory, I can go back to the original setup by simply swapping the connections back. But I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon.

So, if Mr. Mod-wise reads this - nice one!

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

[Paceracing]

Pete,

Any piccies of the set-up?
Does the V8S use the Sherpa van rad? What fan(s) do you use, Kenlow's, etc... or do you just have one fan?
I have been thinking of putting twin fans with thermostatic control built in and an over-ride switch, but your system sounds better.
Any details including costs would be helpful.

Jas.

[GreenV8S]

quote:
Pete,

Any piccies of the set-up?
Does the V8S use the Sherpa van rad? What fan(s) do you use, Kenlow's, etc... or do you just have one fan?
I have been thinking of putting twin fans with thermostatic control built in and an over-ride switch, but your system sounds better.
Any details including costs would be helpful.

Jas.

To be honest I don't know what the rad is off, it's the same dimensions as the original but with extra cores, supplied and fitted by Tower View. Cooling certainly improved when I fitted it but with the bigger engine it's still adequate rather than excessive in traffic. Fine when I'm moving though which is the important thing.

I've kept the original 'pusher' fan but supplemented it with the biggest baddest fan Pacet do, on the back of the rad as a puller. (The fans are too big to go side by side.) The result doesn't exactly blow you off your feet but it's a bit more convincing than the old fan was on its own. As you know, the original wiring and fuses isn't up to the job of running two big fans, one advantage for me of the Mod-wise kit is it takes the main power feed for both fans directly from the main solenoid and bypasses the original wiring. Probably less of an issue with the Griffith/Chimaera boys who have the dual fan wiring as standard, although it might be a good solution to the blowing fuse problems that seem so common.

I had a fan override switch and 'fan on' LED on the original fan, and these transferred straight across to the new controller. I hadn't talked to David about this and wasn't expecting it, so this was a nice bonus. If you haven't got it, its basically a 12V LED fed by the ignition, that earths through the otter switch. The bypass switch simply shorts the otter switch out. Because these both go to the otter switch, you only need two wires to do both jobs. Hope that makes sense, you'll figure it out I'm sure!

The Mod-Wise unit was really surprisingly easy to fit. I reckon a competant auto electrician could do it in twenty minutes or so, I took several hours because I was double and tripple checking that I had the right wire and knew what voltage and current was going down it, to make sure I wasn't about to wire it into a dead short somehow. Not paranoid, just know my limitations!

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a cool green V8S)

[q405mb]

I fitted these to my '99 Chimaera, as you say Peter, easy to fit and make a whole lot more sense in terms of added cooling when you need it, not five minutes later.

I have some pics of the fitment in the Chimaera, but of course this would be a lot differnet to your V8S's...

If you want to see them Jas, let me know.

Harrigan

[markh]

Harrigan, I would be keen to see your photo's of the installation, am taking my Chimaera to Italy later this month(need all the help I can get)

cheers Mark

ps where did you get it from?

[pbrettle]

q405mb,

I was thinking of the mod-wise kit for my 94 Chimaera. Can you post the piccies please? Would be interested in doing them for myself as this does certainly seem a damn good idea to improve cooling...

If you cant post the piccies on PH, then simply email via my profile.

Cheers,

Paul

[GreenV8S]

quote:
ps where did you get it from?

www.mod-wise.com

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

[lateconvert]

Yes, I fitted this too to my '00 Chimaera. It's a cinch
to fit and they even included a replacement relay with a 'fan-on' led that you can route to the steering wheel shroud. A noticable difference to temperature control (no big swings - cool then hot then cool).

Mod-wise also do other cool stuff (no pun intended) - eg a starter motor heat shield which I've had fitted (lying under the car skinning knuckles didn't appeal so my local guy did it in 10 mins on a hydraulic ramp. Whilst I hadn't had starter problems I'm aware that it's a weak point with intermittant overheating failure so I thought prevention was better than cure.

I'm going to get the lighting kit next that boosts the headlamp wattage by additional heavy duty direct wiring (as I understand it).

[q405mb]

quote:
Harrigan, I would be keen to see your photo's of the installation, am taking my Chimaera to Italy later this month(need all the help I can get)

cheers Mark

ps where did you get it from?

Mark and Paul,

If you send me an eMail (in my profile) I'll mail the pics to you. Quite large files, so let me know if you want me to reduce them for your internet connection...

H