Discussion
So taking the car out on (yet another) shakedown run this week (picked a buddy up from T5 at Heathrow - must be the most unlikely Airport pickup car 
), and whilst in traffic my water temperatures were rising REALLY quick.
When running normally the gauge reads 80. Sat in traffic (with the fans cutting in) the temp was quickly up to 110+ - i had to get home so didn't experiment to see whether it stabilised there but clearly I'm not shedding heat as quickly as I should or would like. I read a couple of threads regards the Pacet 11inch fan upgrades only to find that Kenlowe bought them out a couple of years ago. I saw Mark's electric fan upgrade (which I like) but it's not a practical solution given all the grief I had last year upgrading my charging system (which is powered off the water pump) and I will remove the grill behind the fans this weekend. The coolant system is in good nick and was refilled last year with new antifreeze.
So here's a couple of questions:
- I'll phone the factory at some point but do they offer a more powerful fan option? My Peter Knight engine is so far away from 'factory spec', we laugh about it when we get on the the phone to discuss what the factory advises!
- Has anyone fitted one of the Kenlow Extreme Performance Fans and if so is the 12" an alternative with modifications to the shroud?
I spoke with Kenlowe yesterday (very helpful BTW) and they are sending me the specs/sized for both the 11 & 12 inch options - the current draw is 15 and 24 amps per fan respectively - this is HUGE, so obviously the wiring will be a concern. The way the guy there explained the upgrading fan option made sense. He said that the lower amp fans lose a great deal of their power (sucking efficiency) when asked to draw air through a dense rad thus you need a much more powerful fan in order to dump heat out of the rad, meaning it runs for less time.... net cost of buying to new fans inc delivery and VAT is around £270-290 dependent upon the option.
I've no issue spending the money - way cheaper than an engine rebuild and an acceptable cost to allay any temperature anxiety I'll have (ambient temp on Monday was only around 19C and we weren't stuck in any MAJOR traffic!).
), and whilst in traffic my water temperatures were rising REALLY quick.When running normally the gauge reads 80. Sat in traffic (with the fans cutting in) the temp was quickly up to 110+ - i had to get home so didn't experiment to see whether it stabilised there but clearly I'm not shedding heat as quickly as I should or would like. I read a couple of threads regards the Pacet 11inch fan upgrades only to find that Kenlowe bought them out a couple of years ago. I saw Mark's electric fan upgrade (which I like) but it's not a practical solution given all the grief I had last year upgrading my charging system (which is powered off the water pump) and I will remove the grill behind the fans this weekend. The coolant system is in good nick and was refilled last year with new antifreeze.
So here's a couple of questions:
- I'll phone the factory at some point but do they offer a more powerful fan option? My Peter Knight engine is so far away from 'factory spec', we laugh about it when we get on the the phone to discuss what the factory advises!
- Has anyone fitted one of the Kenlow Extreme Performance Fans and if so is the 12" an alternative with modifications to the shroud?
I spoke with Kenlowe yesterday (very helpful BTW) and they are sending me the specs/sized for both the 11 & 12 inch options - the current draw is 15 and 24 amps per fan respectively - this is HUGE, so obviously the wiring will be a concern. The way the guy there explained the upgrading fan option made sense. He said that the lower amp fans lose a great deal of their power (sucking efficiency) when asked to draw air through a dense rad thus you need a much more powerful fan in order to dump heat out of the rad, meaning it runs for less time.... net cost of buying to new fans inc delivery and VAT is around £270-290 dependent upon the option.
I've no issue spending the money - way cheaper than an engine rebuild and an acceptable cost to allay any temperature anxiety I'll have (ambient temp on Monday was only around 19C and we weren't stuck in any MAJOR traffic!).
So caps are all good, as are all the pipes, clips and coolant levels. As to the mixture this can't be a million miles out given it was only on the rolling road 150 miles ago, its fuel injected and I've not so much as looked at it!
My thinking regards fans was an aluminium SBC with 6.75 litres/640 bhp would be beyond the parameters that the factory would have considered. Yes I know that they install bigger/more powerful lumps - but these are modern engines not lumpy, over cam'ed clunkers like mine
My thinking regards fans was an aluminium SBC with 6.75 litres/640 bhp would be beyond the parameters that the factory would have considered. Yes I know that they install bigger/more powerful lumps - but these are modern engines not lumpy, over cam'ed clunkers like mine
Appreciate that 110 isn't too hot per se - but it was the rate of increase that I saw that worried me. I wasn't stationary for long enough for it to go much further (thank goodness) - but where have all the people gone that said, 'yeah I upgraded the factory fans to Pacit 11" with a greater flow rate and now my overheating is no longer an issue'??????
No difference? Ah man - that sucks!
So I've just pushed the grill out (anyone know what gets rid of that Wurth bonding BTW), and all being well will test the car again tonight.
It's has to be said that if I spend £250 on upgraded fans and it runs no cooler I will be somewhat gutted. As I mentioned. I REALLY don't want to have to go to the electric water pump option as I'll have to revisit my whole alternator drive as well
So I've just pushed the grill out (anyone know what gets rid of that Wurth bonding BTW), and all being well will test the car again tonight.
It's has to be said that if I spend £250 on upgraded fans and it runs no cooler I will be somewhat gutted. As I mentioned. I REALLY don't want to have to go to the electric water pump option as I'll have to revisit my whole alternator drive as well
Doh!
So I'm throwing myself at the mercy of the forum.... Form an orderly queue for ridicule here
Having just pushed the grill out I though I'd test the fans to see how much they chucked out...... Only to find that the RH side fan was not working. Pulled the plug, checked the power, reconnected et voila now 2 working fans dry joint in the connector!
Let's see how we go this evening......
So I'm throwing myself at the mercy of the forum.... Form an orderly queue for ridicule here
Having just pushed the grill out I though I'd test the fans to see how much they chucked out...... Only to find that the RH side fan was not working. Pulled the plug, checked the power, reconnected et voila now 2 working fans dry joint in the connector!
Let's see how we go this evening......
So I decided to order the new fans after Wednesday evenings drive. Even at a lower ambient temp and the second fan connected the fans struggle to return the car to operating temperature.
I'll report back on how the new fans work - hopefully I can get the opportunity to give objective comparison against the factory units.
I'll report back on how the new fans work - hopefully I can get the opportunity to give objective comparison against the factory units.
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