Discussion
jmorgan said:
Ok, now I am confused. I have 2 fans, both flush up to the rad. Lost the cowl as it was a single jobby. What does the cowl do? Focus the air flow? Venturi effect?
Just wondering if I need to start re working things.
I think that this discussion may be getting out of hand. The main interest in the no. of fans and the cowl is historical/concours. The cowl makes sure that the fan sucks air through the rad and not around the rad instead. The main problem time is when stuck in traffic after a long hard run but regardless of that if you don't regularly see the temp. reaching 99 or 100 degrees then relax and enjoy your car.
HeyAndy said:
So long as the rad works, the fan cuts in and does the business...what else is there to say that hasn't already been said??
Yes as long as it works i agree but its also about learning about the history of the Wedge. ie. its easy to throw money at a problem retrospectively. But its nice to know why. IMHO.
well anyway this one has a single fan with a cowl type thing ,but the whole unit slides from side to side, which seems a bit odd. and my other question was what does the oil pressure sender unit come from ,the gauges are in bars(ie vdo make) as i have been quoted 60 odd quid for a new unit from tvr dealer, the unit has two spade connections but only uses one of them.
ssc1 said:
well anyway this one has a single fan with a cowl type thing ,but the whole unit slides from side to side, which seems a bit odd. and my other question was what does the oil pressure sender unit come from ,the gauges are in bars(ie vdo make) as i have been quoted 60 odd quid for a new unit from tvr dealer, the unit has two spade connections but only uses one of them.
Sorry Ian. I got carried away as well. I havn't had a Wedge with a sliding fan or fan and cowl. Can you post a piccy?
ssc1 said:
well anyway this one has a single fan with a cowl type thing ,but the whole unit slides from side to side, which seems a bit odd.
Yes, that is a bit odd. There should be a truncated triangular piece of steel bolted to the top of the rad with another below and two vert threaded rods. What has yours got?
Is there a consensus of opinion on what method is best - I assume that the later the design the better ?
The main reason for asking is that I have a 450 in Australia and it is currently in pieces having work carried out and the rad and fan/cowling are out. I was concerned about overheating anyway (40+ deg C days are common in summer) and have had the cooling system modified with a Range Rover expansion tank (they fit quite nicely actually as same shape as the Capri units but bigger and - according to the engineer working on the car - will work better than the current set up) and minor pipework routing and sizing changes to improve flow.
The cowl has two large openings either side of the fan with a rubber flap covering them hinged at the top so that when the car is stationary they are closed and all air is pulled through the fan and when moving they are forced open to allow "free cooling". Is the main purpose of the cowl to allow the fan to pull air from the whole rad or to try and stop air being pulled from around the rad. With no cowl then whilst there would be some leakage round the rad the fan would only pull air over the middle of the rad ?
Anyway - what do I do - put back slotted cowl and single fan and see how it goes or, as whilst it is all out it is easier to do, fit a twin fan hung off the rad with no cowl ?
The main reason for asking is that I have a 450 in Australia and it is currently in pieces having work carried out and the rad and fan/cowling are out. I was concerned about overheating anyway (40+ deg C days are common in summer) and have had the cooling system modified with a Range Rover expansion tank (they fit quite nicely actually as same shape as the Capri units but bigger and - according to the engineer working on the car - will work better than the current set up) and minor pipework routing and sizing changes to improve flow.
The cowl has two large openings either side of the fan with a rubber flap covering them hinged at the top so that when the car is stationary they are closed and all air is pulled through the fan and when moving they are forced open to allow "free cooling". Is the main purpose of the cowl to allow the fan to pull air from the whole rad or to try and stop air being pulled from around the rad. With no cowl then whilst there would be some leakage round the rad the fan would only pull air over the middle of the rad ?
Anyway - what do I do - put back slotted cowl and single fan and see how it goes or, as whilst it is all out it is easier to do, fit a twin fan hung off the rad with no cowl ?
If you've not had a overheating problem before it seems logical to stick with the original setup.
But i would say that fan development has come a long way since the eighties. ie motor efficiency and blade design. Kenlowe twin setup fans now come with adjustable shrouds that "butt up" to the rad so as not to draw air from around the rad.
But i would say that fan development has come a long way since the eighties. ie motor efficiency and blade design. Kenlowe twin setup fans now come with adjustable shrouds that "butt up" to the rad so as not to draw air from around the rad.
dickymint said:
If you've not had a overheating problem before it seems logical to stick with the original setup.
But i would say that fan development has come a long way since the eighties. ie motor efficiency and blade design. Kenlowe twin setup fans now come with adjustable shrouds that "butt up" to the rad so as not to draw air from around the rad.
I'd second that. If you really are worried about overheating then you would be better of to fit a second or larger oil cooler IMHO.
dickymint said:
If you've not had a overheating problem before it seems logical to stick with the original setup.
But i would say that fan development has come a long way since the eighties. ie motor efficiency and blade design. Kenlowe twin setup fans now come with adjustable shrouds that "butt up" to the rad so as not to draw air from around the rad.
When the car was in the UK apparently it didn't suffer from any overheating problems - large pinch of salt required considering the other stuff I have found contrary to descriptions given.
I have only driven it a handful of times here so far as it is not registered yet and it overheated the last time on a 20 deg day - pressure cap not sealing, thermo switch failed and compounded by the variable valve timing courtesy of a camshaft moving as only fitted hand tight.
Considering I have good access at the moment and it's off the road anyway I want to get the best possible cooling set up. Rad is as new but looks standard and I have been advised that a bigger or second oil cooler will only have a detrimental effect due to the further restriction to airflow across the rad.
Surely a twin fan set up with the fans either mounted directly on the back of the rad or in a cowling would give better cooling that a single fan no matter how good any cowl design ? With a good clean cooling system without altering the rad or water pump the only variable that can be controlled is the amount of airflow over the rad so would have though two fans is better than one ?
chunder said:
Rad is as new but looks standard and I have been advised that a bigger or second oil cooler will only have a detrimental effect due to the further restriction to airflow across the rad.
There is obviously a slight reduction in the cooling to the rad but the increase in cooling derived from a larger oil cooler capacity is far greater. As a rule of thumb the vent in the front of the car needs to be at least 1/6 the area of the rad.
chunder said:
Surely a twin fan set up with the fans in a cowling would give better cooling that a single fan no matter how good any cowl design?
The modern twin fan set ups are small but tend to be of a more efficient design. I suppose that your statement is probably correct but I think that it would be close; I'm undecided really. The main benefits of a modern twin fan set up (usually from a bike) are weight and space saving.
19560 said:
Surely a twin fan set up with the fans in a cowling would give better cooling that a single fan no matter how good any cowl design?
The modern twin fan set ups are small but tend to be of a more efficient design. I suppose that your statement is probably correct but I think that it would be close; I'm undecided really. The main benefits of a modern twin fan set up (usually from a bike) are weight and space saving.
When I spoke to Kenlowe about a year ago they new about Wedge overheating problems. They reccommend Twin 16" fans! Not really suitable for a bike
Other benefits include doing away with the otter switch, ability to set thermostat at any temperature and they do a manual override kit as an option.
dickymint said:
When I spoke to Kenlowe about a year ago they new about Wedge overheating problems. They reccommend Twin 16" fans! Not really suitable for a bike
Other benefits include doing away with the otter switch, ability to set thermostat at any temperature and they do a manual override kit as an option.
Sounds interesting and good. Have you fitted that set up?
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