Electric Water Pumps
Discussion
We, in the norther California ('94-'96) Impala Club love them. We run the LT1 (Corvette) engine and the pump works great. Here's a snip from our board...
Pros :
* More HP: About 5-8 HP or so. Not a ton, but you can notice it.
* Ability, with a manual switch (which turns on the pump plus both fans), to QUICKLY cool off the car in the pits while racing. You can bring the coolant from 190 down to about 120 in a matter of 10 minutes! Since I don't drag race, I never did this with a switch, but can accomplish most of the same thing by just turning the key to "on" (not starting the car.)
* Engine revs up a little quicker, in combo with the underdrive pulley. I think everyone who has driven my SS is pretty surprised how "rev happy" my stock motor is with those mods.
* IF it is installed correctly (and I've seen more than my share of poor wiring jobs on this one), it's pretty reliable. The pump (we use) is rated for approx 2000 hrs. Just use a good relay and wire it in correctly, and you'll be fine.
* When it dies, if you have a spare pump with you the change out is about 20 minutes (if that) since you don't have to remove the pump housing from the block (and thus mess with scraping all that gasket crap off the block).
Cons:
* Cost: Approx $225 for the pump and wiring, plus a donor water pump housing (we can use our stock one). If you go ahead and pick up a second pump to have a spare on hand, it gets even more expensive.
* Fail Mode: Tends to be sudden. This is in contrast to the stock pump, which will usually "leak" and cool like crap for a while first (but will still cool the motor). So, you have to get in the habit of scanning your gauges all the time and being well "aware" of how the motor is running.
* Pump Availability: Fine via mail order, but you're not gonna run down to Autozone and pick up a replacement pump. So you have to plan ahead a bit.
* Flow Rate: The Meziere HD (don't bother with the "regular" Meziere) flows about as much coolant all the time (at idle OR at 5000 RPM) as the stock pump does at approx 2500 RPM. So, it is great around town or on the freeway, but probably not the best for Road Racing.
That said...I ran 15 minute lap sessions in the heat last summer on a 95+ degree day (and humid too!) with no overheating issues at all. My car DID run a bit hot in the CA desert on the road trip (approx 215 degrees coolant temp) but then it WAS in the 110 to 120 range outside!
Pros :
* More HP: About 5-8 HP or so. Not a ton, but you can notice it.
* Ability, with a manual switch (which turns on the pump plus both fans), to QUICKLY cool off the car in the pits while racing. You can bring the coolant from 190 down to about 120 in a matter of 10 minutes! Since I don't drag race, I never did this with a switch, but can accomplish most of the same thing by just turning the key to "on" (not starting the car.)
* Engine revs up a little quicker, in combo with the underdrive pulley. I think everyone who has driven my SS is pretty surprised how "rev happy" my stock motor is with those mods.
* IF it is installed correctly (and I've seen more than my share of poor wiring jobs on this one), it's pretty reliable. The pump (we use) is rated for approx 2000 hrs. Just use a good relay and wire it in correctly, and you'll be fine.
* When it dies, if you have a spare pump with you the change out is about 20 minutes (if that) since you don't have to remove the pump housing from the block (and thus mess with scraping all that gasket crap off the block).
Cons:
* Cost: Approx $225 for the pump and wiring, plus a donor water pump housing (we can use our stock one). If you go ahead and pick up a second pump to have a spare on hand, it gets even more expensive.
* Fail Mode: Tends to be sudden. This is in contrast to the stock pump, which will usually "leak" and cool like crap for a while first (but will still cool the motor). So, you have to get in the habit of scanning your gauges all the time and being well "aware" of how the motor is running.
* Pump Availability: Fine via mail order, but you're not gonna run down to Autozone and pick up a replacement pump. So you have to plan ahead a bit.
* Flow Rate: The Meziere HD (don't bother with the "regular" Meziere) flows about as much coolant all the time (at idle OR at 5000 RPM) as the stock pump does at approx 2500 RPM. So, it is great around town or on the freeway, but probably not the best for Road Racing.
That said...I ran 15 minute lap sessions in the heat last summer on a 95+ degree day (and humid too!) with no overheating issues at all. My car DID run a bit hot in the CA desert on the road trip (approx 215 degrees coolant temp) but then it WAS in the 110 to 120 range outside!
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